olive plants and arrows

Vaughn Family Winter Beach Trip

2012-01-23T19:35:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-21T08:12:00.000-08:00

"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

2012-01-15T18:09:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-12T21:13:00.000-08:00

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

Funny Things...

2011-12-31T19:01:00.000-08:00

This year is gone.
This year was fun.
Next year is another one.
Every year,
From here to there,
Funny things are everywhere.

(If you know your Dr. Seuss this may sound familiar...from One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish)

So very thankful

2011-11-23T18:21:00.000-08:00

a thankful heart hath a continual feast. ~W.J. Cameron

There are so many things to be thankful for; some things are obvious and automatic, while sometimes we have to be very intentional about recognizing our blessings- especially when times are hard and our eyes get blurry. I want to live my life seeking the blessings that can be found in all circumstances and living with a heart that is overflowing with thankfulness and gratitude.
I am thankful...

For the husband of my youth. 10 years of marriage and we still hold hands on the couch and stay up late talking. I am thankful for his servant heart and devotion to our family, for his hard working hands and leadership in our household.

For sweet big brothers, quiet moments, the sun shining into our living room and giving warmth.

For brothers that are friends.

For wild boys that bring so much excitement to our lives.

For a sweet little girl who likes to dance and sing. She is the joy, joy, joy, joy down in our hearts...

For loved ones who have passed away, but are very much still with us.

For time spent outdoors in God's good creation.

and so much more...

She tries hard to keep up...

2011-10-31T20:32:00.000-07:00

but some times it is just too hard!

I cannot believe that Adara Ruth is a year old. She was born on Yom Kippur last year and our verse for her was "the joy of the Lord is your strength". If I had one word for her it would be joy. There is something about her that gives us all encouragement- maybe it is her sweet nature and gentle spirit...or that she almost always has a smile on her face. She is saying lots of words, but she particularly loves ducks and likes to make quacking sounds. Although she hasn't shown much interest in walking until lately, she is starting to discover that when she takes steps, her feet will take her places that she wants to go. Now that she has had that revelation I'm sure it won't be long before she is running around with her brothers. Speaking of those brothers, out of all those wild boys she is actually the most daring and curious baby. She gets into absolutely everything and she's also the earliest climber that I have ever had. I'll be doing dishes and I'll turn around and some how she is standing on the kitchen table! Yikes. She also likes to go head first down the slide at the park and swing really high on the swings. Miss Addy Ruth you sure are a mess- but a very, very sweet mess.

Habitat, Habitat, Have to Have a Habitat

2011-09-14T19:27:00.000-07:00

Have you ever seen a Rhinormous in the wild?

The boys have several favorite games and most involve some type of role play. It's difficult to say which is most favored but pretending to be various animals is probably at the top of the list, at least for the younger boys. Here's a sample of a recent dinner table conversation:

Jonas: I'm a daddy rhinoceros.

Me (Matt): You are? Is the daddy rhinoceros going to eat his Korma? (not sure if this was actually what we were eating that night but it fits)

Ezra (inserting himself in the convo with "manvoice" as Kallie calls it): I'm a rhinormous!

Me (with laughter): Is that similar to a rhinoceros?

Ezra: No, it's a...it's a...it's a...rhinormous (said very slowly because I was clearly being dense in asking such a question)

Here are a few facts about the rhinormous to help you identify him if you ever run into one in his natural habitat:

A rhinormous is an animal who exhibits a highly refined sense of humor for his age. He likes blankets and trucks and has often been spotted carrying both at the same time. He is typically docile but can be toothily dangerous when cornered; particularly if you happen to be red-headed, slightly older and named Jonas. He is a highly efficient predator in the presence of cherries (above pic covered in red), mangoes and other fruits and his favorite beverage is "milk from the yummy cow" (aka raw milk).

The Z-man's new species also gives you readers out there a window into one of my personal favorite family amusements: word blending...nothing beats a good fresh compound word blend that never existed previously. The only rule of course is that it cannot be in the dictionary...just doing our part to pass on a little creative reverse scrabbliciousness to the children.

I'll leave you with Rhinormous Observation Tip #349:

If you see the rhinormous in the wild, just call him "sugar baby" and he might not attack.

Boys and dirt are synonymous

2011-08-30T21:07:00.000-07:00

It was a typical summer day. I set up the water table so the kids could splash around a little, but after a while the little boys got hungry so I dried them off and brought them in for lunch, leaving the bigger boys behind and not thinking much about it. I thought they could play outside for a few more minutes while I got the food ready. A few minutes later when lunch was prepared I went to look out of the window and didn't see them, but when I turned to walk back to the kitchen something caught my eye...a fast moving blur in front of the window. I turned back around to get a better look at the flying object and I see Elijah running through the grass with a big giant mud ball not far behind him. Interesting. They were throwing mud balls at each other as if they were snowballs. What is it with boys and mud? The funniest part is that I was literally hosing them off in the driveway with the garden hose when the UPS man walks into the driveway with a package...don't mind me, I'm just hosing my kids down:) Maybe he has boys. Maybe he understands.

Baby Mischief Maker

2011-08-20T08:15:00.000-07:00

I was getting dressed and ready for the day and when I came out into the living room I saw a little girl that was full of mischief and very proud of herself.

Plant For Today

2011-08-13T13:41:00.000-07:00

"Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit." Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that." -James 4:13-15

One day fruit trees were on sale at Lowe's and Matt asked if we should buy some. Even though it is "our plan" to sell this house and buy some land a thought popped into my head...we should plant for today. We don't know if we will be alive tomorrow. We don't know if our house will ever sell. We may never have land. We just don't know.

We got news while we were in the mountains this June that my dear grandpa had been diagnosed with lung cancer. We immediately decided we would take a trip up to NY to visit him while he was still healthy. I am so very thankful for that decision. We had the most wonderful visit. He got to meet Addy Ruth and hold her little hand. Elijah enjoyed sitting with grandpa, simply reading books together and listening to the occasional story or joke. Grandpa watched the kids play at his feet and I know he wanted to be on the floor playing with them- he always enjoyed doing that. He told me stories of his childhood and youth. About going to war and getting married and starting a family. I laughed and cried and I didn't want to say good-bye when it was time to get in our car and come back home to NC, because I was afraid it was going to be the last time I would ever hug him and look into his wonderful, smiling, gentle eyes.

It is very rare that I have a good night sleep. Kids wake up in the night, I have to nurse Addy, I wake up and can't go back to sleep, can't seem to stop the thoughts. Two nights ago I fell asleep praying for my Grandpa that he would be without pain- that he would close his eyes and pass away peacefully in his sleep. That night I slept better than I have in a very long time. The next afternoon I received a phone call. I felt a lump in my throat- it was hard to swallow, but it happened just the way that I prayed and I know it was the prayer of many.

"For we have brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content." -1Timothy 6:7-8

Contentment was planted within my grandpa from a young age and it carried him well through his life. I never once heard my grandpa complain about anything and he didn't have an easy life. His parents came straight from Germany during a time when people weren't friendly towards Germans, he was left handed in school- was punished for it and was made to feel he wasn't cut out for academics, he worked the graveyard shift in a tire factory his whole life in unhealthy, unpleasant conditions, yet I have never heard him complain about his life. Not once.
My grandpa was the sweetest, most gentle, content and truly humble man I have ever known. His words just linger in my mind. I found an old letter from him that he wrote me after I shared the news with him that I was pregnant with our first child.
He says, "Isn't love wonderful! I mean it just fills you up! One time I was shaving and I was squirting the shaving cream out of the can onto my hand- I thought that is what love is like- when you let it out it just grows and grows and you could never put all that shaving cream back in the can again because it is just too much. When you first get to hold your new baby in your arms and count it's tiny fingers and toes and kiss it's little nose it is just way too much. When I was just a little guy my parents were quite poor and sometimes I would tell my dad "I wish we could have car" or "I wish we could go on a vacation" and things like that. Then he would tell me "Instead of wishing for things that you don't have just give thanks for what you do have" and then we would kinda take inventory- he would help me to think about my mom, dad, and sister and how much we loved each other and I knew I already had everything I could possibly wish for- LOVE! I'm sure that at this time in your marriage there are many things you could use to make your lives easier and more comfortable and the list of things that you don't have is much longer than the list of things that you do have but I promise you that the love you have in your hearts for each other and that little baby that is starting to grow in your tummy is more precious than all the treasures on earth."

Even though we are a vapor- here for a short time and then gone, we have a chance to plant for today... seeds of joy, peace, love, kindness, gentleness, humility. My grandpa did just that, for the fruit of his character and the seeds he planted will be present from generation to generation. It is a lovely inheritance.

Time spent in nature is time well spent

2011-06-25T20:37:00.000-07:00

(double click on slide show for larger view of pictures)

We just spent a wonderful, relaxing vacation in the mountains of NC at my parent's getaway cabin. It seems a little strange to call it a vacation...it is more like "going home" since I was born and raised in the mountains. I think of a vacation as visiting a place you've never been, but it was more like I was revisiting some places that I haven't been since I was a child and it brought back some great memories!

The first day we went tubing down Deep Creek. It is the perfect mix of fast and slow moving waters. The tubes are a lot fancier than when I was a kid! They have seats, handles, backrests, and cup holders. Tubing is great because it is good, cheap fun. For 4 adults and 4 kids we only spent 20$ for a full day rental of 6 tubes (the little kids rode with adults). It has been a long time since I've felt the cold mountain water and there's something so wonderful about a cool mountain stream in the woods on a hot summer day!

The next day we visited the Oconoluftee visitor center and mountain farm museum. This is a great, free place to visit if you are ever in Cherokee, NC. The kids loved it. The museum is small, but very interactive and hands-on. The part they enjoyed the most was the little living mountain homestead that has been recreated on this beautiful property. It had a log home, barn, orchard, apple house, corn crib, smokehouse, pigs, chickens, a great big garden and much more. You can read more about it here.

Our biggest adventure was going to the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest in Graham Co., NC. This is an amazing forest that, through preservation efforts, is one of the few remaining tracts of virgin hardwood trees in the Appalachians. Some yellow poplars stand 100 ft. tall and have a 20ft. circumference! They aren't the redwoods, but they might be some of the biggest and oldest trees that you can find on the east coast. The one downside of the hike is that many of the trees are dying so there fallen trees everywhere and the trail at times is quite narrow and steep and not always easy to navigate with little children; however; the hike up the trail is well worth it once you reach the top of the loop! The kids found some amazing treasures on the trail: the largest snail and millipede that I've ever seen! The trees stood towering and had absolutely amazing root systems. One trail essential, in my opinion, is a nature journal. The kids drew some amazing pictures that I will share in a later post; it is just so wonderful for them to observe and record what they see. It teaches them to notice beautiful details in nature and furthers their connection with God's amazing creation. Here's a little more info. about this amazing forest.
Outdoor fun is the best kind of fun. We always love our time spent in the mountains and in nature. here is a link to how spending time in nature is good for restoring our attention and our souls.

Head, Thorax, Abdomen

2011-06-15T18:34:00.000-07:00

With all the boys in this household you can imagine that insects are most definitely a subject of great interest around here. Caleb is especially turning into quite the bug collector. He brings me one almost everyday and my only requirement is that they are dead:) and that their bodies are fully intact. It is really easy to start a bug collection. Just get a cardboard box with a top and cut a piece of styrofoam to fit inside and pin their wings or legs in place. I decided I would teach the little guys about parts of an insect so we built play-doh ants and I was telling them about the head, thorax and abdomen. Caleb looked very confused and said "head, Lorax, ottoman" and I said "not exactly"...but kind of:) He thinks it is real funny to have "old man ears"!

Elijah did a nature journal entry on his favorite find so far- our grasshopper.

Is it possible to turn a diaper box into a pirate ship?

2011-06-05T19:12:00.000-07:00

Apparently so! I thought we had moved out of the pirate phase, but I think maybe the warm weather brought in a new wave of interest. So we got the pirate books back out and the kids started dressing and talking like pirates once more. Elijah came to me with the idea to turn a diaper box into a ship and I have to admit that I had my doubts of whether or not it would work... but he had a vision and he wanted to try it out. I have to say- it is amazing what a little duct tape will do! It really is a brilliant invention. Then we just gathered a few sticks, cut up an old t-shirt for sails and slapped some paint on it and our pirate ship was complete.

Strawberry Picking

2011-05-31T19:57:00.000-07:00

I love the month of May because it means it is strawberry picking time. Hail damaged many of the strawberries last year, but this year was amazing. The strawberries were beautiful and abundant. Both times I went to pick the weather was amazing- sunny, but not hot and the late afternoon breezes filled the air with the sweet aroma of ripe berries. The kids absolutely love picking berries, of course they eat more than they pick and the evidence is all over their faces! Then it is home for strawberry shortcakes and whipped cream, which is a strawberry picking tradition. I picked several gallons each time I went, but with all these hungry boys I didn't have enough left over to make jam. I haven't quite figured out how much I need to pick to make a few jars of jam and feed the boys, but it's probably at least double what I picked this year! At least I managed to freeze a few gallons for smoothies.

Elijah's first still life

2011-05-29T19:33:00.000-07:00

We enjoy painting in our household... mostly just for fun. I haven't taught them style or technique or anything formal. One day Elijah decided he wanted to set up his own still life. I didn't even know he knew what a still life was, but that is what he wanted to do and so he did it. He found the objects he wanted, set it up and painted it. He was very proud of himself and I was so excited that he wanted to do this without me prompting him.

The Giant Branch

2011-05-28T07:40:00.000-07:00

There was a giant hickory tree that hung over our house- specifically over our boy's bedroom. Last Saturday I was in their room organizing and everyone else was in the living room. I heard a loud cracking sound and I knew exactly what it was so I sprinted as quickly as I could to the living room, when we heard a loud crash. A giant limb from the tree fell on our roof. But God is good. He truly protected our home. The branch only damaged the outside of our roof and didn't come through to the attic or the bedroom. Thankfully it wasn't the whole tree. So we had the tree taken down and our roof and gutters are getting replaced. As Ma (from Little House) would say- All's well that ends well!

Rejoice and be glad in it

2011-05-07T19:21:00.000-07:00

"It is not perfection that God expects from mothers. There is no perfect personality that does the job best. It is not our background or training or the way we keep house that qualifies us to be godly mothers. God designed mothers to partner with Him in His eternal work, and He has promised to reward our faith and faithfulness... it is for the children's sake that we give our lives. We are protecting future generations that they might be strong for the battle of life. We are the real, in-the-flesh, tangible picture of God's loving hands, strong arms of protection, and encouraging words of hope to our children" -Sally Clarkson, Mission of Motherhood

Many times I have placed expectations on myself for perfection in our homeschool, in housekeeping, cooking, parenting etc and often times at the end of the day I have felt like a failure- battered, weary, exhausted, and overwhelmed. About 2 months ago as I was praying I felt very strongly that God does not want me to feel this way. I had my eyes set on goals that God didn't set for me. I was trying to do too many things in my own power- striving to meet worldly expectations. I decided I needed to know what God expects of me, what does He want for my life? This is what I found:
Hebrews 11:6 says "And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him". God wants me to be faithful, to seek Him.

Psalm 105: 1-4 says " Oh give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples. Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; Speak of all His wonders. Glory in His holy name; Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad. Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face continually." God wants me to be thankful and glad- to worship Him, to declare His wonders.

In Romans 12:9-18 it says "Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality, bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men." God wants me to serve, rejoice, pray, persevere, be humble and peaceful.

Deuteronomy 6:5 says "You shall love the Lord you God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up." God wants me to LOVE Him and my neighbors; to diligently teach the commandments to my children.

There are endless scriptures on hope, peace, love, faith, endurance, joy, thankfulness.
It is written no where in scripture that God wants us to feel defeated, worried, angry, bitter, frustrated, inadequate etc. God doesn't want that for His children. Those thoughts and feelings are lies from the enemy who comes to kill, steal and destroy. That is why I've made up my mind to leave those feelings behind. I am working diligently at replacing the lies with truth- keeping my eyes set on the promises of scripture and focusing on living the beautiful, joyful life that God intended me to live. Rejoice in Him, in your children, in your husband, in your home, in motherhood, in your life... rejoice and be glad in all these good things.

Signs of Spring

2011-04-29T19:46:00.000-07:00

April has been a VERY busy month (blog neglect is primary evidence!). However, in the midst of all the busyness it is so important, even critical, for me to slow down and reconnect with the goodness of God's creation. When I take time to open my eyes to the small, intricate details of creation it brings worship to the surface...something swells up inside of me and causes my heart to overflow with gratitude for a God that is so good. Children always seem to have their eyes wide open. They don't need to remind themselves to be observant- they are naturally curious about everything. How is it that we are born with such awareness and desire for details but then somehow as we get older we allow our adult eyes to get blurred by the distractions of this world? That is why I am so thankful for my children who are teaching me every day how to look at the world through their eyes.
In our family we have a little tradition as each new season approaches. We go on nature walks or simply go exploring in our own backyard searching for "signs" of the season. We walk slowly, bend down close to the ground, look high up into the trees, peel back branches from bushes, turn over rocks and logs and we search for clues. These are a few pictures of the "signs of spring" that we discovered along the way.

Unchanging Love

2011-03-30T18:57:00.000-07:00

This has been a month of struggles. I am not the kind of person that hides my problems and puts on an "everything is great" facade...that is impossible for me. Just when I was learning so much about being joyful in all circumstances I feel like I have been put to test to see if this is something I can really grasp. A few weeks ago the kids got really sick and it was a good 2 weeks before they were completely back to normal...then it took me an additional 2 weeks to get their attitudes back to normal after being so whiny and needy...and 3 days ago was the first day they all woke up with smiles. I was getting the house back in order and we were back in the swing of our home school routine...and the very next day 3 of my kids had a fever and then I got it and now we are back to square one. I have to admit that I have been a little bummed. I just want my happy kids back and now they are grumpy and sad again.

There have been moments when all 3 of the little ones have been piled in my lap on the couch just crying and all I can do is hold them. They all want me and sometimes I feel as if there isn't enough of me to go around. In the midst of all of this I can feel that I am being stretched in the areas of patience, service and joy. So 2 nights ago I cried out to the Father for strength and when I was reading in Micah these words jumped out at me:

"Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, because He DELIGHTS IN UNCHANGING LOVE. He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot. Yes, You will cast all their sins into the depth of the sea. You will give truth to Jacob and unchanging love to Abraham, which you swore to our forefathers from the days of old"- Micah 7:18-20

He delights in unchanging love. We are part of the promise given to Abraham. We are His whiny, unhappy, sinful children and He loves us with an unchanging, forever kind of love. If He can show me compassion, can't I show compassion to my own whiny, grumpy kids? So I CAN be thankful for the lesson learned in the midst of this struggle and I am so grateful for a Father who DELIGHTS IN UNCHANGING LOVE and is teaching me how to live this out in my own life.

This is the day

2011-03-05T19:21:00.000-08:00

"The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life's plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life." - Robert Louis Stevenson

This is a lesson I am continually learning...to open my eyes to this life right in front of me and see it as a blessing... to keep my eyes wide open in deep gratitude for these precious moments and days.
"This is the day that the Lord hath made, we shall rejoice and be glad in it" - Psalm 118:24 I have heard these words so many times in my life... my mom used to sing this song a lot when I was a kid; but I feel like I am just now really "hearing" those words for the first time. THIS IS THE DAY. This day. We are to rejoice and be glad in it. But am I really glad? and do I really rejoice? I think I have moments of joy and gladness, but if I am being completely honest it is usually conditional... I will be glad when the house is in order, when I get more sleep, when I lose weight, when the kids have better attitudes, when all the kids are potty trained, when the sun is shining, when, when, when. The list could go on and on. But what about right now? What about this day with all of it's flaws, and me with all of my failures? These moments are fleeting and our lives here on earth are a mere breath. I want to spend my days adding up joy, not adding up mistakes and beating myself up over the things I didn't accomplish.
"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" - 1 Thess.5:16-18 This is God's will for me and all believers- right now, this day....rejoice, pray, give thanks.

The NAME Above All Names

2011-02-28T15:41:00.000-08:00

"Naming is Edenic. I name gifts and go back to the Garden and God in the beginning who first speaks a name and less what is come into existence. This naming is how the first emptiness of space fills: the naming of light and land and sky. The first man's first task is to name. Adam completes creation with his Maker through the act of naming creatures, releasing the land from chaos, from the teeming indefinable mass. I am seeing it too, in the journal, in the face of the Farmer: naming offers the gift of recognition. When I name moments--string out laundry and name-pray, thank You, Lord, for bedsheets in billowing winds, for fluff of sparrow landing on line, sun winter warm, and one last leaf still hanging in the orchard--I am Adam and I discover my meaning and God's, and to name is to learn the language of Paradise. This naming work never ends for all the children of Adam. Naming to find an identity, our identity, God's."
-Ten Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp

I have read the first two chapters of Genesis numerous times, but I am seeing it differently now. I am realizing how important names are to God and, above all, how important God's name is. it is interesting to me that as God was creating this amazing universe He was naming it. Naming brings order. To name something is to know it's essence. A name helps us understand the fullness of a thing. God gave us His name so that we could know Him. We are to worship in His name, pray in His name, Fear His name, praise His Name, gather in His name, and glorify His name.

