Didn't See That Coming

About a month ago we received a letter from our pastor announcing she would be leaving our church and moving to another here in Des Moines. And she would be leaving during the second week of December. Talk about short notice. If you look at the church calendar you can see that it is full of celebrations, so there really isn't a good time to leave your congregation, but three weeks before Christmas? Give me a break.

So, for Christmas Eve we were going to attend a Christmas service at a different church. Daphne found one downtown that was holding a children's service at 5:00 featuring a Nativity play.  That sounded really cool, but Char's fever put the kibosh on that. She had gone to nap at 11:00 a.m., and she didn't really get up for eight hours. I think this year is the first time I've missed a Christmas Eve service, but I was pretty sure God would understand. But still, it felt odd missing church. 

Char slipped out of our bed around 7:00 pm and asked to watch some "Mickey Christmas". I know she meant the singalong video tape, but we were in the TV room without the VCR, and Daphne popped this into the DVD player instead.

Daphne's sister Phaedra had given her this DVD as a gift a few years ago, and I had forgotten there was more than one Christmas program on it. The DVD includes the following short films:
• Mickey's Christmas Carol
• Pluto's Christmas Tree
• The Small One
• Santa's Workshop

While watching "Mickey's Christmas Carol" Char surprised us by requesting "macky cheese". I jumped at the chance to get some food into her, and I quickly went to work in the kitchen. "Mickey's Christmas Carol" runs for about 25 minutes, so that was just enough time to make the pasta and let it cool, too.

To keep her occupied and also eating, we moved onto the unknown program, "The Small One". Wikipedia describes the plot as, "The story of a young boy, outside Nazareth, who must part with his best friend, an old donkey named Small One. He brings it to market, but no one is in need of a 'scrawny donkey', save for a tanner [tanning is the process of treating skins of animals to produce leather]."

"The Small One" also runs for 25 minutes, and the story ends well. I won't tell you how it ends, but both Daphne and I had to pass Char's box of Kleenex back and forth a couple of times.

Turns out we all got to see a Nativity story after all. I guess God really did understand.

"The Small One": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx73a1yRLKE

Christmas Day 2012

Before:

After:

Instead of a fever, Charlotte woke up to presents. Thank goodness.

I was also relieved that the Totoro hat I ordered from Etsy fit. I had to causally measure Char's head, and that's not easy. 

Great Grandma Gay will be happy that Char was really excited about her gift of shining stars.

And although the fever kept us out of church on Christmas Eve, Char was able to wear her Xmas dress the next day for Christmas at her aunt and uncle's house.

 We survived Christmas!

One More Movie to Show

Okay, one more Christmas movie story. Last December I read about the Finnish, fantasy horror movie, Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale. After watching the trailer on youtube, I knew I had to see it. But the only way I could buy a copy of the DVD was to purchase one from an international seller on Ebay. Unfortunately, the movie didn't arrive until mid January. I cannot stand watching Xmas movies after Dec. 25, so I had to wait 11 months to watch it. I recently tore off the clear plastic packaging, and I watched the movie with fellow obscure film fans, Boris and Tim.

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale is now number 2 on my Christmas movie list. http://www.rareexportsmovie.com/en

Holi-Déjà vu

Just like Thanksgiving, Charlotte woke up in a good mood, but by 11:00 a.m. we could tell she wasn't feeling well.

For one thing, Char gets very polite when she's running a fever. She answers every question with a whispery, "No, thank you" or "Yes, please." She's not a rude child, but those responses are not in our everyday dialogue.

Secondly, Daphne and I can just tell when she's sick. It's a bit hard to describe. Her eyes get glassy, but there's something else there, too. I guess it's just a parent thing. You spend so much time taking care of someone that you can instantly feel when things are off. My mom can still tell when I'm not feeling well before I know it myself.

Sadly, no Christmas Eve service for us, and Char's snazzy Xmas dress is hanging silent in her room. As for Char, she's in our bed, sleeping off her fever with her mom.

Man, I hope she feels better tomorrow. I don't want our little girl to miss her Christmas entirely.

One Day to Go, One Movie to Show

Do you have a favorite Christmas movie? Here's a list of 100 to pick from: http://www.digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/movie-pages/movie_christmas.html

For many, 1983's A Christmas Story tops their list. And after 30 years, the movie's popularity show no signs of waning:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-3445_162-57560638/reliving-the-holiday-favorite-a-christmas-story/

I really enjoy director Bob Clark's A Christmas Story, but I like his other Christmas movie better. In 1974, Mr. Clark directed what is now considered to be the first slasher horror film. "Black Christmas finds a sadistic killer making threatening phone calls from -- you guessed it -- INSIDE THE HOUSE. And a sorority house at that. Still terrifying to this day, it makes Christmas the creepiest holiday this side of Guy Fawkes Night." about.com

My high school celebrated Christmas (in the 80's you could say "Merry Christmas" in a public school, and you wouldn't raise an eyebrow), and on the last day before Christmas Break we would all watch a movie in the performing arts center. Since the closest movie theater to Rock Valley was an hour away, watching a movie on a big screen was an exciting treat.

Renting an actual Christmas movie during December was too expensive for RVHS, so the movies didn't have a holiday theme, and they were all from the 50s and the 60s. But no one cared. Any movie was better than school. I remember seeing The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Around the World in 80 Days, and The Mummy. 

We watched The Hound of the Baskervilles during my sophomore year, and that was a bit of a surprise because the weekly schedule posted near the office listed the Christmas movie as Black Christmas. My sister later told me she had heard that the school had indeed rented Black Christmas, but the teachers were horrified when they previewed it.

Watch the trailer, and you'll soon see why: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfiLviAMlwU The movie's almost 40 years old, and there's no way I would show it in my classroom. But home alone (did you see what I did just there?), I find this slice of classic horror thoroughly enjoyable.

Scary Christmas movies aren't a new idea anymore, and the holiday genre is pretty derivative, but Black Christmas is one of the first and certainly one of the best. Watching it isn't a tradition I plan on sharing with my daughter, but she goes to bed at 8:00. After "Santa" fills the house with kid-friendly gifts, I'll be in my room watching this.

Two Days to Go, One Clip to Show

This cracks me up every time I watch it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZQOLv85C68

Three Days to Go, One Recipe to Show

I found this recipe in Popular Plates Magazine's BBQ edition. It's pretty gutsy to say a recipe cannot be improved, but I've made this corn pudding a few times (I halved it), and this recipe delivers the goods.

Daphne recently lost her grandmother, and because Grandma often made ham balls for Xmas, Daphne is going to prepare them in her memory. I think that, along with corn pudding, is going to be a Monson Christmas staple.

It's one of the cool thing about starting a family of your own. You can pick and choose your own family traditions.

Four Days to Go, Three Cards to Show

2010

2011

2012

Just like Charlotte, my excitement for Christmas is growing and growing. Best wishes to you and yours this holiday season.

Perspective

The three of us were trying to have dinner last Saturday night. An overtired Charlotte had decided she did not want "macky cheese", and instead she wanted to cry and yell as loud as she could. Which she did.

For all I cared, Char could have been singing. I could see the muted TV over her shoulder and the news coverage coming from Newtown, Connecticut.

Every child is irreplaceable, and I don't think I'm equipped to handle that kind of a loss.

God, I feel for those people.  

Three Picture Book Review