But You Like Raisins
I like Christmas time for lots of reasons but I have to admit that the movie factor is a big one. There are a few great holiday movies and some that I don’t especially care for, but I’ll give you my favorites here:
In no particular order, I give you
Kim’s Holiday Movie Guide
Elf
If you haven’t seen this (Jenn, did you guys see this yet?), this should be the year. I’m not a huge ‘kid movie’ fan, but this one was legitmately laughable.
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
This one was just on TBS the other night. I watched it alone, while Jud studied, which is good because I attempted to quote every other line and for some reason other people find that annoying.
The Family Stone
Technically, I haven’t watched this one at Christmas yet and immediately after watching the movie I curled into a pitiful ball of tears and moaned, “I hate that movie” for about twenty minutes. Then, a day or two later, I found myself saying that I loved the movie. And I do. It’s a little predictable and all that, but I liked how everything started out on the surface and not especially meaningful but moved there in the end. I think you’ll like it too.
Dr. Seuss – How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Christmas Eve 1994 was the year that my family actually left the Christmas Eve service while it was still going on in order to watch this cartoon on the Armed Forces Network (unlike here in the States, it was only running once and if you miss it, you miss it for the year). Our favorite character is the dog, probably because he still reminds us of Pogo.
White Christmas
Yeah, it’s a little cheesy, but there’s something about that scene where they are wearing all of those beautiful Christmas costumes that makes me think about my childhood and feel warm inside.
Better Off Dead
Officially, it’s not a Christmas movie, but they do celebrate Christmas and that’s the important part. Have you seen this one? It’s a very 80s teen movie, except it’s unbelievably funny. And the scene with the reindeer costume is sort of priceless. That said, please do not ever purchase this for our child, or I might have to whip you up something that has raisins in it. ‘You like raisins!’
The Weight of It All
Yesterday I got all wigged out about a bunch of things that were overwhelming me. None of them are especially significant (the secret Santa gift for a coworker, the rest of the Christmas shopping, the dishes, a coworker asking me to drive them to the airport tomorrow after our Christmas lunch [as if I am the benevolent pregnant taxi driver who loves to drive all the way to Frisco for lunch and then drive back down to sort of near my home but in the wrong direction for a while instead of say a normal taxi driver who would charge this person (who, by the way, makes loads of cash) about forty dollars for this same trip], having said person in my car meant I needed a car wash and to clean the inside up a bit, inviting my neighbors over for dinner sometime before next Thursday to a soup themed supper (only now it has turned to 80 degrees outside and soup seems like a ridiculous choice), the fact that I am growing a human being inside of me who frequently makes my back, head and bowels ache). You know the things that seem very significant when you are so incredibly focused on yourself; the things that seem to get bigger and Bigger and BIGGER in your mind until there is no more space for anything else and you need to scream or throw things? That kind of overwhelmed.
Around 9 pm, while Jud was out trying to release the pressure valve in my head by making a trip out to try to wash my car (which, apparently, cannot be done in our neighborhood after dark as the car washes shut down for fear of the leprechauns, but seriously, World’s Greatest Husband for the late night run to make my car pretty (in spite of the fact that it could not be done) and then getting up early today to actually wash the car. Who does that? Yes, the Greatest Husband in the World), he called me and told me that my parents had just called him to say that a friend’s father had died.
He’d been slowly going for a while, but had a fall that hastened it. It’s bittersweet, as so many times death is. You’re glad for them, for the release of a body that had stopped cooperating and the acceptance of eternal life that has led him into an eternity of incredible joy. And still there are those here that will miss him. He was still living with his wife of so many years, independently in some ways and dependently in many others. I wondered about her night last night and if she’ll want to keep clinging to independence the way my grandmother does, alone in a house, without the ability to drive herself anywhere, but unwilling to admit that the days of coping on her own are gone. I wondered about his daughter, her husband and his grandchildren and all of the memories they have of days gone by. Would the older days when things were much easier be blotted out by these last ones? Would they remember his great mind and his warm smile? Most of them will. Some may be too young. Not that long ago Jud checked out his thesis from the Sem’s library. It was a good paper. Good rationality and good writing (I don’t want to use hyperbole here. It was still a theological paper and for all its accuracy and clarity it wouldn’t exactly make the bestseller list), it was a reminder of the mind that is now restored to him, all of the intelligence with the ability to express it. It’s over now, but it’s also just begun.
Perspective.
Read MoreThe Answer to Sarah’s Question
Well, blue I suppose.
Or maybe green.
Of course, there’s always these colors….
(Special thanks to Luke & Kit for the Husker booties! They were our very first present for the baby and we’ve been admiring them quite a bit. Oh, and thanks for the letter too. While I’m at it, thanks to all of you who are sending out Christmas update letters and pictures of your beautiful families. Our fridge is loosing it’s white spots again! Don’t check your mailbox for a letter from us. Just read through the archives. It’s all in there!)
And now for the completely random…
I found this odd little baby with fabric wings while cleaning out my closet the other day and it totally reminded me of the Kinder Ueberraschungen. Anybody feel me on that one? 
Like 95% Sure
Jud and I met up last night at the clinic where our friend who’d volunteered to do a free ultrasound was significantly backed up with other patients. So, we went to Chipotle where we consumed spicy meats in delicious wraps. Back to the clinic where we chatted with our friend’s husband, who comes up for protection purposes on the night they are open late. When it was finally time to get a peek, we got a pretty good one.
Here are a few of the good shots:
Baby arm and hand
Baby legs and foot
The arrow is pointing to the goods. What do you see?
