Finding Myself in My Forties: 2013 in Photos

http://www.houseunseen.com/2013/12/2013-in-13-photos-link-up.html

Dwija over at House Unseen is hosting her annual phone linkup for the year. I love to look back at the photos from the year, so I thought I would add mine. 2013 was a great year for me, let me show you a few of the reasons.

This is pretty much how the beginning of any year around here is. It was a pretty major snow storm but it was so beautiful, I had to stop and take pictures. I used this for a Theme Thursday post.

This was my picture for my one and only "What I Wore Sunday" linkup. However, I wanted to include it because it was what I wore to the Easter Vigil Mass. Lent and Easter 2013 was an amazing period of spiritual growth for me. It was also when I began attending daily Mass, which I haven't stopped attending since. My original WIWS post is here and I included some thoughts about this Lent and Easter in this post.

Shortly after Easter, the parish where I attend daily Mass hosted a Forty Hours of Eucharistic Devotion. The Blessed Sacrament was exposed for Forty Hours and was kept vigil by various parishioners and priests throughout the Forty Hours. It was an amazing thing to be a part of. In this Quick Takes post, I talked about being a part of it.

At the end of April, my son Hunter was Confirmed. I also got to be the sponsor of a girl that hasn't had the easiest life. At her young age, she has had to deal with the loss of her mother and many close relatives and friends due to untimely deaths. I was honored to be able to be present for her and still hope she knows that I will always be here for her.

This weekend in May was our last Formation for Ministry Retreat as students. It was a beautiful time to spend with my classmates and the icing on the cake was that it was led by the same priest that brought me into the Catholic Church. That fact made this weekend extra special for me. Thank you Father Lauzon for your guidance twelve years ago and for the beautiful retreat to bring our two years of formation to a close. I wrote a small amount about it here.

And, by the way, these beautiful photos were taken by one of our youngest classmates. He is an inspiration to me and gives me hope for the future of our young people. Thank you Jesse, for letting me use them.

These are photos from our Commissioning to Lay Ministers. The group photo is not the official one obviously, but it is my favorite because everyone was laughing and smiling. Even the Bishop was laughing with us. I've said it a few times, but we have the best Bishop! On the right is me with the other two ladies from our parish that went through the program, along with our priest. My original post is here and also includes some comments about the next photo.

This is the group photo from the 2013 Catholic Heart Work Camp trip in July.

This trip is always a blessing to me. To get to see so many young people spend a week of their summer helping others less fortunate then themselves and then come back and spend hours in praise and worship of God. It really is a life changing week, and I have been fortunate enough to be a part of it for the last three summers. My reflection from the week is here.

This was from the closing Mass at one of our sister churches. In its early days and over the years, this parish was the start up for many of the other parishes in our area. I was honored to be able to photograph the event. It was one of the saddest things, but also one of the most beautiful things I have experienced. This post includes more of my pictures from the closing Mass.