7 Quick Takes on a Saturday!

1.  Happy Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception!  I love this Feast to Our Lady.  This morning, it was so nice to be able to go to Mass as a family (though most of it I spent with Ava in the back of the church while she was "confidently" doing her "LION" impression!  I know Our Lady "gets it".  I mean, Jesus was perfect and all, but she totally understands motherhood.

This morning at Mass our priest gave a beautiful homily on Our Lady, specifically referencing Our Lady of Perpetual Help (we're a Polish Parish.  I'm Lithuanian & Croatian, so close enough).

If you look at the image there are two Archangels on the sides and they are carrying instruments of Jesus' passion.  When he looks at them he is afraid and jumps into his mothers arms.  He does this so quickly that he almost loses his sandal as he clings to her thumb.  He reminds us that in any of our sufferings, fears, anxieties or troubles to run quickly to Our Heavenly Mother and she will hold us close and console us.  I love this image and could not think of anything else other than the children I was offering Mass for today.  Little Dominic and Megan.

2.  Good news that little Dominic Pio seems a bit improved, but keep up those prayers as he's not out of the woods yet!  Wouldn't it be beautiful if he could come home and be his family's Christmas Gift?

Read updates on his progress from his Mom HERE ...and keep praying for him, for Megan and in Thanksgiving for all the good news so far!

3.  Today we CLOSED on our LOAN!!!!  YAY!!!  If you've been keeping track over the last six months, it's been such a long process and with all the rejections and confusion, Shaun had given up on this bank LOooong ago. 

...But I'm really stubborn and have been ingrained with an innate sense of "justice"  (I think I should've been a superhero.  It's why I originally was studying to become a lawyer) and just could not let the thing sit.  Especially if you remember, because I was the one who bought the big old house at the auction while my trusting Shaun was busy working!  I was GOING to fix this nonsense situation if it killed me! 

So after many many many a conversation with the bank and the city and the bank and the city and finally getting the bank and the city to have conversations with each other and lots of work on the house before they would even consider lending us anything... we went to Adoration a few nights ago on our "date" (if you've been following you'll remember the story of the phone call and how we ended up at Adoration) we both just entrusted the whole thing to Our Lord and Our Lady and left it in peace.

The next morning I recieved a phone call that the bank was ready to set up a closing!  THEY picked today!  Thanks Mother Mary!  By the end of next week, we'll be able to start working and our contractor said he'd be able to start within the next two weeks.  I'll post pictures as the progress unfolds. 

Thank you everyone who prayed for us during this whole frustrating time.  Surely your prayers helped!

4.  Ava's been doing some serious bonding with her Nana lately while my ankle has been healing.  I still cannot drive, yet and have to walk slow and the doctor said it could take a month or so (especially since I'm pregnant) but the joint is in place and it's not broken, so it's healing, just slowly... and I've slowed down.

My mom has been a HUGE help with everything (especially since Shaun has such looooooong days) and Ava's been loving her company.

Now my little munchkin goes around the house and "cleans" like Nana with a wipe or paper towel in her hands she "cleans" the floor, the chairs, the tables, her toys, anything around her.  It's really too funny to watch!  Perhaps I'll take a video of her.

5.  Ava doesn't talk a lot yet, but seems lately like she's about to burst with language soon.  She listens so intently to everything and definitely has no "comprehension" issues as she definitely understands nearly everything that is said to her.  Of course she says Ma-ma, Da-da, Na-na, Daddy, but her go to for most things is a simple "Mmmm! *point* Mmmm!! *point*"  Although she says "mama", it's seldom now for some reason.  She's ALL about the Dada!

Her IRISH must be coming out because her big thing lately is to shout "DA!  DAAaaaaah!" not only for Shaun, but for Nana or just to say "HEY!!!!" when someone leaves the room. 

I walk upstairs and the next thing I hear, "DAaaaaah!"  then I shout back, "Hey!  I'm MA-MAaaaa" ...to which she smirks, laughs and says "Da-da" then cracks up giggling.  She knows it makes me nuts.

...and just this week she's learned to say "Doc-tor" (for Doctor Seuss) and "DAy-doo" for "Thank you".

6.  This little baby inside me has been making herself known for sure lately!  When she kicks, boy does she kick. 

I cannot believe that she will be here in less than 2 months!  I suddenly feel like I look VERY pregnant!  I'm so grateful, though as my pregnancy has been wonderful.  I cannot wait to meet her.  We keep telling Ava that her sister is in mommy's belly... but she has no idea what we're talking about.  She just thinks I'm lovably fat!

7.  Yesterday Shaun came in the door and walked in to this:

See... now while I like the beauty of white lights, Shaun loves the colored. We didn't have ANY colored lights in the house, so yesterday while he was at work, we picked some up along with these pretty "colored lights ornaments" and decorated the mini-tree for him when he came through the door. 

We decided to decorate the house slowly through the Advent Season and wait on our MAIN Christmas tree.  We saved one of our Christmas trees from our Wedding (we had trees surrounding our dance floor that we bought right after Christmas) and donated the rest to our new parish later, to decorate the altar. 

It's so nice to think that OUR Christmas tree came from the very beginning on our very own wedding day and witnessed us dance our first dance to our song ("God Bless the Broken Road")...

...and the rest of them?  They greet us each Christmas when we walk into Mass and find them adorning the sanctuary with the beautiful Christmas ornaments we had made for wedding favors. 

 

 

Seeing them brings a particularly special joy and being SO close to our anniversay, always renews our love for each other and the reminder that shortly after Christmas not long ago, we were given the greatest "gift" we could ever recieve ...the gift of each other. 

 

 

 

 

As a new family tradition, we will wait until Christmas Eve and decorate our tree then, joyfully celebrating as a family in anticipation of Jesus' coming, but this little one was a beautiful surprise and he loved it when he came home.  Isn't it nice when we can do thoughtful things for those we love without spending a ton of moolah?