An Unexpected Snow!

Sometimes God blesses us in the most unexpected ways. On Wednesday night I put the kids to sleep and I decided that I was going to rent a movie. Well, when I opened the door to step outside I was looking down at the porch and when I lifted my eyes to the sky my heart felt a rush of excitement. It was snowing! I am not talking about flurries; these snowflakes were big and beautiful. I was so excited that I ran back in the house to tell Matt. We haven't seen a good snow since we left Boone almost 2 years ago, so we were thrilled! I rented a movie and curled up on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate and kept the window shades open so that I could watch the snow. As I was watching the snow falling down I was reminded of the awesomeness of God; how He can cover a man-made city with the work of His hands and all of sudden it looks beautiful and natural. This snow couldn't have come at a better time. This has been a challenging week and it was a real blessing to be surprised by something so pure and good.
Then the next morning we couldn't wait for the kids to wake up so that we could show them the big surprise. It was so great seeing the look on their faces! We ate breakfast in a hurry and went outside to play. Elijah insisted on wearing his cowboy boots, which I thought was so funny! The first thing he did was lay on the ground and make a snow angel. Caleb was being hilarious too. I was making snowballs and he was picking them up and eating them. He called the "snow apples". Then we attempted to make a snowman. It was harder than I thought it would be, especially since Caleb kept knocking it over as I was building it. Then me and the boys had a big snowball fight and wrestled around in the snow until it was time to go in for lunch. By lunchtime it became very warm outside and our poor snowman was completely melted by evening. The snow couldn't have come at a better time. This has been a challenging week and it was a real blessing to be surprised by something so pure and good.

The Business of Being Born

The Business of Being Born Cont.

The Business of Being Born is a new documentary by Abby Epstein and Ricki Lake. Please go to the official website for more detailed information. It is http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/ . On this website you will find a section that provides dates and times of several community screenings. I am going to the one at Guilford College this weekend. I urge every woman who is pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant to watch this film. I strongly believe in and support midwives and natural childbirth. The majority of women in this country do not know their rights and options in the area of childbirth. It is so important to become educated and informed in this area; because everyday women are being robbed of the beautiful, empowering, spiritual process of labor and childbirth in the name of money, convenience, fear, etc. I have very personal feelings about this subject because when I had Elijah I was very naive and uninformed. I had him in the hospital with the end result being a c-section. When I got pregnant the second time the doctors told me I would be an automatic repeat cesarean! I knew they were wrong. I knew I could have a baby naturally and I did! Since then I have had 2 natural births at home with a midwife. I am so thankful that I became educated in this area and chose not to blindly follow the advice of the so-called experts... if I did I would have missed out on what has proven to be the two most amazing experiences of my life.

Oh, the beautiful mountains!

We went to Boone last weekend and it was so great to be back in the mountains. Our dear friends, the Moshers, let us stay in their adorable guest cabin and we were able to enjoy a peaceful retreat before Matt starts his new job. We had forgotten what it was like to be in the still and quiet of the country, without sirens and all the other busy sounds of the city. I could actually hear the wind blowing through the trees and see the stars in the sky in the absence of street lights. I always feel God's presence so strongly in the mountains; I suppose it is because I can actually see more of His creation and I am reminded of what an awesome Creator He is. I was born and raised in the mountains so I sometimes feel overwhelmed and bombarded with all the concrete and commercialism that I am surrounded with in Greensboro. I have to remind myself to be content where I am...but moving on...

We had a great time visiting with our friends. I went to my very first ASU basketball game, which is kind of pathetic considering that I graduated from App. and we lived in Boone for 3 years after college. Then we got to visit sweet little Westminster Presbyterian where we used to eat spaghetti on Wednesday nights. It was good seeing all the families in that church again. Then Matt and the Mosher guys played hockey for several hours on the coldest day of the year...it was 18 degrees or something ridiculous like that. Me, Sue and the girls curled up on the couch and watched Sense and Sensibility and drank tea while the younger kids played. Elijah was so excited to have a playmate his age. At one point he said, "Me and Rachel are playing and playing and we are only stopping at mealtimes", which was pretty much true. We went on a trip down memory lane and drove past all of our old homes. Elijah wanted to go see his favorite park ever in Valle Crucis. Then the boys shot guns and built a bonfire. Oh, the absolute highlight of the trip for me was figuring out the name and lyrics of a song that was running through my head the whole time we were at the beach over the holidays. It was a song we used to sing at Westminster and for the life of me I could not remember it. If you know me, you know that I will drive myself crazy trying to remember something. Matt and I searched about 2 hours for it on the internet with no luck at all. When I mentioned it to the Moshers, Callie knew the song I was talking about. That brought great relief to my mind! It is such a lovely song, so I decided to post the lyrics.

"In Christ Alone" In In Christ alone my hope is found; He is my light, my strength, my song; This cornerstone, this solid ground, Firm through the fiercest drought and storm. What heights of love, what depths of peace, When fears are stilled, when strivings cease! My comforter, my all in all— Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh, Fullness of God in helpless babe! This gift of love and righteousness, Scorned by the ones He came to save. Till on that cross as Jesus died, The wrath of God was satisfied; For ev'ry sin on Him was laid— Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay, Light of the world by darkness slain; Then bursting forth in glorious day, Up from the grave He rose again! And as He stands in victory, Sin's curse has lost its grip on me; For I am His and He is mine— Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death— This is the pow'r of Christ in me; From life's first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny. No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man, Can ever pluck me from His hand; Till He returns or calls me home— Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.

A Father's Love

My friend Anna shared a video on her blog about Dick and Rick Hoyt and it touched me so deeply that I wanted to post a very similar video about this amazing father and son team on my blog. When I first saw this video I cried and cried. All I could think about was the amazing love that this father has for his son... that he would work so hard to provide his son with such great joy simply overwhelms me. Just watching Dick pull Rick through the water and run with him to the finish line, and to see the smile on Rick's face when they are on the bike together just makes my heart swell. It is the perfect portrayal of the love our Heavenly Father has for us; He is our strength and the guiding force that pushes and pulls us to the finish line so that we can share in His Glory. Hallelujah!

A funny thing happened at the Vaughn house!

Even though it is winter Elijah likes to wear short sleeves and shorts when we are inside the house. Well, one morning he wanted to wear his navy blue shorts and I had gotten really far behind on laundry and had a huge pile of clothes on the couch that needed to be folded. From out of the pile I grabbed what I thought were his shorts and tossed them to him. Then he went up to his bedroom and got dressed. A few minutes later he came downstairs and Matt said "I think you accidently gave him Caleb's shorts". He was obviously wearing something that was way too small, so I ran upstairs to have a closer look. It was then that I saw something truly hilarious and I burst out in laughter. They weren't Caleb's shorts... they were Jonas' pants! Ha, Ha. Yes, it is true, somehow he managed to squeeze himself into a pair of 3-6 month old pants!

Family Beach Trip

For the past 5 winters we have gone to the beach with Matt's family. We look forward to it all year long. Every year we have been blessed with the most beautiful weather. As you can see, the kids even ventured into the water! It seems like there is another grandchild every year we return! If the family keeps procreating at this pace we'll need two beach houses! It is so fabulous having all the brothers, sisters, grandparents and grandkids together for a week full of fun and laughter... and it is always hard coming back to reality after spending slow, relaxing days with my husband and children. These truly are the best days.