A {phfr} at the Beginning of Lent - vol. 43


On the sad side, the squirrels didn't join me for coffee this morning.  On the much much brighter side, Brian was able to fix the furnace this morning!  It still needs another part but it's heating and we are warm.  Despite the rest of the house being at 49 degrees when we woke up, we were just fine upstairs with our borrowed space heaters.  And you know what's neat?  I thought to search Craigslist for the exact part that we needed and not only did someone local have one BUT after I wrote that post, they answered the email (that's a big deal in Craigslist world, amiright?) AND Brian picked it up last night and was up until two a.m. putting it in.  So instead of spending like $400 on this part, we got a perfectly good one for seventy five AND we didn't have to wait several days in a frigid house to get it shipped!  God is so good.  So is my husband.

How about some {phfr} on yet another snowy Thursday?

{pretty}


As much as a crown of thorns replica can be pretty, I suppose.  


The boys, to my delight, were questioning how they could pull more thorns out.  David, especially, has been so enthusiastic about our little Lenten observances this year.  

{happy}


That sweet and feisty little four year old was wandering the house yesterday morning after we brought the Lent things out.  "I'm just walking around looking for good deeds," he told me all matter of fact like.  He was picking up scraps of paper and running them to the garbage, helping switch laundry loads, dusting things, and was so so eager to help me mop the kitchen.  And after every deed he would run to the jar to put another bean in.  The sweetest.  And so far Luke hasn't spilled, thrown, eaten, or stuck into orifices any of the beans.  So that's good, too.

{funny}


We also had a visit from the Surprise Company yesterday.  These mysterious notes were left on freshly made beds...

{real}


Sometimes the cake doesn't flip well.  
It's been that kind of week month.
Good news is that poorly flipped cakes can be frozen to turn into a trifle to make another day very happy.  And there was plenty of time in the afternoon to try try again.  These are for Michael's birthday coming up this weekend.  His cake will be a fun one.  

Hope you're having a great Thursday!

Linking up with Like Mother, Like Daughter for {phfr}


6 comments

  1. John Paul has been LOVING our bean jar, too - maybe it's a 4-year-old thing? Cecilia kept asking for tasks to do so that SHE could put a bean in the jar, and almost every thing I suggested resulted in a, "Um, dat's too HARD for me!" but John Paul is on top of EVERYTHING, and obeying better, and whining less! Granted, we're only 1.5 days in, but I think it's gonna be reeeeeeeeally good for him (and for me - who doesn't love a more compliant kid!)!

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    1. Four years old is definitely one of my favorite ages, I think!

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  2. Your Lenten decor looks so nice! I really love it. Perfect in its simplicity.

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  3. I'm fully prepared with what to do for Advent with little ones, but Lent had me stumped. Can you explain the crown of thorns and the bean jar? Or links. Thanks. :-)

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    1. The thorns in the crown are toothpicks painted brown and every time one of us offers a sacrifice for the Lord, we get to take one of the thorns out of His crown. The goal is to have them all out by Easter and more so to teach them how they can comfort Jesus by sharing in His sufferings.

      The bean jar is a way to encourage good deeds. Every time they do something "extra" for Jesus, they get to put a bean in the jar. On Easter morning the beans change into jelly beans that they can share! It's a really great tangible way for them to see how their treasures are stored up. And the symbolism of the bean is that it is a seed that when planted appears to die but really in dying, it brings new life...like when they die to themselves and do good for others.

      I honestly can't remember where I originally got the ideas and who to give the proper credit to but I know I took it from somewhere else years ago! I like these two especially because they're reusable :)

      If you click on the "Liturgical Living" tab, you can find a few more posts on some of the things we do or have done during Lent. I have to point you to Jessica at Shower of Roses as well since she just did a wonderful post on their Lenten observances (but don't get too overwhelmed...start small and work from there!). Her post is here: http://showerofroses.blogspot.com/2014/03/catholic-family-lent.html

      Hope that helps!

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