When Moses encounters God at the burning bush Moses says to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”
God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The YHVH, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’
“This is my name forever,
the name you shall call me
from generation to generation."
-Exodus 3:13-15

Elohim: The plural form of EL, meaning “strong one.” It is used of false gods, but when used of the true God, it is a plural of majesty and intimates the trinity. It is especially used of God’s sovereignty, creative work, mighty work for Israel and in relation to His sovereignty (Isa. 54:5; Jer. 32:27; Gen. 1:1; Isa. 45:18; Deut. 5:23; 8:15; Ps. 68:7).

Compounds of El:

El Shaddai:“God Almighty.” The derivation is uncertain. Some think it stresses God’s loving supply and comfort; others His power as the Almighty one standing on a mountain and who corrects and chastens (Gen. 17:1; 28:3; 35:11; Ex. 6:1; Ps. 91:1, 2).

El Elyon: “The Most High God.” Stresses God’s strength, sovereignty, and supremacy (Gen. 14:19; Ps. 9:2; Dan. 7:18, 22, 25).

El Olam: “The Everlasting God.” Emphasizes God’s unchangeableness and is connected with His inexhaustibleness (Gen. 16:13).

Yahweh (YHWH): Comes from a verb which means “to exist, be.” This, plus its usage, shows that this name stresses God as the independent and self-existent God of revelation and redemption (Gen. 4:3; Ex. 6:3 (cf. 3:14); 3:12).

JEHOVAH: LORD in our English Bibles (all capitals). Yahweh is the covenant name of God. Occurs 6823 times in the OT First use Gen. 2:4 (Jehovah Elohim). From the verb "to be", havah, similar to chavah (to live), "The Self-Existent One," "I AM WHO I AM" or 'I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE" as revealed to Moses at the burning bush, Ex.3. The name of God, too sacred to be uttered, abbreviated ( . . . . ) or written "YHWH" without vowel points. The tetragrammaton. Josh., Judges, Sam., and Kings use Jehovah almost exclusively. The love of God is conditioned upon His moral and spiritual attributes. (Dan. 9:14; Ps. 11:7; Lev. 19:2; Hab. 1:12). Note Deut. 6:4, 5 known to Jews as the Sh'ma uses both Jehovah and Elohim to indicate one God with a plurality of persons.

Compounds of Yahweh: Strictly speaking, these compounds are designations or titles which reveal additional facts about God’s character

JEHOVAH-JIREH: "The Lord will Provide." Gen. 22:14. From "jireh" ("to see" or "to provide," or to "foresee" as a prophet.) God always provides, adequate when the times come.

JEHOVAH-ROPHE: "The Lord Who Heals" Ex. 15:22-26. From "rophe" ("to heal"); implies spiritual, emotional as well as physical healing. (Jer. 30:17, 3:22; Isa. 61:1) God heals body, soul and spirit; all levels of man's being.

JEHOVAH-NISSI: "The Lord Our Banner." Ex. 17:15. God on the battlefield, from word which means "to glisten," "to lift up," See Psalm 4:6.

JEHOVAH-M'KADDESH: "The Lord Who Sanctifies" "To make whole, set apart for holiness." The Lord says: "Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God. Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy." (Leviticus 20:7-8)

JEHOVAH-SHALOM: "The Lord Our Peace" Judges 6:24. "Shalom" translated "peace" 170 times means "whole," "finished," "fulfilled," "perfected." Related to "well," welfare." Deut. 27:6; Dan. 5:26; I Kings 9:25 8:61; Gen. 15:16; Ex. 21:34, 22:5, 6; Lev. 7:11-21. Shalom means that kind of peace that results from being a whole person in right relationship to God and to one's fellow man.

SHEPHERD: Psa. 23, 79:13, 95:7, 80:1, 100:3; Gen. 49:24; Isa. 40:11.

JUDGE: Psa. 7:8, 96:13.

JEHOVAH ELOHIM: "LORD God" Gen. 2:4; Judges 5:3; Isa. 17:6; Zeph. 2:9; Psa. 59:5, etc.

JEHOVAH-TSIDKENU "The Lord Our Righteousness" Jer. 23:5, 6, 33:16. From "tsidek" (straight, stiff, balanced - as on scales - full weight, justice, right, righteous, declared innocent.) God our Righteousness.

JEHOVAH-ROHI: "The Lord Our Shepherd" Psa. 23, from "ro'eh" (to pasture).

JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH: "The Lord is There" (Ezek. 48:35).

JEHOVAH-SABAOTH: "The Lord of Hosts" The commander of the angelic host and the armies of God. Isa. 1:24; Psa. 46:7, 11; 2 Kings 3:9-12; Jer. 11:20 (NT: Rom. 9:29; James 5:4, Rev. 19: 11-16).

EL ELYON: 'Most High" (from "to go up") Deut. 26:19, 32:8; Psa. 18:13; Gen. 14:18; Nu. 24:16; Psa. 78:35, 7:17, 18:13, 97:9, 56:2, 78:56, 18:13; Dan. 7:25, 27; Isa. 14:14.

ABIR: 'Mighty One', ("to be strong") Gen. 49:24; Deut. 10:17; Psa. 132:2, 5; Isa. 1:24, 49:26, 60:1.

BRANCH: (tsemach), The Branch: Zech. 3:8, 6:12; Isa. 4:2; Jer. 23:5, 33:15.
KADOSH: "Holy One" Psa. 71:22; Isa. 40:25, 43:3, 48:17. Isaiah uses the expression "the Holy One of Israel" 29 times.

SHAPHAT: "Judge" Gen. 18:25

EL ROI: "God of Seeing" Hagar in Gen. 16:13. The God Who opens our eyes.

KANNA: "Jealous" (zealous). Ex. 20:5, 34:14; Deut. 5:9; Isa. 9:7; Zech. 1:14, 8:2.

PALET: "Deliverer" Psa. 18:2.

YESHUA: (Yeshua) "Savior" ("he will save"). Isa. 43:3. Jesus is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew "Joshua." The latter is a contraction of Je-Hoshua. ("Christ", the anointed one is equivalent to the Hebrew Maschiah, or Messiah). [See Wikipedia article].

GAOL: "Redeemer" (to buy back by paying a price). Job 19:25; For example, the antitype corresponding to Boaz the Kinsman-Redeemer in the Book of Ruth.

MAGEN: "Shield" Psa. 3:3, 18:30.

STONE: (eben) Gen. 49:24

EYALUTH: "Strength" Psa. 22:19.

TSADDIQ: "Righteous One" Psa. 7:9.

EL-OLAM: "Everlasting God" (God of everlasting time) Gen. 21:33; Psa. 90:1-3, 93:2; Isa. 26:4.

EL-BERITH: "God of the Covenant" Used of Baal in Judges 9:46. Probably used originally to refer to the God of israel.

EL-GIBHOR: Mighty God (Isa. 9:6)

TSUR: "God our Rock" Deut. 32:18; Isa. 30:29.

Beautiful Babies Born At Home

2011-02-23T17:49:00.000-08:00

I received some devastating news this week. My midwife, Amy Medwin, was arrested. She is an amazing woman who has helped women have beautiful births at home for over 30 years now. She is a CPM (certified professional midwife) and can practice legally in all the surrounding states of SC, TN, and VA. I believe women should have the right to choose the health care that they are most comfortable with, but North Carolina doesn't believe women should have that choice. They think we should let the "experts" (the people that supposedly know more about having babies than the mothers themselves) decide. It doesn't make sense to me that in NC a woman who has had a c-section can choose to have subsequent children via elective c-section in a hospital but a woman can't choose to have a v-bac at home with a licensed midwife. Which option seems healthier for the mother and the baby, having a major surgery or having a baby naturally in a natural environment? I know the answer because I have experienced both sides. I had a c-section in the hospital with our first child and it was one of the most traumatic experiences of my life. I never fully got over it until I had my first v-bac at home. When I was pregnant with our 2nd child I visited 4 different doctors who told me I would have no other choice but to have a repeat c-section and weren't even willing to let me try to have a v-bac. Then I went to a CNM (certified nurse midwife) who told me she would TRY to support me in having a v-bac but if I didn't have the baby in less than 12 hours then they would have to do a repeat cesarean. I knew I could do it, so why weren't they willing to support me? I knew I had to find another option and that was when I turned towards home birth.
I met my wonderful midwife half way through my 2nd pregnancy. She had delivered numerous v-bacs at home and told me she would support me 100%. She seemed to believe that having a v-bac would be no problem at all. I knew that I had found my best option. My first v-bac was very long and the hospital would have definitely made me have another c-section. But Amy allowed me time, space and freedom to labor the way that I needed to. Caleb came after 26 hours and Amy was by my side the entire time. She slept on my couch. She rubbed by back. She talked to me in her calm voice, reassuring me that everything was going to be ok. And it was more than ok. It was triumphant. When Caleb was born and I held him in my own bed, in my own house, I felt like my entire terrible hospital experience was redeemed. I did it. I knew I could. Amy's confidence and encouragement liberated me- she believed in me when no one else did. It was empowering to know that I did something that the "experts" told me I could not and should not do. Each birth after that was faster and easier. Having my babies at home was the BEST decision I ever made in my life.
My hope is that her arrest will stir up such a commotion that the state will have to make it legal for CPM's to practice in NC. You can read another testimony here and go here to read more about this situation and find out what you can do to support Amy and other midwives in NC.

Caleb was my first v-bac. There is a joke that a woman in labor will find the smallest space possible and decide to have her baby there. That was really true with this birth. We squeezed a birthing pool into our small farmhouse bedroom giving barely enough room for us and the midwives. It was a very quiet birth... mostly because I was so tired. The labor was very long and exhausting but I knew I could do it and so did Amy!

Jonas was my 2nd v-bac. I labored through the night, cleaning every inch of the house while everyone else was sleeping. This time the length of the labor was half the time of the first. Amy arrived about 2 hours before Jonas arrived and helped me move him out of a back labor position. This was the birth of the primal scream heard around the world. We all laughed about it afterwards...but it wasn't too funny at the time:)

Ezra was my 3rd v-bac. My labor was cut in half again. His birth was, by far, my easiest. Amy's calm voice helped me focus and before I knew it I was holding him in my arms.

Silly baby with her pants too high! Adara was my 4th v-bac. The labor was 6 hours long, but very intense. Amy recommended that I get in the tub and it was exactly what I needed to do. I was able to relax a little in between contractions. When it came time to push, it only took one strong push and she was here. I was determined to have that part over with quickly:)

Caleb, servant of the Lord

2011-02-13T08:01:00.000-08:00

I prayed for Caleb daily. I got pregnant with Elijah so quickly that I thought it would work out the same way for our second child... but that didn't happen. I started wondering if there was something wrong with me and I wasn't sure why it was taking so long for me to conceive. Then 6 months later, the month that I just KNEW I couldn't be pregnant, his little body started forming in my womb. I remember my pregnancy with him as my healthiest. I ate sweets maybe 2 times during the whole pregnancy, I ate lots of raw foods, had "green" shakes, and walked everyday. When it was close to my due date I started to get anxious that my body wouldn't do what it was made to do- which is what happened with Elijah... (who was 2 weeks overdue, never a single contraction, ending in a c-section). I was way too naive that first time. This time would be different. I always joke that I willed Caleb here. I had him on his due date after 26 hours of labor... born at 2 a.m. I did it! My first v-bac, my first real labor- redeeming the first... Matt cried, I couldn't stop smiling. The funniest thing was that for 3 years after he was born the stop watch we used from his birth had an alarm that would go off at 2 a.m. every morning, though we never purposefully set it up to do that:) God's little way of bringing me back to that joyful day.
Then Caleb turned into the baby that NEVER stopped crying. I tried everything. Nursing, rocking, patting, swaying, walking, driving... but nothing seemed to help. From 10 p.m. until 2 a.m. every night like clockwork he cried and did. not. stop. Some nights I wanted to burst out of the back door and go running down the road so that I wouldn't have to hear him cry anymore. It drove me crazy that I couldn't do anything to comfort him. Eventually that ended, only a few short months later (but it seemed like forever).
Then he turned into the sweetest, fattest little baby... though he was never much interested in smiling. Always very serious. Desiring to be big like Elijah, he stopped taking naps when he was 2. That was hard because we now had little baby Jo-Jo. That year was a blur. Ezra was being knit in the womb, we bought our first house, Matt was coaching soccer and that was the year that Caleb almost broke me. He just turned 3 and he was such a wild heart. He would throw the biggest fits you have ever seen... red-faced, thrashing body, pulling hair. I tried spanking, time-outs, "tomato staking", natural consequences and nothing seemed to work. I was so frustrated. What was I doing wrong? I wasn't really sure what to do. Then I birthed Ezra. Now having a newborn baby, a 2 yr. old, a 3 yr. old and a 6 year old that I was trying to homeschool, it turned out to be a very challenging year to say the least. Then something happened. Caleb turned 4 and he turned a corner. He was happy. He started controlling himself and he has never thrown one of those wild fits since then. He started begging for people to take his picture- smiling big and all the time. He started discovering who he was and what he liked instead of always following and doing what Elijah was doing. He still had moments of passion where his strong spirit would surface but nothing like before. Then an even funnier thing happened when he turned 5. We shaved his head and he was a totally new kid. We always joke that it was like Samson when his hair was cut off- it kind of took his power away. That day when we shaved Caleb's hair he became the happiest kid in our family. Strange but true.
I LOVE the person he is becoming. There were days that I was worried about who he was going to become. Now my heart swells with happiness over him. He his the most tender-hearted child. Out of all the children he is the most affectionate- always wanting hugs and kisses. When I read him stories he likes to play with my hair and he already talks about wanting to get married. It is funny. That thought doesn't even cross the minds of the other boys, but he thinks about it a lot. Caleb is extremely patient with the younger kids- especially Ezra (who is similar to him in many ways). He shows initiative- if he sees that someone needs help, whether it is me, a sibling or a friend, he will help them without me having to ask him to. He is the one that thinks deep- asking me questions that I don't always have answers for- like where is God? and what does He look like? Why did God make poisonous snakes and alligators? Caleb is the one that will work with his hands. He likes challenges and problems that he can solve. He loves to hear the story of his name-about the Caleb in the bible- name meaning "servant of the Lord", a spy and soldier, trusting that God will deliver, rewarded for his faith- we pray that our Caleb will be as faithful and that his heart would always be confident in God's deliverance.
So take heart, dear friends. If you are in the midst of a challenging season with your child, just stay in prayer. God WILL give you wisdom and patience; and, eventually your child WILL turn the corner.

never a real smiley baby, but still very adorable

always very pensive

the wild year

turning the corner

cutting the hair, a totally new kid with the strength of a joyful spirit

Goat Study

2011-02-10T19:56:00.000-08:00

We just finished studying goats at The Cottage. We have a really amazing goat farm around here that our family has visited a few times, but it is a good way out of town so we went to The Natural Science Center farm instead:) It's not exactly rolling pastures, but the kids got to brush the goats and look at them up close, so it served the purpose.

We mostly learned about the typical domestic goats, but I also made some other interesting goat discoveries in the process. Have you ever heard of fainting goats? Click here to watch a video of these funny little creatures.

This is a picture that Elijah drew of a fainting goat.

Goat are ruminants, which means they have a four-compartment stomach; they "chew the cud". Caleb found this very fascinating, so he drew a picture of it.

I also discovered the moroccan tree climbing goats. Click here to watch a video of these guys. Who knew goats could climb trees? Very funny.

Other interesting goat facts:
They have rectangular pupils and are thought to have excellent night vision
Their hooves always grow just like fingernails and have to be regularly trimmed
They can jump up to 5 feet high
They are actually very picky eaters... no, they don't eat clothes or cans or other random objects

Mr. Potato... Cup?

2011-02-08T19:12:00.000-08:00

I went into the kitchen to make lunch the other day and I stumbled across this funny character sitting on the counter...

I am so thankful for all the little ways the kids make me smile and laugh throughout the day.

Horse Farm Field Trip

2011-01-29T18:51:00.001-08:00

We have been studying farm animals for our nature study at The Cottage and this past week we learned about horses. First off we went on a field trip to Fellowship Farm. This farm had quite a big operation and almost all the horses there were dressage horses... definitely not your regular plow horse! This is what wikipedia says about dressage: "it is a path and destination of competitive horse training, with competitions held at all levels from amateur to the Olympics. Its fundamental purpose is to develop, through standardized progressive training methods, a horse's natural athletic ability and willingness to perform, thereby maximizing its potential as a riding horse. At the peak of a dressage horse's gymnastic development, it can smoothly respond to a skilled rider's minimal aids by performing the requested movement while remaining relaxed and appearing effortless. Dressage is occasionally referred to as "Horse Ballet"." These horses spend many years in training in order to compete and it really is amazing to me how much a horse can be taught to do.
The kids mostly learned about the daily chores required when caring for a horse and got to see many of these chores being performed. They also learned about some of the mannerisms of horses- like how they will put their ears back if they aren't sure about you, but they will put their ears up if they are comfortable with you...and not all horses sleep standing up (though most do), however there was one horse at this farm that sleeps lying down and snores very loudly!
When we met for our co-op a few days later we talked mostly about the different jobs that horses can have. We talked about plow horses, police horses, pack horses, herding horses, therapy horses etc. Then the kids discussed what they remembered from our field trip and then they drew horses in their nature journals. For the poetry reading Elijah read a poem by Carl Sandburg called Plowboy because his heart leans more towards the farm horse- it paints a beautiful picture...

PLOWBOY

After the last red sunset glimmer,
Black on the line of a low hill rise,
Formed into moving shadows, I saw
A plowboy and two horses lined against the gray,
Plowing in the dusk the last furrow.
The turf had a gleam of brown,
And smell of soil was in the air,
And, cool and moist, a haze of April.

I shall remember you long,
Plowboy and horses against the sky in shadow.
I shall remember you and the picture
You made for me,
Turning the turf in the dusk
And haze of an April gloaming.

The Bread of Life

2011-01-21T18:52:00.000-08:00

"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; you shall not do any work...for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy." Exodus 20: 8-11

"If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot from doing your own pleasure on My holy day and call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord Honorable, and honor it, desisting from your own ways, from seeking your own pleasure and speaking your own word, then you will take delight in the Lord and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken." Isaiah 58:13-14

“The Sabbath is a day for the sake of life. Man is not a beast of burden, and the Sabbath is not for the purpose of enhancing efficiency of his work….
The Sabbath is not for the sake of the weekdays;
the weekdays are for the sake of the Sabbath.
It is not an interlude but the climax of living.” - Heschel, Sabbath

"You shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord."
Deuteronomy 8:2-3

"Yeshua then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world." John 6:32-33

"Then He said to me, "Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel." So I opened my mouth, and He fed me this scroll. He said to me, "Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your body with this scroll which I am giving you." Then I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth." Ezekiel 3:1-3

Our family was convicted many years ago to the Sabbath holy. We keep Sabbath from Friday evening to Saturday evening. We look forward to this precious time all week. Every weekday my kids will ask me, "is it Shabbat yet?" We try to make it a special day, set apart from the others. First we spend the daylight hours on Friday preparing for Sabbath- cleaning the house, preparing food, etc. When the sun finally goes down we light the candles (sometimes my little guys sing "happy shabbat to you"..because the lights remind them of birthday candles:)) I light the candles and Matt says a blessing over the light. We then break the challah bread and drink grape juice (sometimes wine) and bless the bread and fruit of the vine. Then we eat the meal. I try to prepare a meal that the kids will really enjoy and we only have dessert on Shabbat, so the kids really look forward to the sweetness of the sabbath:) Then we pray over each child individually, praying certain scriptures over their lives. We also say blessings for the husband and wife. It is a beautiful end to the week and reminds us of all we have to be thankful for. We spend Saturday sleeping in, relaxing, reading scripture, playing outside, and getting together with friends for Torah study. We look forward to this day all week because we can fully enjoy, worship and praise the Father, without all the other daily chores and distractions that can often times misplace our priorities.
I have been pondering how the scriptures are the bread of life and how Messiah is the Living Bread- a living picture of the scriptures. I have been saying the Lord's prayer for years- I think I memorized it when I was in 3rd grade, but I am just now understanding what the words "give us this day our daily bread" mean. In part, I think it is the literal bread we eat and how the Father provides for our daily provisions, but it also seems to be so much more than that. It is Him. He is the bread of life. His words are the true nourishment for our souls; His body broken so we can be made full.

You can read more about eating the word here.
and a few more words about sabbath rest here.

