Lights of the South & Visit with the Greers

LIGHTS OF THE SOUTH 2008
~ a yearly tradition ~

We have made going to Grovetown to Lights of the South an annual tradition, which began 3 years ago. Each year, we have gone out there with a group of friends; the Greers, Bells, Lewises, Hursts, Bells, Greggs, and several others have been part of this tradition at some point. Last year while we were out there, the Greers promised to come back this year to continue the tradition with the children, and we were so excited that they did! We had such a terrific time, and just as in September, Alli and Maddox picked up right where they left off. They were thrilled to see each other. It really is amazing how sweet a little friendship can be, even at 3 1/2 and 2 1/2 years old, respectively. Of course, Brad and I had such fun being with Emily & Stephen, as well; it really seemed like "old times" with them here, truly as if nothing has changed and like they aren't actually living 8 hours from here.

While we were at the house, the kids played and played...and played! There were occasional times when we could wrestle them into doing something calm, like watching about 15 minutes of a movie together. When that happened, they assumed their "regular positions" on the little blue couch:

Of course now, Boots got to be part of the fun, too! She loved Maddox, and Maddox loved her, too. 'Good thing he likes babies, because he is getting a new brother or sister next summer!! :)

I want to take a moment to explain the next 2 pictures. Last Christmas, Nana & Papa gave Alli some doll furniture: a couch and a chair. She has played with them ever since. Well now, they are perfect for Boots, and although she prefers the couch (she fits on it better), she seems to think they were both made just for her! It is hysterical, because they really are just the right size!

Okay, so back to Lights of the South....
We were glad Brad was able to be with us, because he was post-call and back-up call that night, but luckily, he did not get called in and was able to enjoy the festivities. This year, we went out there with the Greers, Lewises, and Greggs.

Here are Alli and Peyton:

Oh, so silly!

Peyton, Alli, baby Lauren, and Maddox with the snowman, getting ready to get hamburgers and the world's best hot chocolate!

Getting excited about the hayride!

The girls
(yes, Alli had an awful bruise on her cheek from playing too hard)

Boots, all bundled up
(and tired, with that left eye getting small ~ just like Dede!) :)

Stephen and Maddox

Brad and Boots

Britt and Boots

Alli roasting marshmallows with her Daddy ~ always such fun!

The Lewises (Ashley, Grant, Lauren), Brad & Elizabeth

The Greggs: Elizabeth, Neal, and Addie Dayne (baby McKay was home with a sitter)
* I want to comment here: Neal's 'stache was part of a long, ongoing dare/prank, for lack of a better explanation, that was going on in the Orthopedic Department. If you think this is scary, you should see the pictures of all of them with full beards!! :) Ahhh...boys will be boys.

Britt & Alli, Peyton, Emily & Stephen
(Maddox is between E & S ~ see his feet?)

The Babies: Lauren and Elizabeth ~ always the youngest participants

The kids were mesmerized! They were squealing and pointing and having such fun!!

Here are several pictures of just a fraction of the sights to be seen. We did not visit with Santa this year, since we had already seen him at the mall, but we enjoyed everything else and can't wait for next year!! This is truly one of our favorite things to do during the holidays and makes it feel as if Christmas has arrived!

"BELIEVE!!"

Beauty and the Beast

Tara

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

Toy Train

Santa's Castle

Cinderella's Palace

Swan Lake

Candy Land

Randall Thanksgiving at the Beach

I will start by saying... We had a blast!!
We were lucky enough to have almost everyone with us ~ Kyle, we missed you!!!

We were blessed for Brad to have not only Thanksgiving day off this year, but also a few days surrounding the holiday. We traveled down to the beach to have Thanksgiving with my Daddy's side of the family this year. Brad and I both hate that it has taken us this long to spend an actual holiday with that side of my family (we have not been able to spend one with them in 4 1/2 years of marriage); we are so lucky that everyone understands how difficult his schedule can be, and we were so excited to join them this year!

Oh, and as a side note, we got pictures with our snowman made out of sand for Christmas cards ~ something I have wanted to do ever since we have had children:

For her part, Boots learned a new "trick" while we were there: sitting (on the bottom step) and standing back up again, getting cheers and applause each time, of course! She was so proud of herself!

Boots, Mommy, Keith, Dede, Alli, & Daddy
(Can you tell it was gorgeous?!)

Dede laughing with her girls

Would it be a Randall holiday if someone didn't perform?
This brought back years-worth of memories of "talent shows" that we performed. Thankfully, the talent has gotten significantly better with time!

Alli adores her Uncle Keith!

Keith and Anne

In addition to the "talent" and the annual football game (on the beach), there was lots of goofing off, as well....

Brad and Jeremy have both been blessed with 2 baby girls; Brad is with Boots, and Jeremy is with Mimi.

What a lucky Mommy I am!

The weather was perfect for Alli to flit and skip all over the beach.

The sunsets were gorgeous...

