Prayer Buddy Reveal

We are having a wonderful Christmas in Nebraska with my husband's family. It has been so special to celebrate all the beautiful traditions with Tommy for the first time! I don't have much time, so I will have to blog about it later. But I wanted to get online quickly to reveal my prayer buddy.

I had the honor of praying for E from A Martha Trying to be Mary. I must confess that even though I had exchanged emails with her around the time of Tommy's adoption, I didn't know that she had a blog. I started reading her posts during Advent and was afraid that if I commented or added her to my blogroll she would suspect I was her buddy. Hee hee... :)

She has a great devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe and I was excited that I could pray a novena to OLOG for E's intentions. I prayed the St. Andrew Christmas novena daily for her and thought of her a lot during these weeks of Advent. If you follow her blog you know she's had a lot going on. I felt a strong connection to E through prayer even though she had no idea who her buddy was.

E, I will continue to pray for your health, fertility and vocation as a wife and mother. You are such a sweet soul and I know that we both have a great love for Our Lady. I would love to make a pilgrimage to Mexico City one day and meet you.

I hope everyone has a very blessed Christmas!

January 28

Yesterday we FINALLY heard from the court about our adoption finalization hearing. Our date is January 28th. It's later than we had hoped, but we are so excited to have this final step behind us.

About 30 minutes after I got off the phone with the court I realized that January 28 is the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas!! I couldn't believe it. I love the Lord and His mysterious ways.

Tis the Season

Here are some pictures of what we've been up to lately...

My hubby and I attended the annual Gala for his work last weekend. It was fun to get dressed up and have a night out. It was held in the beautiful Building Museum downtown.



Tommy's legs are finally long enough to play in this toy. He loves to spin around and play at each of the "stations." It's great because it keeps him occupied long enough for me to get a few things done.
I finally got him a winter coat since it has been FREEZING here! Our temps haven't gotten out of the 30s all week. I went with a size bigger hoping that he could grow into it, but it looks a little too big.
Our Advent wreath is on the coffee table in our dining room and I have enjoyed lighting the candles during my morning prayer each day. (They are the same candles from last year, in case you were wondering why they have all been lit.)
My parents sent their gifts early since we will be with my husband's family for Christmas. It's getting pretty full underneath our tree!
My table centerpiece is a bowl full of ornaments
One ornament says "joy"
Fireplace and mantle

Even though our season was disappointing, I still hang my USC stocking with pride!

Decorations around the house

We went to the mall last weekend to visit Santa. I wonder what Tommy asked for??

Our Lady of Guadalupe Novena

The feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is on December 12. I'm going to start this novena tomorrow and thought I'd share it in case you'd like to join me in prayer.

Did you know that Our Lady is pregnant in this image? The sash at her waist was worn by pregnant women in Aztec culture, so she is pregnant with Our Lord in this image. She is the patroness of the unborn and is closely linked with the pro-life movement and with women trying to conceive. My novena will be offered for all women trying to conceive and especially for my prayer buddy.

Here is the novena:
Day One – Dec 4
Dearest Lady of Guadalupe, fruitful Mother of holiness, teach me your ways of gentleness and strength. Hear my humble prayer offered with heartfelt confidence to beg this favor… Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.

Day Two – Dec 5
O Mary, conceived without sin, I come to your throne of grace to share the fervent devotion of your faithful Mexican children who call to you under the glorious Aztec title of Guadalupe. Obtain for me a lively faith to do your Son’s holy will always: May His will be done on earth as it is in heaven… Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.

Day Three – Dec 6
O Mary, whose Immaculate Heart was pierced by seven swords of grief, help me to walk valiantly amid the sharp thorns strewn across my pathway. Obtain for me the strength to be a true imitator of you. This I ask you, my dear Mother… Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.

Day Four – Dec 7
Dearest Mother of Guadalupe, I beg you for a fortified will to imitate your divine Son’s charity, to always seek the good of others in need. Grant me this, I humbly ask of you... Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.

Day Five – Dec 8
O most holy Mother, I beg you to obtain for me pardon of all my sins, abundant graces to serve your Son more faithfully from now on, and lastly, the grace to praise Him with you forever in heaven... Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.

