Lent and Lauren's 'NEW' Chair

For some of you, Lent officially starts today, others start Sunday, and others have no idea what I am talking abou. I remember last year when I asked people on my blog what, if anything, they were giving up and a lot of people said nothing because they weren't Catholic. Well...neither am I! We are Lutheran and follow many of the same traditions that Catholics do especially around the time of Lent. The point of 'giving something up' during the Lent season (Ash Wednesday-Easter) is experience the feelings of sacrifice and temptation like Jesus did during his 40 days in the desert and to get a small understanding of what God had to sacrifice (his Son). So this year I wanted to do something that would be difficult for me...CHOCOLATE! I seriously eat Chocolate everyday whether it is in my nightly bowl of ice cream, a small treat at work (schools are so tempting with sweets), or dark chocolate-covered nuts/raisins. This is going to be hard for me, but that is the point! To make it even harder, I have decided to really watch what I eat...no more artificial colors/flavors and limit even further my intake of processed foods. I know I can do it and hopefully I can continue to watch what I eat following the Lenten season. Because ultimately, my body is what allows me to discipline to others and I need to keep it in proper working order and feel my best! Kyle is giving up sleeping-in (at my request) and did remarkably well this morning. What, if anything, are you giving up??

Now onto Lauren's chair. My grandma Baker gave us this chair when we went to visit last May. Lauren has always loved it but it definitely needed an overhaul with being glued back together and the fabric washed. I attempted to put the pillow in the washing machine on a delicate cycle and it completely disintegrated...talk about being loved for a long time!
I read in a great book about using empty/clean plastic bags as stuffing in throw pillows and decided to give it a try...recycle, reuse! We saved and saved our plastic bags from cereal boxes, fruit, rice, etc. until we had enough!
And WAH-LAH...Lauren's 'NEW' and improved chair! She loves it and often runs over to it yelling, 'pretty' and 'cute'. Her bears sit in it often and take naps too. I was hoping to find another fabric similar to what it was before but had no such luck. The pictures make the pattern look really busy and distracting but it is not like that in person at all.