Baby Shower!!!

I am more than just a little excited about the upcoming birth of my first grandchild-- a boy!!

My daughter is in her last trimester and every week that goes by makes it more exciting!!

Here she is a little over a month ago.

Two of Anne's longtime friends gave her a baby shower a couple weeks ago.

Emma and Jenny have been friends with Anne since high school. Actually, Emma was friends with Anne even in grade school. Both were in Anne's wedding, as the maid of honor and the matron of honor.

They put on just a beautiful shower.

Aren't these cupcakes adorable? They made them themselves!!  And the delicious looking star cookies too. (I say delicious looking because I can't eat gluten. But I can tell just by looking at these cupcakes and cookies that they were indeed delicious!

The table was beautifully set. And they even made sure there were gluten free hors d'oeuvres and sandwiches and plenty of things for me to eat. How totally sweet was that?

Look at this table. I love it.











And then there were the gifts, and the games, and the fun!

In the foreground: My good friend and Anne's mother-in-law, Colette, then Monique, my favorite niece, and Liz. 

Here on the left is my friend Diane, who is Emma's mother, holding Emma's youngest baby. I love these three generation photos.

The clothes are adorable even without him in them!

And some are so cute you can barely stand it! haha.

Zach is an avid Detroit Tigers' fan so Baby must have Tiger gear. (Thanks to my good friend Mary Ellen.)

 The baby books. Yes!!

 And Mary had to buy the little guy his first sports bag!

 Complete with little soft soccer ball, football, baseball, and basketball. (We were hoping for rugby, since Zach plays and coaches rugby, but football is the closest we could get.)

I love showers that include more than one generation, as showers usually do. The older moms learn about all the new fantastic baby products and sometimes share a little wisdom too!

 Young moms sharing their experiences.

Monique with my daughter Mary. Did I mention Monique is my favorite niece? (She's the only one, but she is, nevertheless, my favorite.)

Anne has such great friends. These moms will be a great support for her! And their children will play together!!!

So excited for it all to begin!!!!

Go For That Bike Ride!

Those who read this blog regularly probably know that I have a favorite bike ride. I've lived in the same location for nearly thirty years and it's only been in the last few years that I have realized that Gallup Park, a beautiful setting in Ann Arbor, is a do-able bike ride from my house.

I'm a conservative in many different ways. I remember the day it occurred to me that maybe I could ride to Gallup Park. I just decided to do it. I didn't check the distance. I just went for it, which is quite unlike me. Mind you, I am in my sixties so this was pretty adventurous of me. It was exhilarating. Several hills required that I stop to recover my breath. When I returned home I googled the distance to discover that the round trip is about 8 miles. Well. Pretty proud of myself I was.

Since then, I have ridden this route many times. I rarely stop to catch my breath anymore. Not in a literal sense. But I do still find these vistas breathtaking. It is just so beautiful in every season. God is so good to have taken me here on my bike (which I love, by the way.) Specialized, Ariel.

The other day rain was predicted. But in the morning there was only a 15% chance. There was not a cloud visible in the sky. I actually thought that maybe I should not go since weather can change quickly and when I'm at the park I am not very close to home.

Then I thought. Come on! That's being too conservative. There's not a cloud in the sky. So I set off. And for the entire trip I saw only blue sky. What a blessing. So glad I didn't chicken out or I would have missed the seeing the following views.

God is good. All the time. Yes. He is so good.

More Wedding Shots....The grace of God is all over weddings!

The lovely bride and groom. I love that St.Joseph is looking over them.

Mike and Esther arrive as husband and wife.

Cousins!!! (Including the Colorado and Tennessee cousins!)

Esther dancing with her father...

Conclusion of my dance with Mike...

Jim with his doll of a fiance Elle...

Brothers line dancing....

Crutches did not stop Esther's sisters...

Sisters!  Daughters Mary and Liz with soon to be s-i-l Elle and my sister Maryanne

My sister Maryanne with my nephew Mitch.

Niece Monique with nephew Luke. (We had never seen Luke dance. :-)

My sister with Mike, her godson...

My brother Rich with Maryanne's son Matt...

Liz with her boyfriend Jonathan.

Liz dancing with her dad!

My husband dances only very rarely.

Fun on the dance floor!

Weddings are grace-filled times. There is so much joy, so much goodwill.

The love of God permeates everything and everyone. 

More on Mike's Wedding!

Life keeps coming at me. It's unrelenting.

So, back to Mike's wedding!

So Mike has married a wonderful woman who seems very well suited to him. Esther! Esther was home schooled, converted to Catholicism, masters in theology from Notre Dame....you mothers who are kindred spirits of mine....you get the idea. She's wonderful!

Two days before the wedding, there was a communication/scheduling snafu that resulted in the floor of the social hall where the reception would be unmopped. Esther's mom began searching the janitor's closets and eventually found a dry mop and a wet mop. Together we worked on the floor, getting it a whole lot better looking than before. It was nice working with a home school mom who sees what needs to be done and just does it. There was no complaining, no sighing. We just did what we could. I felt as though it was almost a bonding experience with Darcy. Our children were getting married. We did what we could. Nice.

On Friday, the celebration began with the Rehearsal Dinner. Catered by my good friend Colette and her daughter Ellen, we had a delicious dinner that, incredibly, accommodated both Esther's father's dairy allergy and my gluten allergy. A big thank you to Colette and Ellen!!!

There were a number of children at the dinner and so we set up one table with lots of children's activities. Family events are at their best when there are lots of kids.

And lots of friends and relatives!!

Jim, his fiance Elle, Liz, and her boyfriend Jonathan

Mary, John, and my brother Rich

My husband Mike's brother Jeff, his son Anthony, and Zach and Anne

Esther's sister and brother... 

More of Esther's family... 

Esther's sister with her husband and son....

Father Daley having a word with my nephews Luke and Matt

Standing: My sister who is Mike's godmother..

 At one point we invited friends and family to offer a prayer, words of advice, or a toast to the bride and groom. Many laughs were given. Many kind words were spoken.

Good friends..

Esther, Mike, and Father Daley. Father has given spiritual direction to both of them, although at different times.

It was a delightfully peaceful evening with family and friends and a fine prelude to the important event coming the following day.

To be continued....