I like to say our family began in the fall of 1981, six months after I graduated from the University of Georgia. I prayed a simple, but very serious, prayer for God to reveal the spouse he had chosen for me. Within weeks, I met Vicki Bowen. She was the winner of our community's Junior Miss Program and I was a writer for our local newspaper assigned to report on the pageant. Our first date was Saturday, Dec. 5, 1981. The details of our first year of romance is forever chronicled in an essay I wrote titled "The Beauty Queen and The Reporter."

We dated for about five years. We were married on Saturday, Aug. 16, 1986 at 7:30 p.m. at the First Baptist Church of Cumming, GA. We lived in Lawrenceville, GA in a house built by my dad and me.

On Tuesday, Nov. 29, 1988, Andrew Douglas Vaughan, "Big A," was born. He was born at 3:04 a.m. at Northside Hospital in Atlanta. He was 20 inches long and weighed 7 pounds and six ounces. He was was named for his great, great, great grandfather, Andrew Glenn Vaughan. Andrew Glenn Vaughan is buried at Haw Creek Baptist Church Cemetery in Cumming, GA. Andrew Glenn was a member of the 36th Georgia Infantry that surrendered at Vicksburg during the Civil War.  Andrew Douglas also shares my middle name and the middle name of my dad, Richard Douglas Vaughan. Andrew is the family prince - the first grandson on both sides of our family. He's always been our leader - responsible, trustworthy, and a detailed thinker. Andrew graduated from Lexington High School in 2007. He was an Honors Graduate, a two-year varsity football letterman, and a four-year track and field letterman. During his senior year, he won region in shot put. He was the academic player of the year for both teams, and received the Lexington Booster Club's Male Academic Athlete of the Year. He is currently a Capstone Scholar at the University of South Carolina, where he also throws javelin on the Gamecocks' Track Team.

On Friday, July 12, 1991, William Donald Vaughan, "Willie Bell or Sugarman," was born. He was born at 7:01 a.m. at Northside Hospital in Atlanta. He was 20 inches long and weighed 8 pounds. William has several namesakes in our family tree, but most notable is William M. Vaughan, who was a son of the aforementioned Andrew Glenn Vaughan. William M. Vaughan is buried in the Brookwood Baptist Church Cemetery in Forsyth County, GA. William Donald also shares the middle name of Vicki's dad, Leo Donald Bowen, who entered heaven in December 1995. If Andrew was the family prince, William has always been our family jester - writing and singing funny songs, winking at women as a little boy in church, and making us laugh all the time. He is a junior at Lexington High School, where he is a member of the acclaimed Honors Drama Department. He has won state recognition for his acting ability, and hopes to pursue the arts in college. (He's also a gifted free-hand artist).

Between May-August 1991, during the time William was born, our family moved to Lexington, SC, where I took a job as publisher of The Dispatch-News. Vicki transferred her employment with NCR.

On Thursday, Aug. 25, 1994, Richard Charles Vaughan, "Hoss," was born. He was born at 1:53 p.m. at Lexington Medical Center, West Columbia, SC. He was 21 inches long and weighed 9 pounds and 1 ounce. As Vicki delivered Richard, I was standing in a corner. I heard the attending physician say to  himself, "Whoa, he's a hoss." Pound-for-pound, he's been our sturdiest, strongest and largest son. Even before puberty, he was wearing size 13 shoes and his hands, at 12, were as big as mine. That said, there's very little fat on him. Richard shares the first name of my dad, Richard Douglas Vaughan. His middle name, Charles, comes from Charles Edwin Hill, who was Vicki's maternal grandfather. When you take Richard's initials, R.C., you have the common name used by my paternal grandfather, R.C. Vaughan. Richard plays school football and recreation baseball. He is a honors student and was recently named a South Carolina Junior Scholar.

On Friday, May 9, 1997, Matthew Edward Vaughan, "Snooky or Snook" was born. He was born at 4:05 p.m. at Lexington Medical Center, West Columbia, SC. He was 21.5 inches long and weighed 8 pounds and 14 ounches. The name Matthew does not appear in our family tree, giving our youngest a distinctiveness all his own. His middle name, Edward, is shared with my maternal grandfather, Paul Edward Yarbrough Sr., and my youngest brother, Russell Edward Vaughan. Snook's unusual nickname, which is used by many around the local ballpark, comes from Snooky's restaurant in Statesboro, GA. As a single newspaper reporter in Statesboro, 1984-1986, I often ate my vegetables at Snooky Yawn's restaurant. I also coached Snooky's grandson, Jeff, in recreation baseball. As I moved from Statesboro to Atlanta, when Vicki and I were married, I promised Snooky that one day call a son, "Snooky." Since that time, it's been shortened to just Snook. Matthew is an emerging athlete and a good student.

Of interest, there is a fifth child that we will meet one day in heaven - a baby, that I think about often, lost during pregnancy.

All of our boys are born-again Christians, publicly professing Christ as their individual Savior at Lexington Baptist Church, and being baptized there by former pastor Rick Fisher.

"Disciples on the ends, Kings in the middle."