Tardy-Pants

Evie wasn't feeling well this morning. She convinced me that she had over-indulged in Valentine's candy and was tummy-sick. Of course, today is the day that I begin my independent teaching unit (Romeo and Juliet) so she had to go visit Mama Ford. After a frantic early-morning phone call I dropped her with my mom on our way to school. About 25 minutes later I get a call from Mom. She tells me Evie has eaten bacon, grits, and a biscuit feels better now and wants to come to school. WHAT?!

I rush to Mom's grab Evie, race home grab her backpack and snack, and we head back to school. As we're pulling into the parking lot Evie says in a completely serious voice, "Mommy, am I going to have to go to the office and get a tardy-pants slip?"

It was all I could do to hold back a laugh. Then my heart warmed; my sweet baby was worried about being tardy! She's never been tardy before and only knew that the "tardy-pants" in her class had to go to the office and get a "tardy-pants slip."

That and holding her little hand as we walked down the hall-way to her classroom made the rush, frustration, and worry all worth it!

So, just call us tardy-pants today.

News

The Country Vaughns got some big news this week. I've been accepted into the PhD program in Composition and Rhetoric at the University of Alabama. We are super excited at what all this entails! I've been offered a graduate assistantship as well, which means a move is required. In the next few months the Country Vaughns will be in full renovation completion mode so that we can get Vaughn Farms on the market and hopefully (fingers and toes crossed)sold. That's right, the plan is to bid farewell to this little piece of land and move the country mice to the city.

The kids are excited at the idea of living "in town" where they can ride bikes, play sports, and possibly (gasp) walk places!

For now, we're enjoying little league basketball season, my student teaching (I LOVE IT!!!), and just being together.

So, we'll see what happens over the next 6 months. It should be exciting, stay tuned!

"Snow" Day

We're home for a "Snow" day today. I use the quotation marks because there isn't a lick of snow to be seen. We got out of school at 11a yesterday as the fat, fluffy flakes swirled through the frigid air. The kids were so excited to get home to "make snow angels, snowmen, and have a snowball fight" they said. I wanted to get home, pull on some fleece pants and socks and campout on the couch. Well, we all got our wishes, sort of. The snow didn't stick but it did accumulate (slightly) on some things like the steps, the picnic table and the trampoline. This allowed for enough of a thin layer of dust for snow angels and snowballs about the size of a gumball. =)





Overall, I dislike the cold, dreary weather and I'm thankful that I live in a place where it is a rare occurance. School was cancelled for today, too. Now we're snuggled in for the weekend and enjoying our snowless "Snow" day.

Much Love
the Country Vaughns

Snaggles

We've been losing things around here lately. These lost items aren't the normal things a household may lose on a daily basis - car keys, socks, homework, everloving minds, etc. These lost items are special because they can only be lost once and never again...


Kallie Dec 09


Evie Jan 10

That's right, the girls' have reached another milestone - Snaggles. They've each lost their first tooth. As with all of their other milestones they are about 1 month apart. Coincidentally, they didn't lose the same tooth. True to their usual standards (one with long hair, one with short hair, one left handed, one right handed, one girly, one sporty) these girls lost OPPOSITE teeth. Too funny!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2010 is here - can you believe it? This holiday season was a whirlwind of fun, food, and family. We loved every minute of it! In addition to Christmas and New Year's K and I celebrated our 10th anniversary on 12/30. We enjoyed a quick get-away to Gatlinburg, TN and spent New Year's Eve and Day in the beautiful Smoky Mountains. The kids got to stay with the grandparents and were treated to a roadtrip to Chatanooga with Aunt Lacy and Uncle David. BIG thanks to those two brave souls! ;)

As we headed back to Bama from TN we were able to stop by and visit with K's brother and his family - the Knoxville Vaughns. We don't get to spend enough time with the Vaughn families and we miss them dearly!

Everyone had a great time on their respective trips and we're glad to be back home on "the farm" getting ready to head back to school and work next week.

I'll start my "Clinical Field Experience" aka student-teaching on Monday and the kids head back to school on Wednesday. Thankfully, I will be spending my semester at Ragland High so we can all go to school together until late April. I'm so grateful that things worked out that way!!

We hope that 2010 is full of blessings and happiness for all of our friends and family!

Much Love,
the Country Vaughns

Merry Christmas to All...

Well, we're in full-on Christmas crazy mode here! I'm going to unplug for the rest of the month, at least, but before I do I wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Even though it is totally crazy here we are making a special effort this season to focus daily on the real reason we celebrate Christmas - the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

This year, more than ever, we are concentrating on His love, birth, and sacrifice. We're thankful for all that we have been blessed with and pray that we can be instruments to bless the lives of others!

We echo the words of the prophet Joseph Smith and Sydney Rigdon who testified:
"And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives! For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father - That by him and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God"

We all are sons and daughters of God. Christ is our elder brother. They love us as we love our families. May these thoughts bring you peace in these perilous times in which we live!

--Merry Christmas and Much Love
the Country Vaughns

Roll Tide!

Last Saturday K and I headed over to Tuscaloosa join about 88,000 of our closest friends at the Alabama game. Although the weather men predicted a 50% chance of rain, the weather was great! We had fun strolling campus and picking up some souviners at the Supe Store before kick-off. The Tide rolled all over the UT Chatanooga Moccasins 45-0. Next year, we're taking the kids to a game! It was a fantastic day, just look:


Bryant-Denny Stadium


My home's in Alabama


The Millon Dollar Band


The University Campus with Denny Chimes in the background

ROOOOLL TIDE, ROLL!