Happy Birthday Grandma Debbie

Today is my Mom's birthday! I wish she was here so that I could take her to get a pedicure :0) Not really, she hates people to touch her feet! But we could go to a movie! Well, maybe next year. I love you mom and I hope you have a great day! Have Randall make you a big birthday cake (or at least take you to the Mill for soup:0) Love ya lots.
Becky

Happy Thanksgiving!!

As many of you know I am not a big Halloween person. I love to decorate my house with cute pumpkins but I just really don't like taking the kids trick or treating. We were invited over by the Biglers to go to our old stomping grounds for Halloween. We did have fun seeing old neighbors. I was really sad though to see that our old street was dark and quiet. Nobody was out doing a block party like we had in the past. We were truly blessed to live on that street and oh, the fun times we had. Well, now that Halloween is over, we can move onto Thanksgiving. I love the season of fall & winter. Christmas is right around the corner!! That is my favorite holiday ever!! I have really been thinking about my Grandma Elda lately. We went to visit her on Thursday and again on Saturday. She still has her humor. We laughed with her and had a good time. She is just so weak and fragile. I told Jonna the other day that I am not sure that I am ready for my last grandparent to pass away. I can't quite grasp my mind around the fact that at some point my mom will become the great-grandma and then that will make our generation the grandparents. Oh, my that is so scary! I do know one thing: I was born of goodly parents who raised me in the Gospel. They too were born of goodly parents. I am so grateful for my heritage and the ancestors that I have. I am thankful for their sacrifice so that I can raise my children in a free country. I love my family and I am thankful for what the Lord has blessed me with. I love my Savior. May we all try and remember those things we are Thankful for this Thanksgiving Season :0)

Fall Break has ended!

Well, our fall break was just alot of hanging out with Grandma Debbie and our cousins. We had days of movies, crafts, and eating sugar cookies. On Friday, we planned a "P" day. Everyone came over for pumpkin pancakes at 8! Then the kids went off to play and we adults sat and watched all about "Balloon Boy" on TV. What a waist of time! Anyways, for lunch we had Pizza. All the kids made their own pizza with pillsbury biscuit dough. They liked that. It was so much fun! We are so glad that we had this time to play with cousins and have Grandma Debbie here. I am glad that she came and was able to see all of us. We wished that papa could have come too, but we will be able to see them both at Christmas! We are excited :0)

Well, I guess I just need to say one last thing. "THANK YOU Randall for supporting Mom and being alone for 2 weeks so we could enjoy her. And thanks mom for spending time with us and having some special times with the grand kids. We all love you both and miss you terribly. I can't wait to have you closer to us :0) We love you lots.

Family Pictures

Shane's sister Erica was married this weekend and we had the opportunity to go to the Temple and take some family pictures. I just wanted to post a few. Enjoy :0)

Grease 2009

She had the opportunity to be in the school play, GREASE! She has worked to hard and did such a wonderful job. Through this time she has made some great friends in the cast. She played the part of Rizzo. And yes, she has a great attitude to play this part. She also had a solo and she rocked :0) We are so proud of her. She is growing up to become such a great girl. We love ya Shelb!!

More Pictures!

I am a movie star!

Ok, here are some random pictures of my kids. My mom says I need to have more pictures. So you asked, here's what you get!

I Love Carrots!

I finally started feeding Tessa baby food. My other kids did not do too well with baby food. I thought I should at least give it a fair shoot. So I sat her up in the chair with some carrots and a spoon in hand. Well, she ended up eating the whole thing and here is a sweet picture of her.

Five little Randall Monkeys

Well, mom keeps telling me that I need to post some pictures of Tessa. And so I decided to have a little fun camera time on the floor with the kids. So here is the Randall 5 :0)
This is the 1 picture that turned out. Everyone is smiling and they all held so still for the photo :0)

More to come :0)

Hey What should we do this Weekend? Hey lets go check out how the medical field is coming along!!

Oh, Saturday afternoon! We were at home just hanging out trying decide if we wanted to make a Costco run. The little kids (Conner, Kara, & Carson) were in the front room playing (so we thought). All of a sudden Conner came running into the family room yelling "MOM". I often wonder why they never yell for dad. Anyways, Kara and Conner were wrestling. Conner just recently took a wrestling class at school and so he was showing Kara some moves! Well, she tripped and landed on his middle finger. It broke the top joint and when it did it also blew out his finger nail. So off we go to Urgent Care :) We were there for about 3 hours and then they informed us that we needed to go to a hand surgeon. He is located at St. Joe's Hospital in Phoenix. So we went by Grandma Randall's house and dropped the kids off. Then off we went to the hospital. Well, he ended up having to have surgery. The doctor put a pin in and wrapped it all up. We waited all evening and the surgery only took 10 minutes. Well, that's what we did for out weekend date! Conner is doing good and having to write with his left hand. He was brave and strong. Here are a few pictures! Oh I forgot to add that this is the second finger injury that Conner has had in his 10 year life. The first one was by his older sister Shelby. I told Conner that maybe he needed to stay away from his sisters :0) They are rough!