Day Six – Dec 9
Mary, Mother of vocations, multiply priestly vocations and fill the earth with religious houses which will be light and warmth for the world, safety in stormy nights. Beg your Son to send us many priests and religious. This we ask of you, O Mother... Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.

Day Seven – Dec 10
O Lady of Guadalupe, we beg you that parents live a holy life and educate their children in a Christian manner; that children obey and follow the directions of their parents; that all members of the family pray and worship together. This we ask of you, O Mother... Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.

Day Eight – Dec 11
With my heart full of the most sincere veneration, I prostrate myself before you, O Mother, to ask you to obtain for me the grace to fulfill the duties of my state in life with faithfulness and constancy... Our father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.

Day Nine – Dec 12
O God, You have been pleased to bestow upon us unceasing favors by having placed us under the special protection of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary. Grant us, your humble servants, who rejoice in honoring her today upon earth, the happiness of seeing her face to face in heaven... Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.

Praying Advent

I wanted to share with you a great resource for praying this Advent. If you follow this link it will take you to the Creigh.ton Online Ministries. They have great little reflections every day of the year, but during Advent and Lent they have more in-depth meditations and prayers. I think it's a great resource! Just one of the many good things to come from Nebraska. :)

Christmas Cards from Shutterfly

I had already been working on our Christmas cards this year using Shutterfly when I saw another blogger post about this great opportunity to earn 50 free cards. I'm so glad I saw her post! I couldn't pass it up.

I had decided to use Shutterfly this year after receiving some cute cards from friends and family who used them last year. My sweet friend Heather designed our cards last year - she is so talented! But she just had her fourth child, so her hands are just a little full these days.

Since we always include a letter with our cards, I am hoping to take advantage of their cards that fold - you can include pictures on the cover and the letter inside. As you can see here, they have a ton of options for Christmas photo cards. They have so many other cute ideas, like these photo calendars or these Christmas invitations.

How cute is this one??
Follow this link if you are interested in learning more about their blog promotion and getting 50 free cards. Good luck getting your cards done! :)

Thanksgiving, Advent, and Catching Up

I haven't blogged in awhile because I was waiting until I had the time to write a "good" post. It seems like all of my posts lately have been a laundry list of what's keeping me busy or pictures of what Tommy ate that day. ;) I guess in a way that's my life these days - and praise the Lord, I am so glad it is! I have been hoping for some inspiration to write a deeper more thoughtful post, but I just don't have it right now, and that's ok.

So yes, I've been busy. The seven-week catechist course that I was teaching at my school is finished and I'm really glad to have that behind me. It took a lot of time to prepare for each class and unfortunately it really messed up Tommy's nap and bedtime routine (which has been a big deal lately.) I will teach another one in the spring, but hopefully it works better for Tommy's schedule.

We hosted our dear friends on Thanksgiving and it was such a wonderful day! I tried my best to plan ahead so that it wouldn't be too stressful and I'm really pleased with how everything turned out. Our friends have a 9 month old, so we were all in the same boat with the babies' schedules and needs. They helped with the cooking/baking and I think everything was delicious! Even though it can be a lot of work, I love having a reason to use our china, dress up the house and have guests over.

Tommy in his Thanksgiving outfit


The two families

Our friend Dave and their precious little Luke

The feast

Our first Thanksgiving as a family of three

We spent the rest of our long weekend relaxing, watching football and pulling out all of the Christmas decorations. I did a little shopping on Black Friday and was happy to get some good deals! Although we are sad to be far from our families on this special holiday, it was nice to stay home and have a restful long weekend together.

Shopping and gift-giving can be stressful during this time of year, especially since I try to find gifts that are meaningful without breaking the bank. Any advice on how to simplify? Does your family have any fun gift-giving traditions?

I am so glad that Advent is here. Not only because I'm a nerd and I love all the liturgical seasons, but I'm always in need of a fresh start and a kick-in-the-pants to get myself motivated with my prayer life. The Church is always providing us with opportunities to get back on track and re-focus. And I love that we are keeping up the tradition of Advent prayer buddies! Thank you so much to the ladies who spend so much time and effort organizing this. I know that I could really use the prayers (thank you!) and I'm happy to pray for the intentions of my buddy.

