Vaughn Halen

We have all thoroughly enjoyed playing Rock Band on the Wii that the kids got for Christmas.  This is the first game that we  can truly all play together. 

Rob and I decided to name our band “Vaughn Halen.”  It was really my idea:)  Anyhow, I’d like to introduce you to our band members. 

On the strings, we have Daddy.

I think he is possible THE hottest guitar player to grace the stage.

We sometimes have a fight over the drums because Cade and I both love to play.  But, since it was his game, I conceded to him (at least for this video.)  So…

On the drums, we have Caderade (he named his own character.)

I get so tickled at him gettin’ on that pedal.  It takes all he has to push it down.  He’s so adorably handsome!!!

SaraGrace has multiple talents.  She loves to sing, but most of the time she gets us kicked off of the stage.  I would say she should stick to dancing.

Here is our backup dancer, SaraGrace.

She’s got some mad skills that, I have to admit, come from her daddy. 

I think we have some serious talent.  I wonder if Rock Band would be applicable for “America’s Got Talent.”

Sunday Fun

Yesterday afternoon, we had some friends over for lunch and some Sunday fun.  After church, we gathered at our house for some barbecue sandwiches, and then the fun began. 

I have been wanting to go to the Christian bookstore to get a couple of books.  One was the Resolution for Women and the other was the Made to Crave devotional book.  My friends, Ashley and Angi went with me and we had a great time shopping.  I wanted to update Faith’s garden, and yesterday was the day to do it.  We found all kinds of things to buy so we shopped ‘til we dropped.

We added all of the new goodies, along with some I had gotten the day before, and this was our Sunday Fun!

I love this angel!!  It says “He walks with me and He talks with me.”  I would love to know what Faith and Jesus talk about.

 

This flag is so bright and cheery and says, “He has made everything beautiful in its time.”  I know my beautiful Faith has been made perfect!

Angi and Ashley bought this sign for Faith’s garden.  It adds the perfect touch!

The new flowers added a touch of color, and even look a little Valentine-y.  Here is the finished project.  It looks so pretty and girly.

  

While we were out shopping and decorating, the boys and the kids were treasure hunting in our back yard.  Cade got a metal detector for Christmas and finally took it for a spin. 

Here is all of their loot:

 

The most exciting find of the day?

 

An old rusty Case pocket knife.

I think they had a great time digging up my yard.  If not, it looks like an armadillo had the time of his life!!!

The Devil and Defeat

It was never a dream of mine to be an author.  It was not in my plans for my life.  Once Faith came along, the Lord immediately started working on my heart to write a book.  I tried with everything in me to avoid this calling that He had laid on me.  But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get away from it. 

It seemed like such an overwhelming process.  I am extremely fearful of rejection.  But the rejection of my child and her story just seemed too hard to bear.  I met with a well-known author who was very honest in telling me that this business was a hard one.  He said it was very hard to get published, and to be prepared for rejection.  I told myself that was just God closing the door on the book.  I just used the excuse that getting it published was going to be impossible.

Several weeks later, I went to a revival.  The evangelist was also a published author.  I knew that it was no coincidence that this man had written several books, and I had five days to meet with him and ask questions.  I prayed about it and God lead me to meet with him.  He was a wealth of information, even giving me some contacts in the industry.  But it still seemed so overwhelming.

While calling on those contacts, I ran across a self-publishing agency and the doors began to fly open.  I couldn’t believe how everything fell into place so quickly.  But there was one problem….I couldn’t use the publishing excuse anymore.  I even had a second company on hand, but decided against them once I learned I would have to sell them the rights to our story.

And so the writing began.  I thought because the publishing end of it turned out to be pretty easy, the writing should flow pretty smoothly.  Seeing that I had blogged nearly every breath I had taken over the last year, it would just come together.  NOT!!!

Satan is doing everything he can to make me feel defeated.  From feelings of “I cannot do this,” to “Your story is no different from anyone else’s.”  Then, last night, I finally got some motivation to sit and write.  I am borrowing my sister’s dinosaur of a laptop to write.  It will not hold a charge, but will work as long as it is plugged in.  After an hour and a half of serious writing, it died.  The charger got overheated.  I was so frustrated and felt, yet again, defeated.  Ironically (we know it is the Holy Spirit and His awesome timing)  Rob is reading a new book by C.S. Lewis, which is a story about two demons and how they do everything they can to defeat God’s people.  I know, that I know, that I know God wants me to write this book…for now.  All of the doors have been open, so I am going in the right direction.

I share this to tell you that when you feel everything is against you, seek the face of God.  Be obedient to what He has called you to do, and though you may feel defeated, He WILL NOT be defeated.  Be encouraged my sweet friends!!!

