Lent With Little Children

The Munchkin is three this year, and The Baby is, of course, a baby.  But I feel like three is old enough to start doing something meaningful for Lent.  Last year I felt like two was old enough to start doing something for Lent, but I was overwhelmed enough with school and work and pregnancy tiredness that we didn't actually get "something" off the ground.

The Hubby and I have historically given something up.  Memorable years include the year we gave up buying things and going to retail stores (we cheated by using a gas card, but I still had to get to work).  And the year we gave up meat (funny enough, that was the year our pastor served bacon during the Easter Sunday service).  But since having kids, I've done less dramatic things, like last year when I gave up Facebook before 9:00 pm.  Don't laugh!  It was a sacrifice for me.  We also occasionally take something on.  Last year instead of checking facebook, I did the divine hours.

This year, as a family, we're giving up TV and videos.  Including YouTube.  While The Munchkin doesn't watch much TV, he loves YouTube, and probably twice a week we watch a few videos after breakfast.  And The Hubby and I spend a good number of evenings on Hulu.  We've also taken on a memory verse.  Just one, but that's enough for The Munchkin.

I'm working on figuring out how to rotate a picture with this program... Forgive me.

Here's our tactile, visual Lenten calendar.  The Munchkin painted construction paper, and we punched out the flowers together.  We have one flower for each day of Lent.  Each night at dinner, The Munchkin will take one flower off of the window and put it in the jar.  Then The Hubby will lead a responsive reading of the memory verse: 1 John 4:10.

What are you doing for Lent this year?