The Lenten Season Has Begun!

I am so excited for this season of Lent, for reasons I'll get to in a minute. But first, what did we all give up? With Ash Wednesday kicking off the season yesterday, most of my conversations have revolved around what loved "thing" we are giving up for all those long weeks of Lent. Soda, chocolate, alcohol, dessert, chips...all of these seem to top the list. This year I am mixing it up a bit and I'm giving up frivolous shopping--for 6 straight weeks!! This has been one of the hardest for me to give up....and I've thought about it at great length to make sure that I could be dedicated enough not to sin! I'm still not sure how I'm going to define "frivolous"....i'm sure my definition will differ greatly from D.J.'s!! ;-) At any rate, I'm a little scared...I just have to steer clear of temptation AND thank God Sundays don't count!

Why do we give something up for Lent? Lent is actually kinda sad and depressing...we are supposed to be in a state of mourning and repentance---recognizing our mortality and our sinfulness. We give something up in honor of Jesus's 40 fasting days---to simply prove our own discipline over desire. For me, Lent feels like a good time for personal reflection---a time for dedication to spiritual things that too often get pushed to the back during our day to day busy lives.

I'm excited for this season of Lent for a few special reasons. My sister, on her own accord, has been attending the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults classes (RCIA) at our hometown Catholic church. It was one of the best things I have ever done in my own life, so I am ecstatic that she is also on the path to confirmation. She will also be taking the baptismal preparation class, not for herself (she was baptized as a baby), but for my niece & nephew who will be baptized after Easter. She asked D.J. & I to be their Godparents....we feel honored and blessed. I'm so happy that we'll be able to help teach and guide them on their faithful journey. What an awesome responsibility!

During our fun fashion week, I totally forgot to mention that Josie had her 9 month check-up! She's 18 pounds, which puts her in the 50% for weight....and I can't even remember how many inches, but she was 75% for lenth. So long and lean!! I compared it to Anna's chart, I know you're not supposed to, but I always do. Anna was barely 16 pounds at 9 months! They are so different in so many ways...I'm just loving it.

Josie is growing up so fast...time slow down! She is walking all over with her little baby stroller and she plays peek-a-b00 on her own!! I mean, she puts the blanket up to her face and pulls it down, laughs and repeats. Soooooooooooooo cute!