Pumpkins

It is my least favorite 'holiday' - it is lame that anyone would even call it a holiday. In the past, friends have always been annoyed with me for this - but I just have to say I think it is so dumb. I have never liked Halloween, ever, even growing up I dreaded it. I don't like dressing up, ghosts, goblins, scary witches, costumes, Halloween hype in general. (I will admit, however, babies/toddlers are pretty cute in some of their outfits!) But I think people often underestimate or forget the reality of the unseen in our world. There are angels around us, guardian angels projecting us daily; and there are also evil spirits in the world fighting for our attention and our hearts. I have no desire to see the 'ugly' side come out on Halloween.

I looked outside our front door this afternoon and our pumpkin caught my eye. With Lauryn, Ben, Isaac, and Faustina at the house today I knew I had to get outside a bit. So we carved the pumpkin! That is about all I can contribute to Halloween this year. But Happy All Saints Day tomorrow!

An Unbeatable Day for a Ride

I was so excited about the weather today I could hardly contain myself. Late morning I dressed the babies to be outside and buckled them up in the Burley. They LOVED it. Isaac was having a bit of a difficult morning at the point when I decided to take them for the bike ride. As soon as we stepped outside he was silent and looking around everywhere. He was happy the entire rest of the day - he must have known how wonderful the weather was and wanted to go outside! We biked along Mississippi Blvd and I was marveling at Minnesota mystery weather. One just never knows what October/November will bring you. In years past I have been especially keen to the elements this time of the year because usually I am finishing up some sort of soccer season. I was thinking about October 30th 1999 when my Gustavus soccer team had a home game against Wheaton College. We had got something like 6 inches of snow the night before and we weren't sure if we would have the game. Well, we DID play after they PLOWED the snow off the soccer field and we played on a pristine green field surrounded by snow! It was pretty fun (and by the way we won a close game ;). Anyway, as frequently happens, our bike ride ended us at Grandma and Grandpa's.

Grandma and Grandpa had Henry and Liam over, and Travis was painting the house. We enjoyed Widmer's hotdogs cooked over the fire outside and sat to eat on the deck basking in the perfect weather.


Around 1:30 it soon became clear from Faustina rubbing her eyes that it was time to go home for naps. And of course they both fell asleep on the way home.

I hope tomorrow brings us similar weather. :)

He Never Stops

It is true - my wonderful husband is always doing something. He is such an incredibly hard worker and I am impressed over and over again. Let me list a few of the things he is up too: full time teacher, full time graduate student, works a part-time job for St. Thomas, he teaches confirmation class on Sundays. These are only his 'jobs'. He also is a husband and new father who always finds time to hang out and have fun, read, and enjoy good conversation. In this picture he is fixing our garage door while it is SNOWING (!) for the first time. People are often surprised when they walk into our home because Mike has remodeled a great deal of the house AND decorated so that it is very pleasant and welcoming. I often tell him he should be a interior designer - maybe in a few years down the road when he has more time ;). Often times he even does a good portion of cleaning around the house - which is something I should be doing since I am staying at home now!! He has a servant's heart and I am constantly called on by his example.

You Decide

Who does she look like? I am undertaking a new project: organizing pictures. The photo boxes are purchased for hard copies and I'm trying to scan some older family pictures onto the computer. I came across our baby pictures and it is always fun (I think) to analyze whose genes she inherited. Mike often says, "She looks like Faustina." True - but she also looks like her parents/family members!

A New Addition to Daily Life

Yesterday Faustina and I welcomed little Isaac Banner to our daily routine. Or at least to our day, since we don't really have much of a routine! Since Isaac is 6 months, he and Faustina have a lot in common and are at pretty much the same place in development. Here in this video they are shaking hands making a pact to be friends.

Today we went for a walk which they both enjoyed and I got exercize with Faustina strapped on me and Isaac in the stroller. It's fun to watch the leaves blowing all over Mississippi Blvd this time of year. I have been reading a book by the title, "Full of Grace" during prayer times and at adoration. The book is about motherhood and one of its main points is that mothers are the source of life. It may sound obvious that mothers are a source of life - but as I reflected on it I am amazed at all different kinds of life such as bearing children, creating social networks, being a homemaker, and little acts of love toward husband, children and friends. To be a source of life takes TIME which is often something people covet. Being a mother is new to me and there are many things to learn! I am blessed I am surrounded by many good role models. Isaac certainly will bring life to the Adkins house and we look forward to spending this year with him.