And even though Tommy is too young this year to really understand what is going on, it's important to me to make this time meaningful for him - both now and in the future. I have been inspired by many of the bloggers' posts on Advent and how they celebrate with their families. I am hoping to purchase a nice Advent calendar, a cloth/felt Advent wreath, and a toy Nativity set that Tommy can play with during the Advent and Christmas seasons. I will probably wait until after Christmas and hopefully find some good sale prices. Any advice on where to look for these items? What Advent traditions to you have with your families?

We put up the Christmas decorations in our house and Tommy has been in awe of the lights on the tree. It's so much fun to watch him learn and grow. He is so much more aware of things now. I think he could look out the window all day long! I continue to be overwhelmed with gratitude that he is in our lives. I am so blessed to be his mother and I treasure all of our little moments together during our day.

We took a few pictures this weekend for our Christmas card. He just loves looking at the tree!

Pears

What do you think... does Tommy like pears??

Six Months

Our little bug will be six months old tomorrow! It's hard to believe how quickly the time has flown. And yet, I can't remember our lives without him.

Tommy is the light in our lives and we love him so much. It is truly a privilege to be his mommy and spend my days with him. Even during the recent sleepless nights and teething, there is nothing else I would rather do that take care of him. I can't believe that the Lord has blessed us with such an incredible miracle.

He has such a sweet disposition and smiles all day long. I love watching him grow and develop. Every day he is learning new tricks. He is SO curious about everything and I can't wait to teach him about the world.

Six months is an exciting milestone for many reasons - including the fact that we can file our paperwork for finalization! We had our third and final visit from the social worker this morning. Hopefully we will hear back from the courts within a few weeks with our court date and then everything will be official!

Thank you Lord for this most precious gift!

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

I know that babies are constantly growing and changing, but Tommy has really been changing the past couple of weeks. Unfortunately this includes teething, which I hope is the cause for his recent sleep troubles. Hopefully a couple of cute little teeth will pop out soon and he'll feel much better!

Today I peeked in on him while he was napping and found that he had rolled over (from back to belly) and was sleeping on his tummy. He's never done that before!

He has been really hungry so we decided he was ready to try solid foods. Even though people disagree if solid foods have any affect on sleep, I am also hoping it will help him wake up less during the night. He loved the rice cereal and I'm excited to introduce him to new foods!

Quick Takes - advice needed

(1) We had a rough week last week because a nasty stomach bug worked its way through our little family of three. :( Last Sunday I thought I had food poisoning, but clearly it was something else. Thankfully it didn't hit Tommy as hard as us - he didn't throw-up or get a fever like we did. My hubby took Monday off to watch Tommy because I felt so horrible that day. Hopefully it's gone for good!

(2) It's hard to believe Tommy will be 6 months in just two weeks. Not only are we are excited that our little guy is getting older, but we can finally send in our adoption finalization paperwork! We have our third and final social worker visit this Friday. After that, everything is taken care of. Our agency will file the paperwork with the court and hopefully we will hear back from them in a couple of weeks with a court date. Apparently they have adoption finalization hearings every other Friday. Hopefully it will be official before the year is over!

(3) We will be here for Thanksgiving and we decided to host some friends at our house. I'm really looking forward to it! I always like to have a reason to cook/bake. I'm not super fancy, but I do try to make everything nice. Any recipe suggestions? What are your Thanksgiving favorites?

(4) I continue to strive for balance in my life these days. Things can get pretty hectic around here trying to juggle school, youth group, singing, taking care of the house and being a full-time Mommy. One area that has been stressing me out lately is my social life. It seems to be so hard to make plans with friends these days - even with my other stay-at-home mom friends. Everyone is busy and it can be hard to find the right time for everyone's schedule.

Also, I have been trying to get together with two lovely blogger ladies (you know who you are!) I promise it will happen sometime soon. I'm really looking forward to catching up with both of you.

(5) Speaking of balance, I really need to get my prayer life on track. It's harder to get to daily Mass now than it was when Tommy was first born. I need to get into a good prayer routine in the morning before the day gets away from me.

(6) Sleep has been a big topic in our household. In just the past couple of weeks Tommy's sleeping habits have really changed. Rocking him to sleep doesn't work anymore and he doesn't fall asleep as quickly or easily when we are out running errands. I know that babies are always changing, but it's hard for me now because our old "tricks" don't work anymore. Did anyone else notice a change during this age - 5-6 months?

