The Communion of Saints

Greetings in Christ,

I'm a 32 year old Southern Baptist deacon, and for the past year and a half I've been reading much on the internet about Orthodoxy. I must say I'm intrigued (to say the least) and I feel drawn to the Orthodox faith. Looking at historical and logical arguments, it seems that the Orthodox church can certainly back up its claim of being the "One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church". This is significant since until recently I considered Orthodoxy to be merely Roman Catholicism without the Pope and that Rome was apostate. However, from reading about early church beliefs regarding Communion and Baptism and seeing the problems of "sola Scriptura", I've begun to have a pretty substantial paradigm shift in how I view true Christianity.

One big question involves praying to Mary and the Saints. I've read much about the logic behind this, but is still seems so foreign to me. While discussing this with my wife, she mentioned that she didn't spend enough time praying to GOD to expend the time praying to someone else. She has a point. So...

1. How would Orthodox believers (especially converts from Protestantism) answer that concern?

2. Also (and this may seem like a silly question), what percentage of Orthodox prayers are directed towards the saints and/or Mary versus praying directly to God?

3. Finally, what historical evidence is there that the early Church (ie first or second century) practiced praying to Saints AND Mary, and that it is not an innovation introduced centuries later?

Any answers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.