Diamonds in the Rough

Thursday, April 28, 2011

creature lover...

Lydia is our creature lover. When we got 2 white rabbits, they were held nonstop by her. Unfortunately they were loved to death....well almost. They didnt last long and died for some unknown reason. So sad! I really did enjoy that Lydia had a furry playmate that kept her attention.

Grandma Nulls funeral!

Well the new year started out a little rough. In one weekend early Jan, we welcomed home my parents early from their mission cause Nana was very sick. In the process of helping them get situated back home, then Dave's Grandma Null passed away. She was a sweet lady who lived a good life. We are grateful for the memories we have with her. It was good to see the Bowman family at her funeral.

Winter bordom...

so when your cooped up in side the creative fun begins. This particular activity was created by Lacey Merrill who found Dave's big box of packaging foam. It started out with licking foam and sticking it to the face....to wiping a wet washcloth on your face and smashing your face in the foam to see how many would stick to it. This simple activity provided hours of fun and hilarious laughs.

Oh so cool icicles!

We really had the most amazing icicles forming on our roof after the good snow storm. It was fascinating to seem them get bigger and bigger. The kids discovered how fun fallen icicles are to play with in the snow.

Snow Days!!

We had a great snowy day this winter. The roads stayed white for over a week and the kids got their fix of snowmen and snow angles.

Lydia wasn't so sure about the cold

Tippy even had icicles hanging from his fur

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!

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.