Lent with the Landreneaus

Lent.

I love Lent.

I love the simplicity, the desert, the growing, the stretching, the sacrifice, the fasting.

I love the universality of this season. I love knowing that all the faithful are growing, fasting, sacrificing together. I love seeing ashes on the foreheads of complete strangers on Ash Wednesday.

I love the anticipation of the Resurrection...spending almost seven weeks contemplating the Cross...His mercy, our sin, His suffering, our redemption. Being reminded of how much I needed my sweet Savior to die on that cross, yet hating the idea of God having to suffer so horrendously so that I could be with Him forever.

Knowing that He had a plan when Adam and Eve left Paradise...a promise that He would come for us, save us, draw us near to Him again, all because of a love so unbelievably immense that He couldn't bear to not have us with Him.

Remembering that He led with service, washing the feet of those dearest to Him.

Remembering the night he instituted the Holy Eucharist, His sacred Body and Blood, and how greatful I am for a Church filled with holy priests, His servants, who pour their lives out that we, the people, might receive Him daily, so that our lives may be made holy.

These are my prayers for my children, that as they grow and mature in their faith, they will hold dear all of these truths.

Lent looks different every year in our home. Some years, last year in particular, I've had the best laid plans only to have God choose something completely different for us. It's hard to let go of my plans, but His always prove to be better, more sanctifying. So this year, I've got lots of things ready to go, but I'm holding them all loosely, wondering what our Lord might have up His sleeve for our family. One thing I did this year to enhance the visual effect (similar to leaving our Christmas tree bare for all of Advent) was to remove several things from our living room. Not much, but enough to notice the bareness. I filled two metal vases with bunches of sticks to remind us that this is a dry, desert time, but that new life will spring forth...and that it's worth waiting for!

Our days begin with our Lenten calendar. I got this idea from Jessica (who just so happens to be the QUEEN of living the liturgical year in way cool and fun ways with her brood). So far, this has been awesome. I love that we are covering all three parts: prayer, fasting, almsgiving. The stars show that we've completed our commitments for the day, and as nice as it is for the kids to see those stars, it's totally an accountability thing for me which is great.

In the mornings, we pray our morning offering, offering up our intention of the day. Then we pray the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary. Next comes the counting of the object of the day and counting pennies for the rice bowl. They think this is such great fun and are trying to find extras to count so they can give more.

Right after dinner, we do our Jesus Tree. Jessica has each week linked on her sidebar with color sheets for each symbol. The kids color while Phil or I read. We did this with the Jesse Tree and they loved it, so I knew this would be a hit.

Tonight we prayed the Stations of the Cross. It was interesting to say the least. We lit 14 tealight candles in front of our crucifix on the prayer table. The kids took turns blowing out a candle when we finished praying each station. Phil explained to them that by the time we finished, it would be dark, just as it was when Jesus died on the cross and the sky went black. That part was beautiful. Trying to keep the toddler from singing "Happy Birthday" and blowing out ALL of the candles, not so beautiful. I also made a Stations of the Cross box (made it last year, but not until Holy Week, so we never got to use it) based on the idea here. This was a hit, though I might be making one for each of them next year!

Starting next week, we will do one Catholic Mosaic book for Lent/Easter each week, with a craft, copywork, discussion, etc. I'm really looking forward to this! We've loved using this book more over the last few months. The book selections are wonderful.

So that's the majority of the "stuff" of our Lent. Of course, there are those things for the grown- ups that are kept secret, but these are the things we do with our children to enrich their journey. There are lots of wonderful, intimate conversations about salvation, the cross, suffering, the Eucharist, and Our Lady, that have been happening and will surely continue to. These are the moments where all this "stuff" meets the hearts of our children and brings all of us closer to Our Lord. I remind them (and myself) over and over that none of this "stuff" matters one bit if it's not drawing closer to the foot of the Cross, to the throne of God.

Are we inviting Him into our hearts more?

Are we creating a place to welcome Him there?

Lord, be with us this Lenten season. Draw near to us as we seek your face, as we remember this road you walked for our salvation.

Happy Birthday, Gracie!

Happy birthday, sweet girl!

I cannot believe that you are five! It really blows my mind. I love being your mommy, even on days when I don't. You are so full of life and spunk, and you have an incredible heart for Our Lord. I have no doubt that you will lead a life that is pleasing to Him.

This morning I gave Mary-Grace the American Girl doll Molly that I got when I was in the 3rd grade. She was so excited! She'd been wanting a big-girl doll for quite some time, and I was thrilled that I had one of mine to give her. We had birthday donuts this morning, then cupcakes at co-op, and then we went to Mass. Her nanny and parrain and their kids are coming over for beinets tonight at her request. We look forward to this birthday weekend!

Love you, precious girl!

Celebrating St. Valentine

Waking up on Valentine's Day...wondering what waits in the kitchen...