The Cottage

2011-01-17T19:33:00.000-08:00

Well, my little Charlotte Mason home school co-op started back up again and we have an official name: The Cottage.
This is what we will be studying for this term:

Bible Song: O, Be Careful
Nature Study: Farm Animals (rabbit, horse, goat, cow, pig, herding dog, sheep, chicken)
Composer: Aaron Copeland
Habit: Self-Control
Folk Song: This Land is Your Land
Poetry Recitation: personal choice
Picture Study: Grandma Moses

We meet every other week and on the week we don't meet we go on a field trip. Our first field trip was to the pet store to see the rabbits. The owners were super friendly and gave a great talk about the care of the domestic rabbit. The kids were able to feed and pet the rabbits and I came very close to purchasing one...(they are only 30$ and can be litter box trained:)). Just a few interesting facts about rabbits: their teeth never stop growing, they can scream when they are scared, and you will know a mommy rabbit is pregnant if she grows a beard:) (she grows a big ball of fur on her upper chest and pulls the fur out and uses it for a nest for her babies). When we met for our class we studied the cottontail rabbit, which is the one that you see in your yard eating the vegetables from your garden! They then could draw a picture in their nature journal of the domestic or wild rabbit- whichever they thought more interesting. One really funny thing in our research of rabbits is that we found out the world's biggest rabbit is 2 inches taller than my oldest son and only weighs 3 lbs. less than him. You can see a picture of it here. The smallest rabbit is the Columbia Basin Pygmy rabbit and you can see some sweet pictures of them here. In adulthood they still only weigh less than 1 lb. Here are a few pictures of our first week back. Learning sure is fun at The Cottage:)

Time flies when your having fun

2011-01-06T19:11:00.000-08:00

(double click on the slide for a larger view)

Why is it that normal daily life weekdays go by so slow and vacation days and weekends seem to go by so fast?
I am not complaining...just making an observation. I guess time flies when you're having fun:)
We love our time with Matt. He makes life easier and more fun. We smile and laugh more when he's around. He is always lending me a helping hand and we just love spending time with him...so it is always sad when reality sets back in and he drives away to work in the morning- the kids all lined up at the window, waving...but I don't want to talk about the sad. I want to share about the wonderful vacation we had to see my parents in the mountains. Like I always say, my heart kind of gives a sigh of relief when I get my first glimpse of the mountains. It is where I was born and raised and so in many ways it still feels like home to me. This time heading to the mountains was an adventure. We drove in a snow storm. The roads were covered and there were several wrecks along the way. We have 4WD but the roads weren't clear at all, so we were very thankful to make it there safely. The kids were beyond excited. They wanted to play in the snow as soon as we got out of the car. We played long and hard-my mom even went sledding! I guess you're never too old to play in the snow (not that you are that old, mom!)
While we were at my parent's house Ezra turned 2! He is such a funny little man. He had our traditional birthday smiley face pancakes and my dad made him a very special double decker chocolate cake! My dad is turning into Mr. Betty Crocker now that he's retired:) (I mean that in a good way). The Z-man got an assortment of trucks, which is what he is really into right now. But mostly he just loved the balloons and getting to blow out the candles... which he has been practicing it for months with his play-doh.
One day we went to the Grove Park Inn to see the gingerbread competition. The things that people can make out of gingerbread and candy simply blows my mind. If you are ever up in Asheville between Thanksgiving and New Year's you should check it out- it is free to the public and is really amazing. Plus The Grove Park in is a great place to hang out. You can go there and sit in front of the giant fireplace, have lunch or a cup of coffee and just enjoy the amazing view of Asheville...and if you have lots of money you can spend the night:) After that we headed over to this delightful little piece of deliciousness. Then we had dinner at our very favorite mexican restaurant EVER. If you are ever in Hendersonville, NC you must eat here (not the one in Asheville or Arden).
We don't have TV, but occasionally we let the kids see a movie in the theater and this is very special for them. My dad and Matt took the older boys to see Voyage of the Dawn Treader. We have read all of the Chronicles of Narnia books so they were really excited about seeing this movie. They loved it, of course, but the funny thing is that Elijah says he likes the old BBC version better because it is truer to the books. Spoken like a true bookworm!
Other than that we just had a lot of fun spending time with friends and family. So, that was our trip to the mountains. Now I just need to wrap my mind around getting the suitcases completely unpacked and start working on that pile of dishes in the sink...or I can just write a blog, read a book, go to sleep and put it off until tomorrow or all of the above:)

Being Productive or at least trying to be...

2010-12-15T19:28:00.000-08:00

This month's issue of Countryside magazine features a collection of several articles on homeschooling and homesteading with children in tow. I actually laughed out loud while reading one of these articles, so I thought I would share. This lady Kristie writes " Avoid comparing yourself to the Jones'- This is still an area I struggle with the most. My challenge is to avoid comparing myself with the "COUNTRYSIDE Jones'" or the "blogging world Jones'." When I read about a mom who homeschools her 10children, grows and preserves all her own food, milks goats daily, runs a craft business on the side, cooks amazing dinners (which she manages to blog about), and spends time each day doing craft projects with her children- from a solar and wind power home which she built herself- I'm tempted to think "what am I doing wrong?" We had scrambled eggs for dinner (again), the kids watched too many videos today (again) while I mowed the grass, and the only thing growing in a big section of my garden is red pigweed. What am I doing wrong?"
Anyways, I got a good chuckle out of it. She goes on to explain that one thing she is doing wrong is comparing herself to others and she comes to realize that each family situation is different. I don't really find that I spend a lot of time or energy comparing myself to others, but I do find myself wondering how other people can get so much more accomplished in a day than I can. We are all working with the same number of hours...so, what makes other people more productive? If there are any productive people out there reading this post then please offer your insight:) Most days I just feel lucky if I get the bare essentials accomplished...taking a shower, feeding my kids 3 healthy meals, washing the dishes and folding this giant, perpetual pile of laundry.

Everyday Elijah reads to me out of the McGuffey Readers (which I absolutely adore for their pictures, poetry, and moral stories). Well, the other day Elijah read a story called The Money Amy Didn't Earn and it reminded me of myself. It starts out, "Amy was a dear little girl, but she was too apt to waste time in getting ready to do her tasks, instead of doing them at once as she ought." Amy doesn't come from a wealthy family and one day the town storekeeper asks her if she would like to earn money picking berries- he offers her 13 cents a quart for all she can pick. She was very excited about earning some money so she runs home to get her basket with the intention of returning immediately to pick berries; however, when she arrives home she becomes curious about how much money she would earn if she picks 5 quarts. She sits down to do the math and allows herself to become distracted by wondering how much money she would earn if she picked 10 quarts, then a dozen, then 50, then 100, then 200 and by the time she was done doing all these sums it was time to eat dinner. After dinner she rushes to get to the berry patch only to discover that some boys had already come and picked it over. She hardly finds enough for 1 quart worth. The moral of the story is "one doer is worth a hundred dreamers".
I am so much like poor Amy! I spend so much of my time making elaborate lists and schedules- dreaming of being organized; and the ironic thing is that all my planning actually ends up hindering my productivity. I don't mind being a dreamer, but what is the point of a dream or a plan if it never gets put into action? Sally Clarkson's advice for when you are feeling overwhelmed with your house or homeschool is: stop complaining, stop trying to come up with a perfect system, stop feeling sorry for yourself and just DO something. This is good, simple advice, right? If you want something done, just do it. However, if you have a perfectionistic, type A personality like mine, then this is easier said than done. But we all have to start somewhere...and if you are like me, you just need to start:)

A note of encouragement

2010-12-07T20:02:00.000-08:00

Have you ever had days where you feel like you are having to discipline your children all day? I was having one of those days recently and I picked up Season's Of A Mother's Heart by Sally Clarkson (whom I turn to when I need mom to mom encouragement). I opened up the book only to stumble across these words:

"It is so easy for me, as a parent, to become overly concerned with every jot and tittle of my children's behavior. I can spend so much time correcting them and teaching them all the right rules, that I forget the real goal of my instruction- to win their hearts for the Lord. Training and instruction alone cannot guarantee a heart for God. If you really desire to reach your children's hearts for Christ, you cannot do so until you build a deep and trusting relationship with each child. They must feel that they can find no better confidant, no more loyal friend, no greater encourager, no one who better understands their thoughts and dreams, fears and doubts, joys and hurts. And even though they understand that you want to help them grow to maturity in Christ, they must also sense that you accept them just as they are, and love them no matter what they do."

Then I was flipping back looking through other chapters in the book looking at passages that I had underlined and these words jumped out at me:

"It's not enough for my children just to hear me talk to them about loving God and loving people, they also must see me doing it. God will be real to them only if He is real to me... children imitate and become what they see in their parents. In the same way, my children will not grow to maturity because I have taught them the right things, read them the best books, or used the right curriculum. They will mature because I have shaped their hearts to love God and to love people."

Sally always has a way of speaking directly to my heart and giving me gentle reminders of the real goal and purpose of motherhood, which is to turn the hearts of my children to God and to be a living example for them, so they can be a living example for their children and grandchildren and great grandchildren... a multi-generational vision, so to speak.

For more encouragement from Sally Clarkson, I strongly suggest visiting her website here or purchasing one of her many books (I recommend all of them!) or try to attend a Mom Heart Conference- it will be an inspiring and edifying weekend with other lovely mothers and worth every single penny:)

Charlotte Mason Homeschool Group

2010-12-05T18:34:00.000-08:00

I have been a part of a wonderful Charlotte Mason co-op the past 2 years, but this year I decided to break away from the larger group and form my own little co-op that meets in my home. Six very sweet families (including mine) make up our group. All together we have 15 children under the age of 8:) and this is what we studied this fall term:

Nature Study: Fall crops- apples, corn, pumpkin, squash etc.
Composer: Beethoven
Folk Song: Waltzing Matilda
Picture Study: Norman Rockwell
Habit: Attentiveness
Bible Song/Hymn: Books of the Old Testament
Poetry Recitation

I think our first term together went really well. My kids had a lot of fun and enjoyed learning alongside the other children. Even the little ones (under 3) are listening and absorbing so much. Waltzing Matilda was a BIG hit with all the kids. I even found myself singing it all the time...it kind of gets stuck in your head.
We also really enjoyed Norman Rockwell. His artwork is very kid friendly. Our group went on a really awesome field trip to the NC Museum of Art in Raleigh to view a touring exhibit of Norman Rockwell. It was FABULOUS. The kids and I loved it. You can find out more about the exhibit here.
I am very excited about next term. I have a lot of fun things planned that I can't wait to share!

This is about half the group drawing in their nature journals.

The "Me Time" Myth

2010-12-02T20:04:00.000-08:00

I want to preface this post by saying that I do think it is important to have time alone to think, pray, and reflect. I also think time spent with dear friends can be life-giving and encouraging. The point of this post is to speak to the mentality of selfishness and escapism.

"Me time is a myth. It is an unattainable, always interruptible, never satisfying piece of junk psychology. Me Time, by its very name, suggests that who we are during the daily grind is not who we truly are. It begs us to search for fulfillment outside of the titles of “wife” and “mother.” It accuses precious little ones and God-given spouses for suppressing us. It reduces motherhood to a disease in which little dirty faces and endless monotonous tasks slowly suck the life out of us. It says we can never be refreshed by spending time in the presence of those we care for day in and day out. It points out a perceived hole in our world that needs to be filled, a tank that must be refueled, a monster that will swallow us if we neglect to feed it Me Time.

The more we indulge the thought that we are somehow owed this time away, the more we will seek after it. The more we seek after it, the more every little opportunity afforded us to take a break will seemingly end too quickly. The everyday life of being a mother will become drudgery. We will dread every aspect of this role. We will snap at our children any time they try to draw us out of our precious time alone. Not getting this time will ruin our day, and if we do manage some time away, we will despise the re-entry."

This is part of a blog post by Amy over here please visit her site to read more about the me time myth. It is definitely worth the read.

Caleb is 5!!!!

2010-11-29T20:23:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe that my children are getting older and growing bigger. For some reason Caleb has always seemed older to me than he really is...maybe because he has spent most of his short life trying to be like Elijah...trying to be bigger. The good thing is that I feel he is finally starting to become his own person and make his own decisions. He is coming out of Elijah's shadow and I LOVE the person he is becoming. He is very unique, spirited, and artistic. He was our latest talker, but I am almost convinced that he could talk, but just chose not to:) He has never been one to "perform" for others. He has always been kind of a lone ranger- very reserved, a home body, always loyal, very intuitive, humble and tender hearted. He finds meaning in the little things. He notices details. He is also extremely comical- the one always making silly faces and keeping things light-hearted. I am so thankful for my sweet Caleb.

Giving Thanks

2010-11-27T20:09:00.000-08:00

"Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Give thanks to the God of gods,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting."
-Psalm 136:1-3

Little arms reaching up to me, little hand in my hand, warm breath on my chest. Touch. Isn't this what we all need? To be close to someone.
Big eyes looking at the world with awe and wonder. All things new and exciting. God, open my eyes so I can see.
Lots of laughter- giggling, joyous sounds. Isn't this what we all seek? Lightness of heart.
100 times a day of look at what I made, look at what I drew, look at what I can do, look, look, look at me...isn't that what we all want? To be noticed.

My heart is full of thanksgiving for all these sweet moments. They are life-giving. They remind me of what is important, what is beautiful, what is good.

The journey from pumpkin to pie

2010-11-25T19:09:00.000-08:00

This year I decided to ditch the canned pumpkin and try my hand at making a pumpkin pie from scratch.
The first step is picking the right pumpkin. There's a great pumpkin site here to research all the different varieties. There are several pumpkins that are good for making pumpkin pie, but I chose to go with the Jarrahdale.

The kids were so excited when we cut open the pumpkin. At first they were a little hesitant to get their hands in the goo, but before long they were digging for seeds like they were gold.

We put the seeds aside to roast and placed the pumpkin in the oven.

The pumpkins produce a lot of water while baking so it is important to place them in a baking dish instead of a pan otherwise there will be a real mess in the bottom of your oven. Place the pumpkin skin up, poke skin with a fork several times, place in the oven at 350 for 1.5 hours (a little less or more depending on size).

When it is done a fork should be able to easily pierce through the skin.

Then scoop out the flesh and drain in a mesh colander until most of the water has been removed and then puree with a hand blender or food processor.

When it has a nice, smooth consistency then you can start to assemble your pie. This is the recipe that I used:

2 c. pumpkin
2 eggs
1.5 c. heavy cream
1 T. flour
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. ginger
1/8 t. cloves

beat eggs in a mixing bowl, add pumpkin and mix well. Mix in all other ingredients one at a time stirring well and then pour into your pie crust.

Crust recipe:
1/2 c. butter or shortening (whichever you prefer)
1.5 c. whole wheat pastry flour or unbleached all-purpose flour (which you can purchase in bulk from here if you live in the Triad. Their flour is the organic King Arthur flour that you would buy in the store, but it is MUCH cheaper to buy it directly from the mill.)
1/2 t. salt
2 t. sugar
1/2 c. ice cold water

Combine flour and salt. Cut in butter or shortening, then crumble with fingers until very fine. Add water a little bit at a time stirring rapidly with a fork until it forms a big clump. Form into a disk and refrigerate for an hour. Roll out dough about 2 inches wider than your pie dish, fold it gently in half to transfer, then unfold and pinch the outside.

....back to the pie...Place aluminum foil over crust to prevent from burning and bake at 425 for 15 minutes then turn down to 350 and cook for an additional hour. Remove when a toothpick comes out clean when placed an inch from the crust. Don't worry if the center is still a little jiggly- it will set as it cools. Place in refrigerator overnight. The flavors will be enhanced and it helps the texture as well (just my opinion).

Then get a plate, fork and some whipped cream and enjoy some homemade goodness! We had so much fun making this pie and even though it is time consuming, it is actually quite easy to make. This is definitely going to be a new Thanksgiving tradition for the Vaughn family:)

Nature Journaling

2010-11-23T19:38:00.000-08:00

"Your goal in nature study is much more than just to 'inform' your children about the details of creation. Your greater task is to 'form in' them eyes that can see the Creator in his creation (Romans 1:20), an abiding sense of wonder and appreciation of what God has made (Psalm 8 and 19) and a passion to care for, subdue and rule over this earth as God's highest expression of created being (Genesis 1:28)." -Sally and Clay Clarkson, Educating the WholeHearted Child

I have been making my children do nature journaling for about a year now and it is something I love and think is so wonderful for children, but I never realized it could be wonderful for me too. In the past I have used the time while they are drawing to hurry up and do a chore or prepare for the next lesson, because they were quietly occupied. But lately I have been trying to really implement the tomato staking idea in our house, of staying together in all that we do- cleaning, schooling, playing etc. I have a regular journal that I keep, so I decided I could keep nature drawings in it as well...that way I can teach by example and not just with words. It was a glorious fall day and I gave my children the task of drawing a picture of fall. I left that up to their own interpretation. They drew acorns, inside and out- they drew trees changing color, and squirrels busy at work. I chose to draw a leaf that really stood out to me and then Elijah decided he wanted to draw the leaf as well. It has been a long time since I have drawn anything and it was such a good feeling to be outside sitting in the warm, fall sunshine with my children drawing a leaf. It might not be the best leaf drawing in the world, but it inspired me and I think it inspired them a little bit to see mom working along side them. It is good for the soul to take time to be still, to look around and notice the details of God's marvelous creation. Much better than running off to wash a few dishes:)

A tiny glimpse of our home school

2010-11-15T18:34:00.000-08:00

I haven't written too many things about the way we home school but I am planning on writing a lot more about it this year. I am VERY passionate about Charlotte Mason. Her philosophy on life and education is one that speaks directly to my heart. What she says makes so much sense to me and just seems so natural and good. So we mostly apply her philosophy to our days but in a very eclectic way. I don't follow any one curriculum or program. I haven't found the perfect curriculum yet and I am pretty sure there is no such thing, so I just use what I like best from a variety of sources. For example, I use Ambleside as a resource for picture study and music study and I use Simply CM's Shakespeare schedule. I pull my literature selections from Sonlight and Ambleside, but only use what I think will really interest my children. We use Math-U-See and love it and I really want to use Beautiful Feet for History but haven't had the money to buy the packages, so I look for the books at used book stores and the library and have had great success finding the books for very little money. I use Queen Homeschool's Language Arts for the Very Young along with English For the Thoughtful Child for an intro to grammar, but I am also going to look into Emma Serl's grammar books. We use the McGuffey Readers and love those so much. They are very old, but full of beautiful language and pictures. I try to mix up copywork everyday. Sometimes we do Draw Write Now, letters to friends or family, scripture, poetry, literature selections etc. We do a lot of nature journaling and nature walks for science and I adore the The Nature Study Handbook- it is a true treasure. Every now and then I do a unit study from KONOS because that curriculum is so fun and easy to use for all ages and they always LOVE doing the projects because they are so hands-on. I know I am leaving lots of things out, but that is basically the core combination of resources that I use and I can't wait to expand more on these things in future posts.

These pictures are from the unit study we are doing right now on Native Americans. We used Konos and they made their own Native American shirt (brown paper bag) and found symbols that they liked and painted them on the front. They learned Native American sign language, made tomahawks and a drum, studied the crops that we got from Native Americans. Most importantly, we read numerous books about Native Americans such as Sitting Bull, Pocahantas, Sacajawea, and Squanto just to name a few.

The final harvest

2010-11-03T18:35:00.000-07:00

I think I have already mentioned that we are part of a community garden, but we had not visited our bed since before Addy was born six weeks ago. No weeding, no watering. We thought the garden was pretty much done and we didn't plant any fall crops. However, a friend of mine was visiting the garden and asked if I would like her to harvest what was left in our garden. I told her she probably wouldn't find much, but boy was I wrong. The garden had a second life and we were so excited about what she brought back!

This a picture of the peppers and one delicious breakfast that was made from them.

They love their sister

2010-11-01T17:45:00.000-07:00

The boys absolutely love having a little sister. I can't explain how different it is, but the biggest thing is that they don't see her as a threat. They don't feel the need to compete with her, but they are still competing with each other over who gets to hold her first and who can make her smile. I am glad she has so many big brothers that love her and want to protect her. Elijah and her seem to have the most special bond. He has wanted a sister since I was pregnant with Caleb and he loves walking around with her, singing to her and rocking her in the rocking chair. If she is crying she instantly stops when he picks her up. It is really sweet watching how he cares for her and I know he will be a great father some day...all of them will be.
I had to add a picture of wild-eyed Ezra. Since she was born he seems so much bigger, though he really is still a baby himself. He is definitely having a delayed reaction to her being born... a little bit of anger has set in, but so far he hasn't directed it towards Addy...though the other day I put her on my bed so I could brush my teeth and when I was in the bathroom I heard Ezra climb onto my bed and say "squeeze the baby"! I ran back in the bedroom very quickly just to find him nicely sitting next to her- thankfully no damage was done:) Needless to say, I won't be leaving her alone on my bed anymore.
She continues to be sweet and is finally giving us a little more sleep at night, which makes her even sweeter. It seems like she is changing a little each day. It is amazing how fast they grow at this stage. She is smiling and cooing and blowing bubbles...so adorable. We love our little girl.

