Court Date!

We got some great news today...  our court date has been set for finalization!  On November 15 Molly will officially be ours forever.  We don't even have to travel to Indiana, we will simply speak to the judge on a conference call. 

We are still in shock.  It tooks eight months to finalize Tommy's adoption, and that was without having any legal concerns.  I had no idea it was possible to finalize this quickly (thank you Indiana!)  And thankfully the potential issues with the birthfather did not become a reality. 

You know me and saint feast days...  so I checked out the saint of the day for November 15 - it's St. Albert the Great.  He is known for being the teacher of St. Thomas Aquinas - whose feast day is January 28 - the day of Tommy's finalization date!  I love these little connections.  :)

Thank you Lord for the incredible gift of our sweet baby girl.

Quick Takes

1. Monday was my birthday and I turned 33.  Hard to believe!  On one hand that seems like a big number, but overall I don't feel too old.  I was overwhelmed with feelings of joy and gratitude that day.  Just three years ago - on my 30th birthday - I would have never dreamed that this year I would be celebrating with my two children.  Thank you Lord!

My hubby took the day off and we went out to lunch and then the movies.  It was soooo wonderful!  It was a gorgeous fall day and we enjoyed strolling around outside before the movie began.  I wore a jacket that I haven't worn since last fall and found this in my pocket: 

 

I laughed so hard!  I think Tommy planted it to make sure we didn't forget him. 

 

I got this beautiful necklace for my birthday gift and I love it so much!  It has Tommy and Molly's names and their birthstones.  How did my hubby know EXACTLY what I wanted??  :) :) :)

 

 

2.  We continue to move closer towards finalizing Molly 's adoption.  Our attorney filed more paperwork this week with the court that needs to clear before finalizing.  It feels good to be moving forward.  Molly must know it because she has been smiling a ton this week! 

 

 



3.  I went to a Preschool Fair this week - eek!  It was a little overwhelming because I'm just starting to learn about the schools in our area.  Thinking about all this leads to more questions regarding money, work, moving, more children, etc.  But of course there is no reason to go crazy thinking about the future.  I'm just trying to take it one step at a time.  In the next few months I'm hoping to visit some of the schools and find the right fit for us.  I would love for Tommy to go 2-3 mornings a week starting in the fall.  Which means he will need to be potty trained by them.  Ugh, I'm so not ready for that. 

4.  So apparently a huge storm is coming to the East Coast in just a few days.  They are calling it "Frankenstorm."  I'm so not excited about this - especially since we have house guests arriving on Tuesday evening and Halloween is on Wednesday.  I'm heading to the store today to stock up on some essentials since I'm pretty sure we will lose power.  :(

5.  Just one block from our house is an area of undeveloped land that has a trail and a stream running through it.  Tommy is obssessed with playing there and asks everyday to go to the "wooded area."  (I called it that once and the name stuck.)  I've been a few times with both kids, but I love when I can go with just Tommy.  He loves to explore the trees, logs, leaves, rocks, etc and I'm so grateful it's a short/easy walk.  A group of deer live back there and we see them walking around almost every time.

He would sit on this log all day if I let him.  :)

6.  Tommy is slowly but surely growing into his role as big brother.  He tries to play with Molly once in awhile and mimics how we talk "baby talk" to her in his version of a high pitched squeaky voice.  Soooo sweet. 

7.  I'm so excited for all the upcoming holidays, especially as Tommy gets older and can understand more.  I would love to hear some of your favorite family traditions - Halloween, All Saints Day, Thanksgiving, Advent, St. Nicholas, Christmas, etc.  I have read so many posts and ideas over the years but haven't written them down. 

Will you please share with me?  What are your favorite family traditions or good ideas you've heard from others? 