Just Me and SG

This weekend, the boys went to the Hun-Tin house to finish some electrical work.  I stayed behind because I was making a birthday cake for a dear friend.  Because I do not stay by myself, SG and me stayed with said friend.

We had a great time getting ready for the party.  I temporarily came out of cake retirement to make this masterpiece:

We worked on it Friday night and Saturday morning.  The little girls decided to get dressed up after they woke up. 

Princess Friends…

The actual birthday party was later that afternoon.  The older girls were all dressed up for a photo shoot.  The theme was black and hot pink.  SG got dressed for the occasion too.

That is probably one of my most favorite pictures of her:)

As I was looking through the pictures to use for my post, it became apparent that SG had my phone for some time.  She finally realized my iphone will allow you to take pictures of yourself.  She had a hay-day!

 

 

   

 

Good times with Gracie are always a sure thing!!!

Yo Ho Yo Ho

Today was SaraGrace’s pirate party at school.  They could dress up, but couldn’t bring any guns or swords.  Of course, SG was disappointed that she could not bring her armory with her, but she quickly got over it.

Thankfully, one of her sweet teachers texted me to remind me about it yesterday.  I had plans to be creative and come up with a really cute outfit.  That was yesterday.  At 6:45 this morning, I remembered she was supposed to dress up.  I had nothing put together.  I emptied out her drawers in a hurry, and this is what I came up with…

Bless her heart!  She had a really cute black belt on, but she didn’t understand why she had to wear it over her shirt.  And those leggings, oh my!  I grabbed my scissors and cut up the skirt, and when SG saw me doing that, she started asking lots of questions.  I certainly hope she didn’t get any ideas. 

I may have a couple of talents, but costume design is not one of them.  Luckily, she thinks her costume is awesome and as her momma, that’s all that matters!!!

Best Hunt Ever

This past weekend, Rob, myself and Cade joined Papa and Mr. Gary at the Hun-Tin House.  Scoot stayed behind with Gamma to go to the Gator junaxtix meet. 

We left late Friday afternoon, and it wasn’t long before we saw this in the back seat…

Apparently, school wore him out!

We woke him up for a stop at Waffle House.  Y’all, our family loves us some Waffle House.  So much so, that we bought 2 of their coffee mugs for our house:)

Cade and I didn’t hunt Saturday morning.  We needed some sleep.  Rob hunted, but had no luck.  We decided to take a stroll back to the house to see the progress.

Have you ever seen such a pile of sawdust?

Here is the island.

 

What in the heck is going in all of those drawers?  Maybe they plan to sleep some guests in there?  or misbehaving children?  Who knows.

Now on to the fun part.  This was the BEST.HUNT.EVER!  I tried to convince Cade to hunt with me, but he insists that I never let him shoot.  So, I hunted by myself.  Later, Cade sure was sorry he missed out.

I saw a total of 24 hogs in 2 1/2 hours.  Here are the goods…

I shot both of these, and shot at a third hog.  The worst part was, after I shot my last bullet, 6 more hogs came in and I had nothing to shoot them with.  Speaking of no bullets, I had to wait for Rob to come and get me.  It gets dark.  REAL DARK.  I am a scaredy cat with a capital S.  Rob is always telling me “you have a gun, what are you scared of?”  Hello!  The gun does no good if you have no bullets to shoot.  I got really scared.  I was texting him asking him ever so nicely to hurry and get his hind-end over to me. 

We had a great time, and I was certainly proud of my hogs.  I can’t wait to go back again!!!

SaraGrace Goes to the Dentist

SaraGrace had her first cleaning appointment with the dentist last week.  Unfortunately for her, my fearless little fairy was scared to death.  Her brother told her they were going to put drills in her mouth and pull all of her teeth out!  So she took a little coaxing to get over her fear.

 

The first thing she did was find the headphones for the tv.  Since they don’t have tv at home, it was a real treat!

Mrs. Sandy was so sweet to explain everything she was doing.  After each step, SaraGrace would reply, “And then you’ll be done?”  It was really cute!

 

But she thought she was big stuff when she got to hold and operate the big sucker!

