Drum Roll Please...

Here we are, the list of 100 fantastic films for families. I know, as soon as some of you read the list, you’re going to say, “You included this? What were you thinking?” Or “You left out that? What were you thinking?”

Yeah, yeah. Whatever. It’s my list. I didn’t say these were “the best” movies, just that they were “fantastic.”

Except for The Wizard of Oz. That is the best movie ever. Period.

So, here’s the list. If I can figure out how to put in on here in PDF format I will, but until then, in alphabetical order...

Title	Rating	Year
101 Dalmatians	G	1961
A Bug’s Life	G	1998
Aladdin	G	1992
Anastasia	G	1997
Annie	PG	1982
Arthur and the Invisibles	PG	2006
Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses	NR	2006
Because of Winn-Dixie	PG	2005
Black Beauty	G	1994
Bolt	PG	2008
Brave	PG	2012
Cars; Cars 2	G, G	2006, 2011
Charlotte’s Web	G	1973
Chicken Little	G	2005
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang	G	1968
City of Ember	PG	2008
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs	PG	2009
Curious George	G	2006
Darby O’Gill and the Little People	G	1959
Despicable Me; Despicable Me 2	PG, PG	2010, 2013
Dinosaur	PG	2000
Dr. Seuss' The Lorax	PG	2012
Dumbo	G	1941
Elf	PG	2003
Enchanted	PG	2007
Epic	PG	2013
Finding Nemo	G	2003
Flight of the Navigator	PG	1986
Gnomeo & Juliet	G	2011
Herbie Fully Loaded	G	2005
Holes	PG	2003
Hoodwinked	PG	2005
Hop	PG	2011
How To Train Your Dragon	PG	2010
Hugo	PG	2011
Ice Age	PG	2002
Ice Princess	G	2005
Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade	PG-13	1989
It's a Wonderful Life	NR	1946
James and the Giant Peach	PG	1996
Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie	G	2002
Lilo & Stitch	PG	2002
March of the Penguins	G	2004
Mary Poppins	G	1964
Meet the Robinsons	G	2007
Megamind	PG	2010
Mirror Mirror	PG	2012
Monsters, Inc; Monsters University	G, G	2001, 2013
Nanny McPhee	PG	2005
The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe	PG	2005
National Treasure	PG	2004
Newsies	PG	1992
Night at the Museum	PG	2006
Over the Hedge	PG	2006
Parental Guidance	PG	2012
Pinocchio	G	1940
Planes	PG	2013
Quest For Camelot	G	1998
Ratatouille	G	2007
Robin Hood	G	1973
Robots	PG	2005
Secretariat	PG	2010
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers	G	1954
Sleeping Beauty	G	1959
Soul Surfer	PG	2011
Spy Kids	PG	2001
Star Wars (yes, all 6 movies)	PG, PG, PG-13, PG, PG, PG	1999, 2002, 2005, 1977,  1980, 1983
Tangled	PG	2010
Tarzan	G	1999
The Adventures of Tintin	PG	2011
The Apple Dumpling Gang	G	1975
The Aristocats	G	1970
The Croods	PG	2013
The Fox and the Hound	G	1981
The Incredibles	PG	2004
The Indian in the Cupboard	PG	1995
The Jungle Book	G	1967
The Last Unicorn	G	1982
The Little Mermaid	G	1989
The Mighty Ducks	PG	1992
The Muppet Christmas Carol	G	1992
The Muppet Movie	G	1979
The Nativity Story	PG	2006
The NeverEnding Story	PG	1984
The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything	G	2008
The Polar Express	G	2004
The Prince of Egypt	PG	1998
The Princess Bride	PG	1987
The Santa Clause	PG	1994
The Smurfs	PG	2011
The Sound of Music	G	1965
The Tale of Despereaux	G	2008
The Wizard of Oz	G	1939
Toy Story (all 3 movies)	G, G, G	1995, 1999, 2010
Treasure Planet	PG	2002
Turbo	PG	2013
Up	PG	2009
WALL-E	G	2008
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory	G	1971
Wreck-It Ralph	PG	2012

Ok, I cheated. There are more than 100 movies, as some of them deserved to have their sequels included. ** cough ** “Star Wars” ** cough **

I hope that you enjoy the list. I may update it next summer if any movies come out worthy of The List (6 movies on The List came out this year...you can never tell)

Happy watching!!

Laura :-)

Fantastic Films For Families: Taking Nominations Now!

I love watching movies. Movies give us a chance to see parts of the world we’ve never seen (or to play “I’ve been there!” if we’ve been blessed to travel). Movies introduce us to great works of literature, or help us muddle through some of those great works of literature (Dickens, anyone?).