The worst is around 5:00-6:00pm. He used to take one final evening cat-nap before bedtime (which is usually between 7:00 - 8:00pm.) For the past week he has screamed when we put him down for that final nap and nothing seems to console him. The funny thing is, once that ordeal is over he will sometimes go to bed for the night without a peep. I don't really get it. Any advice?

I am trying to put him down for naps and bedtime during that just-about-to-be-tired zone so that there is less crying, but that's not always easy. How often and what times did your kids nap at 6 months?

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from this little bumble bee!

What a difference a year makes...

Today is my 31st birthday. I can't stop thinking about the changes that have taken place in the past year. My heart is overflowing with gratitude to the Lord for His abundant gifts and His faithfulness.

On this day last year Tommy had already begun his journey to us... he was already growing in his birthmother's belly, and we had no idea. My thoughts were mostly filled with my 30th birthday party, my upcoming appointment with Dr. S and our pilgrimage in the spring. Little did I know what the Lord had in store for us.

These lovely bloggers helped me celebrate my special day last year:
One year ago none of us were mothers. In just one year all four of us have adopted and two are pregnant. Can you believe that?? God is so good. I also love that I share a birthday with GIMH's sweet Ethan. Little did she know that her son was just born while she was celebrating my birthday. A few days after this party they got "the call"!!

As I type all of this I can't help but think about all the women in my life who are still waiting for their miracle. They are still waiting for the Lord's abundant gifts and for His faithfulness. I want to shout from the rooftops that it will happen, the wait is worth it, the Lord has a plan for your life, stay close to Him and He will bring you the child that is meant for you, I'm praying for you, etc.

I believe that all of these statements are true, and yet I know that it doesn't always help to hear them. Times of desolation are just that, and it's hard to get advice or consolation from those who are in a different place. When you've walked the long road of suffering, it can be hard to hope that one day it will end.

So today, on my birthday, as I rejoice and celebrate I am also thinking and praying for my many friends who are still waiting. I pray that your day of joy will come soon, and that the Lord will fill your hearts with peace until then.

Pumpkin Patch - picture post

Here are some pictures from our adventure to the pumpkin patch this afternoon. You'll notice that (1) I took about 100 pictures, (2) I couldn't narrow them down for this post and (3) Tommy was having so much fun playing with the hay/straw, he hardly ever looked up and smiled! Oh well. We practically had the place to ourselves since it was a Wednesday afternoon - we had so much fun together!

Fall Has Arrived

Thank God, it finally feels like fall has arrived! After the hottest summer on record in DC and a very hot week in California (we were there for the hottest temps EVER recorded in LA - 114) I have been so ready for the cool, crisp fall days. I don't even mind the rain we had yesterday.

I love seeing the leaves on the ground (probably since I don't have to rake them - ha ha!) and pumpkins on every porch. It's fun to anticipate Halloween, Thanksgiving and even Christmas. I am excited for all of Tommy's "firsts" during these beautiful holidays and traditions.

Fall has always been my favorite season. Fall means college football, a new school year, my birthday, and I just LOVE the food, drinks and the fashions of fall. Even though you might catch me in flip-flops all year round, I just love wearing jeans, boots and sweaters. I am so excited to make some of my favorite recipes: Chicken Tortilla Soup, Pumpkin Rolls, Apple Crisp, Hot Apple Cidar, etc.

What is your favorite recipe? I would love some new ideas!

The fall is also the first time in many months that I have a reason to pull out new decorations for the house. I have been waiting all year to use these placemats - I got them at the after-Christmas sale at Crate and Barrel last year. :)


This weekend we will take Tommy to his first pumpkin patch! As many other bloggers have posted, there is something exciting about taking these quintessential pictures. The weather is supposed to be cool and sunny - hopefully a perfect day for our adventure. :)

Five Months

Tommy turned five months this week. Our little bug is getting so big!


He LOVES to suck on his toes.

He gets lots of kisses from Mommy.

He loves to fly through the air with Daddy.

And recently he has been making lots of noise. He loves to hear himself "talk," especially when he's alone. Now I know when he's awake because he starts talking to himself in his crib!