 

Thankfully she didn’t have any cavities!  And she got to pick TWO prizes out of the box.  But the highlight of the trip was the following story:

Once we were done, I had to go into the waiting area to pay.  SaraGrace was busy twirling her bag of goodies which included a new toothbrush, her very own Sponge Bob toothpaste, some “flost”, and her prizes.  As I was paying, a very elderly lady asked, “Did you go see the dentist?”  To which SaraGrace replied, “Uh-huh.  And I got a new toothbrush, some SpongeBob toothpaste, and 2 prizes.”  The lady then asked, “Well, did they clean your teeth?”  SaraGrace said, “Yes ma’am.  Do you want to smell them?”  I nearly died, but nothing prepared me for the rest.  The sweet old lady said, “Sure I’ll smell them.”  She leaned forward, and wait for it…..SG exhaled a huge breath right in the lady’s face.  I felt so sorry for her, but then realized she really messed up when she offered to smell her teeth.  But she told her that they smelled so good, and it made SaraGrace’s day (and mine too.  Now the lady, that’s probably a different story.)

Here’s Your Chance

Have you ever wanted to take part in a mission trip, but couldn’t take the time off of work, or come up with the funds to be able to travel?  If you have ever wanted the chance to be a part of a mission without actually having to travel or spend a bunch of money, here is your chance!  Rob, and a team of men from area churches, are headed to Honduras with IMB in February.  My dear friend, Sarah, has offered to host a Thirty-One fundraiser to help with Rob’s cost.  We have to raise $870.00.  If you would like to help send him to Honduras, as well as snag some really cute stuff, please read the letter below from Sarah, and check out the link.    If you cannot help in this way, please know that you can still be a part by committing to being a prayer warrior for Rob and his team.  Let me know if you have any questions!

Happy Shopping!!!

 

Hi there!

My name is Sarah and I am a friend of SaraBeth and Rob and I also happen to be a consultant for Thirty-One Gifts.  Rob will be leaving on an international mission trip in mid-February.  In order to help Rob raise funds for this trip I have agreed to give my total commission (25% of total product/embroidery sales) from this 31 sales event to Rob's trip. The event is open to shop from right now and will close on January 30, 2012.  In order to shop simply visit the following website and follow the easy steps:

www.mythirtyone.com/sarahbeck
1.  Click the tab, "Place an Order"
2. Click the "SHOP NOW" button in the box next to SaraBeth and Rob's Mission Trip Fundraiser event.  In order for Rob to get the credit from this fundraiser, you must shop from that exact button and link.
3. You can pay and check out directly from this link.  You also have the option to have your purchase sent directly to you (8% s/h charge +$4) or have the purchase sent with the total event and SaraBeth or Sarah will get it to you (8% s/h charge).
4.  Your order will be submitted on January 30th and you can expect it to arrive within 2-3 weeks after the order is placed.
5.  Check out the January monthly special by going to the above website and clicking on the tab, "Customer Specials."  This month the very popular thermal lunch totes are only $10 and the new cinch lunch totes are only $15.  These lunch totes make perfect teacher gifts, birthday presents, etc.  Stock up now! :)

Thank you for supporting SaraBeth and Rob and their huge hearts for missions!!!

A Few of my Favorite Things

I have started using some new products lately, and I thought it would be fun to share.  Some of these I got for Christmas, and some I just stumbled upon.  I am not getting paid in any way to tell you how much I love these things.  I just wanted to tell you how much I have enjoyed them.

Up first, a head massager.

Kiss got my name for Christmas, and this was in my bag of goodies.  I laughed because I thought she had gotten me a whisk.  Let me tell you, this thing is DIVINE!!!  If you love a good head rubbin’, you’ll love this.  She bought mine at Bed Bath & Beyond.

Another thing Kiss bought me for Christmas is a Tervis Tumbler.  This is a hot/cold cup that keeps things the way they’re supposed to be.

I use mine for my coffee, diet pepsi and my unsweet tea.  I LOVE IT!!!  She also got this at Bed Bath & Beyond.

Since the new year, I have had a itchin’ to get more organized, so I started with a deep cleaning of my house.  I hate nothing more than to clean the bathrooms.  We have hard water, so our bathtubs are always a nightmare.  However, I found this…

It was like manna from heaven!  It wiped that tub clean better than even bleach.  It was so EASY and it sparkled when I was done.  I found this at Dollar General.

I have never been one that takes great care of my skin.  Call me lazy or ignorant, but it has never been very important to me.  But now that I am noticing these terrible bags under my eyes, and quite a few wrinkles, I decided to pay a little more attention.  My mom bought me the microderm abrasion kit from Mary Kay for Christmas.

This stuff works wonders.  Not as wonderful as a facial (hint, hint), but I love it.  I use it once a week.  She also bought me the Timewise set for daily use and I have thoroughly enjoyed it.

Last, but not least, we have been given the gift of the best kitchen appliance EVER!

