White Coat

This white coat has gone through a whole lot.  Four years ago, Ben attending the first White Coat Ceremony of A.T. Still University - School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona (SOMA).  

And since then, he has worn this coat to many different offices, trying all sorts of specialties.  This coat has been washed, ironed, hemmed, lost buttons, restitched and still did it's job.  It has held important tools like stethoscopes, little books, badges, name tags, pens, electronic tools and possibly even food. It has been hauled to and fro, and dropped on the ground many times.  

It has been there through the questions and answers and tests.  It has been there to surgeries and routine visits.  And most importantly, it has been there as Ben figured out what specialty he wanted to go into: OB/GYN.

It's permanent residence was on a hanger in Ben's truck, always there when it was needed.  Now it hangs in the closet.  It's job is done and will soon be replaced with another.

Ben is officially done with all his rotations!  What a strange feeling to be done and to have accomplished so much: a lifelong goal.  It has been a long road, but now this one is coming to an end.  He's not completely done yet.  He still has a few odds and ends that he needs to finish up, but the white coat is being retired.  We are looking forward to Graduation Day - June 3, and then Ben will be officially Dr. Richardson!  

Just an average, typical day

Sometimes life seems to go by quickly and the typical daily activities just get passed by the wayside.  Days turn into weeks and then months and, well, you get the picture.  Since we are going to be moving next month, we have been reflecting on the past four years of living here and how much we have loved it!  

Just recently one of my aunts asked me what are some of my favorite memories of my childhood.  I immediately thought of the little things that my parents probably thought were insignificant, but they are the things that I treasure the most.  The first thing that comes to mind is one time when we dug up our garden and before we turned it into rows, Dad hid gummy worms under the big dirt clods.  I still remember him running into the house and telling us that he found something outside in the dirt.  We were all so excited and ran outside as fast as we could!  And we all thought we scored the biggest treasure in the world!  

Or when Dad put the sprinkler under one of the trees during a winter freeze and when we woke up that morning to a tree full of icicles!

Or camping for that one week up on the rim and immediately following it with the Ward campout.  Boy, were we dirty!  And I will have to say that us girls were pretty fast with that .22 single shot.  You brothers better watch out we were pretty competitive!   

So with that being said, Ben and I often talk about what our kids will remember from their childhood. Hopefully, they remember the good stuff.  :)  I decided to take a few pictures of our normal activities.

Our neighbors will probably be the first to tell you that we have a noisy house!  With a houseful of kids, that's probably a given.  But I am one of those "mean" moms that make their kids practice music.  Our piano is playing beautiful music all the time.  (Or maybe it's only beautiful in our minds.)    There is always someone practicing the piano, so that means that the other instruments have to practice in the other rooms.  Both Caleb and Carson are in the advanced orchestras at their schools.  Caleb plays violin and Carson plays cello.  Their dream is to have a Richardson quartet and play at weddings and other events.  They already have music picked out for my unmarried brothers weddings.

Caleb practicing his violin.

All of our boys faithfully do their homework.  There are those time that they slack off and want to play instead.  So I just tell them that they don't have to do it and for them to tell their teacher what their decision was.  Then they beg me let them do their homework early in the morning.  Funny kids.  But I will have to say that they take pride in their work.  When they have a project due, they want to do it good.  They even get out my stamp pads and paper and make it fancy!

Calvin doing homework.

Ashton doing his homework.

After school just wouldn't be fun without something to eat!  Don't you remember how hungry you were when you got home from school?  Well, as soon as the boys walk through the door, they tell me how hungry they are!  So even Little Lacey takes advantage of the good food!

Lacey eating her sandwich.

Not very often is Ben home in the afternoons, but he was this day!  And when he is home, he always feels the need to work on something, or fix something.  I personally think that he just wants to get his tools out.  :) 

Dad working hard.

And the boys follow right in his footsteps.  Ben should be proud!
The boys are always wanting Ben to make them something.  It's usually a wooden sword, or a guitar, or a rabbit cage.  The list goes on and on.

Caleb helping Devin sand down his sword.

Devin working on it himself.

You have to use tools to cut up junk to throw in the dumpster.
Isn't that what you do?

Manly tools = lots of sparks

There is always some kind of rough housing.  It's all meant to be fun and games...but there are those times when it gets a little too rough.  Well, to be honest, it usually always gets to rough and someone ends up getting hurt or crying.  Some phrases you will always hear me say are:

"Boys, it's getting too rough." or 

"Settle down boys!" or

"You know that every time you don't listen to me, someone always gets hurt!"

Carson and Caleb sword fighting.

Sometimes, a few of us take naps.  And it's usually not me.  :)  Although I can dream, right?  Ahh!  The silence! 

Sweet Daisy sleeping away.

And then we can't forget to eat some more!  Did I mention that we go through a lot of food?  Well, we do and I don't think it will slow down any time soon.  :)

Caleb eating some more.