Major Changes

2010-10-23T20:30:00.000-07:00

Cutting hair shouldn't be such a big deal, but it is. It totally changes the way you look. The other day Matt said the days of the long hair have come to an end. Our boys have ALWAYS had long hair (except one time when we got the crazy idea to shave Elijah's head when he was 2 and it was a major mistake). Most people might think this is a good idea at the beginning of summer, but as with most things we tend to do things in our own time. It all started with Elijah. His hair really was getting long, but it was always in his eyes and he was starting to create bad habits like chewing on it...sooo it was a good run surfer hair, but you had to go. The crazy thing is that we were still planning on keeping it somewhat long which you can see in the picture, but then after Caleb got his hair shaved Elijah decided he wanted to do the same (I don't have the final pic of Elijah's shaved head, but look for it in future posts...he looks totally different). Then Caleb was next and he decided he wanted his head totally shaved. The funny thing about Caleb's haircut is that when we shaved his hair he became a different kid. He has been the happiest we have ever seen him. Kind of strange. Then it was Jo-Jo's turn. I couldn't hardly stand to see his curly red locks being cut off, but at the same time I am so glad not to have to brush it anymore because most of the time it was more like dreads:) Ezra just got a little trim in the front and Matt's hair was the last to go and he went for the total shave. He goes through phases of long and short hair, but the beard always remains:) So those are the major physical changes.
The second major change was taking the plunge to finally get rid of our TV. This change slowly started taking place 5 years ago, which was the last time we paid for cable. However, we still had rabbit ears. We decided to get rid of the rabbit ears last year, but we still kept the TV around for the occasional movie night. For years I have been praying for guidance and direction about raising our children and every time I prayed I would feel VERY strongly like I needed to just get rid of the TV, though I never had the guts to go cold turkey. I made excuses for holding on to it, but the other night I read a great blog post about being lukewarm and longing to live a more radical life. It inspired me and gave me the final push I needed. It feels really good to finally unplug that thing. Most people view TV as a way to relax or escape, but for us I found it was a life sucker and time stealer...and since then I have found many other satisfying ways to relax. Another good feeling is that I have repurposed our TV armoire into a storage place for lots of our homeschool stuff that was taking over the kitchen and always making me feel a little bit annoyed, like a stuff bomb had been set off. Now I can shove all that stuff in the armoire, close the doors and not have to look at all that stuff that never seemed to have a right place.
Sometimes change feels uncomfortable, but this time it just feels right.

Treasure Island and an Old Ford Pirate Ship

2010-10-13T18:48:00.000-07:00

About a month ago I picked up the audio cd version of Treasure Island by Jim Weiss from the library, but I didn't realize it was going to turn our boys into pirates! We love Jim Weiss. He's a fantastic, award-winning story teller and it's definitely worth the money to invest in a few of his CD's. So the kids listened to the story several times and slowly I started seeing them draw pictures of sword fights and they would come out of their room in the morning with hats, eye patches and swords in hand. Well, last week Matt's truck wouldn't start and so it stayed at home and they saw it as the perfect opportunity to transform that old truck into a pirate ship. We taped 4 long sticks together, placed a sheet over the top and made a sail for the ship and it provided HOURS of endless fun for them. I was inside nursing Addy and I would hear really loud calls of "Land Ho" and "Yo Ho Ho and a bottle of rum". I also let them eat lunch on the ship and even heard Ezra (who is only 20 months old) say he wanted "pirate booty"! Very funny. Elijah has been doing all kinds of research about the real pirates and dreams about finding Blackbeard's treasure, which is thought to be buried somewhere on Ocracoke Island:) Who knew a broken down truck, some sticks and a sheet could be so much fun.

Welcome, sweet Adara Ruth

2010-10-12T19:27:00.000-07:00

We finally have our little girl! Adara Ruth was born on Friday Septmber 17th (Erev Yom Kippur). Her due date was Sept. 14th and the weeks leading up to her due date were extremely stressful. For some reason I had terrible anxiety and fear about the birth this time. On her due date a good friend of mine gave me a scripture verse that has become "her verse". All the people gather for the fall feasts and Ezra reads the Law aloud to them from early morning until midday and when they heard the words of the Law the people began weeping and Ezra said to them "Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." So when my friend gave me that verse I had a very strong feeling that she was going to be born on Yom Kippur- and she was:)If anyone is interested in the full testimony of how God spoke to me and worked on me through this pregnancy then I would love to share it with you, but it is too long and personal for a blog post.
So, now that she is here our lives are forever changed. I can already feel the household getting a little bit softer. Matt and the boys are all melty over her. She is so sweet. Her little hands and feet are very dainty and even the sound of her voice sounds like a girl voice. It is even strange saying "her" and "she". It is really funny too, because Matt thought she was going to be daddy's little girl, but she is turning out to be a mama baby;) I am sure that will change as soon as I wean her! This is the beginning of something new and exciting. I love how she is already changing us all and I know she is going to continue to add so much joy and beauty to our lives.

A very sweet day

2010-10-09T18:27:00.000-07:00

Ok. Most of you already know that our sweet baby was born 3 weeks ago and most of you know that I have been seriously neglecting my blog... so even though this is 2 months after the fact I still had to do a post on my wonderful, girly baby shower. My good friends Lacey and Alison worked together to give me such a fabulous day and everything was just perfect. Everyone brought delicious food to share...and the cake was divine thanks to Alison (Martha Stewart). I also have to give a shout out to Shell for riding the train and spending a "weekend with the Vaughns" :) I truly loved being surrounded by all my sweet friends and family and looking through all the beautiful gifts. Everyone was so excited about me having a girl that I literally got showered with girl clothes. I don't think I will have to by a single outfit for the first year of her life! Thankfully the ultrasound was right and she was a girl:)

Finding the Balance

2010-08-25T20:07:00.001-07:00

"I am sadly concerned that thousands of mothers are so over-burdened that the actual demands of life from day to day consume all their time and strength. But of two evils, choose the lesser: which would you call the lesser--an unpolished stove or an untaught boy? Dirty windows, or a child whose confidence you have failed to gain? Cobwebs in the corner, or a son over whose soul a crust has formed, so strong that you despair of melting it with your hot tears and fervent prayers?

I have seen a woman who was absolutely ignorant of her children's habits of thought, who never felt that she could spare a half-hour to read or talk with them--I have seen this woman spend ten minutes in ironing a sheet, or forty minutes icing a cake for tea, because company was expected.

When the mother, a good orthodox Christian, shall appear before the Great White Throne to be judged for the "deeds done in the body," and to give her report of the master's treasures placed in her care, there will be questions and answers like these:

"Where are the boys and girls I gave thee?"

"Lord, I was busy keeping my house clean and in order, and my children wandered away."

"Where wert thou while thy sons and thy daughters were learning lessons of dishonesty, malice and impurity?"

"Lord, I was polishing furniture and making beautiful rugs."

"What hast thou to show for thy life's work?"

"The tidiest house, Lord, and the best starching and ironing in all our neighborhood!"

Oh these children, these children! The restless eager boys and girls whom we love more than our lives! Shall we devote our time and strength to that which perishes while the rich garden of our child's soul lies neglected, with foul weeds choking out all worthy and beautiful growths? Fleeting indeed, O mother, are the days of childhood, and speckless windows, snowy linen, the consciousness that everything about the house is faultlessly bright and clean will be poor comfort in that day wherein we shall discover that our poor boy's feet have chosen the path that shall take him out of the way to all eternity."--Author Unknown

I came across this anonymous letter to Elizabeth Elliot when I was searching for advice on how to maintain an orderly home and homeschool at the same time. As our family grows I feel like it is constant work to keep our house in order. There are days that I spend cleaning our house just for it to become dirty again the next day and it feels like all my efforts are in vain... I have to (and want to) maintain some standards of cleanliness but at the same time I don't want cleaning to be the primary focus of my days and in the meantime having my kids running around unattended. It seems like putting a lot of energy into something that doesn't have any eternal value. I know I have written on this subject before, but I am still trying to find the balance...I'm up for any suggestions:)

A Civil War Birthday Party

2010-08-22T06:03:00.000-07:00

For the past year or so Elijah has been really interested in studying and reading about the Civil War, so this year for his 8th birthday party he requested a Civil War birthday party. I was really excited about the idea but I wasn't quite sure how I was going to pull it off. I knew costumes would be essential so my sweet mother in law ordered some confederate and union hats for each child and my mom provided aprons and bonnets for the girls along with mustaches for the boys. Elijah wanted to have a yard battle between the north and the south. Each kid got their weapon of choice, the soldiers faced off on opposite sides of the yard and charged at each other. Some were wounded, but we were very fortunate to have good nurses on the battlefield to help those in need:) Then Matt organized some yard games of flag tag, water balloon toss, and a major water balloon fight. For snacks we provided some food to capture the spirit of the Civil War, such as hardtack, "goobers" (unshelled peanuts), and fruit leather (along with cheese, crackers, fruit and veggies- which would not have been on the menu for civil war soldiers). It was so funny because some how the name of hardtack was changed to "heart attack" and they were all asking for more "heart attack" bread:) Elijah requested chocolate eclair cake for his birthday, which was also changed to "I declare" cake:) It ended up being a day of great fun and what Elijah called "the best birthday ever"!

A summer visit to the mountains

2010-08-06T19:06:00.000-07:00

Matt has been working so hard on remodeling our house and I wanted to give him some solid time to work so I took my kids and my niece to the mountains to see my parents for a little mountain getaway. We had such a fun time. My parents have a lake in their neighborhood so we spent a lot of time swimming. Elijah and Trinity were so proud of themselves for swimming to the middle of the lake and back! The little guys just enjoyed playing in the shallow water and sand. One day we went to Carl Sandburg's house and saw an outdoor play of the Rootabaga stories which was really fun and cute. Then we went to the little goat farm on the property and had a little picnic by the creek. The weather was just glorious and the property at Carl's house is so beautiful. Then we took the kids to Belle Chere (a fun festival in downtown Asheville) and they got to ride the rides and make crafts and eat ice cream and popcorn. We all had such a blast and can't wait to go back in the fall to pick apples:)

A slow recap of the past 4 months that I have neglected my blog!

2010-07-20T19:15:00.000-07:00

I came to the realization a few nights ago that I haven't done a post on my blog in 1/3 of a year. I have a lot of lame excuses, but I'll spare you. A lot has gone on since I last posted so I am going to attempt to slowly go back starting from the most recent event and catch everyone up on what's been going on in our lives. So I guess you could say I am officially back in the blogosphere:)

I'll start with sharing a few pictures of swimming in Nana's pool...or I should say pools (one for every stage of life as Nana likes to say!) My kids start begging Nana to put her pool up starting somewhere around April when the first warm days start to appear. So when Memorial Day rolls around and Nana breaks out the pool the kids become beside themselves with joys. They have a very specific summer time pool routine at her house. They eat lunch, go swimming, get out and eat ice cream, watch a short clip of Tom and Jerry and then they get back in and swim for a few more hours. It sounds silly, but they take it very seriously. They have even more fun if the cousins or some neighborhood kids can take part in the summer time fun. Thanks Nana and Pop Pop for setting the pools up and giving them so many fun summer memories at your house!

Who killed Mr. Tomato Head?

2010-07-19T20:53:00.000-07:00

scene of the crime...

Matt. Caught red handed trying to destroy the evidence.

Don't try to hide. The camera never lies.

Edisto Beach

2010-07-18T18:34:00.000-07:00

This was kind of an unexpected trip for us. Both of my parents retired in June and they asked us at the beginning of June if we would like to go to the beach at the end of June and of course we said we would love to. We go to the beach with Matt's family every winter but we have never been to the beach as a family in the warm summer weather so we were all so excited! My extended family came and got another house down the road, so it turned out to be a big family gathering. Edisto is the beach that my family always went to when I was growing up, but I hadn't been back in about 12 years. Not much has changed. In fact, it is almost exactly the same. It is a very non commercialized Island and we really enjoyed it because there aren't so many other distractions. We spent most of our time at the beach just swimming and playing in the sand. It was very relaxing and the kids didn't want to come home. They said they wished we lived at the beach! I posted some of my favorite pictures and even though I should have done a slideshow, I figured just making a post on my blog was good enough since it has been so long. I have to thank Matt for the intervention...I guess it's starting to work!

My kids are totally goggle obsessed. They think they can't go swimming without them.
This is Elijah's silly grin. Little does he know that a giant wave is about to plaster him!
The younger boys just had a blast playing in the very shallow waves.
Matt took the boys fishing at the point...Caleb had the most endurance and the others mostly ended up swimming. The water at the point was very calm and was almost like swimming in a lake. The fishing wasn't a great success, but it's always worth a try.
This is Ezra being so brave in the water. This kid would just run full speed into the water if we would let him. Definitely a water baby!

Who needs Mr. Potato Head...(Post 2 of 2)

2010-07-17T18:37:00.000-07:00

...when you can have a Mr. Tomato Head. See what you can do while cooking dinner.

The crown jewel of this little produce creation is a giant German Johnson tomato we grew at our community garden plot on the campus of Guilford College. We live less than a mile from the campus so it's very convenient. We have also been expanding our backyard garden plot and trying to trim branches here and there to get enough sunlight without taking down anymore of the nice mature oaks that shade our house in the summer.

We have Romas, jalapenos, bell peppers, German Johnson's, and watermelons at the community garden. We had cucumbers but they got bacterial wilt pretty early on so we pulled them out at the first signs to save the melons which can be susceptible to the same disease. At home we had our first ever crop of potatoes (Yukon Gold), yellow cherry tomatoes (which Ezra calls "tatoes", yellow pear tomatoes (which make up the nose of our Tomato Head, other tomato varieties that we got from my Dad's volunteers this year, bush beans, cantaloupe, and several others. We also have an herb garden with parsley, mint, stevia, lavender, sage, basil and cilantro.

My Dad grew the squash, zucchini and cucumbers in the picture above. It's nice to be able to share produce with other gardeners. Our friends, the Grims, gave us some of their garlic tonight after a meal at their house. Check out what's been occupying their time here.

For more garden inspiration or for those of you non-gardeners interested in a good read on the value of compost look here. The Kruidenier's are a constant source of garden and other inspiration (whether they know it or not).

That's all for this intervention but I'll leave you with a little taste (pun intended) of what we have been up to inside the house this summer. Hopefully we will be able to post the long awaited before and after pictures of all of our home remodeling adventures by the end of August so stay tuned for that. Until then enjoy pondering how these pictures fit...

Hint for one of these pictures: we had to turn a boy's room into bit more of a girl's room. For those that don't know Vaughn baby #5 is a girl or so we're told. I don't normally like to find out but because we have all boys Kallie really wanted to know (okay so did I but I won't admit it).

An Intervention (Post 1 of 2)

2010-07-17T18:32:00.000-07:00

So Kallie has not posted a blog since March 23. I (Matt here) have attempted not to invade this space with any of my random thoughts but now seems like a good time. So what's the intervention? The next post is just to help get the ball rolling and to keep some of you readers (Jenny Brown) from getting anxious for a new blog from Kallie. I'll spare you all from my thoughts and mostly just give you a brief glimpse of a couple things that have been going on around here.

A Blessing in Disguise

2010-03-23T18:16:00.000-07:00

Well, blogging has not been too successful this month. Mostly because the never ending morning sickness that I have been experiencing has left me unmotivated to do most of my normal activities. Thankfully I feel like I am the tail end of the whole morning sickness thing and I am starting to see light at the end of the tunnel. It feels really good to be getting my life back on track.
In addition to my morning sickness I have been extremely exhausted and have been going to bed before 10 every night. This has been the blessing in disguise. I have always been a night owl and for YEARS I have been saying that I want to go to bed early so I can get up early, but I have never been disciplined enough to actually make the transition from a being a night person to becoming a morning person. However, this pregnancy there is nothing that can keep my eyes open past 10 and a lot of times I go to sleep when the kids go to sleep around 8. I leave the dirty dishes in the sink and the dirty clothes piled up in their baskets and the glorious part of this new routine is that I am now waking up at 6 in the morning and doing the dishes, laundry and other chores, getting dressed and reading my bible before the kids get up. When I do these activities in the morning I have a much better attitude and energy level. I also just love the quietness of the house, listening to the birds begin to sing and watching the daylight slowly make its way into the new day. I am renewed each morning by the Word and the peace that it gives me before the busy day begins. It really has been life-giving for me to have adopted this new routine and now I am so thankful for the extreme exhaustion from this pregnancy that has forced me to make this change that I have been talking about for so many years.

The russian mullet

2010-02-25T20:04:00.000-08:00

Ezra totally has a russian mullet. We think it is super cute so I just thought I would share it with everyone:)
Just a funny note. I googled "russian mullet" and came across this fabulous blog post. Check it out if you want a good laugh.

Until we meet again...

2010-02-23T19:55:00.001-08:00

Saying goodbye is never easy. Especially when you are saying goodbye to very dear friends.
I am sad for myself to see the Lopez family leaving, but I am very excited for them and all that God has in store for their lives. Sometimes following God's call on your life leads you out of your comfort zone and into the unknown... but ultimately being in His will is where you want to be.
Our last visit was great. The weather was beautiful and the kids had a blast playing outside all day, the cake was delicious, we got to enjoy a live concert:), and I got to hug Madelyn's neck one last time.

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

May God be with you and bless you:
May you see your children's children.
May you be poor in misfortune,
Rich in blessings.
May you know nothing but happiness
From this day forward.

May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home
And may the hand of a friend always be near.

May green be the grass you walk on,
May blue be the skies above you,
May pure be the joys that surround you,
May true be the hearts that love you.

Another Blessing...

2010-02-18T19:19:00.000-08:00

Yes, we are expecting baby # 5!
We have known for a while (I'm about 11 weeks along), but I have had some reservations about announcing the news. Of course we feel thrilled and excited about another sweet little baby, and we are so thankful that we have the love and support from our family and friends. However, I must say that the general public is not a great source of encouragement. Unfortunately we live in a society that, for the most part, is not very big family friendly. For that reason I think I have felt the need to protect myself more than ever from the negative comments, because in just a simple trip to the grocery store I get bombarded with things like, "boy, you really have your hands full!", "are they all yours?", "better you than me", "don't you know how that happens?", and so on and so forth. Why do strangers feel the need to make these unnecessary, unwanted comments? I try to respond as politely as possible without letting my annoyance show. I just REALLY don't want any comments about the Duggars or a church van because either one might be the straw that broke the camels back!
Moving on. I just noticed that it's been about a month since my last post and I'm sure most people have given up on my blog by now. I was so motivated in January, but this month I have just been trying to make it to the end of each day with the extreme morning sickness and fatigue that I have been feeling. I am open to any suggestions that anyone might have on improving my energy level:) We have been reading a biography on Daniel Boone this week and his wife, Rebecca, had 10 children. This is a quote from the book " In Rebecca's day, a woman made all of her family's clothing. She prepared every meal. When she wasn't cooking or sewing, spinning or weaving, she fetched water from the well or stream, chopped wood for the fire, churned butter, molded candles, cleaned the house, tended the garden, fed and cared for the livestock, planted and reaped the fields, cared for the children, and tended to the sick. Plus she had to be an excellent shot. Who else would hunt if her husband was gone?" Good grief. I am not a pioneer woman. How did she do it all? They certainly were tough. Rebecca was especially tough because Daniel would be gone some times for months at a time. At one point he was gone for 5 years! I guess she just did what she had to do. I am just trying to make sure the dishwasher gets loaded and the laundry gets washed! We are almost finished with our second reading of the Little House series and the whole way through I am so amazed at the determination of the pioneers and their unwillingness to be defeated. I need to capture some of that pioneer spirit!
The daydreaming has already begun. Will it be a boy or girl? Who will the baby look like? What will the birth be like? etc. So far we only have a girl name:) But a friend told me that every time she had a definite name for a boy or girl, she would always end up having the opposite! So who knows, but it is all very exciting, like waiting to open a present!
So, the secret is out! Now we just wait, pray and prepare to meet our next little blessing!

Like a tree planted by the water

2010-01-16T17:30:00.000-08:00

More on my study of the characteristics of a meek and quiet spirit...

The meek woman's confidence is in the security of the truths of scripture and the faithfulness of God, but the fretful woman's trust is in her own abilities and power to control others and details.

