Mary's Graduation!!

 We have another Michigan grad!! Mary joins her mother, brother, aunt, grandfather, and great-grandfather in the ranks of Michigan alumni. My father always hoped that one of his grandchildren would attend U of M but sadly died before it happened. He now has two grandchildren who have graduated. I can feel his pleasure.

International Studies graduation at the historic Michigan Theatre. Mary had a double major in French and International Studies as well as a pre-health concentration. Essentially, she had no electives and studied very hard.

She was determined to graduate the year of the 200th anniversary of the University of Michigan and she pulled it off. Here was the graduation from the Big House. (U of M football stadium, the largest college football stadium in the world, seats over 107,000 people.)

We had a good showing of family members, including Mike, his wife Esther, and our youngest grandson Joey from South Bend, Indiana.

Couldn't be prouder of this girl.

Someone kindly took a photo of all of us! John would join us later and only Liz was not going to be able to make the festivities. (More on that in the next post.)

 

AND....the icing on the cake! Mary decorated her cap with flowers and the words, 

"Thanks, Mom and Dad."

I get all teary-eyed thinking about it even now. God is good. Go Blue!

Easter Egg Hunt!

 Haven't been blogging for a bit so there are some life events to catch up on...One very significant one was Blaise's first Easter egg hunt at our house.

 He did pretty well, with a little help...

But it's also fun to dump the eggs out. Of course.

 We always have an Alleluia egg for the egg hunt. It's gold and has ALLELUIA written on it, signifying that it's Easter and we can again say, "Alleluia!" It also usually has an extra special prize.

 Blaise spotted the Alleluia egg!!

 And nabs it, with a little help from Uncle Jim!

 Family pictures.

Turns out Blaise loves peanut butter cups. But then, who doesn't?

My youngest daughters and I. How did they all get so much taller than their mother? (Well, some of it is with the help of heels.)

Mike and I savoring the fun with a new generation.

 It was a glorious day with the Autumn Cherry tree blooming in the background. Alleluia! He is risen. (We Catholics celebrate Easter for 50 days)

The Oaklands on the Campus of WMU!

We recently visited my daughter at Western Michigan University and stayed at this bed and breakfast called The Oaklands right on campus.

It is a lovely 23-room Italianate villa. We reserved an individual room for the night, but we had access to the entire home. It was simply gorgeous.

Such a beautiful, historic place, it was just lovely. Read about the history of the home here.

It's quite reasonable to stay here. I was surprised and delighted. And if you're visiting Western Michigan University it could not be more conveniently located.

 Just look at these lovely touches.

If  you're visiting Western Michigan University, this is the place to stay.

The Baptism! (With the blessing of Saint Joseph in particular!)

 My youngest grandson was recently baptized Michael Joseph, in St. Joseph Church, on the Saint Joseph River, in St. Joseph County, on the FEAST OF SAINT JOSEPH!!!! Yes! He will go by the name "Joey."

 Mom Esther dressing Joey in his family baptismal clothes. Both his mother and father were baptized in these.

 Joey, ready for the sacrament...

 Receiving the waters of Baptism as his godfather, Uncle Jim, stands by.

 It was a beautiful Baptismal font. Heated water!

 Parents and godparents, Uncle Jim and Auntie Ruth.

 There were many families present. And a lot of little ones. I love the little hand on the right in this picture.

 Joey with his parents and grandparents....

                                    Auntie Elle, Uncle Jim, Auntie Mary, and Uncle Paul.

Fun brunch with family and friends afterwards...

 Uncle Zach giving Joey his first chiropractic adjustment.

Ok. A rare photo of me with my brother and sister who both came in for the event. One from Lansing, one from St. Louis.

  

Great Uncle Rich becoming quite taken with his new grandnephew.

 Great Aunt Maryanne with Joey and the little angel doll she made for him.

 Joey with Auntie Anne as Mom looks on.

 Triptych of the Nativity, a baptismal gift from Uncle Jim, the godfather...

 Joey with his mom and maternal grandfather...

 Cousin Blaise. If you look closely you can see he's trying to fill his father's shoes. Big shoes to fill!

 Joey with his Uncle Paul who is in the Air force and flew in from the west coast.

 

Auntie Liz with boyfriend Jonathan. 

 The three generations!

 Michael Joseph, Sr.,  Michael Joseph, Jr., and Michael Joseph, III

 Saint Michael and Saint Joseph, pray for them!

Haven't written in this blog for a while. I've been busy. Busy with life, exercise, homemaking, prayer and reading, enjoying my two young grandsons, and trying to stay fit. It's amazing how the days fill up.

I'm trying to exercise every day. I wear a Fitbit and pretty regularly hit the 10,000 steps a day target. I'm also enjoying two, sometimes three, Pilates classes a week. Pilates is strengthening my core muscles (and all my muscles) while increasing range of motion in my joints. It feels really good.

Why spend time on fitness if what I really want to be doing is writing? Well, as I said, I have two young grandsons. I want to be able to keep up with them and stay healthy and strong enough to enjoy them for a long time. For me, that's a really important reason. I also want to stay fit to enjoy all the other wonderful aspects of life. I want to keep going!

Since the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit it's important to keep the temple in good repair, right?

I'm not an exercise person. It's not one of my favorite things to do, by any means. But I do thoroughly enjoy how I feel afterward. Maybe that's always the reason people like to exercise-- for the feeling afterward? I don't know.

So how to get to my writing....perhaps organizing my time better would help. I could make simpler, easier meals. Maybe get some help around the house....I'm working on it.

After finishing the above thoughts, I took the dog for a walk and it occurred to me that finding a time to write is not a matter of finding. It's a matter of making the time. And if I make the time only to discover that other essential priorities in my life are not being met, then maybe it's time to discern whether God wants me to write right now. Maybe it's just not the right time or priority.

La La Land-- A Review

La La Land is a great movie, a visual delight, an artistic masterpiece.

The opening scene immediately tells you that this film is something new, something original, something beautiful. There is a traffic jam on a Los Angeles freeway ramp. Traffic is at a standstill. Everyone is frustrated. Then someone gets out of her car and starts dancing. Tens of other people follow flash mob style until there is a full scale musical number happening between, on top of, and all around the cars. The colors are captivating, the dancing delightful and lively. Director Damien Chazelle has taken a situation that everyone finds extremely frustrating and turned it into a beautiful work of art. I turned to my husband and said, "That was adorable." And that was just the beginning.

Finally, at the end of the number, the two main characters, Sebastian and Mia, played by Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, exchange looks as Sebastian honks his horn at the distracted Emma.

In many movie experiences there is a favorite scene or some particular event that's portrayed especially well, and one will look back and think how they loved that part. In La La Land every scene is like that. Every scene.

Damien Chazelle, the young director and writer of the original screen play, has artfully used innovative techniques to present a colorful, gorgeous film that tugs at the heartstrings. Every scene is an experience of color, light against dark, captivating music, and beautiful cinematography. Seeing it a second time just made me appreciate it all the more. This is a film that, in my humble opinion, has been made by a master.

Parents should know that there is virtually no sexual content, although there is implied cohabitation. Very mildly implied. Children might well miss it. There is one obscene gesture and perhaps one F-word. For a rating of PG-13, this is a pretty innocent movie.

The music is wonderful. The cinematography is amazing, almost mesmerizing. The acting superb. What a delight to see a movie that is so skillfully and beautifully crafted and also quite wholesome, uplifting, and entertaining.

I recommend you see it. More than once.