We had such a fun time celebrating Valentine's Day this year. Last year, we had the flu for Valentine's Day, so we were glad to be feeling well this time around. We usually give the kids a book or two and some candy in the morning, but this year was a little different. They each got a book from Catholic Mosaic as well as another book we thought they'd like. Instead of having tons of candy waiting for them, they woke up to this:

They were puzzled by the mound of stuff they saw, but they were excited about the bag of white donuts and the bag of oreos! The rest of the morning was spent making Valentine dots, dipped oreos, marshmallows and pretzels. It was so fun, and they loved that they could pretty much do everything on their own. While we worked, I read St. Valentine, which we all enjoyed.

Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes

Today we celebrated the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes.

This feast day "marks the first apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1858 to fourteen-year-old Marie Bernade (St. Bernadette) Soubirous. Between February 11 and July 16, 1858, the Blessed Virgin appeared eighteen times, and showed herself to St. Bernadette in the hollow of the rock at Lourdes. On March 25 she said to the little shepherdess who was only fourteen years of age: "I am the Immaculate Conception." Since then Lourdes has become a place of pilgrimage and many cures and conversions have taken place. The message of Lourdes is a call to personal conversion, prayer, and charity." ~ Catholic Culture

Our Lady of Lourdes is dear to my heart because my grandfather was healed in Lourdes. While he was stationed in Germany, he visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France, and was healed of his stuttering. So we wanted to do some special things today to celebrate her.



Our craft today was holy water fonts. The kids had a good time making them. We also read Our Lady of Lourdes by Fr. Lovasik, and we watched Bernadette, Princess of Lourdes.




Based on some ideas from different blogs, I decided to serve an all white and blue menu today. The color blue is often associated with Our Lady, and the white is for her purity from conception.

We started our day with these muffins, which were beautiful and delicious. However, my children are not used to fresh blueberries in there muffins (I usually buy the box mix), so they wouldn't eat them. I will admit they tasted different, but in a very good way! Nevertheless, it was a bust for the kids. There are plenty of leftovers, though, so come on over and get one. Snacks were mozzarella string cheese and ice cream (a HUGE hit). Lunch was cheese pizza with olive oil instead of tomato sauce, another big hit.



For dinner we had chicken and pasta with Alfredo sauce and cauliflower. We actually had a a very nice table setting for once, which was nice. For dessert, the kids were delighted with mini jello "springs"--foil cupcake liners with blue jello--since Our Lady told St. Bernadette to drink from the miraculous spring. Phil and I like them, too!



Here's a shot of our table, and Ava enjoying her "spring". I love how the jello matches her eyes.






We have really enjoyed celebrating the feasts of the Church this year. We look forward to more!

New Year's Eve

I know this is really late, but as I looked through the pictures, I couldn't resist posting them!

We had SO much fun at the Thomas' house on New Year's Eve. It was a small group this year, much smaller than usual, but that allowed us plenty of time on the Wii. Holy cow, we were so hooked, especially Phil. The above shots are of his boxing match with Kessie. I almost spilled my pina colada, which would have been tragic I assure you.

We had chili, pina coladas, LOTS of coffee, oreo truffles, and lots of other snacks. Glad I waited to start the diet later.

30!

I remember when my mom turned thirty; I had just turned seven. I remember like it was yesterday. My dad had told my mom that he had a partners' dinner meeting, so my grandmother picked me up from school and took me to my aunt's house. When I got there, my aunt took me in her room and opened a big box on her dresser. The cake inside read "Happy Birthday, Brenda!"

Confused, I looked up at Nanny. She told me that there was no meeting, but Dad was giving Mom a surprise party. I was SO mad at him for not telling me! (He actually apologized for this last night, saying that was his one regret. I said, "Are you kidding?! I so would have blown it!") Anyway, I remember the clothes I wore, the people who were there. I remember my Papa waiting and watching by the door, all antsy, ready to turn off the light at the exact right moment. I remember the look of shock on her face when she walked in the door.

Well, now it's my turn. But the party was not a surprise, which is FINE by me. Instead, I got to pick a few of the friends closest to my heart to join my family for a wonderful dinner at my mom's house. I come from a divorced family, and if I didn't already know that God was sovereign, I would surely learn it each time one of my children celebrates a birthday. All the grandparents come and are at peace with each other, and it's a kodak moment for God's glory and power to heal. Last night was no exception. Families who haven't technically been family for years came to celebrate with me. My friends gave up evenings with their children, hired babysitters and travelled from near and far to be with me.

And wonderful it was. My mom cooked a huge gumbo, potato salad, and garlic bread, although I only ate a small bowl because I ate SO much spinach dip and baked brie before dinner! She made my favorite cake, which I think became a lot of people's favorite cake last night. Coby and Kessie brought their big ole Vita Mix to make pina coladas for us...Kessie and I looked forward to this all week! My children got a big kick out of their mom having a birthday party. They were quite bummed on Friday night when I told them that all of our friends were coming, but none of THEIR friends were. Then I told them Uncle Jeff and Aunt Katherine would be there, and they quickly decided that Uncle Jeff single-handedly made up for the fact that there friends couldn't come. My dad was also a real trooper and spent much of the evening in the garage getting pelted with tennis balls.

