"the christmas video!"

Our father was in the Army for the first 8 or 9 years of my life. During some of that time we lived on a military base in, what was then, West Germany. It was a fantastic life for a kid; loads of other families living in close quarters or barracks as we called them. Rarely were we ever inside to care about what was on television, OK, I don't recall television at all, but apparently american television was very hard to come by. I am told that there was only one station that played English speaking programming and only then was it broadcast for a few hours a day one day a week. Luckily, for our parents sanity, our Uncle Mean Mike dutifully recorded from television Christmas cartoons minus the commercials and sent the VHS over the pond for us kids one Christmas. This video was loved and cherished and played so many times that the tape broke several times over the years. We became pro's at opening the VHS cassette and carefully using scotch tape to put the snapped tape back together. This compilation fondly had been dubbed "The Christmas Video." Over my 35 years I can count probably only 5 Christmas', since this video came to be, that I have not watched parts or all of the video. Those 5 years were rough! All the moving and transitions from VHS to DVD tragically misplaced our beloved video. Gratefully with much hunting and hoping and a dash of Christmas miracle The Christmas Video was located and digitally recreated only to be lost once again. New children, my sisters', had learned of and watched with eyes a-glow on frosty nights our treasure. Last year all of the cartoons were located on YouTube and lustfully watched with only one favorite missing. A short cartoon with no words or dialog as it were, just music and sounds. After much sadness and acceptance that its name and location would never be known another Christmas miracle, in August to be exact, the remaining lost treasure was named and located! Today I was able to locate all of our The Christmas Video cartoons and joined them together never to be lost again... I HOPE! These are they as followed above in exactly the order of sequence from our VHS that have danced like sugar plum fairies in our heads!

Snow White, Snow White, or Snow White?

                   

Snow White sure has something going on; hot commodity that girl is, no wonder the Queen wanted her gone!  Last year ABC brought its viewers the town of Storybrooke and it’s, forgotten to themselves, characters in Once Upon a Time. Heading up the pack Emma Swon finds herself tied, by her estranged son, to the town and his ideas that his adoptive mother is the wicked Queen who has magic-ed the world of fairy tales to the world where no one has a happy ending.  Emma, having forgotten that she is Snow White, is the only one who can bring everyone to themselves and defeat the wicked Queen; season 2 is scheduled to air October 2012. While Snow has been on break in Storybrooke she got to tell her story twice more in, Mirror Mirror and Snow White and the Huntsman. The Huntsman seemed to have stolen the thunder of Queen Julia Roberts this last Spring; which I understand was a boring flop.  While I haven’t met the seven dwarfs Ms. White runs into while escaping the Huntsman I did meet the charming seven who take her in before the mirror betrays her still living. In this account we get to see Charming in his all-togethers, oh my (woopsies, wrong story)! This comedy is well worth your time, will bring you some laughter, and will certainly give the Queen a little happiness in knowing that she gets a little more face time, even if it is thanks only to Snow White!

flip-flop or not?

out of the mouth of babes did revelation from heaven come. 

I scurried about the bathroom and my bedroom readying myself to attend church meetings; thoughts of make-up, hair, and clothing at the front of my mind.  While in this revere I considered slightly more my choice of shoes for the day; a pair of sandal crocs, cute ones, which I count myself happy to have.  Incredibly comfortable and behooving (no pun intended) to wear, like milk for the body, does a foot good!  Quickly, the words of  Elder Holland from 2005 entered my mind.   

“I make a special appeal regarding how young women might dress for Church services and Sabbath worship. We used to speak of “best dress” or “Sunday dress,” and maybe we should do so again. In any case, from ancient times to modern we have always been invited to present our best selves inside and out when entering the house of the Lord—and a dedicated LDS chapel is a “house of the Lord. Our clothing or footwear need never be expensive, indeed should not be expensive, but neither should it appear that we are on our way to the beach.” 

In a matter of 10 seconds the following thought process proceeded.  In a non-flimsy-rubber sole, flat or with heal, a strap between big toe and its neighbor, possible bling or flower adorn, qualify a shoe as Sunday dress or just a fancier flip-flop? Were these fancier flip-flops invented before 2005 or had Satan introduced these just about the same time as Elder Holland, servant of Jesus Christ, reminded us of our Sunday best.  Are these shoes a tool of Satan?! Just like the camel who wanted only his toe (no shoe I imagine) to enter the tent in the sand storm and before long the whole camel crowded out the master,?! Has Satan started inching his way in by flip-flop foolery?! I have no idea! I will wear my brown ones and not my brighter teal ones, more subdued, and I will be off to church! 

Just as the closing prayer for sacrament meeting was to begin a young man of 3, I suppose, bowed his beautiful blonde head toward the floor and said without reservation, “NO FLI-FLOPS IN CHURCH!” His mother quickly gasped and grabbed this vesicle of knowledge with apology as I asked in amazement, “What did he just say?!” Just after the closing prayer she quickly turned and said that this morning her daughter, age 5ish, wanted to wear a particular pair of shoes, to which mother instructed that no flip-flops were to be worn in church. Thank heaven for mothers who follow the prophets and teach her children their cry and for little boys who listen, learn, and share in the best way they know how!