Recall into our month: WARNING THESE PICTURES ARE OUT OF ORDER...and I am not taking the time to put them in any order. My OCD is out the window today
-We met with the Edwards family for lunch. Such a pleasure! We were so excited that our Jonesboro friends drove down to spend the afternoon with us. We love them dearly.
- Caroline asked to take her I-Pad with her to school on team day. She came home with this cute picture with her friend Quinn.
-We spent a short weekend in Memphis. The trip started with wanting to dine at Texas de Brazil, and we ended up making a mini vacation out of the deal. We all enjoyed the fire museum one afternoon. Check out these cute little firefighters!
-and you have to have a picture with a random dog when you see one...
- We spent the majority of Saturday at the Memphis Zoo. We got our steps in that day and plenty of exercise. Caroline was excited for the opportunity to ride the camel.
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| Outside Memphis Fire Station 1 |
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Fire Station 1
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-We took advantage of some family photos with Jodi Holifield. These kiddos are so adorable! They are good cheesers;)
-I say it a lot, but he is the luckiest great-grandpa I know. What 83 year old gets to ride his grand-kids around on a four-wheeler all most every day? This guy. They love their pawpaw.
- Caroline had surgery this month to have a tube taken out of her ear. She had the tube placed when she was a toddler and it has served a purpose and was now ready to be taken out. She did great! It was smooth sailing.
- Who can resist playing in the rain?
- We had dinner with friends at East End Cafe. I fell in love with this restaurant a couple of years ago, and now I love the outside porch area so the kids can play. Two wins from this momma. They are showing off their twinkie Superman shirts.
-We took a random day off to take a family trip downtown to see the alligators. We had someone special that pulled a few strings to let us feed the baby alligators a day early. What a treat! Then we we played at Riverfront Park and walked across the Junction Bridge.
-More random pics from our trip to Memphis. Stopped to see the ducks while waiting for a table for lunch. Wyatt could have walked all day following the ducks.
-More fun pics from our zoo trip...
-Friday evening we went to see the Redbirds. We had third row seats right behind home plate. What a treat!?!? We filled up with ball park food, saw a few cartoon characters, cracked a few peanuts, and enjoyed a great game.
-I enjoy these every year near Mother's Day. Over the years the sheets become more accurate and serious. I think my favorite part this year that cracks me up was that I like to eat "healthy food like soup." Sure...healthy....
- A little Friday fun at the office in our Captain America vs. Iron Man day.
-More zoo pics:)
- Wyatt had to show off and take a trip to the hospital. This was the first trip for the Ritchie crew to the hospital. Little man was dehydrated and needed a little tlc and fluids. It was a quick trip, thank goodness!
- Caroline has wanted to go camping, and we could not find an entire weekend for a trip, so she and Matt set up the tent in the backyard and had the biggest time! They had so much fun in their overnight camping trip.
- a few more of my favorite animals at the zoo
-sleeping beauty
- a few selfies for Caroline
- Redbirds here we come...
-Wyatt had his first haircut and he did great! I tell you what though, these boys need haircuts every time I turn around!
-then our second haircut...
-We stopped by to see our friends at Daddy's work one day and Wyatt need to fly the helicopter with Mr. Jim for a short bit. Wyatt is a big fan of Mr. Jims.
-Snow White, my childhood dog, was put to sleep this past month. She was a sweet dog that we miss, but glad she did not have to suffer in pain. Caroline and I went over to say goodbye and take one last photo with her before she left for the vets office. You know when sometimes you just have that feeling that you need to say a goodbye and give lots of love...glad we did. She has been a listener, a kid lover, a caring dog, and one great pet. She will be missed.
- Matt and I went on a date night to our first symphony performance. It was great! I took this picture before the performance started. We had a wonderful evening!
-One more photo of my boys in the hospital...Let's hope we do not have to make that trip again any time soon!
-Wyatt playing at the park with Aunt Peggy. Isn't he the cutest?!?!
-We met Patton and Brittany for brunch one day and these two twinkies had a grand time.
- I love Sunday afternoons. Caroline never fell asleep while eating when she was a toddler, but Wyatt is different. Sundays at church just wear him out! I was excited to finally have a kid fall asleep while eating.
-Two kids just playing...they love each other so...
-Caroline, Cheryl, and I went on a girls night out to the Bible Tour. This has been my favorite concert. I enjoyed it more because they incorporated a story in with the concert. Sidewalk Prophets have also become a new favorite band of mine.
-Mr. Barry and Mr. Bobby went to Caroline's Field Day with her this year because Matt was not able to go. She adores these two men and we are so thankful they are so willing to help while Matt is gone. She had a great time at Field Day and think they did too:)
-So here is the part of the post that I have postponed on writing for a few days. Truth is, it is hard to put into words exactly what anticipation of a deployment feels like. Even harder to put into words what the anticipation of a second deployment feels like, but I will give you one word to sum it up. Peace. I feel at peace. I have prayed for peace during a year of preparation. God has given me that peaceful feeling. Each day is different without Matt. Some days my mind is on one thing, and then the next day you may have a new adventure, but at the end of each day I feel at peace. This time it was a little different for our little family. Caroline is older this time around and she understands more about her father's deployment, but she has handled it well and understands that we are called to help people in this world and that is what her Daddy is doing. Wyatt knows what is happening in the moment, but I do not think he will have a long term memory of the deployment. Below are our pictures from our send-off ceremony. It is hard to believe that we already have one month behind us since these pictures have been taken. It sure makes you realize how quickly time flies...