Rob wanted a griddle so bad, and we finally got one.  This thing is the best!  Cade and SaraGrace request pancakes at least  4 times a week.  We use it all the time.  My favorite to make on it is zucchini.  But Rob’s pancakes are pretty  great too.  It is so nice to be able to cook everything at one time!!!

Have you come across something fun and wonderful?  I would love to hear all about it.  So spill the beans!!!  

If I Learned One Thing in 2011…

When the new year came upon us, I contemplated doing a recap post, but it’s been a busy year, and if you’ve read this blog for any amount of time, you know it’s been a HECK of a year.

So instead of doing a recap post, I decided to reflect on what God has shown me this past year-the toughest year of my life!  There are so many things He has taught me, but they all come down to one thing.

GOD IS GOOD! 

When we found ourselves faced with so many unanswered questions, God was GOOD to show us the way with great clarity.  He made decisions for us, putting people in our lives, strengthening our faith and bringing us joy in the midst of the greatest heartache known to man.

When we found ourselves holding our daughter, Faith, for the very short time she was here on earth, God was SO GOOD to provide us with that precious time.  He was good to allow her to leave my arms to go into His in such a peaceful way.  He was so GOOD to grant us the peace that passes all understanding when we couldn’t understand anything at all.

When our children asked the most difficult questions of their parents, God was so GOOD to give us the words and the wisdom to explain, to comfort, to love and to carry them.  It warms my heart when I hear from adults that Cade or SaraGrace has told them all about Faith.  And they always marvel at how they know that she is in Heaven.  That, my friends, is the goodness of the Heavenly Father.

When our marriage hit rock bottom, and we found ourselves overwhelmed with hurt, failure, and desperation, the Holy Spirit was so GOOD to move in us, reminding us who we were and who’s we were.  He stirred our souls, making us fall in love all over again with a stronger, tougher love that Satan WILL NOT ever destroy.  God is so GOOD!

When we were born into sin, and deserved the penalty of an eternity in Hell, God is so GOOD that He sent his only son to die on the cross, to pay the pardon for our sins that we may one day spend an eternity in Heaven.  This is also what  gives us the promise of seeing our Faith in Heaven one day.  He is so GOOD!

God is Good!  All the Time! 

Miss Kitty and Prayer Requests

Miss Kitty is adjusting to life pretty good in the Vaughn household.  She has now become just like one of our children.  She is rambunctious, free-spirited, and doesn’t listen very well:)  However, she has become pretty good friends with the person that disliked her the most.

See this?

When we sit on the couch, she snuggles with her best friend ONLY.

She gets rubbed and petted, and she is just in heaven.

And how dare you wake her?  She just sleeps so peacefully.

And just who is her best friend in the whole wide world? 

I love how she rides around on his shoulder all the time.  I sometimes wanna ask, “Kitty want a cracker?”

She does keep us laughing by jumping in the shower with us, attacking our feet under the covers at night, and running like a crazy woman all over the house.  And we always find her hiding in the craziest places….

The chip bag in the pantry being the latest.

On a more serious note, I have a couple of prayer requests…

• Our friends, Josh and Chelsea Chappell, lost their 3 month old son in his sleep this week.  Rob and I have been in touch with them and are going to the visitation tonight and the funeral tomorrow.  Please pray for this sweet family as their life has been tragically changed forever.  Also, please pray that the Lord will give Rob and I the strength to be the friends they need us to be.  This has uncovered some emotions that we thought we had buried pretty deep.  We are just hurting so much for them.

 

• Please pray for me as I have decided to be obedient to a calling that the Lord has laid on my heart.  A possible door has opened for me to write a book.  I haven’t shared this because frankly, I don’t want to fail and have to share my failure.  But I know that I have to be obedient to pursue it, and trust the Lord will open and close the doors as He sees fit.  I got a very encouraging phone call today, and it looks like I am going to have to get busy pretty soon.  Please pray for me to not get discouraged, to glorify God with all of my words and decisions,  and that He will give me clear direction in what He would have me do.

Thank you all for loving and supporting our friends and family with your prayers.

 

Much love!

Christmas Recap {The Longest Post in History}

I feel like I have been cooped up way too long without being able to blog.  We have been out of town, and my husband and my dad frown at me when I announce those things on the blog and facebook.  So….I have a lot of things to share, and I thought I would be an overachiever and do it all in one post:)

The first Christmas event that happened was Cade’s school concert.  I wish I would have videoed some, and my pictures aren’t that great, but I have to post this particular picture because he looks so dang cute! (He’s the short little fella in the front row.)

Let me tell you, that boy was serious about his singing.  He even said a verse in the microphone like a pro!