"Thus says the Lord, cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the Lord. For he will be like a bush in the desert and will not see when prosperity comes, but will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, a land of salt without inhabitant. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit."
- Jeremiah 17: 5-8

I know I have written on this subject quite a bit, but it is only because this is an area in which I obviously struggle. I am learning to trust God and not rely on my own strength, but sometimes I forget. Isn't it silly or even absurd to put confidence in our own flesh and to even think that in our own strength we can accomplish anything fruitful? When we attempt to take control over our lives aren't we essentially telling God that we don't need Him, that we are wiser, stronger, smarter than Him??? Does that even make any sense? Not really, but there are still times when I put my ways before God's ways. I continue to pray that my confidence in Him would increase, that I would find peace in the truths and promises of His word, and that He will be my trust.

"How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers." - Psalm 1:1-3

A few ways to help Haiti

2010-01-14T17:13:00.000-08:00

Our dear friends Kyle and Lorraine Jones are missionaries in Haiti and I just wanted to post a copy of an email I received from them today:

Dear Friends,

As many of you know by now, Lorraine and I and our mission are ok. We definitely felt the earthquake and all the aftershocks, but we are far enough north that we didn't receive the same damage and devastation as Port-au-Prince. The situation here is certainly tragic. Haiti is already a tragic place without this devastating earthquake, but now they are talking about thousands of people being dead and missing, and many of our students at Sonlight have close family or friends in Port-au-Prince that are missing. Everyone here is in a frenzy, so to speak, and they need a lot of prayer.

Lorraine and I have been asked a lot over the last few days ways in which people can help the situation here in Haiti, and if we knew of any organizations specifically that is in need of some immediate help. We have compiled a few different organizations that we have some connections to. The biggest need is most definitely prayer at this time, but supplies and donations are necessary also to help save lives. Below is a letter from a Doctor friend whom we trust that has an organization called Missions of Love. In his letter you will see specific needs and a good place to send donations. Please read the letter:

*Gentlefolk,
A nightmare beyond your wildest imaginings is unfolding in Port-au-prince, Haiti as I write you this fervent plea. Hundreds of thousands dead, many more seriously injured and dying as we speak. The medical and surgical implications are beyond description. The needs would seem insurmountable, yet, as always in the past, Americans will be touched to be of help and surely help will come again in this horrible situation.

Here's a list of actual supplies and meds we need immediately. Beyond that, money in any amount will buy much needed meds in Port-au-prince IF they are available.

Materials:
Dresssings of any type (tape, gauze, Kerlix, ace bandages, roller bandages, ABD pads, 2x2s, 4x4s, bandaids, perineal pads)
Plaster or fiberglasss splinting materials
Syringes with needles, (2.5 to 10cc, 20g. to 25 g.)
Alcohol /Betadine pads or wipes
Betadine solution
Surgical instruments (i.e., suture removal kits, procedure kits)
Burn dressings
Silvadene cream
Vaseline
Meds:
Topical antibiotics (Neosporin, Gentamycin, etc.)
Antibiotics, any (amoxicillin, tetracycline, cephaloxin, ciprofloxin, sulfa-TMX)
Painkillers, any (Tylenol, acetominophine, ibuprofin, naproxen)

Deliver any medical supplies or meds to
Reflection Of Christ Church
200 Main St Hartford, KY

or in the Florida area to
Dr Johnson at 621 Morning Cove Circle, Palm Bay FL 32909

Or phone us for a pickup at your place: (270) 315-7284 or (270) 315-7489.
Please send any donations marked "earthquake relief" to MISSIONS OF LOVE, Inc., PO Box 292, Hartford, KY 42347. You'll receive a receipt for tax purposes. Please spread the word in your church, workplace, friends, neighbors, etc. to help in any way they can. God bless all! Dr Bob and Betty*

Once again these are folks we trust and have a wonderful medical mission here in Haiti. Also there is an organization named Lifeline Christian Mission in Grand Goave that needs help. There website is www.lifeline.org, if you want more information. And finally we are connected with some friends in Port-au-Prince involved in an organization called MCC. Their website is www.mcc.org/haitiearthquake. They do a lot of different things in Port-au-Prince, and will most assuredly need your help and donations. Many blessings to you all!

Just wanted to get this letter out there to even more people who might be able to help in some small way.

A Peaceful Trust

2010-01-10T22:11:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine and I are doing a Nancy Leigh DeMoss study on having a meek and quiet spirit and we have also done 30 days of praying for our husbands. There are many more studies and prayer challenges on her site Revive our Hearts which I highly recommend. There is a section called Grow where you can print off downloads and there are several different ones to choose from. Everything she puts out is straight from scripture and is very solid and encouraging.
So, we just began our study on having a meek and quiet spirit and I wanted to share a scripture that really spoke to me.

"In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; He sets up walls and ramparts for security. Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter, the one that remains faithful. The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, For in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock. For He has brought low those who dwell on high, the unassailable city; He lays it low, He lays it low to the ground, He casts it to the dust. The foot will trample it, the feet of the afflicted, the steps of the helpless. The way of the righteous is smooth; O Upright One, make the path of the righteous level. Indeed, while following the way of Your judgments, O Lord, We have waited for You eagerly; Your name, even Your memory, is the desire of our souls. At night my soul longs for You, Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently; for when the earth experiences Your judgments the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness." -Isaiah 26:1-9

Y'eshua himself says "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." - Matthew 11:28-30
The meek will react to circumstances with peaceful trust, seeking Him diligently, and resting in His perfect plan for our lives.

A fishfry and cheerfulness

2010-01-08T09:13:00.000-08:00

We had an amazing New Year's Eve. The kids went fishing with Matt and Pop-Pop and caught several trout. It was enough to make into a meal, so they cleaned 'em and fried 'em up and it was absolutely mouth watering. Elijah has been dreaming about catching fish and eating the...even at his young age he knows that there is something so good about providing dinner for the table. We enjoyed every bite of fish with some homemade hush puppies and steamed veggies. By the time we finished eating it was dark and we decided to go for a night walk on the beach. The kids had such a blast running and chasing each other in the dark. It was very exciting for them to be outside, running wild, when the are normally getting ready for bed. Elijah told me that he wished we could live at the beach and go on night walks every night:)
So onto my goals and plans for the New Year...at the very top of my list is Cheerfulness. I was reading an article in the most recent No Greater Joy magazine and it spoke straight to my heart about cheerfulness. The article explained that cheerfulness "is the first and most important quality a child trainer must possess...a young parent that is full of good cheer has 75 percent of what it takes to be a successful child trainer. Everyone is attracted to joy. Children will do anything for one who enjoys them. Once they get in the joy zone, they never want to do anything that will jeopardize that relationship. A parent of good cheer can deliver a more effective rebuke in less time and without damaging the relationship than a legalistic grump could do with a thousand Bible verses and a hundred spankings. If you are cheerful in our Messiah you will be a dynamic child trainer. You will be to children what a flower is to a bee."
These words are so true. Everyone wants to be around a cheerful person, not just children. The cheerful person is so encouraging, uplifting and pleasant to be around that they have the ability to lighten the load of those around them and their joy is somehow contagious. When someone is smiling at you, it is impossible to frown. I have tried this with my children. When they are feeling grumpy I just look right into their eyes and give them the biggest smile and though they try to cling to their grumpiness, without fail a smile comes to the surface. The mother's attitude determines the atmosphere of the home. If I am walking around complaining about everything that has to be done, then they can feel my stress. If I am constantly pointing out their shortcomings and my face shows more disappointment than joy, they feel discouraged. If they are greeted with more frowns than smiles, they feel frustrated and grumpy themselves. How can I capture the hearts of my children when my own heart feels weary. Why weary? The times I feel weary are the times I try to do things in my own power and strength, with my own wisdom and understanding. I allow myself to lose sight of the true source of cheerfulness and joy. In Proverbs 17:22 it says "A joyful heart is good medicine. But a broken spirit dries up the bones". A joyful heart is good medicine for my children and for my home. How often have I dried up the bones with my joyless heart? If we are without joy and cheer then we are looking too hard at our own inward selfishness... what we don't have, what we think we need, ungrateful for what we have...but true joy is born out of a thankful heart. And I have SO much to be thankful for. As I remind myself to be thankful and to stay in the presence of God I realize that, indeed, it is possible to live a life FULL of joy and cheer.

Little Scribby turned 1!

2010-01-02T09:10:00.000-08:00

He wasn't a big fan of the birthday candle, but he sure did love the cake:)

It is so hard to believe that this time last year I was holding newborn Ezra Joseph in my arms. He has brought so much joy and laughter to our home this year. We always have nicknames for our children, usually given by our other children. Ezra has quite a few names. Caleb first came up with Nibbler, then Scribby, I call him Z and lately Jonas has been calling him a little Poo-Pot:)
He has a very lively little personality and great determination to keep up with his brothers. He is also the first climber I have ever had and by far the most curious. He has been the first one ever caught playing in the toilet, the first to put a slug in his mouth, and various other gross things. He's also a professional hunter of every small thing that should not go in his mouth like coins, marbles and small legos. Ezra also has a very laid back demeanor and quite a funny sense of humor. He is by far the happiest, most smiley baby I have ever had. His favorite game play peek-a-boo and he loves to be chased and has the fastest crawl I have ever seen. I can't wait to learn more about this little guy and see what purpose God has for his life.

A Family Tradition

2009-12-31T23:26:00.000-08:00

When Elijah was a baby we began a wonderful tradition with Matt's family. Instead of doing a bunch of gifts at Christmas Matt's parents decided to put that money towards a beach house where we could all gather and spend a week of fun at the beach. Each family is responsible for cooking a meal for everyone, which is a fun way to contribute to the costs of a family vacation and also a great opportunity to share favorite recipes. The family has grown quite a bit since we first started this tradition. Seven years ago there were only 2 grandchildren and now there are 8! The kids have the best time living together for a week. They spend hours and hours playing on the beach and even in the freezing cold water! This year we did a few structured activities with the kids and they were a great success! We read gingerbread stories and let the kids make their own gingerbread people and decorate them. They loved doing this activity and their favorite part was eating the cookies, of course!. One day the kids decided they wanted to paint some seashells and try to sell them:) So we got out the paint and they painted a few seashells, but they mostly painted Ezra! He didn't seem to mind. One day Nana had a great idea come to her in the early morning hours one day to take seashells and string them on fishing line to make necklaces, bracelets, rings, belts etc. The kids had a lot of fun doing this activity and it gave them something to take home with them to remind them of the beach. Another day they created their own ocean scenes with crayons and sea creature foam stickers and we displayed them on the window. They were very proud of their art work. Aunt Erica came up with a really fun scavenger hunt for the kids to do. They had so much fun running all over the house looking for clues and finally found the prize: sea creature capsules that expand when you put them in water! They thought that was so much fun...it was really funny when some of the sea creatures turned out to be turkeys, elephants and pigs! Good old dollar store:) The rest of their time was spent digging for treasure in the sand, sticking their toes in the water and in some cases their whole bodies, and playing in their "house"...(a nice big closet is great for the imagination!).
I, of course, enjoyed my time with Matt- taking long, romantic walks on the beach (ha.) Oh wait, that didn't happen. But we did spend a lot of time making sand castles, digging holes, and burying little feet...which in my opinion is just as good:). I loved watching little Ezra scooting across the sand so fast like a little crab. I loved seeing my children laugh and squeal as they ran away from the waves. I love that no two seashells are the same. I love the beautiful beach sunsets and watching the repetitive motion and hearing the repetitive sounds of the waves. There are so many things to love.
It is so peaceful being at the beach under the great big sky, looking out over the vast ocean, and I just can't help thinking about what an awesome Creator we have. He is so big and we are so small, like the grains of sand. It is so easy, while on vacation, removed from stress and worry, surrounded by loved ones and God's awesome creation, to have the "feeling" of peace. However, I don't want a peaceful "feeling" that comes and goes like the tide. I want a peace that dwells deep within, one that will endure upon returning to the business of everyday life- even in the midst of the storms that are sure to come. It is so easy to lose sight of the bigness of God and get caught up in all the stuff that "has to get done" and somehow along the way get the crazy notion that I am the one in control. I want the everlasting peace of the blessed assurance that, indeed, God is in control. He guides my feet on the path, He knows the number of my days, makes the sun rise in the morning and set in the evening. I am so thankful for our vacation and the great big ocean made by our great big God that reminded me to slow down and be still; and I want to challenge myself as we come back home to make time to be still and seek peace every day.

Rejoice Always

2009-12-12T17:24:00.000-08:00

"Rejoice always;
pray without ceasing;
in everything give thanks; for this is
God's will for you in Christ Jesus"
- Thessalonians 5:16-18

I am always reading one of Sally Clarkson's books. I find the so encouraging and uplifting. Right now I am reading Seasons of a Mother's Heart and I want to share a passage from her book that really spoke to me.

"I am more convinced than ever that even in the midst of the mundane, burdensome, and oftentimes frustrating tasks of life allotted to me as a mother, God wants me to find his joy. He wants every single day of my life to be a celebration of his blessings, whether they are large or small. He wants me to celebrate life...the life He has given to me.
But what does it mean to "celebrate life"? Does it mean that I can let my house be a wreck so I can enjoy my children, or that I never have negative thoughts and attitudes, or that I never discipline my children? Does it mean that I simply overlook the myriad difficulties that inevitably spoil the best days, or that I ignore the burdens I carry as a stay-at-home mom, or that I close my eyes to intractable sins that won't go away?
Of course not! The joy filled life is not found by trying to diminish my God-given responsibilities as a woman, wife and mother, nor can I find joy merely by refusing to face the hard realities of life in a fallen world. There is a tension that God is asking me to acknowledge and accept- the tension between ideals and realities. True joy is found by living somewhere between the "ideal life" and "daily realities". That is where Messiah meets me, where the Holy Spirit empowers...
To "celebrate life" is simply a choice. Every day, God extends his hand to offer me the gift of another day to live. If I choose to accept it- to transform those minutes and hours into life lived for and with my Savior- I have the opportunity to see God at work, enjoy His presence, wonder at His creation, appreciate the expressions of His beauty and love, and touch the minds and hearts of my children with His reality. That's certainly what I desire, but it is a choice I have to make...
When you are thankful you are acknowledging God's sovereign control over all the circumstances of your life, whether good or bad."

Rejoice always;
Pray with out ceasing;
in everything give thanks.

In EVERYTHING give thanks. For that is God's will for our lives.
I must admit that this is not easy. On days when everything seems to be going wrong it is so much easier to grumble and complain. I think this is why we are to pray without ceasing; when we feel compelled to complain, let us turn our hearts to God and pray, to be still and hear His voice, to turn our burdens and worries over to Him. Slowing down and making time to pray in the middle of the day can also be a challenge, especially with lots of little ones running around... especially when you are trying to accomplish A, B, and C... but choosing to slow down and pray in the midst of a crazy day also provides us with the perfect opportunity to draw our children close and pray with them- to teach them to turn our frustrations, worries and complaints over to God and "lean not on our own understanding, but in all our ways acknowledge Him" - Proverbs 3:5-6

Rejoice always;
Pray without ceasing;
In everything give thanks.

These are words that are meant to be put into action; and the reality is that these words are challenging...
but I am ready to live in the will of the Father... pursuing joy each day.

Q: How do you know when it's time to clean your gutters?

2009-12-07T21:01:00.000-08:00

A: When you find a tomato plant growing in them!

Yes, it is true. This really happened and, believe me, there was plenty of fertile soil up there to grow an entire garden.:)

Giving Thanks

2009-12-01T22:39:00.000-08:00

(to see larger slideshow click slide twice)

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration in the mountains. I am so thankful that our family has managed to stay close even though my grandparents passed away long ago. It means so much to me that everyone is committed to keeping the family together. In the same breath I must say our gathering was bittersweet; it didn't quite feel complete without my cousin Dan and my NC mamaw who both passed away this past year. I surely missed Dan's sweet smile and easy-going spirit and Mamaw's warm hugs and our long talks... so my heart was aching a little. However, I continue to give thanks even through pain and sadness and remember that I have so much to be thankful for:
Walks in cool fall weather, toothy-grins from babies, laughter of children, delicious food to eat, holding Matt's hand, curling up to read a book in a warm living room, kids jumping in leaves, eyes to see beauty all around, a Messiah that is the true bread... and I just pray that I will continue to embrace each day with gratitude
and a thankful heart for all my many blessings.

Happy Birthday Caleb!

2009-11-21T17:43:00.000-08:00

These are some of the many faces of Caleb.

I can't believe Caleb is already 4 years old and he is already looking forward to being 5! Isn't that the story of a little brother? Always trying to be big. It is Caleb's goal in life to be bigger than Matt; he talks about it almost everyday... and whatever you do, don't use his name and "little" in the same sentence. Caleb has always been a warrior, always trying to conquer the world around him and we just pray that as he grows God will direct his steps and use him in a mighty way.
A few facts about Caleb:
He loves Dr. Suess (mostly because Caleb,himself, loves words and rhymes)
He has a very tender side. Out of all the children he will notice and compliment me if I am wearing a pretty dress and he's the one that likes to play with my hair- sooooo sweet.
It would not surprise me if he becomes a vegetarian as an adult. He would love to live on veggies and fruit.
He loves to run and he's actually very good at it- he has quite good endurance for his age.
He loves to be tickled. Every night before he goes to sleep he asks for a kiss, a regular hug, a bear hug, and a tickle bear hug...in that exact order.
He loves water- the downside of this is that he has been my bathroom mischief kid. I have found wet toilet paper wads all over the bathroom, toilet paper rolls crammed down the sink drain, my mascara painted all over the bathtub and various other deeds and he ALWAYS comes out of the bathroom with wet hair...very suspicious.

2009-11-16T19:10:00.000-08:00

FOR TODAY November 16, 2009...

Outside My Window...Complete darkness.

I am thinking...One million things, as usual. I need to do the dishes, a load of laundry, take a shower, prepare a few things for homeschooling...I am thinking about tackling our debts, all the remodeling that still needs to be done on the house and the fact that I really need to post a blog about Caleb's birthday.

I am thankful for...the Father and our Messiah- the true bread of life...

From the learning rooms...We are reading Farmer Boy and loving it even more the 2nd time around. Caleb and Jonas are really into drawing lately and are producing the best artwork:)

From the kitchen... Nothing too fabulous. I have been trying to eat just raw fruits and vegetables for lunch every day and it really seems to improve my energy level for the rest of the day...no more falling asleep reading stories after lunch!

I am wearing... royal blue pj's

I am creating...a peaceful home...or at least trying to.

I am going...to stay home all week and enjoy not running around here and there.

I am reading...so many books...mostly all Charlotte Mason or Sally Clarkson.

I am hoping...this week will be fun and productive.

I am hearing... Matt typing up lesson plans on his laptop beside me.

Around the house... I really want to paint. After all the painting we did a year ago I got so burnt out on painting...but the desire to paint again is returning...so we'll see if the desire is strong enough to actually pick up the paint brush.

One of my favorite things... watching the leaves falling from trees, beautiful colors twisting and floating to the ground.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... no plans. I am just going to take each day as it comes.

A Week In The Woods

2009-10-25T18:24:00.000-07:00

"Your goal in nature study, though, is much more than just to 'inform' your children about the details of creation. Your greater task is to 'form in' them eyes that can see the Creator in his creation (Romans1:20), an abiding sense of wonder and appreciation of what God has made (Psalm 8 and 19) and a passion to care for, subdue, and rule over this earth as God's highest expression of created being (Genesis 1:28)." Educating the WholeHearted Child, by Clay and Sally Clarkson

This week we enjoyed perfect fall weather. We got our desk work done early in the morning and headed out into the woods for the rest of the day and we did this every day. Day 1 we went to our familiar library nature trail. There is a part of the trail that the kids call the "broken pine forest" which is a very dense part of the trail with lots of fallen pine trees and it is a great place for the imagination. Another fun part about this trail is at the entrance there is a big sign with all the native trees on it and it assigns each tree a symbol like a red triangle or blue circle and as you walk through the woods several of the trees along the trail have these symbols placed upon them so that they are easy for children to identify. At the end of our walk Elijah caught a frog and toad...we named them "Frog and Toad"! I know...very original. The kids met some knew friends and pretended they were Jamestown settlers in a big mulch pile under a big oak tree while Ezra crawled around in the grass trying to eat acorns!
Day 2 we went on a nature trail at Triad Park. This trail was very long for little feet. They stopped many times to sit on stumps and logs to rest and watch passing clouds and the leaves swaying in the treetops. There was a creek on the trail and Elijah caught two salamanders! He sure does love to catch critters!
Day 3 we explored a new place with my friend Allison and her 5 children. We found hidden treasures behind Guilford College. Trails upon trails..big trails with little trails leading to all kinds of amazing natural play areas for children....big trees to climb, creeks to poke around in with big sticks, tunnels made of branches and leaves...they had the best time exploring in the woods with friends.
Day 4 we just went into our yard and collected beautiful leaves and pictures of fall to use as centerpiece for our table. Caleb gave me a heart shaped leaf and I had Elijah pick out a tree in our yard for a project we are going to do called "A Tree Grows in..." You can do this project wherever you live. Just pick a tree that you love in your yard and take pictures of it during each season, collect its leaves and flowers, draw it during different times of the year. Research it, study it, watch it and put all the information in a nature journal or scrapbook.
Just a glimpse of our week in the woods...

