Heart, Soul, Mind & Strength: Memorial Day Weekend

I almost let another week slip by without blogging, and it seems like I can barely remember last weekend! There was a lot going on with the holiday weekend, so I'll start with Thursday.

This is really sad, but this was all the kids did on the last day of school when I asked for picture! This is the best one I could get. Mal was sick that day, so she wasn't in here, but this is Brax, Mere Mere, Sawyer, Kenz, and Lydia in the front. Such a fun group! I will miss you all!

Thursday was my last. day. of. school..... for now. Not just for summer time, but Alan and I decided that what we want for our family is quality time with our little ones and we finally took the leap of faith and I am staying home with Lyds for now. I'm so excited, yet nervous at the same time. I've always had a job, and I know that a "stay at home mom" IS a job, it just feels strange not having to go anywhere anymore. I can honestly say that I will miss teaching. I loved everything about the job, especially the art and the kids. Most days, I honestly couldn't believe I got paid to go and have so much fun. After Lydia came into our lives, it all changed. I still loved what I did, but our priorities shifted a little bit. We did have the most wonderful retired couple that kept Lydia and her friends during the day. I will forever be grateful to them for the impact that had on Lydia for the first 1 1/2 of her life. She loved them and was literally jumping out of the car to go see them everyday. But now starts the next chapter in our lives. I do feel privileged to have taught high school for 6 years. I feel like I had a purpose at the school, the faculty are my best friends now and I had the privilege of helping teenagers at pivotal moments in their lives. I pray for much success for the nearly 1,000 student I taught. I can't believe it is over for now, hopefully I'll be back in the future!

These are some people I could not have lived with our at work for the last 6 years! This is the Art hall gang, so there are many more and Nancy McLeod is missing, because this picture was taken for her retirement celebration!

So Friday was spent organizing and getting ready for the summer! I have a busy June and blocked off July for the arrival of my nephew on July 18th! Some of our best friends, Peter and Darcy, came to spend the night with their little baby, Sam, on their way to the beach Friday night. It was a quick, but fun trip! It's always good to see Lydia and Sam together!

Alan was holding precious Sam when Liddy woke up and she didn't quite know what to think! She slowly walked to him saying, "Daddy" and held her arms up requesting to be picked up!

Sweet, Sam!!

Playing, Best Friends already!

As you know from the last post, I have no bedroom furniture, so we were on the hunt this weekend. After scouring many local flea markets, we headed to see friends and family in Meridian. Our friends, the Toth's, family was having an estate sale we wanted to go to and Alan's great Aunt Ruby lives in Meridian now, so we took off for a day trip!

We LOVED playing with Ruby. She recently had hip surgery and was moved to a rehab center from her assisted living, so it's never fun to see your loved ones like that. But she enjoyed us and Lydia so much! We reminded her that Lydia was named after her sister and she was delighted! Just like a girl, I asked her what her full name is, and she said she always hated it..... Ruby May. But I think it's pretty Ruby and you have such a wonderful family to share it with!

Three generations of the Pritchard lineage.

We then headed on to the Butler's house for a cookout, shopping, swimming, and good times! I felt like a a little kid going home with a friend, except we both have families now! They were kind enough to host us for lunch, take us to Granny's and see all their land in the process, then we ventured to Aunt Imogene's and got a lot of furniture and finally came back to go swimming and relax. We were all exhausted when we got home that night. But it was worth it, Jennifer and I both got a dresser to paint, and we got a fridge for our garage (it's already full!) And thankfully Jennifer's husband, Brian, drove it all home for us on Monday and we are already enjoying it! Thank you to the Toth/Butler family for everything! We loved the country life!

On the mule, ready to go to Granny's!

Sunday was our first time to keep the church nursery..... it was fun, yet eventful, the ladies had everyone outside when we got there from Sunday School, and it. was. HOT! Overall, the kids were good, maybe Liddy will like it better now that she has memories of us down there with her. We had a nice lunch at River Hills and dinner with friends that night. We love hosting, but it's even better when you get to see friends you haven't seen in a while! We are blessed with a great family and friends circle.

Monday was the holiday! We are grateful for those that serve our country, and thankful to remember them and their sacrifices. We took it easy and had lunch at KK's and Troxy's with Bubby. Lyds enjoyed the sprinkler and pool and then we went to see Aunt Abby. She stayed at home getting Baylor's nursery ready. It's perfect, just waiting on my door hanger/canvas!