Diamonds in the Rough

Friday, December 10, 2010

Our 2 year old!

Lydia's favorite things are helping Dad, climbing up on things, playing in the yard, and of course snuggling her silky.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

PALS!

Lydia and Caleb have become good pals. Or should I say Lydia thinks Caleb is a "live" baby doll to play with.

3 girls watching General Conferance in their homemade cars

Sleeping buddies

4 kiddos watching TV

Big baby in a little stroller

Okay so I really am way behind on my blog, but life is crazy busy and so now I am trying to catch-up before the end of the year, so I can make a book of all my 2010 posts.

So...Baylee had a fun 7th birthday that she planned all her self. An autumn carnival with friends and a cake she decorated herself. She is so fun to do birthdays for because she is easy to please and so grateful. I just love my sweet Baylee. She is growing up so fast! I remember when she was born, 7 yrs. ago. not an easy delivery but when she finally came c-section I was thrilled. It was a special day, my first child, and I was so excited to be a mom. She was a talker early on and hasn't stopped since.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Sunsets & Rainbows

I love the wide open skies of Snowflake.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Sunflowers & Sunshine

This is a great time of year in Snowflake when then sun is shining and sunflowers are blooming everywhere.

School Girls

Two girls in school now. Baylee 1st grade and Kambria Kindergarten. Kambria was thrilled to finally be going to Kindergarten and getting to ride the bus and see Baylee on the playground. Sweet Baylee faithfully waited for kindergarten bus to arrive at the playground at lunch time, so she could meet Kami and play with her before class. Kami has Mrs. Slade and Baylee has Mrs. Dennee. Both girls are doing well in school and I am so proud of them. They enjoy learning and are being good friends to their classmates. Kami has discovered her favorite toy on playground is the merry-go-round. Baylee created her own bag of playground activities to take to school, that has plastic spoons, cups, and misc household items ;) - so creative!

...more camping.

So many great photos of camping. I think I had fun taking pictures and capturing memories.

Our Adventure

Our adventure together started when a city boy met a country girl at heart (even though she grew up in the city). We are so glad that our paths crossed and that our destination was the same. Now after almost 8 years of marriage we continue to enjoy the adventure of our lives together. While I try to keep up the pace along the path, he makes sure I don't miss any of the scenery along the way. We want to appreciate each stage of our family journey together, by treasuring the moments that matter. With so much to be grateful for through ups and downs we like to carry on the phrase "never has life been better than this".

Describing Myself

So, I have always thought it challenging to describe myself. Maybe it’s a second child syndrome or maybe its because I am a melting pot of quircky traits. Luckily I am not alone in that, its genetic, haha!

So, here is my attempt at describing myself.
An Arizona native, though I was actually born in CA. I love Arizona and its diversity. The desert can be so beautiful. I come from a family of 4 kids. I am #2. I loved taking care of my sister Chelsey, who was 8 yrs younger than me and growing up I always loved babysitting, because I could just play with the kids. I have a lot of self-motivation and a challenge never stops me from trying. This trait was acquired at a young age when I wouldn’t let being the smallest and shortest be a disadvantage. I have always loved horses, since I can remember. It’s in my Randall blood, though I have never actually owned one. I love the outdoors and sometimes its hard to be doing the mundane house jobs when I would rather be outside. I really enjoy figuring out solutions to problems. I like gadgets (a trait from my father). Thus, when my Sunday School teacher hired me as his secretary, when I was a Junior in Highschool, I was in my element and thoroughly enjoyed getting his company out of the old and in to the new computer world. This job supported me through college. I truly love learning. School wasn’t easy, but I enjoyed what I learned and was able to go to BYU. In college I had a hard time deciding on a major because their was so many subjects I wanted to learn about. I took classes in Engineering, science, business, dance, recreation, and music. - so, I probably could be labeled as knowing a little bit about a lot of things. An experience I’ll never forget was living in Jerusalem and Egypt for 4 months doing a BYU study abroad. It gave me a bigger perspective. I am more of a listener than a talker. I love hearing about peoples experiences and I am good at keeping confindences. I remember as a youth sitting amongst my adult relatives, just listening to them talk. I am so grateful for a close extended family that loves to share ideas. I am a detail person and a planner, I am working on being more spontaneous. I am learning to appreciate the different stages in my life, and now that I am 32 I really wish time would slow down. I am so grateful to be married to Dave, a super wonderful husband and father. Above all, I love being a wife and a mom to 3 beautiful daughters, it gives purpose and meaning to my busy days. I enjoy music in my home - playing the piano, singing songs, and dancing with my kids. I especially love to dance with Dave, even though we don’t get to very often. I love doing projects with my kids and reading to them. I enjoy cooking healthy nummy foods and I have way too many cook books. Cleaning the bathrooms is my least favorite house chore and sweeping the floors (since they need it so often) is therapeutic. I will sweep and sweep with a million thoughts going through my head. I have always loved giving hugs (the big bear hugs), when I was young it was my pets, now it is my kids. So big hugs have become a tradition in our family. I love it when I can use my talents to serve others. I love the Gospel. I love that the Lord makes up the difference for our imperfections. I am so grateful to have a forever family.