At a certain point Blogger stopped putting pictures in date order and I just decided to roll with it. When I uploaded these March 2025 pictures, they all ended up in chronological order...that said in reverse chronological order is how they've posted. So maybe next month I'll start clicking my photos from the end of the month going backwards and we'll be back to the order making sense? A girl can dream, right?
At the end of the month Mateo and Mike ended up going to a talk on faith with the running back coach from UM and Mr. O'Meara ~ Mike got a pic of Mateo with his friends Finn and Seamus, who will all be playing football together for FGR next year...I can't wait!
Lucy and Sam (my friend Lydia's daughter) tried sitting next to each other when we went to see the FGR Fiddler on the Roof musical but they couldn't stop chatting so we had to separate them. Luckily enough the same weekend Sam was able to come over and have a play date. The girls made this "pink fort" in the living room with as many pink things as they could find!
We were all blessed to be able to head to Grand Rapids for Gianna Judith Joy's baptism on March 23. Maria's friend (the godmother) Hannah had a baby shower right after so the rest of us went back to their house and got to babysit Rosie while she and Tyler both went out with friends.
Esme (holding baby Lucia) was on the same Study Abroad where Maria and Tyler met!
FGR has had a "signing day" for the new class of freshman football players the last two years. Lucy and I got to go with Mateo who is taller than both Peter and Mikey were when they started high school!
What a wingspan!
These are photos of one of my favorite days of this year so far! I got to hang out with/help Maria the second week after Gianna's arrival while Tyler finished up a job before taking the week off himself. After a few days with them, I was able to drive halfway back home and catch a taping of one of my favorite podcasts:
joeinblackministries.com hosted by Father Ryan, who was previously the FGR chaplain. After that I was able to pick up the kids from school and meet some friends for a bite at Connor O'Neil's in Ann Arbor. It was a beautiful day!!
I even got pics in my "merch" with Carrie and Father Joe!!
Adoration at Holy Redeemer with Maria and Gianna
Quilts for Gianna and Rosie made by Grandma Rose!
I couldn't believe it when we went downstairs for coffee and donuts and I saw James (on the right). Andy (on the left) is Rosie's godfather and we get to see him almost every Sunday when we go to Mass with the DeVries but James lives in Chicago. His mom is one of my dear friends and the three of them went to Kindergarten - 8th Grade together - what a beautiful gift of lifelong/generational friendship!
While Ty & Ria were in the hospital delivering Gianna, the rest of us got to be on Rosie duty! Lucky us!
Mikey answers every question I ask him with the same one liner: "could be worse" so I had to lift this pic from a friend of his instagram post. Will and Gavin (front left and right) are at Michigan State, Charley and Luke (on the left) both go to EMU with Mikey. Dan (middle right) goes to Ave Maria in FLA. They all went to high school together and graduated together and it makes me so happy to see them all still hanging out!!
Peter held down the fort at home while the waiting grandparents went out for dinner!
Maria texted her water had broken while Mike and I were at the funeral of the priest that married us, Father Daniel Complo. What a beautiful day to truly experience the circle of life! Father Dan offered us a sacramental marriage and thus sacramental grace I've no doubt has gotten us through many, many dark valleys in our married life. I am so grateful for his yes to his vocation and am honored to have been there to pray him back to his true home in Heaven! Funny sidenote: Father Dan knew from 1st grade he wanted to be a priest. One of the priests concelebrating Mass (with the Archbishop TYVM!) was Father Kevin Roelant who happens to be the cousin of Lucy's first grade teacher! Small Catholic world :)
Mike even got the honor of being a pall bearer!
Paulina is a percussionist and plays the glockenspiel in 5th Grade band (not her best subject lol)
Maria had been in prodromal labor for over two weeks. The weekend before Gianna was born, we went to stay "just in case" ~ this Lala is not sad about making multiple visits to Hudsonville. What a treat!