Then, several days later, we went Christmas shopping with Grandma Sandy (Rob’s mom).  Every year, she gets him the mandatory supply of underwear and socks.  This year was no different.  Rob has expensive taste in underwear.  Under Armour sells these dry-fit drawers and they are $20 each!  So we went to Sports Authority to buy the underwear.  But….they come in two different lengths.  You would think that since the boy wears them every day, he would know exactly which ones to buy.  But…he didn’t.  He sat and pondered the boxes trying to decide.

And at $20 each and a No Return on Underwear policy, we couldn’t afford to be wrong.  So what did this  loving wife do…

See this guy?

I had no other choice than to pull him down off of his shelf, strip him of his current attire, and try on the two different styles.  To say my husband was totally embarrassed is a complete understatement.  But guess what!  We got the right size!!!

Speaking of Grandma Sandy, I hosted her, her mom and both of her children and families for a traditional Christmas dinner.  This was a first for Rob’s family, so it was really special.  The menu was fried turkey (courtesy of my brother and sister-in-law), homemade cornbread dressing, Aunt Wimmy’s sweet potato casserole (the biggest hit of the night!), fresh green beans, mustard greens (courtesy of my sister-in-law), Sister Shubert’s yeast rolls, a homemade pecan pie and 4-way delight.  I felt like Betty Crocker, and was dang proud of the fruits of my labor.

But cooking wasn’t the best part.  The best part was getting to use my fine china (the third time in 13 years).

 

I joke all of the time that this was the only good thing that came from my starter marriage:)

We had a great time spending time together as a family, and I’m so thankful I was able to host it.  I can’t wait to do it again next year.

Then it was time for Christmas.  I’m sad to say I didn’t take any pictures of the actual gift opening, but I did enjoy getting to watch everyone open their gifts.  We draw names in our family for the adults, and of course, I get my dad EVERY YEAR!  He’s so hard to buy for because if he sees something he wants, he just goes and gets it.  So I have to be creative.  This year, I enlisted the help of our friend Jack.  I had a vision, and he made it happen. 

This is to hang over the front door on the outside of the house, to let everyone know they are at the “Hun-Tin House.”  Let me just tell you that my dad was beyond thirilled.  Success!!!

The kids got way more than they ever needed, and frankly it should be a sin to get so much stuff.  But one of the most fun gifts we did was the outdoor playhouse.  Some dear friends of ours built it for her sister several years ago, and she has since outgrown it.  They gave it to us, and boy what an experience it was getting it home.

On Friday, I enlisted Mr. Elzy and his helper to play Santa and the elf to pick it up.  We met at the stock yard, loaded the tractor and headed to pick it up.  Santa’s sleigh was finally loaded and ready to deliver.

   All I can say is Thank Goodness for O’Steen Bros. because we would have never been able to get that thing home without them:)

We had no way to hide it, so this was our lame attempt.

I’m pretty sure the space shuttle could see that ugly blue tarp from the outskirts of the universe.  However, let me tell you that we had epic success at hiding it.  The kids never saw it:)

Christmas afternoon we headed to the Hun-Tin House for the week.  We did a lot of hunting and eating.  We always look forward to going to the pizza joint there in Fitzgerald, Ga.  It is the best pizza (besides Mrs. Rizzi’s) I have ever eaten.  They have this wonderful chocolate cake that Cade just loves.  He had been talking about that cake for weeks.  Earlier that day, he had helped Papa work and earned $5.  What did he spend his $5 on?

He was so excited he ate it before his pizza even came.

It must have been really good!  He’s in a food coma.

Hunting was fun this weekend.  I hunted a couple of times by myself, and this is one of my favorite scenes from the weekend.  This is why we call it “Hog Heaven.”

This picture is dark, but there are 8 hogs there, and 2 more that didn’t fit in my camera phone.  These were all too little to shoot, but I was amazed at how many there were.

I also got to hunt with this guy some…

He’s a pretty good hunting partner, as long as you let him shoot at everything that comes out, and you let him be in control of the binoculars, and you take a gourmet buffet of snacks, not to mention a pepsi or two.  Even though he’s a little high maintenance, I enjoyed the time I got to spend with him.  Even if he did get a little mad that I killed something and he didn’t.

The hunting was fruitful as you can tell by our cooler.

We brought home 8 hogs.  Two of those are mine!!!  That should replenish our sausage supply for a while.

You may notice that Miss Priss is missing from the hunting pictures.  That is because she decided to go home with Granny in the middle of the week, and she stayed 4 days with her.  I missed her terribly, but I know that she and Granny made memories that will last a lifetime. 

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and we’re praying for a blessed 2012!