2 years

Today marks our 2nd anniversary. Happy anniversary Honey! We celebrated Saturday night with a nice dinner out and of course a few games of darts afterwards (very appropriate since that is how we spent a good portion of our time while we were dating - you can always count on us for a very competitive game of darts!). Mike laughed when I told him the following: I often think of our wonderful little nephew X-man (Xavier) when I think of our anniversary.


Xavier was born just five days before our wedding and often when I look at him I say to myself, "Our marriage is the same age as this sweet boy." Even if it sounds corny, I like thinking of our marriage in this way because just as kids grow, change, learn new things every day - so does our relationship. We are still in the beginning stages of our marriage and I am so blessed to have such an incredible man of God as my husband. I continue to grow as an individual because of you, Mike, and whether we are having fun, working, hanging out, taking care of Faustina - I love doing it all with you!

House Projects Before the Snow Flies

Mike spent Friday and Saturday morning of his MEA break tearing of the shingles of our neighbors garage and putting new shingles on. He had good weather and the job went smoothly. No accidents, injuries, perhaps only a bit of soreness. If anyone needs a roof redone - you know who to call! ;)



Also, my parents are repainting and putting new shakes on their house which was built in 1912. A BIG project and it will look great when it is done. Travis and I have been going over to their place for the past four weeks or so to scrape, sand, wash, prime and paint the wood siding. Grandma thoroughly enjoys taking care of Faustina while I am painting outside. Faustina also found a new friend in my parent's dog, Wallace as he lays on her feet and keeps her warm. Old houses - MAN is there a lot of upkeep. Well, I guess any house has plenty of work that comes along with it!

A Double Take

Grandpa asks...

"Do we look alike?"

Welcome Baby Audrey!

My sister-in-law Mary had her third child and first girl, Audrey, yesterday afternoon. We went to see John, Mary and Audrey in the hospital and they were doing wonderful - especially Mary! Faustina and Audrey are only 5 months apart and I am sure they will have fun together as they grow old and wise!

It's fall... Faustina's 5 months (almost)!!!!

October 5th: My namesake's Feast Day today!

St. Mary Faustina's name is forever linked to the annual feast of the Divine Mercy (celebrated on the Second Sunday of Easter), the divine mercy chaplet and the divine mercy prayer recited each day by many people at 3 p.m.

Born in what is now west-central Poland (part of Germany before World War I), Helena was the third of 10 children. After age 16 she worked as a housekeeper in three cities before joining the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in 1925. She worked as a cook, gardener and porter in three of their houses.

In addition to carrying out her work faithfully, generously serving the needs of the sisters and the local people, she also had a deep interior life. This included receiving revelations from the Lord Jesus, messages that she recorded in her diary at the request of Christ and of her confessors.

At a time when some Catholics had an image of God as such a strict judge that they might be tempted to despair about the possibility of being forgiven, Jesus chose to emphasize his mercy and forgiveness for sins acknowledged and confessed. “I do not want to punish aching mankind,” he once told St. Mary Faustina, “but I desire to heal it, pressing it to my merciful heart” (Diary 1588). The two rays emanating from Christ's heart, she said, represent the blood and water poured out after Jesus' death (Gospel of John 19:34)

Because Sister Mary Faustina knew that the revelations she had already received did not constitute holiness itself, she wrote in her diary: “Neither graces, nor revelations, nor raptures, nor gifts granted to a soul make it perfect, but rather the intimate union of the soul with God. These gifts are merely ornaments of the soul, but constitute neither its essence nor its perfection. My sanctity and perfection consist in the close union of my will with the will of God” (Diary 1107).

Sister Mary Faustina died of tuberculosis in Krakow, Poland, on October 5, 1938. Pope John Paul II beatified her in 1993 and canonized her in 2000.