In saying "You Protestants" I was not trying to generalize to all Protestants, but kind of give a knock in the head to those here who love to preach a Bible they don't know.
I find that mothers generally have a much more realistic view of how Mary would have acted towards Jesus than do men up on their high horse.
One last thing, just keep in mind that when we Catholics pray to saints and angels, its only to ask their prayers on our behalf. We view the Communion of Saints, or the Body of Christ, if you will, as a living thing encompassing both the Church down here below as well as the saints up above. Asking prayers of the saints is as natural to us as asking prayers from your family or your neighbors or the person next to you in the pew.
Even the most flourishy prayers to Mary, like the Hail Holy Queen, end up with this tight focus - "Show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus ... Pray for us O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ." We love Mary because she points us directly to her Divine Son.
There is something I've long wondered about...if praying to Mary and the Saints gets to Christ anyway, why not go directly to the Source, Jesus Christ? The Bible says the only way to the Father is through the Son...the Son being Jesus Christ. In my reasoning that would mean for prayer as well.
Thank you again.