Just a quick update on the Christmas reading challenge. It's not going as well as I had hoped but it's not too bad either. So far I've read the following:
The Birds' Christmas Carol by Kate Douglas Wiggins
The Christmas Mystery: The Story of Three Wise Men by William John Locke
Touching Wonder: Recapturing the Awe of Christmas by John Blase
Too Much Holly, Not Enough Holy by Patricia Wilson
I'm in the process of reading The Purse Driven Christmas by Anita Renfroe
On the Christmas movie front, I've seen the following:
The Holiday
Borrowed Hearts
Christmas in Connecticut
Martin the Cobbler
Shop Around the Corner
We've also watched the following movies, that while not strictly traditional, do take place at Christmas or have large sections that take place at Christmas:
An Affair to Remember (the girls watch this before the older kids and adults watch the next movie)
Sleepless in Seattle (Horsecrazy loves the part where Annie is listening to the radio and Jingle Bells is playing and she's singing "horses, horses, horses, horses".)
Kate & Leopold
Die Hard
In case you're wondering, most the second batch were watched on our Clearplay DVD player. I don't like to have to deal with the foul language and nudity and graphic violence. If you don't like dealing with it either, or get aggravated when a cute movie is spoiled by one or two bad elements that prevent you from letting your kids watch it, this is a great option. For more information, click the (non-sponsored) link above or email me with questions.
Part of the challenge is reading Christmas stories to the kids too, so here's what we've done so far:
Emma's Christmas Wish by Sallyann J. Murphy
The 24 Days Before Christmas by Madeleine L'Engle
We are also in the midst of Advent, so I will have a couple of other books to add when that's over. We are currently reading:
Christmas Stories From the Heart compiled by Alice Gray
Bartholomew's Passage by Arnold Ytreeide
I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season. I don't know about you, but in the midst of all the Christmas hustle and bustle, I can't help but think about the upcoming year. This has been a very challenging year on many fronts, but has also carried with it, its share of blessings. What will the year ahead hold? What do I want to do to improve my life. What left behind things do I want to pick back up and what new things do I want to add? What do I need to lay down or change? Hmm.
