Baccalaureate BBQ

Does it still count as a BBQ when there is no barbecue sauce involved?

Last weekend, before graduation, we celebrated Baccalaureate Mass at Boston College. It was a beautiful liturgy but Gemma didn't make it until the end. Afterward we hosted a potluck to celebrate all of our graduating friends with their families as well. We had quite the crowded home yard and such a great evening. We bought about 100 hot dogs and had a ridiculous amount left over. I got a little Costco happy for this event, I'll admit. It's too many hot dogs, even for me! But we had a great time meeting family members of some of our closest friends. Tim's parents were there and Judy introduced Gemma to watermelon. Before anyone left I acted as soccer mom and made sure to get a photo of all those who graduated and a group shot of our whole STM community. We sure will miss these people when we move (in less than a week! HELP!). Also, surprise guest and mini-CUA reunion!

STM Graduation

Tim graduated from Boston College School of Theology and Ministry with his Masters of Theological Studies (mouthful much?) this past weekend. It was so, so jovial. I was so proud and so happy and so relieved. And he did it! Can you just see the joy on his face too?!?!

Tim's parents were in town for the weekend and it was great to celebrate with them and for their help with Gemma. She did really well in the stroller during the main Commencement Ceremony. This was a massive Commencement and so strange that it was in the stadium. I kid you not people bought soft pretzels and popcorn to eat while sweating through the commencement address. It was a bit chaotic but Gemma was happy so I was happy. And when I say "I" you should know that I didn't have anything to do with bottles or diaper changes or crying babies this weekend and it was lovely.

After the main graduation we headed for lunch on a blanket outside so Gemma could roll around and then we caught up with Tim for a BC photo shoot where you get a real glimpse of the state of Gemmas fluffy hair at the moment. It's difficult to document but the sun really helped us here.

We then headed toward Tim's school ceremony which was much smaller and more personal. We were able to let Gemma stretch out under the tent on the blanket and she loved it. And He graduated! Gemma discovered two new things this weekend. 1. Dad is way more fun with a tassel to grab and 2. how to her own nose. And then we snagged a few shots of the STM babies and their dads, our graduating friends, the classic hat toss, and a couple photo for good measure. As I pack to leave Boston it's a good time to look to this day and these people and thank the STM for all the community they fostered for us this year.

Trust Fall

I've never been any good at trust falls. And by not any good I mean I refuse to do them at all. I'm not afraid of heights but falling/ jumping from them is not even a possibility. I was the girl at summer camp crying on the top of the high ropes course. I was the one on class retreats who turned to their partner and said 'it's not that I don't trust you to catch me it's that I my body will not lean backward even if my brain tells it to.' Heck, I won't even do a piggy back ride and I freak out at diving boards that are less than a foot from the water. All to say, in the most long winded way possible, that I don't trust easily.

With our move this time I tried to play it differently. My mother-in-law has been saying since my job interview that she wasn't worried because everything always tends to work out for us. And as much as I could look back at our lives and know that was true, I envied her lack of anxiety. I knew God would provide, I knew His plans were better than anything I could organize and color coordinate, I could reason to that. But I couldn't trust that. So, instead of spending the last few months trying to force myself to jump off the diving board or trust a piggy back ride, I've been praying that God make me more willing to do these things and that He allows me the peace that comes with baby steps.

Tim finished his last finals week as of yesterday, and I swear every bone in my body sighed in relief. Tim is no longer a grad dad and that will come with many, many, transitions but right now we are taking it one joy at a time. Through the stress of a last semester of Graduate studies Tim applied for and got a job at a High School in the DC area. I am so incredibly proud of him and I can't wait for his students to love him almost as much as we do, in the meantime I'm praying for them. Of course, through all of this my mother-in-law was singing with a chorus of deserved "I told you so's" reminding us of the peace that comes with trust. It really will all work out, maybe not in the timeline that you had planned and maybe not in the way you had pictured but it will work, someone will catch you.

I had a professor in undergrad who turned to me point blank and asked, "Rylee, do you believe that God has a plan for your life?" If I answer yes to that question then I really need to start living like it. And as I stand around our half-packed home crying like the middle school girl on a high ropes course I am trying to listen to the voices around me cheering me on and telling me that it will all be okay, just jump, trust, and revel in the peace that comes with it. 20 days DC, we are coming for you, ready or not.  

Gemma- 7 Months

7 months, can you believe it? It's starting to warm up around here and for the first time we are turing on fans and cursing the whole New England no A/C business. Brings me back to swollen feet and resting bowls of frozen berries on my belly.

And a year later, Gemma. She's so big I can't handle it and also I love it so much. She is just so much fun with chatter and squirm sessions throughout the day.

She also has a great, big, wide smile but you wouldn't know it because for whatever reason for this set she turned off the charm.

I think it's because she, for the first time, really hated the absurd headband. Enjoy:

She's such a goofball and keeps her dad and I laughing all day (in person or via text/ photo stream).

At 7 months she refuses to sit still. She squirms in her sleep, through mass, during photo shoots, while eating, everywhere. Always on the go. Gemma can't crawl yet, but the desire is there and in the meantime she rolls and rotates until she gets where she wants to go.

Dad is her favorite person right now and let me just say, as Tim survives finals week that it was such a cool thing to have him home with her most days this semester. They have such a great bond.

She sits all the time now... especially before a phone/ computer/ iPad for FaceTime. She LOVES the screens but only when they engage with her.

And, inevitably, she will reach for it. She will know the phones better than I do by 24 months... mark my words internet.

7 months and she already knows the latest dance moves way before Tim or I.

She's eating formula and pureed fruits and veggies these days. She loves apple sauce most of all. And chews on anything she can find; socks, toys, food, wash cloths, hands, whatever.

Goofy headband hair.

So there she is, our little model. It's so fun to watch this sweet girl grow. Her latest milestone is playing in the bath. I wouldn't have thought of that as a milestone before I was a mom, but trust me it is! It's so great that she can sit up and gather toys to herself. She loves it and I love watching the curiosity play across her face.

Pre-shower pajamas for mom but Gemma is bathed and prepped for photoshoots... typical.