2014

Well, we will see how long this last.  This could be the only post of 2015.
I decided to follow Taylor and do a recap of 2014.

What did you do in 2014, that you have never done before?

My brother and I have a goal to run in all 50 states before he turns 50. This year I marked off 4 more states due to my travels with work. I ran in Washington, Oregon, Nebraska and Vermont. I hope to run in at least 3 states in 2015.

Did anyone close to you give birth?

Yes, this was a year filled with lots of precious babies.

Stacey gave birth to sweet Claire

Jessica gave birth to precious Charlotte.

Taylor gave birth to handsome Braden.

Did anyone close to you die?

My mom lost her dog, Tuff, in August. It was such a sad time for our family. He was sweet rascal until the end.

What dates in 2014 will remain etched in your memory and why?

April 24th- We had our first "dress up" session with Claire. We gathered in Stacey's room and dressed Claire in first of many monogrammed outfits.

September 30th and October 1st- Katie, Stacey and myself had the honor of being beside Taylor as she labored ALL night. I had never seen someone in active labor, it was an experience. I will never forget when we walked back into the room and I saw the new mom, Taylor.

Did you suffer any illness or injury?

Yes, I had a accident while running in July. I was with Melodie and Olivia when I fell down and I popped back up thinking I was ready to go when I suddenly realized I was about to faint. What a blessing that the girls were with me and quickly told me to sit down. Melodie ran home to get the car and Olivia stayed right beside me. I visited the ER for the first time in my life. The ER doctor told me it was dislocated and broken and he popped it back in place for me. I went to visit an orthopedic doctor the next day and was told that it was a serious break that would require surgery. WHAT?!?!? I was in complete shock when I heard it would require surgery. Needless, to say I went to a hand specialist in Raleigh and had surgery 2 days later. The surgeon inserted 3 pins and I began the process of healing. The following week I started hand therapy, which I had never heard of before the accident. In a month the pins were removed and I continued therapy for another month. God put so many people in place to help me during this time and it is only by His healing hand that I can say today I have full range of my finger.

 The pictures from the ER.

What was the best thing you bought?

There is not one thing that stands out to me, but you can bet it was anything I was able to buy on sale.

What do you wish you had done more/less of?

I wish I would have spent more time with my family and friends. I plan to spend more time in 2015 with my  Papa and Grandma. Why is life so busy?!?

What was your favorite TV program?

I never watch TV....I can't sit still.

What is the best book you read this year?

My favorite book of 2014 was "The Best Yes" by Lysa Terkeurst.

What did you do on your birthday?

My birthday is on October 5th and my mom's birthday is the 7th. I feel like she is always celebrating me on her day, so this year I cooked for our family on my birthday to celebrate my mom.

Did you travel anywhere this year?

Yes, I traveled for work throughout the year. Bryan and I went to Nashville, TN with the The Powell family in July. We had a great time!

The Boys

Will, Lee, Redden

We are excited to kick off 2015 and see what God has in store!!

My friend shared a quote with me "Our hope is not in a new year, but in Jesus who makes all things new". 

WARNING-This is not a JOKE!

I am back on the blog scene for today at least! I took a trip down memory lane via my blog a few weeks ago and I thought I have to get back.

Where has time gone? That is a question that I ask myself more and more these days. (I think this question is top of mind, because I am getting older.) It is hard to believe that the last time I posted we had just moved from our first home together to our new home around the corner and now we have been living on Lakeside for almost 2 years. I told you time zips right by and I have had the best of intention to share our adventures in “fixing up” our house, but I never actually made it to the computer to capture. In case you are super sad to hear this I am here to tell you the beauty of buying an older home is you always have projects and I will share some with you.

As the days, months and years pass by things change in life and the Radford crew has been no exception. Let me bring you up to speed on the family.

Bryan had a job change in late August of last year. He is still legally pedaling drugs just with a different company. Bless his precious heart; he is still in law school. I am not sure how he works full time, goes to school 3 nights a weeks, studies endless hours, sneaks in video games, golf occasionally and marriage. I can honestly say on most days he amazes me. The end of school is insight and in May 2015 he will graduate. Can I get an AMEN?!?

I am still with the same company and on March 28th I will celebrate my 13th anniversary. Now that is hard for me to believe, what an awesome journey it has been. In October the piece of the organization that I serve in was revamped and I was placed into a different role. I for the past 7 years served the Eastern North Carolina market as an Associate Relations Manager. I am now a HR Strategic Business Partner for the Business and Government channel. Let me tell you what all that means, I now serve our directors that manage the Business and Government channel. This has been a shift for me, due to the fact that I do not have a defined territory so, I travel a good deal to be with my clients. There are good things about travel and not so good things about travel. However, I try to live by the words of Esther “I am chosen for such a time as this”. I still enjoy weekly bible studies with the girls, decorating our house and planning parties for anyone that gives me the honor.

Dowdy is still employed as the head of the Radford household. His parents have experienced change, but have no fear he is still the man in charge of it all. Dowdy’s days consist of being served breakfast and dinner, a walk if he is lucky and lots of naps. I have days when I just want to be Dowdy. Most days he is extremely happy with his life with the exception of yesterday, he had his teeth cleaned. Oh well, that is life and we all have to do things we don’t like to do.

Well, I have bored you with all the updates. If you have not given up on me I hope that you will stay tuned as I try my very best to keep this blog up to date. After all, I do want to be able to remember some things to share with our children.

August Fun

In August we got to spend sweet time with some special little ones. 

 Anna Kate turned 2! We celebrate at the park with a watermelon party. 

 Anna Kate is serious about her sweets!!

 Later in the month we kept the Powell boys for a few days, while their parents went to a wedding in California. 

 Redden and Dowdy playing. 

 Fun time trying to take a picture with the boys. 

So thankful that God has blessed us with so many little ones in our lives!!

Sea Island

In July we traveled to Sea Island, GA for a little get away. I know this is way late, but I am doing this for my own personal records, so please go back to July with me. :) We stayed at the Cloister and had a fabulous time. This place is so southern and it was fabulous. I LOVE the South just in case you were wondering.  

 Bryan about to enjoy his breakfast. 

 Many of the trees on the property have been planted by famous people during their vacations. The tree above was planted by G.H. Bush.

 The streets were lined with beautiful oaks. 

 Bryan went an played golf one day and then he took me back that evening to see the course. 

Golf course on the ocean.

 Our room

 I LOVE to look at different houses and Sea Island had tons for me to look at, so all the pictures below are homes on the island. Welcome to the Sea Island tour of homes!!

 We decided to take a bike ride one day. Bryan was complaining that it was "too hot", but it did not bother  me one bit because, I was stopping every 5 seconds to photograph another house. 

Well, I hope that we can visit again soon!!