Weekend Wrap-Up

We kicked off the weekend by having dinner at my sister, Lindsay's, house. She has made the decision that we should get together for dinner once a month, swapping houses, so the kids can play and develop close bonds. Of course, I didn't think to bring my camera so I don't have any pictures to share, but, we had a wonderful time. Lindsay made a delicious meal and the kids had a blast. It was nice to just sit around and chit chat with my sister and her husband, Brian. It made me long for my older sister, Lori, to live closer. I would love for all three of our families to be able to get together. Lori...the next one is at my house during the last weekend of February. You and yours are welcome to make the 2 hour drive.

On Saturday, God gifted us with a beautiful day. I am so thankful for the warm, sunny weather that we were able to enjoy. I spent almost the entire day outside with the girls. It was the first day in a long time that they were able to just get out in the yard and play. They ran around the yard, rode their little motorized vehicles (Gracen has her own now), played kickball, played in the sand box, played on the swing set, jumped on the trampoline, and swung on the swings. Gracen LOVED the swing. I know she stayed in hers for close to an hour, and then when we got home from church on Sunday, she got out of the car and made a bee-line for her swing again. Gene went out and swung both girls while I made lunch. Both days were so nice....long and lazy.

Well, Saturday was lazy for me and the girls, but not so much for Gene. He had to be at UPWARDS at church from 9:00 until 1:30, and then had to set up chairs at 5:00. He did come home for the few hours in between because he said he knew that we were outside enjoying the day. It was hard for me not to fuss because gas is at almost $3.00 a gallon. I was actually very glad to see him....but I did think about that gas. Just saying...

On Sunday, we had church. Thankfully, both girls are well, at least for now, so I was able to go to worship. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Randy did a great job and the music brought me to tears. I love good praise and worship music.

We had breakfast for supper and then pulled out the air mattress for a family movie night, complete with popcorn and Sprite, of course.

Gene and I have been talking about the LIFE groups at our church and several have asked why we aren't hosting one. Our main two issues are childcare and living so far out of Prattville. We have decided that we aren't going to let those two things hinder us anymore. We feel like we should be leading a group, so we are going to list our group in the bulletin this Wednesday and Sunday and see if anyone is interested in making the drive.

Our group will meet here at our house every Sunday at 4:30 beginning February 13th. We will go through a Bible study, which is still undecided, and then take a month or so off. Please give us a call or email me if you're interested in joining our group. My email address is www.gldevaughn@yahoo.com. We had talked about walking through the Book of James because Gene has taught through that book before and that is what I am currently studying. But, Gene received word just today that two other groups are starting and they are studying James, too. Gene really wants us to have some variety with these LIFE groups, so he wants us to choose something else. I am trying to "submit" to his leadership and get excited about something different, but I really want to walk through James because it has been so good.


Prayer Request:
I wanted to encourage my readers to pray for Cricket Jones and her unborn baby boy, Tate. Cricket doesn't go to our church, so many of you might not know her personally, but her family does attend our church. Cricket is the daughter of Danny and Grethen Loftin. She received some devastating news about her precious little one. You can go and read about his condition HERE. I am praying for them everyday and would love for you to join me. God is the God of all miracles and I am begging God to perform one on behalf of this family.

Until next time...