Adios May, but Mary is here to stay!

May is Mary's month, but Addie celebrates her all year round! 

"If you ever feel distressed during your day — call upon our Lady — just say this simple prayer: 'Mary, Mother of Jesus, please be a mother to me now.' I must admit — this prayer has never failed me."

--Blessed Mother Teresa 

As some of you know, Mary is kind of a big deal at our house.  And Bill and I think it is in large part because of our big 16 month old.

"Mare, Mare," is still really one of the only things that Addie Jo says around here and it's still 20 times a day or so.
As I've written before, AJ's desire to look for Our Mother seems to always be at the forefront of her mind, no matter where we are.  Walking down the street, any statue she sees in a neighbor's yard must be Mary, even if it's a naked Roman goddess pouring water out of her urn or St. Francis... no exaggeration.  She starts to say Mary and point even before she looks to see what the statue really is.  She still likes to hug our Mary statue and luckily her 30 pound lean hasn't knocked her over.  And when she says, "Mare, Mare," when we go to get her out of the crib in the morning because she wants us to take her over to the nativity to say hi... all of these things always touch us.  

 And here is Addie with Mother Mary:

This never gets old! 

Mary hasn't fallen over yet!

Putting peonies at Mary's feet

And on her head

AJ visiting Mary outside of church - a weekly tradition

Manos

Visiting Mary in the backyard but not a fan of using the new stone path.

She even found Mary while praying outside the abortion clinic.

Hi mom, aunt Katie and I are praying for babies and their mommies.

And here is one of Adelaide's favorite books.  We usually just say Hail Marys as we flip through the pictures - which are beautiful of Our Mother!

I've been thinking on Mary a lot during this pregnancy - and it probably has a lot to do with Addie loving her so much.  To call on her strength and sacrifice in approaching motherhood seems like a no-brainer, but it's easy to think on so many other silly things about pregnancy instead.  

I hope to really approach the next couple of weeks with the same patience, grace, and willingness to embrace all that God called her to do and asked of her while we prepare to welcome this next one into our lives.

“Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did.”

--Saint Maximilian Kolbe

Hope you all had a wonderful month of May/Month of Mary!