Happy Birthday

Well, today is my dad's birthday! I guess I wanted to just post a little something in remembrance of him. There is not a day that goes by that I don't think about my dad. He was truly a gentle giant. There are so many traits that he had that I want to do in my life. I guess there are three that come to mind. First, he had a very strong testimony of the Gospel. He studied and prayed everyday. He was always spending time to strengthen his testimony. He loved the Gospel. Second, he was a friend to everyone. I know that I have posted about this before, but he never turned his back on anyone. He always listened and understood. I remember him always helping those in need and somehow he would always teach them the Gospel. Third, my dad had patience. He was so loving, caring, thoughtful, and kind. He always spent the time to listen to your concerns and then teach you at the same time. When dad was still with us I think I took for granted that he was here. I wish I would have spent more time with him sitting and letting him teach me. I know that he is in heaven teaching and testifying of the truth fullness of the Gospel. I miss him so much! I just hope that I will be able to live my life the way he did and make an impact on others lives. I love you Dad! Happy Birthday!

My newest craft project!

I got a book from Pottery Barn the other day and I saw this organizer for your childrens study desk. I fell in love with it. So I started gathering supplies and I am still working on it. I wanted to post pictures to show my progress. So each board is for each one of my school kids. I am going to put magnetic and erase boards on them. My hopes is that this will help us to keep all the crazy school papers organized. So here is the first picture and I will post more when I get more done on it.

Becky

My Eternal Family

Every year there is a new song published for the primary program. This year the song is "My Eternal Family." It talks about being a builder and building our eternal family. The chorus is so cute and Mallory has learned it. So I thought it would be fun to put a video of her singing it on our blog. This is what she is saying: My Heavenly Father sent me here and he know I can be strong and righteous as I build my Eternal Family. She is so cute! She loves to sing! I asked her what an eternal family was and she said, "Um, I don't know" so I took that moment to explain to her that our family is eternal. I am grateful for little children who give us these moments of just sitting still and talking about important things in our lives. They are so precious !!

School Days

I can't believe that time has gone by so fast. My kids started school and we are trying to get back into the schedule of getting up early and getting everyone out the door. I just wanted to post last years school pictures and then this years school pictures. Oh they grow up so fast.

This was a picture from last year.

I am afraid of my shadow!

Our little Mallory is so aware of the world around her. She notices everything! And with this she also askes many questions. The other night I put her to bed and she started to cry. Like really hard! I ran to her room and she kept saying "I am scared! Monster in my bed!" I assured her that there was no monster in her room. She still continued to cry so I decided to turn off the light and then asked her again. "What are you scared of?" She was sitting up in her bed and she looked over her shoulder and there was her SHADOW! She had this horrible look on her face and was shaking. I decided to move the night light across to the otherside of the room. This helped for that night, however the next day we went to the grocery store and as I got her out of the car and stood her on the ground she started to scream. "My shadow, I am scared!" Well, we had to run into the store so that it would not get us :0) Then for the next two days she ran around the house crying because her shadow is going to get her. It has been a new thing at our house. We have never had any of our children be afraid of their shadow. Oh, how funny and different they all are!!

HAPPY 13TH BIRTHDAY SHELBY!

I was sitting this morning reflecting on my life and how much the Lord has blessed me. I was truely blessed 15 years ago when I married my sweetheart Shane. Then the Lord blessed us with a beautiful red headed little girl. She changed our lives forever (for the better of course!). Today that little girl is now 13! It is so crazy to me that she is that old. A TEENAGER! I am so proud of her and she is growing up to be such a beautiful young women. She is a great example to her siblings and those around her. She bringings us lots of happiness and joy. The Lord has also blessed us with 5 other beautiful children. Time goes by so fast and I know that it will be just around the corner when Tessa is 13. But for now I am going to try and sit back and enjoy all those little moments I can get. Shelby, I love you and I want you to know that you are so special to your Dad & I. We love you and are so proud of you! Happy Birthday :0)
Love Mom

Setting Dad's Headstone!

Thank you Uncle Bill & Tyson for all your work, It is so beautiful!

The Fourth Of July in Eagar!



