The Randalls

So yesterday was our one year anniversary...of moving into our new house. My grand designs for the house were many. I told Mark I wouldn't hang a single picture until we painted. I refused to have white walls. Here's what our family room wall looks like now...after one year.

I have pretty much every shade of brown on my wall. But I can honestly say that I now have chosen a color. So, Meghan get your painting overalls on 'cause we are going to paint...someday. People who see my wall for the first time aren't sure what to think. They probably think I'm some nut job doing a weird mural or something. Those who really know me just think I'm really indecisive. If you ask Mark's opinion here's what you'll get: "I like the white". This is why Meghan and I will be painting the house. Mark will have the pleasure of taking all three girls somewhere for the day.

I can't believe I'm posting this video. It makes me sick just watching it. And the worst part is when I went to open it with Windows Media player it just played over and over and over...It's only 3 seconds long. I still can't believe we didn't need to go to the ER. Here's the story. I was downstairs talking to my parents on the phone. Mark and the girls were upstairs in the loft. The girls love to dance to music. Mark got the camera out to take videos of Piper dancing. I guess as soon as he started recording this is what happened. I'm warning you that the sound of her hitting the wall is just horrible. If you have a weak stomach, don't watch.



She cried hard for a few minutes but by some miracle she doesn't have a scratch or bump on her. She hit the wall dead on with the middle of her forehead. She was so lucky. I just want to cry every time I watch the video.

This next video proves that Piper is fine. It was taken just a few minutes after she calmed down. She loves the "How Does She Know" song from Enchanted and has learned to sing to it. The only word she knows is "know" and she pipes in just for that word. It's hilarious.



That's my sweet girl. She loves that yellow blanket, by the way. She walks around the house with it all day long.

OK, so I'm finally posting about Thanksgiving. I was suckered into...I mean forced into...I mean talked into...I mean...I offered to have Thanksgiving dinner at our house. I was very nervous about hosting it. It's not because Mark's family is high strung or hard to please. They are actually just like my family; very laid back. The problem lied with me. I get caught up making sure everything has to be perfect. I can't remember how many people I talked to about the menu to make sure I wasn't forgetting anything. I'm just like my mom where I have nightmares where I'm going somewhere or getting ready for something and I've forgotten something but I can't figure out what. (Thankfully I don't wake up screaming like my mom used to. Just another reason why I never wanted to be a teacher. See what kids do to you? Even when they aren't your own?) Moving on...

We ended up having 18 people. A whole lot less than I originally thought (which was close to 30). Phew. It turned out well and I was so glad to have my mom there to celebrate our first Thanksgiving dinner in our house. And it was nice to have her there to help me make stuff. I decided that trying to make homemade rolls was for the birds so my mom pre-ordered from Shirley's Bakery in Provo a few weeks before Thanksgiving. Let me tell you that they were to die for. Those of you who know me well know I have a thing for shakes and bread products. I was in heaven. Combine yummy rolls with all the other yummy traditional Thanksgiving menu items and you have 18 very well fed people. I'm still drooling over the peanut butter pie my sister-in-law made. It was so good. In fact, everything was oh-too-good that I was leaning over the toilet in the middle of the night wishing I hadn't over eaten for six hours straight. My body was not used to that much food. But I kept it all down, thank you very much. Hence the few extra pounds around my middle section.

Here are some photos of the event. Somehow I forgot to take pictures of everyone just getting ready to eat. I have before and after pics so you don't get to see any of the younger kids.

Before...
After...and no, Mark does not always eat with his laptop. He was getting online to show his dad something about genealogy.
More after...see how we are all still sitting around the table. Here is where I kept going back for more food, even though I was still full.
Piper is starting to warm up to other people but she has always loved Jeff (Mark's brother). We were playing games and she brought a book to him and plopped right down on his lap.
And Piper somehow got on the table, then got a cup of ice and water and dumped it all over. Then she started dancing on the table and running. As a side note, this would never have been allowed with my first, or even second child. I've totally mellowed out. My poor older kids are scarred for life. They were never allowed to table-dance.
The pants had to go after getting too wet. Here she is loving the attention and playing peek-a-boo between her legs.
That's our Thanksgiving in nutshell. Hope you all had a great time. I'm very thankful for so many things in my life. Having a wonderful family and great friends is at the top of my list. I'm very lucky to have such great in-laws. I'm grateful for my beautiful kids and a loving husband. And to top it all off I'm so blessed to have the Gospel in my life. I am thankful to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and for the knowledge I have of my Father in Heaven and his Son, Jesus Christ.