As a birthday gift to me, Mark generously said he would watch any girly movie I wanted. So we rented Mamma Mia.

Just in case you don’t know the premise, this musical about a girl trying to find her father before her wedding is based on songs by ABBA and until recently was a stage production. Both Amber and Smitty have seen it on stage and enjoyed it, so I had high hopes for the movie version. Plus, it stars Meryl Streep, and she’s pretty much fantastic in everything.

I was not disappointed. Mamma Mia was great! I told Mark it was like a Disney cartoon for grown-ups – it was pretty and magical and fun.

My favorite part was the friendships portrayed by the two generations of women in the movie. Meryl Streep’s character, a single mother, is reunited with her two best friends from younger days, and Amanda Seyfried’s character, a young woman about to marry, has her two best friends by her side as bridesmaids. The two trios love each other with abandon and sincerity, supporting the main characters when they face difficult decisions and their repercussions – and also just plain having silly, girly fun!

I love that…I want that…I need that.

My least favorite part of the movie was poor Pierce Brosnan’s singing. He was wretched, and all I’ve heard is the final product. I can’t imagine how he sounded before coaching and rehearsal and any digital enhancing!

Another part of the movie I liked was the Greek chorus. During several songs, random people around the main characters would join in the singing or step in as backup vocals. A couple times, the main characters looked at them strangely, as if to say, “What the…? Oh, it’s the Greek chorus. Okay.”

All in all, this movie was a lot of fun. I agree with my mom, who said it’s a “feel-good movie,” and I say rent this one today. Just don’t turn it off after the final scene – the credits are just an extension of the movie with more singing, dancing and fun!

What are your favorite movies about friendship?

[This is the Christmas letter I sent this year. I wanted to avoid the usual listing of events, bragging and boredom. But I wasn't clever enough to come up with something real funny or rhyming. Still, I don't think it's too bad...]

I want an iPod for Christmas. And a colorful scarf and some black boots and a Cricut and a zoom lens for my camera and a professional housecleaner. And some diamond earrings.

I’m pretty sure I won’t be finding any of those things in my stocking, but that’s okay. On Sunday, our church had our annual Christmas program, and I was reminded of a few more valuable gifts I’ve been given.

Every year, our pastor shares the same message during the church’s Christmas program. He describes several extravagant gifts he’s seen in catalogs and online, and then he talks about the greatest gift of all, the one that so many leave unopened year after year.

Though my brain can hardly comprehend it, my heart is awed and thankful that the God who created our world came as a baby to save us from ourselves. I opened that gift almost 20 years ago, and no bracelet or CD or pony could ever eclipse the wonder and beauty of that present from God.

God has given us many other gifts, too, including the two my pastor focused on this year: peace and forgiveness.

Peace is hard to come by during this holiday season. Between parties and cookies and presents and bills and shopping and cooking and decorating and cleaning, well, it’s difficult to find a moment to remember why we’re doing any of it in the first place. It’s not easy to take a deep breath and meditate on God’s love and the peace that passes all understanding. It’s easier to go, go, go until we reach the point of breakdown, exhaustion and “I can’t wait for the holidays to be over.”

I pray that we find peace in the midst of our Christmas chaos.

Forgiveness is even harder for me. Accepting forgiveness of my sins in general was easy when I asked Jesus to live in my heart two decades ago. As a child, my biggest sins were picking on my little brother and lying to my parents about practicing piano. But these days, my sins seem so much larger, so much more serious, so unforgivable.

Oh sure, I know God has forgiven me. But for so many mistakes, I have not forgiven myself.

And on top of that, much as I hate to admit it (since it’s yet another sin I need to confess and accept forgiveness for), I hold anger and bitterness toward other people in my heart. People I need to forgive. People who don’t deserve my forgiveness…any more than I deserve God’s forgiveness.

I pray that we can forgive and be forgiven during this season of love.

We’ve all been given the gifts of salvation, peace and forgiveness. So what are we waiting for? Let’s open those gifts already!

Two years ago, I decided to be a crafty girl. I wrapped all our gifts in brown craft paper, tied them with red ribbon (okay, and some yarn) and added a homemade gingerbread man as a tag. And when I say “homemade gingerbread man,” I mean a wooden painted thing to which I added puff paint and hot glue. You can see my handiwork above.

Please note that those lovely gifts are piled on our deep freeze in the garage. Because my cats, loves of my life after my husband, daughter and every other person I’ve ever met, like to eat paper. Especially when it’s wrapped around a gift.

I can’t even remember what I did last year. My brain was still on maternity leave at that point.

I considered doing the craft paper again this year, with green ribbon/yarn and Christmas tree tags. But even though I still have a jumbo-sized roll of the paper, it sounded a little too ambitious for this year. So I bought coordinating paper and tacky bows…and have yet to complete the wrapping. About 2/3 of my gifts are piled, wrapped, on my freezer (where else would I store the Christmas gifts?). The rest are sitting in various places in the garage, mocking me and wondering when I’m going to realize Christmas is just TWO DAYS AWAY. (Oh wait, no, it’s tomorrow. Hmph.)

Maybe by the time you read this post, I’ll have gotten my act together and wrapped those last few gifts. Maybe. If that miracle happens, I’ll include a picture of those bright and festive boxes stacked on my freezer.

Because what says “Merry Christmas” like a pile of freezer presents?

What’s your wrapping ritual? Do you do matching paper? Do you prefer bags and tissue? (Oh yeah, I think that’s what I did last year – all bags, all the time.) Are you all wrapped and ready for the big day??

My child has never met a stranger. I don’t know if it’s her God-given personality or some residual effect of being cared for by a revolving panel of nurses in the NICU. Either way, she’s a people person (like her mother). Even in the last few weeks as she’s started to be a little clingy to Mark and me, Annalyn is still as friendly as can be to every person she encounters. Cashiers, church nursery workers, Salvation Army bell ringers – really, everyone. They all love her, and she loves them. Granted, she’s constantly telling these people, her friends, “Bye-bye!” But that’s just because it’s the only real word she knows.

So I was convinced that her first visit with Santa would go well. Annalyn would be that rare child who would not be scared of ol’ St. Nick. She’d smile up at him and say, “Woof! Bye-bye! Bah, bah, gubah!” And he’d laugh his jolly laugh and say, “Merry Christmas, sweet girl! Of course I’ll bring you a giant cat that won’t mind getting its tail pulled!”

The reality? Not so much. I honestly didn’t even see Annalyn look at Santa. But considering how awkward he was with her on his lap (seriously, Santa?), I’m not surprised she was not at ease. And quickly started crying her head off.

The grainy pic above is the free one they were giving out. I wish they would have captured the moment about 11 seconds later when she actually started crying. Not because I enjoy seeing her cry! (What kind of parent do you think I am?! The kind that can’t help but grin when her sweet darling baby girl sticks her lip out and cries when she doesn’t get her way? That kind? Oh…wait…) No, I wish I had that picture because it really defines this experience.

Poor child. I thought I’d be a bad mom if I didn’t give her this classic childhood experience. Turns out she would have been happier if we’d have stayed at home and watched The Grinch.