Pumpkin Patch

We had a fun day at the Pumpkin Patch today!  Since it was a Wednesday it wasn't very crowded.  It's pretty impossible to get a picture with both kids looking/smiling, but of course that didn't stop me from taking about a million shots.  :)

2010

 

2011



 

2012

 



St. Margaret Mary

Today is the feast of St. Margaret Mary.  I pray that she intercedes for my sweet Molly (Mary Margaret) - especially as we move towards finalization and as we prepare for her Baptism next month!  

 

Saint Margaret Mary, thou who was made a partaker of the divine treasures of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, obtain for us, we beseech thee, from this adorable Heart, the graces we need so sorely. We ask these favors of thee with unbounded confidence. May the divine Heart of Jesus be pleased to bestow them upon us through thy intercession, so that once again He may be loved and glorified through thee. Amen.

V. Pray for us, O blessed Margaret;
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray.
O Lord Jesus Christ, who didst wondrously open the unsearchable riches of Thy Heart to blessed Margaret Mary, the virgin: grant unto us, by her merits and our imitation of her, that we may love Thee in all things and above all things, and may be worthy to have our everlasting dwelling in the same Sacred Heart: who livest and reignest, world without end. Amen. 

Novena to Blessed John Paul II

You may remember when I posted this last year, but the feast day of Blessed John Paul II is October 22 - my birthday!  I am praying a novena starting tomorrow that will end on his feast day.  I'm posting it below in case you'd like to join me.  Please feel free to leave your intentions as well, I would love to pray for you.

O Blessed Trinity, we thank you for having graced the Church with Pope John Paul II and for allowing the tenderness of your Fatherly care, the glory of the cross of Christ, and the splendor of the Holy Spirit to shine through him.

Trusting fully in your infinite mercy and in the maternal intercession of Mary, he has given us a living image of Jesus the Good Shepherd, and has shown us that holiness is the necessary measure of ordinary Christian life and the way of achieving eternal communion with you.

Grant us, by his intercession, and according to your will the graces we implore, especially for [state your intention] . . . we ask this, in the hope that he will soon be numbered among your saints, Amen.

Quick Takes

1.  We are slowly but surely settling into our new normal here as a family of four.  I've probably already written that sentence in a previous post, but I wrote it again since we are still "settling!" 

2. Friends have been stopping by recently to meet Molly and drop off gifts/meals.  It's one of my favorite things about this time of having a newborn.  I love being able to stay home and have everyone come to us. 

Although it's a little different now that most everyone has kids and their own busy lives.  A few busy moms have offered to bring us meals and I feel so guilty taking them up on their offer!  But as my friend told me yesterday, "Never turn down food!"  Ha ha...  very wise words indeed. 

Another friend stopped by this morning and she totally puts me to shame.  She just delivered baby #5 one week ago!  All her older kids were off playing with other friends, so she went to Mass, ran errands and them came by to meet Molly and spend some time catching up.  I don't know how these moms of large families do it all. 

3.  Another fun part of this newborn stage is all the packages that arrive.  Even when it's something I ordered online myself, I still love having packages arrive at the door. :) My brother and sis-in-law sent Molly this adorable Halloween bag that arrived today.  Too cute! 

 

4. I stayed up late last night watching the USC - Utah game.  Kickoff was at 9pm EST and the came wasn't over until close to 1am.  Thankfully I used that time to address Molly's birth announcements.  I fed her around midnight and she didn't need to eat again until 5am, so that was great!

 

5.  Tommy is waking up from his nap so I will have to make these last ones quick!

 

6. We are gearing up for more visitors in the next month or so and we just booked our flight to go to California for Thanksgiving.  It's hard to believe how quickly the time is flying by!

 

7.  We got good news from our lawyer in Indiana.  He feels confident that we will be able to move forward with finalization soon.  It's not 100% certain, but he's hopeful we can do it before the year is over.  That would be so amazing! 

 

I'm afraid that Molly will be the typical second-child and have much less pictures than the first.  So I will leave you with one I snapped yesterday.  Have a great weekend!