It’s a sickness, some would say.

I love Christmas. I love the lights, the food, the decorating, the cooking, the family stuff. I love that we get to sing old hymns at church and no one grumbles over having to sing stodgy old standards instead of 7-11 songs. I love fruitcake (I make my own, high-octane, don’t eat and drive) and I love eggnog. I love that people are forced to at least think about Jesus, even if it’s only to try to push Him out of the way a while longer. (It’s a start.) I even love the crowds at the mall, although less now that I have to push a stroller through the whole mess.

It’s been kind of hip lately (or I am so clueless, I haven’t noticed it before) to be cynical and grim about Christmas. But I can’t! How can you be grumpy when there are cookies? Cookies! And the Jingle Cats! And Charlie Brown! And the Bear singing “Angels We Have Heard on High”! (Well, just the “GLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORIA!” part. But still. Very cute.)

With everyone being sick so much this winter, I got a slower start getting into full Martha Stewart/Kathy Lee Gifford mode. But I managed. (Did I mention, there were cookies?) And we were so blessed – Mr. MG had the day off, making it nine years out of eleven he’s been home for Christmas day.

And does he know how to win a woman’s heart! For Christmas, he got me a gigantic compost bin which is shaped like a ball, so the kids an I can pretend to be gerbils or whatever as we push it around the yard on turning days. I’ve wanted a good bin for a long time, that I didn’t need a pitchfork or backhoe to turn. This is going to be hilarious.

The best thing so far, though, has been the Princess’ new DVDs of the Muppet show, season one. I forgot how very funny that show was.

Now the decorations inside the house are packed away and waiting to return to the attic, and the house seems kind of empty. Next will be the sad task of dismantling the outside lights, which is much less fun than putting them up. But just as despair and woe was setting in at how fast Christmas comes and goes, lo and behold, I find Planet Christmas, where they are already planning for next year. Hooray! I don’t feel quite so loony.

…and some earplugs for your new year.

Well, after all my fuss and froth over the necessity of going to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, it took this long for me to actually see it. Finally, everyone was healthy enough to go (or in the Bear’s case, be babysat).

Wow! Amazing! Spellbinding! Insert-hyperbole-here!

It was so very beautiful, and very faithful to the book. I only wish that they would have cut out the introductory London scenes to keep more of Lewis’ dialogue. And I hated that they made Mr. Beaver into a British Ralph Kramden. But it really was superb, and the two and a half hours flew.

What surprised me most was the Princess’ ability to take the whole thing in, battle scenes and all. The squash from Veggietales still terrifies her. We have yet to get through Monsters, Inc. because she can’t stand the tension, and just knows that Boo is going to get hurt or lost. Drama just plain gives her the heebie-jeebies, which is incredibly ironic since she is a well-practiced drama queen in her own right. But the witch’s minions didn’t phase her a bit. Even the killing at the stone table wasn’t a problem. She’s read all the books, you see. She knows the good guys win.

It was the previews before the movie that were a problem. Because, for some reason, a cartoon elk throwing cartoon bunnies against a cartoon window completely wigged the poor girl out. Well that, and a preview for the new Pirates of the Caribbean that had corpses and a pirate with snakes for hair.

But a roaring, charging Minotaur with a sword? Eh.

Now she is back to reading the book. “It think I ought to, for the next few days, until the DVD comes out” she says.

No way am I going to explain how long she’ll have to wait to see Prince Caspian.

Those lovely folks at the Teaching Company have a couple of free lectures for streaming or downloading – “Christmas in Victorian Britain” and “Christmas in 19th Century America.” They are both excellent and very entertaining. Why not listen and get some of that wrapping done?

You’ve got to love such a kind, loving, generous little boy. Because he loves me so much, the Bear has shared two – count ‘em! – two dread colds with me in the last month. And the second time, the Princess got it, too. Mr. MG got a light case the second time, even though I tried to shield him.

I really tried. “Are you sure you want to kiss me goodnight? I really do not want to give you this rotten cold.”

“The bear sneezed into my mouth. He hacked and coughed all over my head. I think I’ve been as exposed as I’m going to get.”

(Our own little Rudolph the Red-Nosed Toddler, sacked out on the futon. )

At night, you could hear the Bear struggling to breathe through his sloggy sinuses. It was as if there was a large ogre standing in his room, loudly chanting, “Snerrrg… Snerrrg… Snerrrg…”

Between the two of them, these kiddos have kept us fairly house-bound for a month. I have no idea how someone with a large brood ever gets farther from their front door than the mail box in the winter sick times. As it is, almost all the Christmas shopping has been done with the computer. I’ve got no Christmas cards even bought, let alone mailed. No cookies have been baked because you have to have ingredients, and for that you have to darken the door of a supermarket. Fat chance!

At least things are starting to look up. Now that the Princess and I are good and sick, the Bear is recovering and going full tilt.

So now we know what happened…

Darn those conservatives balking at the Kyoto accord! See what it gets us?!

This is very small comfort for the Princess, who lives in eternal mortification because she was born into a family that vows to celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day, and keep it all the year.

At Spunkyhomeschool, a blog which I usually agree with and always learn from, there is a post about not seeing The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Not because it’s sold out and you are tragically without tickets, or even that you just plain don’t care for the story (hey, it happens), but because it’s tainted by Disney’s distribution company. I’m really struggling to understand this perspective.

How do we ever convince Hollywood to make movies that are family and/or Christian worldview friendly if we insist on boycoting the few bones they throw us? So often I hear people grouse about the shocking state of the film industry. So how do we change it? By a strongly worded letter? By shaking out fists at the darkness? Or do we put our money where our mouth is, swallow our Disney/ABC boycott pride, and pony up the bucks to show support for a good, decent film?

Disney: We’re putting out a movie soon that points to Christ, but secular audiences won’t shy away, either.
Christian viewer: Nope. Uh-uh. You also are responsible for “Will & Grace.” No way am I giving you my money.
Disney: Oh. Okay. Guess we won’t make that mistake again.
Christian viewer: So you’re cancelling “Will & Grace?”
Disney: What? And kill a cash cow?! No way. In fact, now we have a spot open to produce a “Will & Grace” movie, since we won’t be doing anymore of those money-pit Narnia movies. Good riddance.

Here is a chance to vote, as much as we vote for our leaders – only this time, we’re voting to improve the popular culture. Because it is “popular” culture – hence, it will stay wretched just as long as we insist on being our own little clique. We can bring light to the world, or we can hide it in a cave.

This weekend, the only cave I will be in will have a screen, some popcorn, and mighty Aslan.

Need a break in the craziness? Had your fill of crowds and tinsel? Then you need to go to Cats in Sinks. Its about cats. In sinks. And what could be more relaxing than that?

In case that doesn’t do the trick, up your dosage to Stuff on my Cat.

Ahhhhh! Feel the tension slipping away? It’s the paws that refreshes.