Still, it’s hard to choose what to watch. I have two kids, a son and a daughter, who are five years apart. Right away, that’s a problem. I don’t want to make my daughter sit through a “baby” movie that’s appropriate for my son, but I don’t want to expose my son to things that are too emotionally advanced for him.

Oh, yeah, and have I mentioned that we’re Christians? My husband and I have this whole other issue called “discernment” which means that we have to choose books, TV shows, and--yes, movies--we think are appropriate for our kids.

I know for a fact that I’m not the only one dealing with this. I have a mom. She made choices about what movies we watched. I have sisters who are moms, and they have to make choices for their kids. My friends all over the WORLD have to do the same thing.

I have an idea. Let’s make a list.

Goal: 100 family-friendly movies. I’ll make the final decision because, well, someone has to do it. But I am open to movies that are somewhere other than MY DVD collection and MY Netflix que. 

Here’s the rules for recommendation:

1. It MUST be a movie that you don’t mind watching a bazillion times. 

2. It MUST be something that you personally have seen (I made this mistakeonce. My parents did not enjoy that movie. Oops.)

3. It should be something that you feel comfortable watching with your kids and your parents. (See Rule #2)

4. It doesn’t have to be something that is both for boys and girls. 

5. It doesn’t have to be something Biblical. I’m recommending both “The Nativity Story” and “The Muppet Christmas Carol.”

So, that’s it. I know, I didn’t say anything about bad language. That’s because I’m going to recommend “Princess Bride” and it has like two bad words in it. But my kids have seen it. A LOT. And my parents have seen it. (Once or twice.)

I’ll take recommendations until Friday, and then I’ll put the list together.

Let me know what you love!

Empty Hooks and Empty Hangers

Last week my daughter and I were going through her closet, preparing for school. She mentioned that all she could see were "empty hooks and empty hangers."

And now, with my apologies to the writers of the incredible musical Les Miserables:

There's a grief that can't be spoken.

There's a pain goes on and on.

Empty hooks and empty hangers

Now my clothes are torn and gone.

I have grown so much this summer

I have gotten oh so tall

Seventh grade will start tomorrow

And my clothes don’t fit at all

On the table in the corner

Are the shorts that I have torn

They’ll be donated to Goodwill

I can see them now!

The very shoes that I have prized

Have climbed their very last tree.

And school will start again, at dawn.

Oh my mom, I must go shopping 

I have nothing I can wear

There's a grief that can't be spoken.

Oh my closet, it is bare

Phantom dresses at the window.

Phantom shoes upon the floor.

Empty hooks and empty hangers

Clothes my friends will wear no more.

Oh my friends, my friends, don't ask me

Why my wardrobe is so small

Empty hooks and empty hangers

For my clothes don’t fit...at...all

Everybody Hates the First Row

The alarm clock rings again; we are all awake even though it is only “zero-dark-thirty.” One more hug, one more kiss, one more good-bye. The door closes, the headlights move across the curtains, and a soldier drives away.

I hate this part. The part where I am left with two tearful kids who really want their daddy and really don’t want to go to school today. But they must, and I have to go to the dentist (to add insult to injury).

SSG OPSEC is off for 9 months in DC. I am calling it a “pseudo-deployment” because we get none of the perks of him being downrange (which is fair because he’s not downrange, he’s relatively safe in DC) but...he’s still gone. 

I’m sad about this. Painfully sad. My heart aches at the thought of nine months of an empty bed, of hugs only from my precious children who I love very much but are not my husband. 

I wonder what kind of disaster will strike while he is gone. (My mom says I am not to worry like this, but every Army wife KNOWS that things only happen when the guys are gone. We KNOW. It HAPPENS. It’s the Army Wife Corollary to Murphy’s Law.)

This week I will probably not even be able to sleep properly--it’s how it always happens. The kids will act out, everyone will be more grumpy than usual, I will lose my keys and my wallet every day instead of just once during the week, but then we will get in the groove and things will smooth out. It’s kind of like crochet.

When I’m teaching ladies to crochet, we begin with the chain stitch and then have to work into the beginning chain. The first row is always the hardest, and beginners have a hard time learning to deal with the stitches. The yarn slips, the loops change size, it’s easy to pull on the wrong tiny bits of yarn. Everyone gets frustrated at this point, but I try to reassure them, “Don’t worry, everybody hates the first row.” (I still hate the first row, even after years of crocheting.) During lessons, when someone finishes their very first “first row,” everyone stops and claps for them. It’s much easier to work into this first row of real stitches than to work into the chain because the rhythm and the pattern is established.

(Sound familiar?)

