An Adoration Date

We are officially one week into the 2016 Lenten season and I can't help but feel that this has already been one of the most spiritually fulfilling ones that I have ever observed.

As I mentioned last week, one of my goals this Lent was to attend adoration once a week with Jackson (an idea that was given to me by the fabulous Jessica), which we did for the first time yesterday. Truth be told, I was a little nervous about taking Jax to his first adoration, especially since he is a toddler and the chapel itself is very small and quiet.

I have come to the conclusion that I am going to have a hard time with Jackson when he's a teenager because he is seriously the perfect toddler... he didn't make a peep the entire 15 minutes we were in the chapel and just looked around and pointed to all the crosses. (If you ask him to stop doing something, he normally does without making a fuss AND he likes helping out around the house... seriously, is this a dream?!) It was such a peaceful and special moment that I decided we need to continue these weekly "dates" throughout the year.

After leaving the adoration chapel, we walked outside and sat in front of the Blessed Mother, said a few Hail Mary's (I didn't learn the prayer until I was in junior high and want to teach him while he's young), and then headed to the car. In an effort to prolong our special day, we went to lunch at Chick-fil-a and shared some Cold Stone before running a few errands and returning home for nap time.

Part of me feels silly for feeling the need to instigate weekly "dates" with my toddler (especially since we spend every waking moment together), but I think that doing something out-of-the-norm together each week will benefit us both. I believe these adoration dates will do just that. 

During lunch, I decided that we will always go to either lunch or to the park after praying in the chapel, so that as Jackson gets older, we can sit and talk about Jesus, our faith, and what this time together means to us.

Even though my baby is growing up way too quickly, I look forward to him being able to talk and having meaningful, post-adoration chats with me... but in the meantime, I will continue to soak up these sweet days with my sweet boy!