Well, we just got home from our trip to Grandma Elda's home for the 4th of July. The weather was so awesome. It would sprinkle a little and then it would be so nice the rest of the day. Tyson and April camped in Grandma's yard and he had it set up under the big pine and aspen trees. We ate all of our meals out under those trees and visited. It was so wonderful. We also got my dad's headstone set. It has been three years since dad left us and we have just not gotten his headstone done. But it is done and it looks so good. It was a little hard for me to be there. I miss him so much. It is a little hard to go home and see the home that you were raised in and not be able to go there. We had a BBQ at Uncle Bill and Aunt Marion's home and that was nice. They are so good to us and just let us invade their home. We also had the Anway family reunion at Aunt Brenda's home. My cousins Dusty and Stephanie were in charge. It was lots of fun. The kids played games and got wet. It was just such a nice weekend and we had so much fun visiting with family and friends. Here are a few pictures of this weekend :0)

Love Becky

Memories of Papa John

I have been thinking alot lately about my dad and how much I miss him. Tomorrow it will be three years since he passed on. I have often wished that I could turn back time and tell him that I love him again. I remember leaving Jonna's house the day before he died and I didn't take the time to wrap my arms around him and tell him that I loved him. I sit and replay in my mind that day at the hospital and how emotional it was for all of us (especially my mom). I know she misses him too!

Anyways I just want to post the poem that I wrote for his funeral program. I know that it is not the best written poem ever, but I prayed that day to my Father in Heaven that he would help me to write what was in my heart. I will always be grateful to Heavenly Father for sending me to earth to be raised by such wonderful parents. My mom & dad did everything they could so raise us in righteousness and to show us unconditional love. I just hope that I can live my life the way my father lived his. He truly was a man with a huge heart. He loved everyone, no matter what! He never judged anyone and welcomed everyone into our home. He would give you the shirt off his back and a meal to fill your belly. He loved to serve and was always so happy! I want to be just like my dad and I wish the world could be more like him too! I love you Dad!

What Is Heaven Like?

I often wonder what Heaven is like.

I wonder what I'll see.

Is it like the wind in your hair as you ride a bike?

Or the sound of the water in the sea.

Is it like the love in a child's eye?

Or the sight of a Christmas Tree?

Or maybe the smell of homemade apple pie?

Oh, how wonderful that will be?

You see that through the years I have seen

Little glimpses of Heaven

in the eyes of someone dear to me.

You see this someone is my Dad

and I'll tell you what I've seen.

Heaven is like long talks with dear friends.

And doing Missionary work.

Heaven is a listening ear to get you through the day

And singing funny songs that you will never forget.

Heaven is sweet little treats he gave to all the kids

And going for a ride on the mountain

just to see what we could see.

Heaven is like going fishing and bringing home a feast.

And going camping up on the hill come rain or shine.

Heaven is playing a card game

And swimming in Pete's Flume

Heaven is being pushed in the tire swing

so high you could touch the sky

And going to family reunions

to catch up on family ties.

Heaven was coming home and seeing his smile

And always getting a bear hug.

Heaven was the quality time we all had with our Dad

And all the homemade Christmas presents

he would make inside his shed.

Heaven is like the smile on his face

as he held each new grandchild.

And Oh how proud he is of all these little ones

who call him "Papa John"

Heaven is the Love for my mom

And the Love she has for him.

His gentle touch and the love in his eyes,

has helped me through my life. And even though he went to Heaven

I know that if we try to be a little like by Dad;

we will see little glimpses of Heaven in our eyes.

I know that I will miss my Dad, but I can't wait to see

that glimpse of Heaven in his eyes as he will someday greet me.

I love you Dad!

Love,

Becky

Wow, where is the time?

I know I have not blogged for a few weeks, but I have been busy getting kids done with school! Today is the last day! I really don't know if I am excited or dreading the fact that we really don't have anything planned for the summer besides a few family reunions and lots of swim days. Hopefully my neighbor Nancy doesn't get too sick of us using her pool! Well, the kids did really well is school is year. Shelby and Conner both made the honor roll. Kara received a few award, one was for perfect attendance! She is also going to do a few weeks of summer school. Her teacher asked the class if there was anyone who would be interested in doing summer school and yes her hand went straight up! She loves school! So anyways that is about all that is going on in our lives. Just trying to keep the fort upright! Hope all is well with everyone!
Love
Becky Randall

No Macaroni & Cheese for Lunch!

Well, I don't know if you know this about my Carson ! He LOVES Mac & Cheese! He eats this everyday for lunch! Well, today was different for some unknown reason! I asked him what do you want for lunch and he usually would respond mac & cheese, but today he said,"I really don't like mac & cheese. I want chicken nuggets. Anyways I just thought that this was a great day! I didn't have to make mac & cheese. I can seriously make it in my sleep! :)

Mom picked a Bikini out of the Garden!!

Yesterday was an exciting day! We finally picked the first vegetable out of the garden. I came inside to show everyone and the excitement grew. Carson went running down stairs and said to Shelby "Mom got a Bikini out of the garden!" We all got a pretty good laugh out of that! So far the gopher has not got to any of the plants yet. We hope that it will continue to grow lots of food!