...and so was the storm...

...because everything is more wonderful, powerful, and beautiful at the beach!

While we were there, we visited with loved ones, got to eat at Boondocks, and Brad and I even had a date night to the movies.
When we got back home, we took the girls to see Santa at the mall before we began getting ready for the Greers' visit the next weekend!

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY BOOTS!!!

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our precious baby girl!!!!!

I absolutely cannot believe that our sweet baby girl is one year old today!! The past year has flown by entirely too quickly, as is what always seems to happen, especially with little ones.

One year ago, right now, I was at MCG, with Brad, Mom, and Carla (my nurse, and now a sweet friend) in the room, awaiting our little one to arrive. At 11:13am, she popped out ~ quite literally. :) She was beautiful and alert, with her little blue eyes darting all around; she had her fist in her mouth and was immediately ready to nurse, which of course we did (and as we all know, she hasn't stopped yet!). She weighed 6 pounds 12 ounces; she was and is absolutely perfect!!

It is amazing to see how much she has grown and changed. Still a little bitty one, she is closing in on 20 pounds now, has 8 teeth, has baby curls in back and clear blue eyes. She has been walking for a month, waving, climbing anything she can, signing, and can say several words ~ and she gives the absolute best kisses! She is a Daddy's girl, but definitely loves her Mommy, and she is absolutely crazy about her big sister, "Aaa-yhaaa."

We love you so very much, our sweet little one!
Happy first birthday, baby girl!!
We cannot and would not want to even imagine our lives without you!

7 Things About Britt

Okay, so I have been officially "tagged" by Meredith Latimer to do this, so here goes....

1. I get extremely emotional when thinking or talking about Brad and our girls. I don't want to be anywhere but with them ~ all of them ~ all of the time! I remember my Daddy was that way, too; he was happiest when he was with Mom, Keith, and me, and that is exactly how I feel. Although I love it best when we are all together, individually, I love talking and snuggle time with Boots, "Mommy-Alli" time with Alli, and "Date Nights" (at home, or out) with Brad. Thank you God, because I am one of the lucky few who gets to actually live their personal dream!!

2. If I had to pick any actual place in the world to be, it would be the beach ~ specifically, the Florida beaches. I don't care if it is pretty or if the weather is awful, that is where I want to be. I feel refreshed and rejuvenated after being there; I feel closer to God and to my Daddy when I am there. It is my all-time favorite place, and I love sharing that with my little family. Scarlett had Tara; I have the beach.

3. I admire a lot of people in my life, but none more so than my Mom. And for so many reasons. The obvious reason is how she has handled things since we lost my Daddy a little more than 12 years ago now. She has played both roles in mine and Keith's lives, and she has been a tower of strength for our entire family in more ways than I can even put into words. I could go on and on.... But I admire her for less obvious reasons, too. At the top of that list is the type of Christian she is, and the wife and mother she has always been, especially given our "situation" growing up. Obviously, I now am married to a physician, as well, and I "get" the sacrifices she/they had to make because of that. Life is different as a medical wife/family ~ weekends and holidays come and go like any other day of the week; hospitals do not "close" and people are sick 24/7, 365 days of the year; you have little or no control over your schedule; children's events are not a "free pass" for a husband who is on call and has work responsibilities, etc. As much as Daddy was able to be around (because he chose to spend what little time he did have with us), Mom did most things as a "single parent," fully supporting us and our Dad. I really get that now, and I only hope I can do as amazing of a job as she did as a wife and mother.

4. I am anal about really weird things: toilet paper has to go over and not under, flowers grow "up" a bedspread or a pillow, discarded shoes must be side-by-side and on the correct sides, etc. Things like this have the potential to drive me absolutely batty ~ to the point that I have to "fix" them if they aren't "right."

5. I, like Meredith, cannot relax if the house is messy or not clean. It is pointless to try to go to bed at night with dishes in the sink or toys scattered all over the den. Brad has finally begun to understand this, and he now thinks that "relax at home" is almost an oxymoron for me, because I can always find something that "I need to do."

6. I love to act silly with the girls. We will dance around the den, tell funny stories, or make up silly songs. We do the songs a lot ~ they can be about our day, or the book we just read, or Alli going to school, or the girls' names, or whatever ~ they are just silly and fun!

7. I tend to overschedule myself, and that combined with our busy lives means that I have several things that I miss doing these days, but I know I will eventually have the time to do them again. Among those things are my Bible Study (I do it, but I have to do it in "clumps" every few days rather than the daily time I prefer), reading (I am passionate about books), making jewelry, and journaling ~ the last 2 of which are my personal forms of "therapy." :)

So, I guess that is it: 7 things about myself.
Now, I would like to challenge some of you to try this, yourselves!
I especially would like to see Emily Greer, Brandi Turner, Stephanie Brosseau, Holley McWilliams, and Karen Hittle give this a try!! I look forward to reading about you! :)