Check out these beautiful cards the B's made over spring break for their grandparents and Godparents. All I did was supply them with the materials, and their creativity took over from there. Brailey's are on top and Britt's are on the bottom. I love these cards!We had a wonderful Lent Season this year. We all stuck to our Lenten promises without taking any Sundays off! I am most proud of Britt, who went without candy for the entire 40 days, and had plenty of opportunities to give in. He still has his Valentine candy to enjoy! And now Brady doesn't even really like the the taste of fizz (soda pop) - he says it is too sweet for him. And I survived without my Hoody's peanuts in the shell, and although I had some peanuts on Easter Sunday, they weren't as fabulous as I had remembered. And Brailey gave out her compliments faithfully, and guess what? She's getting compliments back, now! I think the main thing we learned is this - when you make up your mind to do something, you can do it. But when you have doubts, Satan is there at our slightest weakness, and it is hard to resist temptation. We had our minds made up to make it through Lent, this year, though, and we made it. I need to apply this lesson to my daily life and make up my mind to be a better person, and instead of just trying, actually do the things I need to do in order to be the best version of me I can be.
The most powerful experience during Lent this year for me was the Penance Service the little B's and I attended in Junction City. Our priest gave us a list of all the opportunities for confession in the area. Thank goodness he did this, because time flew by, and before we knew it, we were at the end of the list and opportunities for confession. So the Thursday before Holy Week, we decided to go to Junction City for the Penance Service. Brady was out of town working, so he couldn't be there with us, which was the only fly in the ointment, but it was still a wonderful experience for the three of us. I nearly gave in and stayed home, because we have been so busy and on the go, but then I thought to myself, "That is Satan, trying to talk you out of it - don't listen to him!" And I'm so glad we went, because it was the most amazing confession I've ever experienced, and while I won't go into the details, I truly felt like the Holy Spirit was guiding the priest in his choice of words to me. I nearly fell off my chair, as a matter of fact. And both of my B's were so happy to say their confessions, and we felt like a million buck afterwards! Our new goal is to make a better effort to get to confession more often. It is such a beautiful part of our faith, and non-Catholics can make fun of it all they want, but it is a privilege for us to be able to confess our sins.
We spent Easter Sunday in Burns with my parents, where we started the day with Easter baskets from the Easter Bunny and an egg hunt in the sage brush (I'll share pictures on my next post). We went to mass in Burns, and I got to see a cousin I haven't seen in years and one of my friends I hadn't seen since the last time we attended mass in Burns, which was a year ago on Palm Sunday. Sadly, we didn't get any pictures, and we all looked amazing, I assure you. So you'll just have to take my word for it!
Long story short, it was a wonderful season of lent, and although I can't say it was easy, I can say it was special and that we felt Jesus with us every day, guiding us along our way.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