Mom I have Speed Bumps!

Today we took a trip to Costco! We got all of the groceries and we sat down to eat a famous Costco hot dog! Carson was sitting across the table from me and he said, "Mom I am cold!" He asked to use Tessa's blanket and wrapped it around himself. He then asked me "Why do I have bumps on my arms and legs?" I then explained to him that those are goose bumps and that is the way your skin reacts to cold. After sitting there a little while longer, he said to me, "Mom I wish my speed bumps would go away!!" I laughed out loud and I think everyone in the food court was wondering what was so funny! He is so full of it! I love some of the things he comes up with. Although, sometimes when he asks question that are followed by "but WHY?" I have to be honest that I want to climb a tree and hide!

Happy Happy Birthdays

It is that time of year again! Carson started the birthday celebrations on March 29th. He turned 5 years old! It is hard for me to believe that he is five. He is so sweet and such a joy to have in our family. He will start Kindergarten in Aug. CRAZY! Next, we have Kara's Birthday! She turned 7 on April 4th. She is getting so big. She is such a help to me and loves to hold Tessa! She is an awesome big sister! We went to Gilligan's Island at the Queen Creek Performing Arts Center with a group of her friends and siblings. It was so fun. Today is Conner's birthday! He is 10 today! I can't believe that he is in double digits. He is also such a joy to have in our family. He is always willing to help and has such a sweet spirit. Shane & I are so lucky to have wonderful kids who love each other and are happy and might I add sometimes stubborn! They do keep us busy but we would not want it any other way! We hope that they all have wonderful birthdays and are so glad that they chose to come to our home!

The innocence of a five year old

Yesterday we went to walmart and as I was parking the car, Carson asked me why we have to go to the doctor sometimes? I told him that we have to try and keep our bodies healthy and that the doctor helps us do that. He then told me that one day he wants to grow up to be a doctor. Mallory (who is a copy cat to Carson) said " I want to be a doctor too!" Carson then replied well you will just have to be my assistant. She agreed and off we were on our Walmart adventure.


Then today Carson asked me "Mom when is Papa John coming back to the earth?" I explained to him that I did not know for sure when he was coming back but he would come when Jesus came. I then told him that because we don't know when they are coming we need to make sure that we are good and choose the right all the time. He looked at me and said "Well mom, you don't choose the right all the time!" Nothing like a wake up call from a five year old. I then asked "Why do you say that?" He said "Well you say naughty words all the time!" OK, how do I respond to that. I said "What naughty words?" Then I thought do I really want to ask that question. His reply was well you always say "no Carson" or "don't do that" or "Not right now" Boy I was so relieved that he really didn't know bad words. He is so Cute!


Back to our Walmart Adventure (we have alot of these!) Shane & I celebrated our 15 year anniversary today. Boy how time flies when you are having fun (or might I say CRAZY life!) Anyways, I was walking around Walmart and I asked my sister in law April "What you do get someone who you have been married to for 15 years. Carson spoke up and replied "Maybe you should get him a new BRAIN!" We laughed so hard at him! Anyways, We ended up getting Shane the Wii Fit. I am sure the kids will enjoy it more than Shane. Shane was so sweet and got me 15 red roses delivered to the house. They are so beautiful. He is so sweet and I don't tell him enough how much I love him! Fifteen years ago was the day that I made the best decision of my life. He truely is my best friend and I love him! (Did I already mention that I LOVE HIM!) HaHaHa :)

Happy Birthday Carson!

It finally came! Carson has been waiting for a life time to have his birthday! He had a wonderful day! We had all of the cousins on the Randall side over for Sunday dinner & cake and Ice cream. He got a birthday card from grandma & grandpa Andersen, a lego set from the Randall Family, & a sprinkler from mom & dad! Oh, so much fun! I can't believe that he is five! He will start school this year. Oh, how the time flys! He is such a sweet part of our eternal family. His personality and spirit is always so sweet and kind. We love his big smile and his big hugs! The Lord truely blessed us with such a sweet little boy! We love you Carson!

Soccer! Hey its over!!!!

Soccer is now over. Well it has been for a few weeks but I am just getting pictures on the blog. Shane & I decided to sign all four of our kids up for soccer, and during this time have a baby too! What were we thinking? It was a really crazy time with pratices and games every saturday! But somehow we did it! Will we do it again? NO! Shelby really didn't care for soccer but she stuck it out. Conner & Kara really enjoyed playing. Conner is pretty fast and scored a few goals in the season. Kara really liked her coach and had fun. Carson, well lets just say that he was more interested in what he was going to have as a snack after the game. Towards the end of the season he did get a little more into the ball. Oh, what fun times!