May Milestones

David graduated with his Master's degree of Arts in Religion from Yale Divinity School in May.  I am so proud of David for all that he has accomplished and all of his hard work.  He worked full-time as a teacher with Teach For America and took one class per semester for his first two years at the school.  For the last two years, on top of being a devoted and caring husband, a diligent Young Men's president, and working off and on planning curriculum and doing tech support for the school district, David managed to maintain stellar grades and excel academically while taking classes full-time.  This last year David also added to his load being an amazing and attentive father to Joshua.  He did all of this with aplomb and dignity.  He never complained when he was tired and always put Joshua and my needs first!  He is one amazing man, to say the least!

Sunday May 22nd, the Divinity School held a commencement worship service in the Sterling Quadrangle.  We had bought Josh a little cap and gown to wear for the occasion.  He was too cute in his little outfit!

Marquand Chapel donned with all its academic regalia.  It's a beautiful school!  The commencement worship included many scriptures, prayers, hymns accompanied by a Caribbean steel drum band, and a sermon.  It was purposefully inclusive and quite liberal.

The next day was the University-wide commencement ceremony at Old Campus.  The weather was quite foreboding the entire time.  Josh was glad to have his Grandpa there to snuggle and keep him warm.  I loved hearing the  degrees being conferred upon the different schools and programs.  Honorary degrees were given to several notable people including the man who invented the computer mouse and Martin Scorsese amongst others! 

By the time we had walked to the Divinity School from Old Campus the weather had become quite threatening. These awesome Yale ponchos were handed out; we all crossed our fingers that the weather would hold up until the last degree was handed out.

David carried Josh with him as he was awarded his diploma.  Josh grew tired of his mortarboard hat but still looked very collegiate in his little black robe!  :)

A video of David and Josh receiving the diploma.  I love how happy they both look!

The weather turned for the worst towards the end of the commencement exercises.  It was quite a heavy downpour, but they read the names of every student despite the sheets of rain coming down!  We wanted pictures outside but had to settle for David's second home these last 4 years, the Yale Divinity School Library.  No amount of persuasion could distract Josh from looking at the chandeliers above his head!

The rest of the week with Mom and Dad Choules was spent relaxing and enjoying each other's company.  We took Josh to the park and had a blast!

We also went up to Mystic, Connecticut and visited the Mystic Seaport.  They are working on an authentic restoration of the Charles W. Morgan, a whaling ship from the 1800s.  The restoration involves only authentic-to-its-time tools and techniques.  It was quite fascinating to learn about and fun to get on the ship to see how it looked!  We ate lunch at the fabulous S&P Oyster, Co. restaurant.  We loved walking around and enjoying Mystic together.

Friday May 27th was my 29th birthday!  It was a fabulous day, and I was pretty spoiled with gifts, flowers, cards, and phone calls from family and friends.  David and I had a real treat that night; Dad and Mom Choules stayed home with Josh, and we went out on a date!  We hadn't been out together since becoming parents so it was quite strange leaving our home just the two of us.  :)  We walked around downtown New Haven, went window shopping at J.Crew (my favorite store), and then had dinner at Caseus.  The food at Caseus was so lovely, it was absolutely marvelous (and indulgent too!).  The whole day was magical.

Josh loved being with his Grandparents so much.  We loved our time all together!  It was a wonderful week of celebrating.