Gloria in Excelsis Deo: 7 Quick Takes Friday: the Ash Wednesday Edition

1. Planning for Lent

We planned for Lent (see here for ideas). I'm going low on arts and crafts this year, but I did make a Lenten calendar from Shower of Roses (click here).

On Monday night, after regular altar server practice, the Latin Mass altar boys and choir girls were invited to attend a Mardis Gras dinner of pancakes, doughnuts, and sausages, while listening to an orthodox and very humorous, down-to-earth priest speak on fasting and Lenten practices. Then Confession was made available. I was so grateful to be able to send our ten-year-old.

2. "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe"

We attended a community theater production of "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," which was delightful. My three eldest attended with their homeschool friends while I hung out with the little boys at the park across the street, and then we all gathered together for a picnic lunch and play time (mostly avenge tag and seeing just how much sand from the volleyball pit kids could bring home).

3. Shrove Tuesday

For the last night before Lent begins, I served a fun pancake dinner. Also, I tried my hand at making homemade Reese's peanut butter cups.

Unfortunately for me, they were so deliciously rich that we were unable to eat the whole batch, demolishing only about 25% of the candies, so now I'm stuck with these rascals during Lent.

They taunt me.

4. Ash Wednesday

We attended Mass as a family at 7:00 a.m. We made it on time. Whew.

I don't have any cute ashes-on-forehead pictures of my toddler or anyone else because our priest makes his own ashes the old-fashioned way, which results in ashes so light they fade away almost by the time I get back to my pew. (I hear that the dark black ashes are store-bought.)

"You are dust, and unto dust you shall return."

5. You Moved My Cup

We've used name tags on the counter for years as a place to store drink glasses. Every year or so, we need to change out the yucky old name tags for fresh ones, and this time--for the first time--I moved them to a new spot on the counter.

This is all very discombobulating to a creature of habit like myself, so we shall see how it goes.

I sprung 99 cents to buy these lovely formatted labels online, which is an improvement over the Sharpie scrawl on blue painter's tape that has served as labels for the last year. No one has ever accused me of spending too much time or money on interior decorating.

6. Homeschooling: Finished Two Units

This week we finished simultaneously the "Tree in the Trail" (Holling C. Holling) unit of Beautiful Feet's Geography through Literature, and the same unit of Institute for Excellence in Writing's Geography-Based Writing Lessons. Next, we start the "Minn of the Mississippi" units of both of those studies!