Diamonds in the Rough

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

The Desert in December

One of the great things about visiting the valley in December is getting to enjoy the perfect temperatures of the desert this time of year. We always like to take are kids to the state park Usery Pass. It has a playground and short hiking trails and is hardly ever crowded. The kids kept saying they missed Nana who usually leads the fun exploring and knows names of every plant. Dave was a great trail guide this time.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Christmas Dresses

Christmas cuties in Christmas dresses! I loved these dresses from Naartjie because they were just so comfortable. I can't believe how fast they are growing up. Would they stop it already!! Each one of my girls personality and looks are so different. but they are super fun and I just love them!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Santa came to our house!

MERRY CHRISTMAS !!

Santa's elves were busy this year. They new exactly what they wanted. or should I say...earned because they were so good this year. New bikes, rocking horse, and wagon. Gear to get going!!

Lydia loves "Lightening McQueen" hmm..i wonder who got her obsessed with him, maybe her boy cousins. Thrilled she was to get this car in her stocking.

Chelsey got a new electronic gadget, hooray, her own photo printer.

Caleb's first Christmas

Wow, a bike that even holds a barbie!

Opening stockings is my favorite part.

Dave's favorite sports, skiiing and golf.

Christmas Cheer!!

Look at all these cute kiddos lined up at Bobbi and Dallan's house for the Randall present exchange. We are not a small bunch any more. More like a hurd of wild cattle. But it is always fun to laugh and have fun together. We missed not having Nana and Papa around this year, and thought of them lots during the holidays.

Off to Grandma Bevells for a Christmas Dinner and party. I love my Grandma. She just puts her whole heart into everything when she gets her family together. She loves to make it beautiful and special. She uses all her nice Christmas dishes and everyroom has decorations galore.

Annual Bevell Nativity production about to begin...

Our cast of Nativity characters. The oh so cute baby Jesus, our Lovely Shepherd girl, and two prancing sheep.

Kami insisted on being a sheep so she could wear her favorite sheep costume. Boy, did she get into the part. she ate grass, wiggled her tail, baahhhed, and crawled around on all fours the whole night.

Elyza and Dustin played their parts well, and not even any fussing from Baby Caleb. The kids each came to the manger to pat his fuzzy head.

shepherds in the field....

angels watching...

..grand finaly!

Next came a hay ride pulled by a tractor and Santa...hohoho!

Lydia was afraid of Santa all month after several events where Santa was there. But for some reason when Santa showed up at Grandma Bevell's house she decided Santa was her best friend. She brought over her present to show him and kept coming up to touch his beard and talk his ear off. Too funny! and she is now convinced that Santa lives at Grandma Bevells house. Her favorite stuffed animal for the month was the stuffed Rudolph that Grandma Bevell gave her.

I thought this was so cute. Grandma had put a tree in the yard to decorate with picture of the Savior. she called it Christ's tree to celebrate his birth. The my girls loved looking at the picture and putting them on.

December Festivaties!

I just love having a real Christmas tree in our home. Uncle Troy cut us down a good one in the forest. The girls can't take over the decorating. Nothing like starting off the Christmas season with trimming the tree!

A magical ride on the Polar Express with the kiddos. Chelsey got to come along this year. Dave considers it to be the most expensive hot chocolate story time he's ever paid for.

What a bunch of bundled bugglies!

Ginerbread houses! Another holiday tradition. Lydia's gummy chateau, is piled high with gummy bears.

Baylee's A-frame delight!

Kami's Red Hot Cottage!

Kindergarten Christmas program and Kami was the cutest red-nosed reindeer...and a great singer too!

We went with Dallan and Bobbi's family to see the

Mesa Temple Christmas lights, what an awesome sight. The kids were all mesmorized!

This year me and my primary counselors put on a kids talent show for the ward party. It's fun to see how even the shy primary kids enjoyed a chance to shine. Baylee, Kami, and Lydia sang "The Littlest Christmas Tree". Boy, were they a hoot and so darling! Kami sang with all her might, Baylee was so good at the actions, and Lydia stood their and smiled. I think Amy and I were their age when we sang that same song.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

a good lookin' booth...

December is always a great month for Dave's artwork sales. He keeps busy traveling and doing shows around the holidays, but it is usually worth the time and effort. This year he greatly improved his booth, a much needed improvement. What a talented hubby I have!

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.