Farewell 2014

2014 was an eventful year for us. It brought with it mostly good times, but a few challenges as well.

In January, we saw the groundbreaking of our new church and throughout the year we've watched it seemingly rise out of the ground. It's been an amazing thing to watch and I can hardly wait to celebrate Mass within its new walls in just a few weeks!

In February, we saw the Denver Broncos (my favorite team!) get brutally beaten by the Seahawks (my second favorite team!) in the Super Bowl. I felt fortunate enough to see my two favorite teams in the championship, but I do wish the outcome would have been a bit different.

April saw the disappearance of our family cat, Booka. Typically an indoor pet, he managed to get out on Good Friday and hasn't been seen since.

We also saw the initiation of our boys as they entered the Catholic church through Baptism, First Holy Communion, and Confirmation. What a blessing it was and what a blessing we have in the boys!

My oldest boy became an altar server at our church in July and I experienced a book that thoroughly frustrated me in "Gone Girl".

September brought a major hail storm from which our neighborhood is still recovering.

In October, my family spent a fun filled week in Orlando, FL visiting Disney World and Universal Studios. The boys were at the perfect ages for it. They were old enough to ride most of the rides, but they were still young enough to have magic in their eyes.

October also came with the best house guests we could have ever imagined!

Thanksgiving had my in-laws in town from Florida. The boys got a chance to spend some time and get to know their out-of-town grandparents.

My youngest boy injured his leg in December. The doctors were afraid it could have been fractured, so for three days he walked around on crutches that were too big for him. Fortunately, it was just a sprain and, after three weeks, we took off his brace today!

The year of 2014, for the most part, was kind to us. We experienced a lot of joy and spent a lot of time with friends and family. Here's to another year that I'm sure will be great!

Happy 2015!

Cravings During Lent

I can get some crazy cravings sometimes. A certain food will pop into my head and it will linger until it's fed. Sometimes, a substitute will work, such as a sugar-free Reese's cup instead of a Godiva coconut creme, but these instances are rare.

For Lent, I decided to give up sweets altogether. I'm not really supposed to have them (chalk that up to yet another health issue), but I haven't been doing great at staying away. A bite here and a nibble there adds up to a lot of sugar and more frequent cravings. I figured this season would be a good time to recommit myself to staying away.

So, when the craving hit, you might have thought it would have been something sweet and sugary. Nope. It was Qdoba calling out to me and I intended to succumb to that craving. I hopped in my car, dealt with the snow that has been falling at a pretty fast rate, and got myself a bowl of deliciousness to bring home. As I turned the ignition in my car off in my driveway, it suddenly hit. It's Friday. It's Lent. I'm Catholic. No meat on Fridays during Lent and my bowl has yummy shredded beef.

NO! I contemplated cheating. My husband is at work and my kids are at school. No one would know. Well, that last part just wouldn't be true. I would know and God would know. I don't believe that God would strike me down for eating meat on a Friday, but I do believe He knows why we have this tradition of sacrifice. I like to think that He appreciates it despite how small the sacrifice might be compared to what He has given. When we mess up, I imagine He understands and doesn't hold it against us. However, I also think to deliberately shrug it off is to deliberately shrug off any sacrifice He's made, and I can't imagine that's a way to make God happy.

So, literally for the love of God, the bowl went straight into the refrigerator, untouched. The smells of the seasoning and salsa have lingered in the house offering a battle of wills. I'll prevail. The bowl can wait until midnight. Maybe, if I make it to Heaven, God will provide me with all the Qdoba I can eat. ;)