Pickin' Apples

2009-10-05T22:11:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we made our way back to my hometown of Hendersonville to visit grandparents and pick some delicious NC apples. It is always so nice to be back in the mountains. We enjoyed the beautiful, blue sky day with the warm fall sunshine on our faces; the kids running from tree to tree filling up baskets with arms full of nature's bounty, finding our way through the corn maze, picnic on the farm drinking cool apple cider...what a sweet fall day.

Bushisms and other nonsense!

2009-09-25T21:36:00.000-07:00

Many of you that know me know that I have one thing in common with George W. Bush...bushisms. Yes, it is true. It happens quite regularly around here and I am married to the grammar police, so it is very rare that these language blunders go unnoticed. Sometimes I genuinely get my words mixed up and sometimes it is an accident but usually people know what I am TRYING to say. I blame some of this on my mother who is worse with words than I am. (sorry mom, it's true!)
I just so happened to make one of these mistakes in my last blog post when I called my father-in-law's brisket "infamous"...which means having a reputation of the worst kind... now OBVIOUSLY I didn't mean to use that word and if I thought his brisket was infamous I surely wouldn't have said it for the whole world to see... what I meant to write was famous. My father-in-law's brisket is the best I have ever tasted. It is delicious, fabulous, wonderful and anything but infamous. Elijah says I am like the "BFG" (the big friendly giant- a character from a Roald Dahl book that always gets his words mixed up!) Here is a quote from the BFG "Words is oh such a twitch-tickling problem to me all my life. So you must simply try to be patient and stop squibbling. As I am telling you before, I know exactly what words I am wanting to say, but somehow or other they is always getting squiff-squiddled around"... maybe Elijah is right. I am kind of like the BFG (which, by the way, is an hilarious book to read aloud to children).
Onto the nonsense. The other day when we came home the entire family was standing at the door and I had the key. Everyone was waiting for me to open the door and in the meantime I am getting totally frustrated because I am pressing the unlock button on our keyless entry control for the car over and over again and I am not understanding why the door to our house isn't unlocking. Finally I realize what I am doing and I just started laughing at the absurdity of it all and Elijah is just staring at me like I'm crazy and Matt asks "Did you just try to unlock the door with the car keys?"...I look at him with a look that says
"are you really that surprised???" When I was pregnant I used the excuse of pregnancy brain and I the past several years I have used the excuse of being really tired from night nursing and back to back pregnancies...but Matt likes to remind me that I was this way before we even got married. Ok. fine. I admit it. It's true. Sometimes my brain leaves my body...but in the words of the BFG "I cannot be helping it if I is sometimes saying things (and in my case, doing things as well) a little squiggly. I is trying my very best all the time."

Embracing 30 and the Birthday Surprise (almost a month later!)

2009-09-19T18:33:00.000-07:00

(after much late night laboring I am still unable to get this video to post correctly but if you want to see the full picture just click on the video twice...I can't try to figure it out anymore...my technological skills are very limited!)

Well, it is official. I am 30 years old. Last year when I turned 29 I started thinking about being 30 and I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about it...but now that it is here I have totally embraced this new decade in my life. I love my life and my sweet family. When I look back on my life before Matt and the children I just remember dreaming about getting married and having a family and I have been living out that dream for 8 adventurous years now! Life seems so full of meaning and purpose...and for the first time I feel like I am starting to be exactly who I want to be. I am no longer worried about living up to other people's standards and expectations. I am no longer offended by what others might say or think about our home birthing, home schooling, home churching life style. My heart and my vision is focused on this calling that God has placed within me of being the best wife I can be for Matt and raising these magnificent boys that we have been blessed us with.
All that being said, I must now sing praises to my amazing husband. He was so sneaky and really pulled of a big surprise for my birthday. I started to become suspicious when he insisted on cleaning the kitchen on a Friday night and he told me I was going to have a special guest come and visit me for my birthday. Well, around lunch time on Saturday my parents rolled into the driveway and I was really surprised. I wasn't expecting to see them because they visited the previous weekend for Elijah's birthday. They said they were going to take us out to this awesome restaurant that evening and I thought "ok-this is the surprise". So I actually had a nice dress on at this point because I didn't know who the special guest was going to be, but when I found out it was my parents I decided to put my PJ's back on and I was getting ready to ask Matt if I could take a little nap when all of a sudden the Mosher family walks into the house! This is one of our favorite families ever and were great friends of ours from when we lived in Boone. We hadn't seen them in well over a year and here I stand in my pajamas! So I was totally embarrassed and I ran back to our bedroom and slipped back into my dress just in time before all the other people started rolling in. My in-laws came with a bounty of food and my father-in-law made his famous smoked brisket...my friend Jenny showed up with her family from VA and she made my birthday cake (which, by the way, is the world's best pound cake ever). My brother from Raleigh came with the beautiful Marianne and all the other family members arrived with food and flowers and it ended up being the very best day ever! To top it all off Matt brought his projector home from school and hung a sheet on the wall to display a fabulous slide show (which is what you see above) that he created (along with his very talented brother Dan). The most unique part about the slide show is that he asked our friends and family members to share some thoughts and words about me and he took bits and pieces of what everyone said and put it in the slideshow. It is amazing how words can be so uplifting and encouraging. I don't think I have ever felt as special as I did that day! Matt Mosher said that my Matt earned the "husband of the year" award and he was right! He is a fantastic Mr. Fox.
So I want to say a big thank you to all of our friends and family who helped me welcome 30...it's looking pretty good so far.

The peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension

2009-09-15T19:06:00.000-07:00

Life can be so very hectic at times. Some days it feels like I can hardly keep my head above the water...treading through the hours, minutes, gasping for air, for rest, for calm.
Last night as I was praying and pouring myself out before the Father I heard Him speak to me. It is not very often that I feel God speaking to me so strongly and He said clear as day "My peace surpasses all understanding". Be still. Hear the Words. I open my heart and bible to Philippians.
Chapter 4:4-9 "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!

Let your gentle spirit be known to all men, The Lord is near.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication
thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever
is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of
good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise,
dwell on these things.

The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me,
practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you."

The peace of God is beyond our comprehension. It is not something that I can attain through more lists, more planning, more schedules. I sometimes think that if I can organize our lives enough then we will have peace. I just need to plan more activities so that the kids won't have time to argue with each other. I need to stick to our sleeping and eating schedule so they won't be so whiney. Peace is also not something I can find in a walk alone around the neighborhood or on a beach retreat or in a quiet nook in the library (though those things do provide temporary relief)...but the kind of peace that is beyond our comprehension comes only through the Father, our eternal King of Peace.
The word dwell really fell heavy on my heart. Dwell. Part of the definition is to fasten one's attention on or upon someone or something and to think or speak about something for a long time. I began to think about how much of my days and my life I spend dwelling on the negative things...how messy the house is, how I keep getting interrupted when I am trying to homeschool, how I need to lose weight, how we need to pay off debt and the list goes on. Dwelling on those things bring worry, anxiety, frustration etc. As I rolled the words over and over in my head the word dwell really started sinking in. The things that God tells us to dwell upon aren't just nice things to read about. He wants us to inhabit these words, to live them, to fasten our attention upon them and do not look away. He spells it out very clearly what we should dwell upon. His word assures us that when we dwell on these good things and practice them that His peace will be with us and that His peace will guard our hearts and minds.
I pray that in the moments and days to come when I might find myself gasping for air once again that I would turn toward the Father and fix the eyes of my heart upon Him, who says "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" Matt. 11:28-29
"Thus says the Lord, 'Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; and you will find rest for your souls" Jeremiah 6:16

(In)Courage

2009-09-09T19:45:00.000-07:00

I want to share an amazing group of women with you. They come from all different backgrounds and walks of life and they have come together to share their thoughts and words with other women on this fabulous site www.incourage.me On this site you can find links to each of the women's individual blogs or websites (featuring one of my all time favorite blogs, a holy experience). I want to encourage you to check it out if you are searching for inspiration (as I do from time to time). You will laugh and cry and find a wealth of encouragement as they share their lives and hearts with you.

2009-09-03T18:37:00.000-07:00

FOR TODAY Thursday September 3, 2009...

Outside my window...is the quiet darkness of night.

I am thinking...about simplifying the house and eliminating the things we don't love or need.

I am thankful for...the glorious weather that we have been having and being able to be outside enjoying these days with the kids.

From the learning rooms...I just ordered the Prairie Primer (a very detailed unit study curriculum based on the Little House series)yesterday and we are looking forward to diving into that series once again. In our outside learning room we have been finding all sorts of awesome things. Elijah caught a toad and a skink. We discovered a massive group of caterpillars (the most I have ever seen in my life) devouring the leaves on an Oak sapling at the park and we watched what I think were LOTS of fireflies mating on the trunk of a different tree.

From the kitchen...the fragrant scent of curry (my favorite spice). We ate Mulligatawny (soup),which is always delicious.

I am wearing...a navy blue shirt and a lime green skirt.

I am creating...scriptures to hang throughout our house so I can constantly be reminded of God's goodness.

I am going...to hopefully go to bed soon. I am trying to get on an early sleep schedule...but I've been saying that for years now.

I am reading... Educating the Whole-Hearted Child and trying to find motivation and inspiration for this school year.

I am hoping...that tomorrow goes by fast so that I can spend more time with my sweet husband.

I am hearing...crickets chirruping outside my window, a dog barking off in the distance, the quietness of children sleeping.

Around the house...I see a lot of stuff that is getting ready to go to Goodwill! Good-bye clutter!

One of my favorite things...Ezra's funny little four-toothed grin.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Possibly going camping this weekend if the weather stays nice.

The G.R.A.I.N. of Your Homeschool

2009-08-18T18:38:00.000-07:00

I am usually not a big fan of using acronyms in speeches, lectures, or sermons, but in this case I was pleasantly surprised. This was the title of one of the workshop sessions given by Misty Spinelli at the NCHE home school conference 2 years ago. I loved what she said so much that I ordered a CD of her lecture so that I could listen to it at the beginning of every new home school year. It is inspiring, encouraging, honest, practical advice on daily living and homeschooling, and a great reminder of all the real reasons that we home school. This is an analogy that compares homeschooling to making bread and I would like to share some of the goodness with you.

G. Goals. This is like the recipe for our bread- the list of ingredients; the reason and the vision for your home school. She says we should home school for the adults that our children will become some day. First she says to make a wish list of all the things we would want our kids to be when they grow up, which of course would include all the virtues and would look something like this: wise, discerning, patient, kind, humble, self-sufficient, forgiving, strong work ethic, academic success, good social/relationship skills, a good brother, sister, friend, husband, wife, mother, father...etc. Now imagine that you show your list to God and He says your list is great, but if you could have only one of those things on the list what would it be? So you pick the most important thing on the list and from there you start to prioritize the list in order of importance and what usually ends up happening is that academic success falls pretty low on the list. There is no doubt that we want our children to be successful and that might mean going to college, but the truth is that true education involves so much more than academics and true success is measured by so much more than a college degree and a scholarly mind. We are educating a WHOLE person, not just the brain. If we followed the priority list of the world it would be: getting a good college education, having a successful career, making a lot of money, buying lots of material things to show for your success and so on. But whose priorities are we following? As a homeschooling mom I know how easy it is to get caught up in choosing curriculum, focusing on the academic checklist and trying to cover all the subjects each and every day, but when I step back and evaluate the reasons why I home school I realize that it is not so much about academics as it is about walking out Duet. 6 with my children.

R. Relax. This is when we allow the bread to rise. What do you do to make bread rise? Nothing. Let it rest. We all need rest from the constant stimulation that we are exposed to everyday- the radio, TV, computer, cell phone, etc. We need a break from these things and so do our children- time to formulate our own thoughts, time to be still and quiet- to commune with God and hear His voice. It is critical that children have down time to process what they are learning. There is a great book called the Power of Play by David Elkind that talks about the importance of providing our children with unscheduled free time to play and use their imaginations or to just sit quietly and watch the birds or look at books. So, it is one thing to provide free time for our kids, but it is much more difficult to provide it for ourselves. Why is that? We have chores to tend to (the never ending pile of dishes and laundry), we need to pay bills, grocery shop, plan meals, prepare for the days ahead, balance the checkbook, work on the house- the list goes on. The truth is that homeschooling is not an easy job and it is critical and equally important that the parents find moments of peace, prayer and rejuvenation as well.

A. Answers. This goes along with relaxing. Go to God for all your answers. Get on your knees. Open dialogue with God and ask specific questions about individual children. It is not possible to home school in your own strength. You will fail and feel like a failure. No one can possibly know everything and we shouldn't try to teach our children everything. We get these "have to's" in our head that aren't "have to's". Ask yourself whose "to-do" list are you working from? the elementary school down the road, the world's, Abeka's, our own or God's? We need to seek His to-do list. Seek wise council with the Father, pray and ask for His guidance on this home school journey.

I. Instruct the will of your child. This is like the shaping of the bread. It is critical that we help our children form good habits before any formal instruction takes place. It is very difficult to teach a child that is lazy, disobedient, and has a poor attention span. A habit is something you do effortlessly. It is a gift when we give our children good habits. The key to breaking negative habits is to set up natural consequences that directly relate to the habit that you are trying to break and be 100% consistent in implementing the consequences. (I have found that consistency is the hardest part but it it definitely worth it in the end.) Consistency, encouragement, and repetition are the keys to building good habits. I cannot say that I have completely mastered this area, but I do know that there is a mutual benefit for both me and the kids when they get their work done quickly and with a good attitude.

N. Nourishment. How do the majority of Americans eat? Fast, fun, but not very nourishing. What does the world say about homeschooling? We need a teaching degree, we need a classroom in our home, we need to cram their heads full of useless facts so that they will appear to be learning something. It isn't healthy to eat junk food that provides our body with nothing but empty calories and in the same way we shouldn't waste our children's time by filling them up with facts that don't really mean much in the long run. Let's fill them with true nourishment- let's fill them up with things that will really help them grow; a WHOLE education, love and a loving environment, time spent together, and the wisdom of the Word.

Happy Birthday Jo-Jo!

2009-08-05T18:07:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Jonas is already 2 years old! Jonas is our 3rd son and is special for so many reasons. He says so many funny things that sound a lot like cookie monster (me do it! or mine shoes on) and he already has the most hilarious sense of humor. He loves music; he is always singing and his favorite activity is playing the keyboard. He also loves balloons and the moon. If we are in the car at night he will talk to the moon and about the moon the entire time we are in the car- he calls it bella luna, but it sounds more like bella baloona! His favorite books are the I Spy books, My Goodnight Book by Eloise Wilkins and Goodnight Gorilla. He is a fruit monster and would live on fruit alone if I would let him. I gave him the indian name Skinny-Minny-Too-Tiny because he is such a bean pole. One very special fact about Jonas is that he has amazing self control for a 2 year old and he has the best manners of all the boys. He is also a very compassionate, sympathetic little guy- if one of the brothers get hurt he is always trying to comfort them. I just know that all of these wonderful qualities will carry into adulthood and he will be a very steady, kind, and gentle man- just like his father. Happy 2nd birthday Jo-Jo!

Summer Road Trip Part IV- Laurel Fork, VA

2009-07-23T05:00:00.000-07:00

We love the Brown Family!!! Our good friends Aaron and Jenny live in Laurel Fork, VA- one of the most beautiful areas of VA in my opinion. They live on 30(+/-) acres near the parkway and it is always so peaceful to spend time up there. We had such an amazing time with this great family that the pictures don't even do it justice.
The dads took the kids for a ride all around the property one afternoon and they spent 2 days building a fort in the woods. I am so sad that I didn't get any pictures of the fort because they worked so hard at clearing a spot in the woods and building the foundation. Every kid helped and had a tool in hand which made the process even more fun.
I call Jenny my pioneer/homesteader friend and while the boys were building the fort, she was teaching me how to can. We managed to can 21 quarts of peaches. I messed a few of them up a little, but Jenny is a very patient teacher and I realized that canning isn't nearly as complicated as I initially thought.
Aaron is a landscaper and he collected a huge pile of brush so we could have a bonfire. This has been a tradition every time we visit. This was the biggest bonfire yet- it was huge. The funny thing was that Jenny had a little patch of sunflowers last year and one lone sunflower came up in the same spot this year. Well, Aaron put the brush pile right next to it. Jenny hugged it good-bye and then it went up in flames- I could tell she was crying inside as it burned! So sad.
On Sunday we had a great time visiting with Jenny's family. We had a bible reading on her parent's back porch overlooking the mountains and we shared a great lunch together. Then we went swimming in the creek. The kids thought it was really cool to drive through the open ford. Matt is really good at skipping rocks and spent a lot of time teaching our kids how to find the perfect rock and showing them the proper throwing technique. Elijah caught a fish. The little boys enjoyed playing in the mud and they actually found a really muddy bank and turned it into a mud slide. They were so dirty, but as my Papaw used to say "a little dirt helps kids grow".
Our kids loved being able to spend so much time playing with their buddies. Savannah took a special liking to Ezra and kept trying to convince me that she was a very capable babysitter (which she is and will be a fabulous mommy someday). Little Katie Mae and Jonas really enjoyed chasing each other around. Elijah and Savannah loved putting together big puzzles every morning- it became a morning tradition and setting up elaborate scenes with the toys. Alan and Caleb just enjoyed getting dirty.
Our last day we went for a hike up Buffalo Mountain. The view from the top was breathtaking. You could see for miles and miles in all directions. Elijah felt like he was on top of the world. Finally, we had a picnic at Mabry Mill on the Parkway. It seemed like the perfect day and it was sad to get in the car and come home.
The thing I always recognize now when I spend time in the country and in nature is how much noise pollution we are subjected to in the city. My ears felt relieved to just listen to the wind blow and the crickets chirrup minus the sirens, trains, cars, horns and airplanes. It was so nice to sit under the stars without street lights dimming the view. It is so easy to recognize and appreciate all the things that God created without so many man-made obstacles in the way.
So thank you sweet Brown family for a relaxing mountain getaway. Don't be surprised if we set up a permanent tent on your property!

Summer Road Trip Part III- PA and DC

2009-07-23T04:55:00.000-07:00

I just loved our trip. Looking back on the pictures makes me realize even more how much I loved it. The third part of the trip we went to Lancaster Co. PA, which was a great midpoint between Buffalo and DC. We thought about going to Hershey Park in Hershey, PA but we didn't think it was geared towards little children. Then we found this great amusement park called Dutch Wonderland and decided to go there instead. I have never seen such a great amusement park for little kids. It is the best beginners park for kids ages 10 and under. All the rides are geared towards younger children and they also have music shows, story telling, high dive shows and a great water park. I wish I had taken more pictures of this part of our trip, but we were too busy riding the rides. Elijah had his first big roller coaster experience and he loved it. He probably rode it a dozen times. Caleb and Jonas had the most fun in the water park. We had so much fun and we were all wiped out by the end of the day (especially Jonas).
The next day we left PA and headed for DC to see our good friends Kyle and Lorraine. We love Kyle and Lorraine. They are missionaries in Haiti and we only get to see them about once a year, so we couldn't pass up the opportunity to swing by DC and hang out with them for a while. We also got to meet their sweet new addition- baby Micah. The day we arrived Matt and Kyle took the older boys and went to an awesome park to play Frisbee golf. At this particular course there are blackberry bushes everywhere; so they took along some baskets and picked some blackberries which Lorraine made into a delicious blackberry cobbler.
The next day we visited Mount Vernon which was George Washington's home. It was so amazing being on that property and seeing his house and walking along the Potomac River. I never realized that George Washington was such a progressive and innovative farmer. You really have to see the gardens to fully understand. The strangest part of it all was standing at his grave site; it made him a real person, not just a name in a history book or a face on a dollar bill.
Ezra fell asleep in his stroller for the first time and it is actually one of the few times ANY of my kids have fallen asleep in a stroller. I think the trip was finally catching up to him and he looked so cute with his hat over his eyes.
After Mount Vernon Kyle and Matt went to DC at night just to see some of the major sites. It's kind of cool to go at night because everything is lit up and it isn't so hot and crowded. That was the first time Matt has been to DC and we definitely want to go back and enjoy the museums next time.

