Goin' on a Mission.....

We are rarin' to go! Rob and I are so excited about our upcoming mission trip to West Virginia. We will be leaving (all four of us) Friday morning, to meet up with the Volpes and head to the Appalachian Trail. We will be doing VBS with a church in Meadowbridge. This is our first home missions trip, and the kids very first mission trip. I am super excited to share this experience as a family.

Since our first mission trip, Cade has been very interested in missions, and helping others who have less than we do. We have been to Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Before our Costa Rica trip, we practiced our Rosetta Stone Spanish, and Cade loved to hear us try to say these Spanish words with our country accent. When he found out that he was going with us, here is the conversation that followed:

Cade: Mom! I am so excited!! I have worked so hard on my Spanish this year. I can talk to the kids in West Virginia, and they will be able to understand me. Won't that be cool?

Me: Well, Cade, where we are going, the kids speak English.

Cade: But they spoke Spanish in Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

Me: Yeah, but WV is in America, and we speak English in America.

Cade: Then why is Disney World in America? They speak Spanish!

It was the cutest thing. He was so excited. So here's praying for at least one Spanish-speaking child that can talk to Cade and he can use his Spanish:)

You know, Satan has a way of trying to discourage you, especially when you are gearing up to do the Lord's work. These last few weeks have been extremely trying in our house. Then to top it all off, I wrecked my car a little, and have to replace 2 tires before we can leave. But as I was reminded by a dear friend, the Bible promises that Satan will attack us, discourage us, and leave us for dead. That we know is true. So if that part is true, we have to know that it is also true that God will never leave us or forsake us. He always prevails.

I am going to do my best to update daily while we are there. Please pray for the people of Meadowbridge, WV. That their hearts will be opened to the message of the love of Christ. Please also pray for our mission team, and our families, as I am sure this is going to be quite the experience:) And pray for us as we travel many hours with 2 young children, because you know where the Vaughn's are, there is always a story to follow!!

I want to thank all of our friends who have blessed us beyond measure to help us go into the world and preach the gospel. You are such an encouragement to us, and we couldn't do it without you.

Thanks for your prayers!!

Biggest Loser Update!

Well, it's time to update you on my Biggest Loser status. I haven't updated in a while, because frankly, I haven't lost many pounds. However the inches are coming off!!! But....Nate just took my 4 month (3 1/2 month) pictures and sent them to me. He was very impressed! Impressed because I have only lost 2 POUNDS! I have been so discouraged, but the pictures show so much more.

When I got them, my first emotion was how proud I was of myself. I know I still have a way to go, but I have come really far. Then I thought it would be a great idea to post them on my blog....but then I thought differently seeing that I am only in a sports bra and shorts (GROSS!!!!) and my flabby belly is WHITE!

However, after much encouragement from my husband and best friend, I have decided to post them. I need to celebrate small victories, and be proud of how far I have come. I will continue to press forward in hopes of getting rid of all of that FLAB!!!

So, without further ado, here goes nothing:

BEFORE:


AFTER:

Now I know I desperately need a TAN, and you may not sleep for several nights after seeing this, but I just had to be proud of myself for a small minute:) Keep in mind, there is only a 2 pound difference in those pictures.

I would like to add that if you are interested in Nate's fitness program, you can visit his website at www.ufrevolution.com. If you talk to him, tell him I sent you because I get really cool gifts for referring people.....just sayin'.

Kiss Gets Married......FINALLY!

This post is a couple of weeks overdue, but I wanted to share pictures of my sister's (Christen-better known as Kiss) wedding. This was a second wedding for both she and Jacob. They decided on a garden wedding at my Granny's house. It was BEAUTIFUL!

I have to preface the photos with the fact we ended up with only one photo of my handsome boy, because he is now WAY TOO COOL to get pictures. He spent his time playing with all of the boys, while SG hammed it up for the camera.

The tables were set throughout the garden area. They were beautiful.



The cake was made by "Yours Truly." It really was an honor.



The bride and groom looked MAHVALOUS! The day was so much fun. We spent it with both families making lots of memories.




My two precious angels!



Doesn't Cade look handsome in his Guy Harvey pirate shirt? It is definitely a favorite! Beas and Jah brought that back for him when they went on their cruise.

Aunt Kiss and Gracie- Kiss says this is one of her favorite pictures of the day!


Remember me saying that SG hammed it up? Here are a few of the many faces of SaraGrace from the day:

I know I am little biased, but does she not look like the cutest little thing? How can you be mad at that face?



Waiting between photo sessions:



"Look at me! I insisted that my mommy put makeup on me so I could be like the big girls."



The girl loves her some gum.



CHEESE!

To end this post about an awesome day, I have to show you that SG got caught doing what she does best.......exactly what she is NOT SUPPOSED TO BE DOING.

"I think I can climb in Granny's really expensive Italian fountain and go 'fwimming'."


"It's not too cold."

"Here goes nothing! I'm going in."