Stations of the Cross

Our church recently blessed our brand new outdoor Stations of the Cross, and just in time for this Lenten season.  What a beautiful way to share the journey with a young child!

 After giving our visit a long thought, Alex exclaimed, "Mom, I'm really annoyed that Jesus had to wear a crown of thorns.  It makes me really angry!"

Saint Valentine's Day

Because Auntie, Uncle, Joseph, William and Andrew were coming to Austin on St. Valentine's Day so they would be here for Alex's birthday party on the weekend, Alex decided it would be fun to do something nice for everyone.  I found these cute little St. Valentine's Day cards over at Catholic Icing and Alex signed his name on the back.

Then I found this ridiculously cute idea on Catholic Cuisine (and felt really excited we didn't have to give candy this year!).  Daddy and Alex share little Clementine oranges all the time, so it was a big hit. 

We also read Robert Sabuda's St. Valentine and really loved the art work in the story.  If you haven't read it yet, you can get a copy at Amazon.

A Crown of Thorns

I fell in love with this idea because it is such a vivid reminder of what Christ suffered for us.  Each time during Lent that we put others before ourselves, we get to remove one thorn from the crown.  By Easter, all of the thorns should be removed, and the crown gets decorated with flowers and becomes a celebration wreath for our prayer table.  

Simple.  

Beautiful.  

Deeply Meaningful.

Bury the Alleluia

I grew up never knowing about this tradition, and when I first heard of it I brushed it aside for other things.  But this year I felt really drawn to the idea that we could make something tangible that would remind us that during Lent we as Catholics do not say Alleluia.  Alex is very much a hands-on learner, so being able to put his hands on the letters, form the word, and put each letter in the box himself was something that really captured his interest.  We "buried" the box and he is already anticipating Easter morning when we can joyfully exclaim ALLELUIA and bring the letters back out to celebrate.

The credit for how I chose to do this goes to Lacy over at Catholic Icing - I thought her idea for painting the letters and box to be re-used year after year was perfect! 

This is one of my favorite traditions for Lent.  

Fasting Bread.  

Full of rich symbolism AND deliciously yummy goodness.  

For more about the meaning behind each ingredient, check out http://catholiccuisine.blogspot.com/2011/03/fasting-bread-for-lent.html. 

I'm not much of a bread maker, but this bread is scrumptiously satisfying and keeps me full my entire day of fasting!

Cameron Park Zoo

For the past month all Alex has been asking to do for his birthday this year is go to Cameron Park Zoo.  So for part one of the birthday bash, we made a trip up to Waco today despite the threat of rain.  The highlight of course was the Reptile House, but the whole trip - even with rain - was a great success and he even took his new tube of snakes to bed with him tonight.