Summer Road Trip Part II- More of New York

2009-07-14T09:24:00.000-07:00

These pictures show some more of the major highlights of our New York trip. We were thrilled when we found out that Fort Niagara was hosting a re-enactment of the French and Indian War, but this was no regular re-enactment. It just so happened that it was the 250th anniversary of this war and it was the biggest reenactment in the US this year with over 2500 re-en actors. We were able to watch a boat battle and a field battle. However, it was not only a reenactment it was an encampment as well, so we were able to see what life was like beyond the battlefield. We saw how they slept, what they ate, how they dressed, how they made weapons etc. And to my mother's great dismay, we bought some guns for the boys. The funniest part was that there was a park close by and we let the kids take a break and play there for a while. It was completely filled with little boys with toy guns and they divided themselves up and staged their own battle.
The next day we took the kids to a great little children's museum in East Aurora, which is about 30 minutes from my grandpa's house. Somehow we took a wrong turn and ended up taking the most beautiful detour ever through miles and miles of dairy and wheat farms. It is funny because when most people think of New York they think of the city, but there are some of the most beautiful farmlands I have ever seen in upstate New York and all across PA. I forgot to bring my camera into the children's museum, but I did get a few pictures of the farms. And if anyone is ever in East Aurora you must eat at a great restaurant that we found called Sorrentino's.
The day after that Grandma Joanie took us to Herschell's Carousel Museum in Tonawanda. The Allan Herschell Company, the most prolific maker of carousels, specialized in producing portable machines which could be used by traveling carnival operators. The Company produced over 3,000 hand carved wooden carousels and out-produced all of its rivals in the carousel industry. (info. taken from www.carouselmuseum.org) Who knew this all started in the little town of Tonawanda? The kids had so much fun riding the old carousels, which go much faster than the newer ones. The most interesting part of the museum to me was the organ and drums that provided the carousel music. We are used to music just coming out of a speaker, but these were real instruments designed to play themselves.
I had to sneak a few pictures in of Caleb playing in the rain. After we went to the carousel museum we ate ice cream on my grandpa's back porch and it started to rain. Caleb asked if he could play in the rain and of course we said yes. So he started off splashing around in the puddles, but by the end of it he was swimming in them.
Our last day in New York was fabulous. It was the Fourth of July. My Uncle Bill plays the bagpipes, so we got up early to watch him play in the Parade on Grand Island. Then we went over to my Uncle Bill and Aunt Deb's house for a delicious 4th of July picnic and were able to swim in their pool. Then we ended the day watching the fireworks go off over the Niagara Falls River just 2 blocks from my Grandpa's house. It was a truly perfect way to spend the 4th of July.
I ended the slide show with a picture of the kids with Great Pop and Mama Joanie because they were the highlight of our trip. My grandpa made a ramp in his living room for the toy cars and they played there every day. He even got down on the floor with Elijah and played pirates. Joan has a great laugh that fills the room and hugs that make you feel really loved. The memories of our time with them are the ones that will last forever.

Summer Road Trip Part I- New York

2009-07-06T19:08:00.000-07:00

We headed out on June 25th on a 3 week road trip... a glorious benefit of Matt being a teacher and having the summers off. So we have been on this wonderful adventure and have been having the best time. Most of the pictures in this slide show are of our visit to Tonawanda, NY. This is a great little Suburb of Buffalo. My grandparents and all my aunts and uncles live there. My great grandparents came to the US from Germany and built a house in Tonawanda, NY and my grandfather still lives in the same house that he lived in when he was a little boy. His neighborhood is fabulous. It has a fire station, school, grocery store, church all within about a 5 block radius. His house is 2 blocks from the beautiful Niagara Falls River. There is a great running/biking trail that runs along the river all the way up to the Falls.
The first pictures are taken when we woke them up really early in the morning the first day of our trip because we wanted to get an early start on the 12 hour trip. You may be wondering what the picture with the tags is all about. Well, I knew I was going to have to be creative to survive a trip that long with 4 young kids in the car. So I found a great website www.momsminivan.com and I found a lot of fabulous ideas for making a car trip fun for kids. I hung a string from window to window in our Suburban and I hung a ticket for each hour that we were going to be on the road and when each hour passed I took down a ticket and this was a great way to give them a visual of how many hours were left on the trip. Every 2 hours I gave them each a surprise bag with a snack and a little game or activity in it. This really helped the time go quickly and we all ended having a lot of fun on that 12 hour trip.
A lot of the pictures are taken at Niagara Falls. Even though I have been there several times I really wanted to take the kids to see it. I am in complete awe each time I see the falls and I just can't imagine what it must have looked before it was developed. Can you imagine being an explorer and stumbling upon the falls for the very first time? It is absolutely amazing.
We also went to the Erie Canal, which is very fascinating to me. This time we went to the Erie Caves, which I never knew about before this trip and got a great tour of this amazing man-made cave next to the canal.
But the main focus of this trip was to spend time visiting with family. We spent so much time eating together, talking, laughing, looking at old pictures, swimming, and just hanging out. The last time I saw my NY family we just had Elijah, so they got to meet Caleb, Jonas and Ezra. The kids loved meeting their New York family and I know that we created some great memories that will last a lifetime.

2009-06-03T12:12:00.000-07:00

For Today...

Outside my window... It is hot, humid and cloudy. I am waiting for a thunderstorm to roll through and bring a few cool breezes.

I am thinking... that I need to tend to the pile of dirty dishes in my sink and the clothes in the hallway...but I'm sure they will still be there an hour from now.

I am thankful for... my mom visiting. She took the boys to the YMCA to swim and the little guys are sleeping... so I am also thankful for the quiet stillness of the house right now.

From the learning rooms... Elijah is devouring old copies of Ranger Rick and enjoying some new books on tape from my mom and Caleb is really into Richard Scarry right now. We are still reading the Little House series...we only have 1 more book left... and Elijah has already told me he wants to start the whole series over again once we finish it.

From the kitchen... is the smell of pancakes from this morning. It's a great recipe that is made of whole wheat, wheat germ, oats, pecans, bananas, apples, cinnamon...Yum.

I am wearing... I long blue skirt and a white shirt

I am creating... a family vision. This is something Matt and I have wanted to write out for a while and when it is complete I am going to frame it and hang it in our bedroom.

I am going... to take Caleb to his first music and movement class tonight. He is so excited and I hope it will be a lot of fun.

I am reading... Real Learning: Education in the Heart of the Home by Elizabeth Foss and I am really enjoying it. I am always reading and rereading Educating the Whole-Hearted Child by Sally Clarkson

I am hoping... to find some good books at the used book store tonight.

I am hearing... My neighbor mowing his lawn, the attic fan running at our house and the faint sirens from a fire truck.

Around the house... I see laundry that needs to be folded and books that need to be put away.

One of my favorite things... hearing my children laugh.

A few plans for the rest of the week: tomorrow my mom and I are taking the boys on a train ride to Raleigh to see my brother and go to the Museum of Natural Science. I am sure it will be a very adventurous day.

Tomorrow

2009-05-28T19:30:00.000-07:00

Everyone in our family enjoys the Frog and Toad stories by Arnold Lobel; it is the subtle sarcasm and irony that makes these stories so clever and fun to read. Today Elijah and I were taking turns reading stories from Days With Frog and Toad and I was laughing to myself when I realized how much I could relate to this story.

Tomorrow by Arnold Lobel

Toad woke up. "Drat!" he said. "This house is a mess. I have so much work to do."
Frog looked through the window. "Toad, you are right," said Frog. "It is a mess."
Toad pulled the covers over his head.
"I will do it tomorrow," said Toad. "Today I will take life easy."
Frog came into the house. "Toad," said Frog, "your pants and jacket are lying on the floor."
"Tomorrow," said Toad from under the covers.
"Your kitchen sink is filled with dirty dishes," said Frog.
"Tomorrow," said Toad.
"There is dust on your chairs."
"Tomorrow," said Toad.
"Your windows need scrubbing," said Frog. "Your plants need watering."
"Tomorrow!" cried Toad. "I will do it all tomorrow!"
Toad sat on the edge of his bed.
"Blah," said Toad. " I feel down in the dumps."
"Why?" asked Frog.
"I am thinking about tomorrow," said Toad. "I am thinking about all of the many things that I will have to do."
"Yes," said Frog, "tomorrow will be a very hard day for you."
"But Frog," said Toad, "if I pick up my pants and jacket right now, then I will not have to pick them up tomorrow, will I?"
"No," said Frog. "You will not have to."
Toad picked up his clothes. He put them in the closet.
"Frog," said Toad, "if I wash my dishes right now, then I will not have to wash them tomorrow, will I?"
"No," said Frog. "You will not have to."
Toad washed and dried his dishes. He put them in the cupboard.
"Frog," said Toad, "if I dust my chairs and scrub my windows and water my plants right now, then I will not have to do it tomorrow, will I?"
"No," said Frog. "You will not have to do any of it."
Toad dusted his chairs. He scrubbed his windows. He watered his plants.
"There," said Toad. "Now I feel better. I am not in the dumps anymore."
"Why?" asked Frog.
"Because I have done all that work," said Toad. "Now I can save tomorrow for something that I really want to do."
"What is that?" asked Frog.
"Tomorrow," said Toad, "I can just take life easy." Toad went back to bed. He pulled the covers over his head and fell asleep.

With 4 children ages 6 and under our house can spiral down into disorder very quickly. It is easy to look around a messy house and feel down in the dumps; and
there are many days when it is very tempting to just go and hide under the covers and put it all off until tomorrow. But if I do that, then tomorrow feels even more overwhelming. Just as Toad discovers in the story- if you just get off your fanny and get the work done and stop thinking about it so much you will feel a whole lot better in the end. There really is a lot of wisdom in the saying "Don't put off until tommorow what can be done today."

Family Fun in the Mountains

2009-04-17T19:20:00.000-07:00

It has been months since we have been to the mountains to visit my parents. We had such a great time with them. We went up to their little cabin on Balsalm Mountain. We went on an exploration hike up the ridge and saw lots of signs of spring. The kids were especially excited because we made a campfire and they got to stay up later than usual to make s'mores and listen to lots of stories from Memose. Then we came back to Hendersonville and the boys spent most of the day fishing at the pond down the road. It has been so nice to slow down and enjoy a little family getaway. Me and the boys have loved our time with Matt and I wish these next 2 days would go really slow because on Monday it will be back to work and back to reality. I sure do love the Blue Ridge Mountains. I know a piece of me will always belong in my mountain home.

This World

2009-04-13T21:00:00.000-07:00

This song has been playing over and over in my mind for about 2 weeks now. In America we are surrounded by everything material that we could ever want, yet these things mean nothing in God's kingdom. What is important to God? Let us want for those things.

This World by Caedmon's Call:

There's tarnish on the golden rule
And I wanna jump from this ship of fools
Show me a place where hope is young
And a people who are not afraid to love

This world has nothing for me and this world has everything
All that I could wanted and nothing that I need

This world is making me drunk on the spirit of fear.
So when you say who will go, I am nowhere near.

'Cuz this world has nothing for me and this world has everything
All that I could wanted and nothing that I need

But the least of these look like criminals to me
So I leave Christ on the street

This world has held my hand and has led me into intolerance
So now I'm breaking up, now I'm waking up
I'm making up for lost time

This world has nothing for me and this world has everything
All that I could want and nothing that I need (2x)

A Beautiful Mind (and Heart)

2009-04-13T19:29:00.000-07:00

"If you ask a secular educator about learning theory, he would likely describe learning as a mental process centered on the child's material brain, and measured by the retention of discreet facts and information. He would emphasize the role of the teacher and the acquisition of knowledge. The secular educator would acknowledge neither the existence of a Creator God nor the existence of an immaterial heart and mind. Instead, he would view a child's mind as an empty vessel waiting to be filled. The educator might describe the child as a wonderful and complex human organism. But when all the educational rhetoric is stripped away, to the secular educator the child is still just a smart animal, the product of evolution in a godless, material universe that just happened by cosmic chance.
As a Christian home educator with a biblical view of education, your answer to the same question about learning theory should be very different. You would describe learning as a personal process involving both your child's heart and mind, and measured by wisdom, understanding, and knowledge of truth. You would emphasize the role of the child as a whole person with an innate, natural appetite for knowledge and a limitless capacity to learn. You would be more concerned with your child's understanding of important ideas and concepts, than with the accumulation of discreet knowledge. Your child is not just a soulless brain that needs to be filled up with facts by a teacher, but a person in relationship with you and God, who has eternal value, dignity and purpose because he or she is made in the image and likeness of their Creator" - Sally Clarkson, Educating the WholeHearted Child

Before I start, I must add that not all public educators have that view on education and learning (mom, Matt, Mary and many others I am sure); and I know for sure that many home educators teach to the mind and not the heart. So one does not necessarily equal the other. I just wanted to share this because I have been thinking a whole lot about educating the mind vs. educating the whole person. When our children grow into adults what is going to matter the most? 20 years from now what kind of people do we want our children to be? I know that, for me, it is much more important for my children to be good brothers, fathers, husbands, friends, hard workers, etc than for them to have a bunch of meaningless head knowledge. Being able to recite the states and capitals and all the presidents in alphabetical order and memorizing all the elements of the periodic table along with all the basic rules of grammar are not bad things to know, but I don't want all this head knowledge to overshadow the true purpose of why God placed us here... to serve and encourage one another, to work, and to worship and glorify the Father. It is easy to get caught up in the lie that we need to keep pace with the public school and focus on doing all that we can to make sure our children pass the EOG's with flying colors so that we can prove to the skeptics that our children really are learning something at home... but I just want to remind myself and my homeschooling friends that that is not the point and purpose of educating our children. Let us keep our hearts and minds focused on the real goals for homeschooling... and for me those goals are building strong family relationships, strong character, strong morals, and a strong work ethic and have very little to do with curriculum, testing and the standard course of study.

Re-entering the blogosphere

2009-03-31T20:27:00.000-07:00

I have been gone on maternity leave, but now that Ezra is 3 months old I am determined not to let another month go by without creating a new post. I haven't even introduced our latest addition. His name is Ezra Joseph Vaughn. He was born December 26th and was my 3rd successful home birth as well as my fastest and easiest birth. He was 8lbs 2oz. and 19 inches long. He is my biggest and happiest baby. It seems like he is doing everything earlier than the others. He started rolling over about 2 weeks ago and he has been smiling almost from the beginning and he started laughing almost a month ago. He brings so much love to our household. Elijah has been such an amazing big brother and I think he is really developing a special connection with Ezra. He walks him around and can burp him and make him stop crying. Everyday when Caleb says his prayers he only says "Thank you God for Ezra". Everyday. Jonas wasn't so sure in the beginning, but they are only 16 months apart. He is getting used to not being the baby anymore. I am hoping they will be very close friends as they grow up. We have all been adjusting. Our homeschool routine and life routine in general has to be more flexible now and some days it seems impossible to get much accomplished. Right now my laundry is up to the ceiling (not an exaggeration!) and the kids had to wear pj's today because all their clothes are dirty... thankfully we didn't need to go anywhere! I am learning to not beat myself up over the state of our house. I have a lot more pictures I want to share, but I am determined to get this blog posted before March ends...which is in about 7 more minutes.

Consider this...

2008-12-08T08:42:00.000-08:00

We do not celebrate Christmas and there are many reasons for that. The bible has given specific dates for the biblical feasts and festivals- specific days and times, but it never states that on December 25th we should celebrate the birth of Jesus. Our family celebrates His birth during the Feast of Tabernacles- a time when God dwelled with the people. So to us, it makes sense to celebrate our Savior, Immanuel (God is with us), during this festival which occurs in the fall. The history and origins of Christmas are interesting, but you can research that on your own if you feel led to do so.
Another reason we choose not to celebrate Christmas is because of all the massive, unnecessary consumerism revolving around this holiday. Did you hear about the Wal-Mart employee that was trampled to death on Black Friday? Was that good deal on that one item really worth his life? Does Messiah want us rushing around stressing ourselves and our families out all in the name of presents?... material items that have no eternal significance... So for all of my friends that celebrate Jesus on Christmas I just have one thing for you to consider...

"Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action" -WJ Cameron

2008-11-26T18:54:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. There are so many things that I love about it: getting together with family and sharing a beautiful meal together, the changing leaves and the sound that they make under my feet, the smell of fires burning in chimneys, the crisp cool air, throwing the football around... I could go on and on. It is true that I love these things very much, but I feel that Thanksgiving means so much more to me this year. I started thinking about what Thanksgiving means; I looked it up in the dictionary and it says thanksgiving is the ACT of giving thanks, and EXPRESSION of gratitude. When I was a child I was taught that Thanksgiving was a time to reflect upon and recall all of the things I was thankful for. I still think of Thanksgiving as a time to count my blessings... but this year I am realizing that Thanksgiving is more than just thinking about all the things I am thankful for; thanksgiving is an action. Well, what does this mean? Does it mean to verbally express how thankful I am to God, my husband, children, family, and friends? Does it mean doing things to show them how much I appreciate them? These things, no doubt, are very important.
However, I think thanksgiving is even more than that. I was listening to the radio the other day and I heard a man say something very unexpected. He said "Thankfulness comes from within our hearts and it isn't dependent on outside circumstances." This man was right. It is quite easy to be thankful when everything is going great in our lives- we are healthy, well-fed, have clean water to drink, and a warm roof to live under- and on top of those basic needs we have clothes, transportation, family and friends that love and support us, and so many freedoms in this country that we take for granted... but what if all of these things were stripped away? What if Matt lost his job, or our house burned down, or our health declined, etc.? Would we still be thankful? What I have realized is that thanksgiving is an attitude of the heart. Especially when faced with adversity, the true attitude of our heart comes out. This kind of thankfulness reminds me of the story of Job and how everything that meant the most to him on this earth was taken away from him yet he never turned his heart away from God. That is amazing to me. He was able to face adversity with praise and thanksgiving in his heart. Having a good heart attitude is hard work and requires constant attention and effort. So as I go through the rest of this year I want to remember to continuously examine the attitude of my heart and make the conscious choice to be thankful in ALL situations and circumstances.

Constant Companions

2008-09-21T20:55:00.001-07:00

These pictures display what my kids are usually busy doing while I am trying to cook dinner or do the dishes. They want to be at my feet getting out every dish and kitchen appliance that they can get their hands on! I often times will find toys in the cabinets when I go to reach for a mixing bowl, pot or pan!

No matter where I go in the house my children are never too far behind. Every now and then I would find myself getting bothered by this constant companionship. I have a very type A personality and I tend to get overly focused on completing a task. The problem with this is that I sometimes end up pushing my children to the background in the name of being productive. I'll get them busy doing some chores or try to get them interested in a toy or an activity so that I can get stuff done...but where is the companionship in all of this, the Deut. 6?
I think it is important for them to see me doing chores around the house and I think they need to do their part to contribute as well. I also think it is good for children to be able to occupy and entertain themselves for short spurts of time. The problem occurs when there isn't a proper balance between work and moments of engagement. If I see that my children are happily engaged in something then I will be tempted to just keep going with my work around the house and before I know it an hour or two might pass. The crazy thing is that there is always something to be done around the house. I could be working on it all day long, but the next day it would be the same and the next and the next. I often think of Ecclesiastes when I think of house work. A lot of times I feel it is all in vain because the minute I do dishes the sink is full again and the minute I fold the last piece of laundry the basket is full. Though it is good and necessary for these things to be done and I obviously understand the purpose behind them, I sometimes wonder can the dishes and the laundry just wait? I am positive they will still be there tomorrow in an even greater quantity...but in the big picture it might be more important for me to just sit down and read a book to Elijah or do a puzzle with Caleb or roll a ball around on the floor with Jonas. Even more than that I should involve them in the preparing and cooking of meals and letting them help me do the dishes or sweep the floor- which I sometimes don't let them do because I have a certain way I like to do things...but it would be so much more beneficial to them if I could just let go of some of my perfectionism and just let them accompany me in these daily tasks. I have come to the conclusion that they are better of by my side rather than being left to themselves. That way I can really live out Deut. 6 and I can teach them God's truth and wisdom as we walk though this life TOGETHER.

Faithful in a little

2008-08-13T20:07:00.000-07:00

"When you are faithful in a little, more will be given you."

I have heard this quote before, but I was reminded of it as I was sitting in a Spell to Write and Read training seminar. The trainer posted this quote on her power point because she knew that all of us homeschooling mothers would be feeling overwhelmed by the massive amount of information that she was presenting to us. We were all sitting there trying to figure out how to process and implement all that we were learning and she reminded us that we won't be able to have it all figured out before we start the program, we just have to take the first step of faith and learn how to use the program as we go. She was just there helping us a gain a firm foundation in the principles and concepts behind the program but she wanted to remind us that if we remain devoted and faithful to doing a little each day, then each day we would gain more understanding of how the program operates and in the end it would prove itself to be fruitful.
Well, I took more away from that seminar than simply learning how to teach my child how to spell, write and read. The more I thought about that quote, I realized it could be applied to almost every area of my life. Truth be told, I am not a very disciplined person and I have to work very hard to stick to a task and see it to fruition. On the other hand, I am very good at procrastinating and being distracted...and then I get overwhelmed feeling like nothing ever gets accomplished! I want to have a nice, clean house and cook delicious, healthy meals everyday, plan awesome activities for our homeschool, exercise daily, and be an energetic, enthusiastic, optimistic wife and mother...but unfortunately I haven't yet figured out how to be and do all of those things at the same time! But what I came to realize is that if I can just remain true, devoted, and faithful in just one area of my life then all of these other things would more than likely be given to me. That one area is my relationship with the Father. I often times find myself struggling trying to accomplish things in my own power and not fully relying on God, but I just know that God wants my whole heart and not just a half-hearted prayer before I go to sleep at night. He wants my first fruits and I know that if I can remain faithful and devoted to Him that He will give me the energy and wisdom to accomplish all of the other tasks in my day.

