Vaughn Family Winter Beach Trip

2011 Winter Beach Trip - Online Slideshow Creator

We had such a blast with Matt's family at our bi-annual winter beach trip. The kids had so much fun with their cousins playing endlessly whether on sand, in water or in the house turning closets into caves and beds into boats, not to mention the daily pillow fights. Nana bought the movie Dolphin Tale for a family movie night, which was a great family film. The last day at the beach we saw dolphins and the kids were chasing Winter (the main character of the movie) down the beach. We collected a multitude of seashells and other beach treasures, made cookies, visited the NC Aquarium, had a beach scavenger hunt, shared wonderful meals together, and made memories that will last a lifetime.

Finding life in the most unexpected places

"Lord, make us mindful of the little things that grow and blossom in these days to make the world beautiful for us."
- W.E.B. du Bois

About a month ago Matt was cleaning out the gutters and he found a flower growing in the top of the chimney. It wasn't a lovely flower by any means; enclosed in a black bud, it basically looked dead. Caleb brought it inside and placed in a flower vase with water. I humored him and kept it in the vase. Even though I thought it was ugly he thought it was special. Then, low and behold, after being in the water for about a week it started to bloom. How extraordinary and unexpected. Caleb was so excited when he saw it, declaring "I knew it would grow"! Isn't that why we are called to be more like children...to have that kind of faith- to look at the future with hopeful expectations, to find life in the seemingly dead. Maybe I am over-analyzing the situation (as I have a tendency to do), but it is amazing how a simple little yellow flower blooming in winter on my windowsill can offer encouragement.




“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful implanted in the human soul.”
- Johann Wolfgang Goethe

Elijah's first violin recital

This summer some wonderful musicians visited Greensboro for the Eastern Music Festival. Some of the musicians participated in a wonderful program through the public library system where they performed for the children. I took my kids and they absolutely loved it. After watching the strings performance Elijah told me that he wanted to learn to play the violin, so I started looking around for a teacher. With Charlotte Mason in mind, I wanted to pick a teacher that was truly passionate about the instrument, not just someone who could teach him how to play- but someone who really loves to play. I think I found a perfect fit for us. You can check out her studio here. She is also the only teacher that I have found that allows siblings and parents to take lessons together...so in the spring I think I will be ordering 3 more violins!

stick sculpture

Back in the fall we went to explore a free stick sculpture exhibit on the campus of Guilford College. The structure was absolutely fascinating and the kids had a blast weaving in and out of the stick village. The sculptor, Patrick Dougherty, is quite famous in this art and you can check out his website here.


this picture shows what the sculpture looks like from above and how he is inspired by the shape of the honeycomb


this picture shows the size of the sculpture in comparison to Elijah who is over 4 feet tall


Jonas inside the sculpture


Miss Ruthie looking pretty next to the sculpture