Then came presents. I certainly didn't expect gifts from my friends, but they were so sweet to spoil me. I got a gift card for a manicure and pedicure, new pajamas (that I'm currently wearing and LOVE), a precious coffee/tea mug, sets of coffee and espresso cups (do my people know me, or what?), a beautiful new sweater, lovely notecards, gift cards to Bed, Bath, and Beyond, as well as extra money from family to choose what I'd like. More importantly, they gave me their time, and I am truly grateful.

Then the big gift came...my new laptop! I was so shocked that I'm not sure I really reacted. Phil historically does not shop for me. I tell him what I'd like, and he gets it. So this was a super sweet gift because he did it on his own, and my kids didn't even spill the beans. I'm not sure what he was thinking letting them in on the secret, but I guess he has more faith in them than I do.

One of the guys told me last night that turning 30 was hard for him; every year since has been fine, but that initial goodbye to the twenties didn't sit too well. I thought about that all evening and this morning. Here's what I think:

I'm glad to say goodbye to my twenties, although they were great. I married in my twenties, had children, bought our first house, had another baby. More than that, God grew me and stretched me, especially in this last year, in ways I never could have imagined. He has drawn me close to His heart, and has reminded me over and over again that His heart is the safest place to be. This last year, I have spent more time with Him as friends lost babies to miscarriage, as one lost a baby in heart surgery, and as other friends birthed more babies. I spent one day at the hospital waiting for a friend to give birth and that night attended the wake of a seven-month old. Job's verse "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord" took on a whole new meaning in my heart. I was reminded that only He knows what is and what will be for His glory and the good of our souls. And I can rest in that.

So this morning, I'm sitting in my new pjs, writing on my new laptop, drinking my decaf with creme brulee creamer out of my new mug. It's been a good morning. I think I'll keep 30 around for a while. I'm not sure what God has in store for me in my thirties, but I know that He knows so that's good enough for me.

If my thirties will bring more grace, deeper relationships with family and friends, new friends, more babies, and will bring me even further into God's heart, then I'm so there.

Feast of the Presentation

Today we celebrated the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. From Catholic Culture:

The feast was first observed in the Eastern Church as "The Encounter." In the sixth century, it began to be observed in the West: in Rome with a more penitential character and in Gaul (France) with solemn blessings and processions of candles, popularly known as "Candlemas."

The Presentation of the Lord concludes the celebration of the Nativity and with the offerings of the Virgin Mother and the prophecy of Simeon, the events now point toward Easter.
"In obedience to the Old Law, the Lord Jesus, the first-born, was presented in the Temple by his Blessed Mother and his foster father. This is another 'epiphany' celebration insofar as the Christ Child is revealed as the Messiah through the canticle and words of Simeon and the testimony of Anna the prophetess. Christ is the light of the nations, hence the blessing and procession of candles on this day. In the Middle Ages this feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or 'Candlemas,' was of great importance.

The specific liturgy of this Candlemas feast, the blessing of candles, is not as widely celebrated as it should be, except of course whenever February 2 falls on a Sunday and thus takes precedence. There are two ways of celebrating the ceremony, either the Procession, which begins at a 'gathering place' outside the church, or the Solemn Entrance, celebrated within the church."— Ceremonies of the Liturgical Year

Today, Phil and the kids brought a box of candles to be blessed at Mass. We bought pillar candles in the various liturgical colors to use on our table throughout the liturgical year. Elizabeth wrote a beautiful piece a few years ago about the connection between the Presentation and candles:

"When Our Lady took Jesus to the temple and Simeon greeted them, he recognized the light first. He said that Jesus was "the light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel." Then, he told the Blessed Mother that she would suffer: "Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted and you yourself a sword will pierce so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."

She did not understand but she did know that she knew the Light, the Lord, was hers in her suffering. When we suffer, we turn to the Lord, who came as light and life to the world. And we can light a candle to remind us of those words of Simeon who coupled forever the suffering with the Light. What beautiful sacramentals candles can be in the domestic church!

I've always loved candles; I am drawn to light and beauty. In candlelight, the hard edges of the world are softened. Now, I feel drawn to them as I'm drawn to prayer. Christ settles over the candlelit room and softens the edges of the harsh world while illuminating my soul with His holy will. We appeal to our senses when we prepare our homes with candles to use throughout the year."

For tea time today, we made edible candles in honor of Candlemas...pirouette cookies standing in a donut. The felt flame obviously wasn't edible, but I forgot to pick up some icing or candy corn.

We read the story of the Presentation in the Bible. Then we listened to Todd Agnew's song "He Is Called Jesus", and discussed what it might have been like for Simeon to lay eyes on the Messiah.

Ava thought sure she was supposed to blow them out!