"For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?
And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?
And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
-Matthew 6:24-33 NASB

"O love the Lord, all you His godly ones! The Lord preserves the faithful and fully recompenses the proud doer. Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who hope in the Lord."
-Psalm 31:23-24

Bits of wisdom from Charlotte Mason

2008-07-24T19:37:00.000-07:00

On page 231 of her book Towards a Philosophy of Education, Miss Mason says that we should communicate to our children the beauty and truth of mathematics. They should understand that it is a "great thing to be brought into the presence of a law, of a whole system of laws, that exist without our concurrence,-that two straight lines cannot enclose a space is a fact which we can perceive, state, and act upon but cannot in any wise alter..." and this "should give to children the sense of limitation which is wholesome for all of us, and inspire that sursum corda which we should hear in all natural law."
Sursum Corda is the name of a particular versicle (a response exchange, whereby there is a short verse the minister recites and given response for the congregation's reply). Sursum Corda is the 'lift up your hearts' versicle. So Sursum Corda refers to the portion of the service when the minister says to the church "Lift up your hearts" and the congregation responds "We lift them to the Lord."
Miss Mason is pointing out that all natural law is God's law, and is part of God's voice to us. Whenever we learn of one of God's natural laws, whether it be that two and two make four and never three or five, or that apples fall down and not up, or that all things reproduce after their own kind, or that a blade of grass produces food from sunlight in a process we now call photosynthesis- it should be to us as though that natural law were the voice of God (which it is) saying to us "Lift up your hearts" and we should feel our hearts naturally, gratefully, and willingly responding to the voice of God in affirmation- "We lift them up to the Lord."
- excerpt from an article in the Charlotte Mason Educational Review written by Wendi Capehart

Out of all of the many styles, approaches and philosophies on education I find myself identifying most strongly with the ideas of Charlotte Mason. It took me a while to come to this conclusion...and I will explain more of the process of coming to this conclusion over time. There is so much wisdoms and practical goodness that comes from Charlotte Mason.
My degree is in elementary education and I started out homeschooling the same way that I was taught as a kid and the same way that I was taught to teach when I was in my teaching program. But finally, and I say this with much enthusiasm, for the first time since we decided we were going to homeschool (which was before we even got married and had children) I feel myself pulling away from my training towards public education and I feel a tremendous amount of freedom in that. I feel like I have gained this new confidence and peace in the understanding that one of the greatest things about homeschooling is that I don't have to do it like the public school... and in fact, I can do it better! I am not saying this in an arrogant way; I can say that because I know my children better than any teacher in the public school ever could. I know their strengths, weaknesses, passions, frustrations etc. I can move at a pace that is comfortable for them, whether it be fast or slow. There are a million reasons why homeschooling is great, but perhaps the biggest reason of all is that I get to spend time walking and talking with my children. I get to know and understand their hearts. I get to disciple them and train them up in the way that they should go...and for that I feel so blessed.
Last year I started "Kindergarten" with Elijah and he is bent towards math so I focused a lot on math and probably pushed him too hard. Ultimately I ended up with a frustrated child that dreaded "school". So I had to take a step back a re-evaluate the situation. Just because a child might be good at something doesn't mean that it is good to push them to the point that they no longer enjoy it. I just hope I didn't do too much permanent damage in my first year of homeschooling! I'm just hoping that he won't remember all my mistakes because he is, after all, only 5 years old...but he is also like his father- the "rain man"-...so maybe I should just hope that he would be forgiving instead.
Anyways- math has been the toughest subject for me to choose a curriculum for because I find myself debating over should I go with a program that emphasizes mental math, or one that is real hands-on, or one that goes right along with the scope and sequence of the public school??? After a lot of thought and research I have decided to go with the mental math curriculum. It does not follow a traditional approach, but it teaches the child how to "think" mathematically and logically. Charlotte Mason takes the purpose of math to an even higher level- when she basically says that all natural law is God's law- God is revealing a little bit about Himself to us through these natural laws. That made so much sense to me. So hopefully this year we can start with a clean slate and maybe this time I will have a better sense of my goals and priorities for our homeschool.

Fourth of July

2008-07-08T18:08:00.001-07:00

When I was thinking about the 4th of July, I realized it involves a lot of things that start with F... family, food, fun, the flag, and fireworks! I love Independence Day. It's one of my favorite american holidays. We usually do the same thing every year, but I just love it! We started off the day by going downtown for the parade. It was just a small parade, but the kids really liked the fire trucks and old cars and clowns (which I am not particularly fond of...kind of scary). Then we went home and gave them naps so they could stay up late and watch the fireworks. When they woke up we grilled out with my in-laws, my niece who was visiting from Charlotte, and my friend Adria. We let the kids swim for a while in Nana's pool and then it started to rain! I was hoping that it would stop before it was time for fire works...and thankfully it did or the kids would have been disappointed and up until midnight after that long nap that they had! We were trying to think of good places to watch the fireworks- a place that wasn't too crowded and where the traffic wouldn't be ridiculous...and my friend Adria came up with the perfect plan...the top of the parking deck at UNCG! It was less than a mile from where they were setting off the fireworks and it ended up being this secret, fabulous place. I don't know why other people haven't thought of it, but there were probably only a handful of other people who had the same idea. We had an amazing view of the fireworks and the kids loved it...even baby Jonas was saying "wow"! It was really cute.

Hair today, gone tomorrow!

2008-07-07T03:45:00.000-07:00

"Funny" things are always happening at the Vaughn house. This particular incident involved hair- my hair to be exact! For the past 3 years I have been trying to grow my hair out and it was getting pretty long...about half way down my back. I usually get the urge to cut it once it gets a few inches past my shoulders, but I was doing really good this time about being patient and letting it grow.
Well, I have resolved to do most of my computer stuff at night so that I can stay focused on the kids during the day, but on this particular day I had to be on the computer for a brief 5-10 minutes. I am attending a homeschool curriculum workshop in August and the one for July filled up so quickly that the organizer told me that I needed to hurry up and fill out the registration form before the class was full. So here I am frantically trying to fill out the form on the computer and I hear this little voice behind me say "Mama, I cut you's hair"!!!! What????? It was Caleb, my 2 year old. He snuck up on me like a ninja and cut my hair! I didn't even hear him do it! So I grabbed my hair to access the damage and I pulled out a good sized chunk, so I ran to the mirror and sure enough he cut a top layer piece in the back all the way up to my chin! So much for growing out my hair! I don't even know how he even got the scissors in the first place because I usually have those on a high shelf where the kids can't reach them...so that is still a mystery.
Thankfully I didn't have to get it all chopped off. I went to a great salon Jade Aveda(which we can't really afford), but I figured they were so good that they might be able to salvage my hair some how and they did! I only had to have 2 inches taken off the bottom and then she put in some additional layers on the top to blend in where Caleb cut it. So when it was all said and done, I actually ended up with a pretty decent hair cut!

Determined!

2008-06-24T19:43:00.000-07:00

I am determined to post at least one blog entry before the end of June. How did it go by so fast? Summer is supposed to be slow...but not this summer! So much has happened this month. Matt finished his first semester of teaching highschool history! That was a very big deal because he works at a poverty-impacted school that had such low test scores about 3 years ago that the state threatened to shut it down. So the big focus of the administration was raising the test scores and they were putting a lot of pressure on Matt to "get results". He went into that school with energy, excitement and determination and this year Dudley's History department broke the school record for having the highest test scores that have ever been achieved at Dudley H.S.! I am so proud of Matt and the other teachers on his team and of course all the students! Now, I could get on a soap box about testing because I am not a very big fan...but those results do bring a sense of achievement and success, especially since there were days when Matt came home wondering if he was getting through to his students...but obviously something got through to them!
Now we are enjoying one of the great benefits of teaching- Summer's off! We have loved having Matt at home, but unfortunately it will be very short-lived. He still has 2 more summer classes to take before his Master's degree will be complete! He starts classes on Thursday.
However, summer school is not the biggest time consumer of the summer! The number one project for this summer is our new house. We closed on it almost 2 weeks ago and it has been non-stop demolition ever since we got the keys. We ripped up the floor, tore down the walls, completely demolished one bathroom, and the list goes on and on. Right now it looks very scary. I am just hoping that we can put all back together again before August, because that is when we have to move out of our current rental home! I think Matt is having a lot of fun just demolishing things and so are the boys! I can't believe I (as OCD as I am) let the boys actually enter that bathroom that probably had multiple forms of deadly bacteria and bust up that nasty tile with a sledgehammer. They loved it. I'm just glad to see it go, because that bathroom was just plain gross!
So we are pressed for time and have more projects than hours in the day! Oh, and the entire HVAC system has to be replaced, which we will be forever grateful for Matt's dad, Wayne, who is an HVAC man and has dedicated himself to be our indentured servant for that project! So I have a feeling that this is going to be a MAJOR learning process for us. As we began peeling back the layers in this house we have come across a few surprises, but I think so far we aren't too overwhelmed. At least Matt isn't...and I am trying to tell myself that I'm not. I am determined to stay optimistic about the process.
I am determined about a lot of things lately. I must admit that I have been in a little bit of a funk for the past 2 months with my morning sickness and other pregnancy issues like tiredness and headaches, but I have reached the point where I am actually annoying myself, so I am determined to just suck it up and stop complaining. I am determined to go to bed early, (which I'm not doing very good at). I'm determined to smile and laugh more. I'm determined to be more diligent in seeking God. I'm determined to get off my rear-end and do the dishes (just not tonight). I'm determined to read a book that doesn't involve parenting, homeschooling, childbirth, or marriage. I'm just determined. I don't know how long it will last, but maybe I'll just be determined to stay determined.

An unexpected affirmation

2008-05-28T19:43:00.000-07:00

For the past week I have felt very strongly that I needed to read Psalm 37. So I have been reading it over and over again each day wondering what it is that God wants me to hear. Well, today a very funny thing happened. In the middle of lunch (a very crazy time at my house) a lady called and asked for Mrs. Cox? I told her that we lived in a rental home and that was the name of one of the previous tenants (I only know this because we still get her mail sometimes). And she said, well may I speak with you? I was thinking- ok what is this lady going to try and sell me? But instead she said "I am calling today to encourage you to read your bible and I want to read you some verses out of Psalm 37"! I was very excited and I told her I had been reading Psalm 37 all week. These are the verses she wanted to share with me:

"Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who carries out wicked schemes. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret, it leads only to evildoing, for evildoers will be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land. Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more. And you will look carefully for his place, and he will not be there. But the humble will inherit the land, and will delight themselves in abundant prosperity" Psalm 37:7-11

Even after she read that I was waiting for her to ask me to make a donation of some kind, but she never did. I never even caught her name. She just said she wanted to encourage me to continue reading my bible daily. I guess I know now what God wanted me to hear. The Father works in very interesting ways sometimes.

This is just an additional part of the Psalm that I love:
"The steps of man are established by the Lord; And He delights in his way. When he falls, he shall not be hurled headlong; Because the Lord is the One who holds his hand. I have been young, and now I am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Or his descendants begging bread. All day long he is gracious and lends; and his descendants are a blessing." Psalm 37:23-26

Discipling our children

2008-05-26T18:08:00.000-07:00

"Jesus didn't meet with his disciples once a week for Bible study and then say, "I'll see you next week!" He gave his disciples his whole life. He lived with them, slept with them, traveled with them, and lived out a life of godly maturity before their eyes. Having the personality of the God who created the universe living with them every moment for three years gave them an understanding of his ways that nothing else could do. They observed him in the private times of friendship and eating and sharing and being exhausted and buying and preparing food as well as in public ministry- teaching, healing, worshiping, confronting, encouraging. There was perfect integrity between the words he spoke and the life he lived. Thus his disciples could learn what righteousness looked like in all situations.
In the same way, our children will learn righteousness best by seeing it lived out in every possible way in our lives, moment by moment, in the context of normal life. As we teach our children to do unto others as we would have them do unto us, they need to see it lived out in our lives so that they will know what it means...the first principle of reaching our children, then, is that we have to make the TIME to be with them. And we need to be diligent to practice what we preach!...
Jesus talked to his disciples about the Scriptures and their meaning, he talked to them of God and his ways and laws, and he talked to them of the future. In their time together, he covered every possible subject from faith to humility to prejudice to forgiveness, adultery, murder, love, food, and morality. Our children, too, need consistent, systematic instruction and teaching about God'd Word and ways."
-Sally Clarkson The Mission of Motherhood

I have been thinking about discipleship a lot lately and as I was reading in my Sally Clarkson book this morning I found that what she says goes right along with what has been on my mind and heart for a long time now. These days it is so easy to get ourselves and our children overly involved in activities outside the home... Bible studies, sunday school, VBS, awana and various other church activities, along with sports, music, dance, co-ops, play groups and other extracurricular activities can take over our lives to the point where families are never together. I am not saying these things are bad and that we shouldn't participate in them, but the more time our kids spend involved in all these extra activities, the less time we have to disciple our children...but we need to make sure we are leaving enough time in our days to really walk and talk the Scriptures with our children (Deut.6).
Ultimately we, as parents, are the ones who are going to be held accountable for providing them with a solid foundation in scripture and instilling God's words and ways in their heart, soul and mind.
Also, I have discovered, it is just as easy to be distracted by activities within the home as without. Just because I don't have my kids in 100 extra-curricular activities doesn't mean that I am using my time with them wisely. There have been times when I am sitting on the floor playing with my children, but my mind is not there with them... I find that I am running down the "to-do" list in my head...or I will get so caught up in household chores and meal preparation that I will not leave my task to tend to an argument between the children. In those moments I am ignoring the opportunity to disciple them. More than anything children want our time and our heart. They want to feel that we really love them and are interested in them...they want to know that we are listening when to them when they are expressing their thoughts and ideas. They don't want that empty nod of the head and "uh-huh, that's good"... they recognize when we are only half-heartedly giving ourselves to them.

The other thing that has been heavy on my heart is walking the walk- being a living example for my children. It is not enough to simply read the scriptures to them and go to church- we must be living a life that lines up with the Word. I have found in talking to several people and just through observing many different families- hypocrisy is the number one reason that people turn away from their faith in God and the number one reason why children who are brought up in "christian" homes abandon the way they were raised as they come into adulthood. They see believers and their very own parents saying one thing and then doing another. They see their parents giving lip service to God but they don't see the fruit of a genuine relationship with the Father. This will only breed bitterness in the heart of our children. However, none of us will be capable of constantly walking as Messiah did- we will make many mistakes, but I think we should live in a way that our children know that that is our goal- to have a closer walk with Him and then be willing to humble ourselves before God and our children when we do make mistakes. If any of you know Micheal and Debbie Pearl- they have ministry called No Greater Joy and we have enjoyed several of their books (though, like anything some things need to be filtered), but they have a book called Jumping Ship, which is a collection of a series of articles that they published in their monthly magazine. I believe you can read back articles on their website www.nogreaterjoy.org. These articles explore some of the reasons that kids "jump ship" as they get older and what can be done to prevent that from happening in our own homes. It talks a lot about hypocrisy and child-training, but most of all it talks about winning the hearts of our children and creating an atmosphere of joy in our homes. It does no good if we discipline and train our children but don't have joy in our homes. They may be outwardly obedient, but their hearts will still be rebellious. I believe wholeheartedly that we need train our children up and discipline them when necessary, but we also need to express the great joy that comes from having a relationship with the Father.

As I think about all these things, I can't help but think about how much being a parent is forcing me to be a better person...(though there are moments when parenting has brought out the worst in me!) But overall, having these little eyeballs constantly watching me- observing and copying my behavior, attitude, language etc. It is an excellent source of accountability for me. So I am as determined as ever to put my words and faith into action in my daily walk. I want to slow down, and not become so overly involved in other activities that my heart and mind become distracted from my true purpose- which is training and discipling my children.

Expecting Baby #4

2008-05-22T18:57:00.000-07:00

Yes, it is true. I am pregnant with our fourth child. We feel extremely blessed that God is multiplying our family! We do not share the common view with the world that we cannot "afford" to have more than 2.2 children and we don't think they are an inconvenient drain on our time, space and energy. In fact, we feel to total opposite. Our children are live-giving. Observing their natural curiousity about the world and seeing the joy they find in the small things is like a breath of fresh air to me. I learn so much about living from my kids...they are quick to forgive, and they love so completely. I love that they aren't weighed down with scepticism and they always see the best in people. It is no wonder that God wants us to be like children. I know we have the parental responsibility of training our children up in the way that they should go, but often times I feel they are the ones training me how to be a better person.
With all that being said, I have been neglecting my poor blog for so long because I have the worst all-day baby sickness with this child. It is particularly bad in the evening, so after the kids go to sleep I just curl up in the fetal position and watch the ceiling fan trying to do all I can to not throw-up. That is my little bit of complaining- but I know this too shall pass. I just can't wait to meet this new sweet baby...but I'll just have to be patient until December!

Buying our first house!

2008-05-05T19:07:00.000-07:00

We are in the middle of the very exciting process of buying and owning our very first home! We truly had no intentions of staying in Greensboro. We actually had our eyes set on some place in the country...but God had a different plan. Matt's sister is a teacher and works with a lady that told her about a program in Guilford County called Good Neighbor Next Door. It is a program that is only offered in Greensboro and Charlotte and they are homes that are offered to teachers, firefighters, cops, and emt workers for HALF of the listing price. Yes, it is true and it is not a scam because it is through HUD (housing and urban development), which is a government program. This is how it works- every week they list 1-5 properties under this program and the potential buyer only has 5 days to look at the house and decide if they want to place a bid on it. If no one places a bid on it within that 5 day period then it goes on the regular market for the full price. At first we were thinking that most of the homes would be in the ghetto and a lot of them actually aren't in very good neighborhoods...but occasionally there are incredible deals to be found. We stumbled upon one of those amazing, almost too good to be true homes. It is in a very nice, quiet neighborhood with really good schools (for resale purposes). It is a solid brick ranch home on 1/2 acre property- it only needs minor repairs and we are purchasing it for less than 70,000! It is 3 BR, 2 BA and it needs major cosmetic work...but for that price who can complain? We have to commit to living in it for 3 years but after that we can resale it for whatever price we can get... and the homes in that neighborhood are going for between 140,000-180,000! So we are hoping that by the time it is all said and done we will be able to have all our student loans paid off and be able to put a down payment on something else! It's our "get out of debt quick" plan! We are supposed to close on it at the end of May and then we are going to spend all summer renovating it. It is very exciting because I have never fully been able to make a house look the way I want it to look because we have always rented...so this will be a fun project for me. We'll see if I have the same excitement when I'm knee deep in work! If anyone knows any firefighters, teachers, policemen, or emt in the Charlotte or Greensboro area you should tell them about this awesome program.
I want to share a little of the heart and thought process behind the purchase of this home. As Matt and I were praying about this house before we placed a bid on it we both felt as if God was trying to settle us. It has always been the big joke with our friends that we are not able to commit to one place for very long. We have moved 7 times in less than 7 years! In the past we have had a tendency to be discontent with where we are and were always searching for a better place to live or a better job etc. We both came to the realization that we will never find that perfect place or destination until we are in the Kingdom with our Heavenly Father. Searching for that kind of perfect place on earth is all in vain. He was calling us to take our minds off of our earthly desires and start seeking the eternal. While we prayed about the house we both felt a peace about staying in Greensboro. I think this is mostly because God wants to plant us in one place so that we will seek Him fully and wholeheartedly without the distraction of "where are we going to go next?". I think this is the beginning of a great journey for the Vaughn family and I am really looking forward to seeing how God is going to work on us and how He will use us in this town.

A tribute to the 'fro!

2008-05-05T18:38:00.000-07:00

Matt started growing his hair out this winter simply out of curiousity but I liked to joke with him that he was trying to rock the 'fro so that he could fit in at the inner city school where he works. His students were trying to convince him to get some corn rows and the thought of dreads briefly went through his head...but once the weather got warm he just couldn't take it any more so he just had to shave it all off! When he went back to school the next day all the kids were afraid that he was going to start going military on them! ha. The whole time he was growing it out I begged him to let me run a pick through it and he was not at all amused with that idea, but he did put on a 70's shirt and let me pick it out one time before he shaved it off. It was a sweet 'fro...sad to see it go.