Sweetness

It's been a mild winter here in Texas.  And plenty of rain has fallen to help relieve some of the drought-like conditions.  So what do you get when you add rain and sunshine in the deep South.  Mosquitoes.  Yuck.

And this is what you get when you add one mosquito and Annie-cakes.

This picture was just too cute not to throw in here...

She got bitten right above her right eye.  She must taste real sweet to those pesky skeeters.  And I know what you're thinking.  You want a Baby Ruth.  And now I've found my segue.

Yesterday we solemnly celebrated Ash Wednesday.  Here's a little information on the holiday, if you will.  In the Old Testament, ashes were sprinkled on the head and over the whole body as a sign of mourning and penance.  Pope Urban II (c. 1035-1099) is credited with recommending that Catholics receive ashes on Ash Wednesday. During the Reformation, most Protestant Churches eliminated the use of ashes.  In recent years, however, many of these Churches have resumed the practice.*

And so, our little family received ashes yesterday.  Some of us for the first time.  During the service, we listened to "The Invitation to a Holy Lent".  You can read it here by clicking the Table of Contents and then clicking Ash Wednesday.  To sum it up, it's an invitation to observe a holy Lent through self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self denial.  You got it, we're giving up something for Lent.

And here's where the Baby Ruth fits right in.  I asked Orry what he might like to give up.  He had a really hard time coming up with something.  Partly because 40 days seems like a lifetime to a child.  Partly because the idea of sacrificing something is hard to wrap your head around at that age.  But never the less, we came to the consensus that we would give up sweets.  Cakes, cookies, and donuts.  But not ice cream.  Oh ho ho ho, no.  Not ice cream...

Annie is giving up painting her fingernails and toenails this Lenten season.  I told her that it's because she loves Jesus.  To which she replied, "Jesus!".  Troy is giving up lunch.  And I'm giving up cake, cookies, donuts, painting my fingernails and toenails, sleeping in past 6am, and movies.  Well, that last one is still up in the air.  Troy protested when I told him that idea because if I don't watch movies, he doesn't watch movies.  I know that one would be really hard for us, but isn't that the point?  Isaac hasn't chosen anything yet.  But he won't be eating any sweets (except ice cream) like the rest of us.

But this Lenten season we are going to try something new.  We are going to give up laziness.  We are going to finish all our projects that we start.  We are going to pick up after ourselves and not leave tasks for "later".  We are going to get through our chores in a timely fashion regardless of how much we don't want to do them.
And by we, I am mainly talking about myself, but I will do my best to see to it that everyone else participates.

Boy, after all this I think I will need a candy bar on top of a cookie on top of a cake, with a donut on the side. But I won't need the ice cream...

*Taken from The Little Black Book: Six Minute Meditations on the Sunday Gospels of Lent (Cycle B)