This first week is going to be tough, no two ways about it, because we are treading on unfamiliar territory. But once we come to the end we will have our rhythms and patterns established, and the rest will be easier.

Everybody clap for me next week, okay?

“Life is a holding pattern...I’m gonna fly here all year long.”

As you know if you’ve been following me, we recently moved from Italy to America. I’m tellin’ ya, folks, it ain’t been easy. The way the countries think, the way they are organized, the way the cities are planned, is so completely different in America and Italy I’m having more and more sympathy for my friends who came to Italy and said “I hate this country, it’s stupid.” This thought goes through my mind in relation to America two or three times a week. But here’s the important part.

God grew me a LOT while I was in Italy. Spending two and a half years on the book of Job will do that to a person, I guess. So I have this really bad attitude about moving to America. I am mature enough to recognize that I have a really bad attitude. But I also take comfort in Romans 8:1, which says, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” This does not give me permission to wallow in my rotten attitude (unfortunately) but it means that God is not going to beat me up on the bad days as long as I am still looking to Him.

So where does the holding pattern theme come into play? A few weeks ago I had a “perfect storm” emotionally. SSG OPSEC returned from a TDY to DC (just seeing how many acronyms I can cram into one sentence...sorry); anyway, he told me that he probably is going to be deployed after all, and that he is having second thoughts over the looming re-enlistment next year. We had taken it for granted that we would be “lifers” with a long series of adventurous moves stretching out into the future. So it really rocked my world when he came home with the news of not only his leaving but also the potential loss of the future we thought we had. (I also freely admit that PMS played a large role in the perfect emotional storm.) We had planned on being in Clarksville for three years and teaching in our church, and if we don’t re-enlist we will most likely leave next year and that limits the kinds of ministry we can be involved in while we are here. A great many things fall away when you are suddenly leaving in one year instead of three.

My heart was so heavy that I could not even stand up straight. But it was Tuesday morning, so what else could I do but go to PWOC? I walked in with tears streaming down my face. “What’s wrong?” one of my new friends asked. “I hate it here and I want to go home.” “Where’s home?” “I...I...I don’t even know anymore. I kinda think it’s Italy.” I sobbed. Five women surrounded me and pulled me into one of the side rooms, where they prayed the grace and peace of Jesus over my soul. It didn’t take the problem away,  because I didn’t have answers about the future, but I felt better. God’s good about that. He gives comfort even when he doesn’t give answers.

This past weekend I went to the PWOC International conference for the first time. I had been looking forward to this conference since Worship and Study in Germany last year. In fact, when SSG OPSEC told me that we were moving to Ft. Campbell, one of the first things I said was, “Ha! International is in Nashville, and that’s only about an hour away! I am going to conference! Whoo-hoo!!!” It was four days full of laughing, crying, meeting new friends, squealing “Oh, it’s so good to see you again!” and learning learning learning. 

The last thing that happened was the installation of the new international board. The woman in each position spoke a Bible verse to the woman taking her place, and one of the verses was from the minor prophet of Habakkuk. Now, if you are quoting out of Habakkuk you are either hard up for inspiration or you have searched and searched for the exact right words to say. They were beautiful words indeed, and we were all blessed. I went home with my heart full and my brain overflowing, only to find out that the Beth Moore study on Deuteronomy was starting at church THAT NIGHT--I didn’t want to miss the beginning. 

One of the verses Beth quoted was from the book of Habakkuk. Now, what are the odds that I would hear two women quote verses from Habakkuk on the same day, much less that they should be the SAME verses? But these were verses that I very much needed to hear, personally. Habakkuk 2:2-3 Then the LORD answered me and said, "Record the vision And inscribe it on tablets, That the one who reads it may run. "For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay.”

SO...I still don’t have answers. For now, life is a holding pattern. I have some things to do, some small ministries to fulfill, a LOT of writing to accomplish while I am waiting for my bigger vision. It will certainly come, though it tarries. I will wait for it.

The Barn That Wasn’t On Fire

We’ve been in Tennessee for about two months, and some days I think we’re getting used to the place. The roads are still really long, but I think that’s more a function of “America” than “Tennessee.” (It still makes me a little crazy.)

SSG OPSEC is off for his first training, a week in Florida. Nope, no sympathy from me. It was funny sending him off, though. Me: “How are you getting there?” SSG OPSEC: “We drive to the airport and then fly to Florida.” Me: “One flight? That’s all?” SSG OPSEC: “Weird, isn’t it?” Me: “Will your phone still work when you get there?” SSG OPSEC: (looks at his phone and thinks about it, then answers WITHOUT SARCASM) “Yeah, I guess it will. I’m not leaving the country, am I?” 

So we’ve settled down to a week of too much TV and junk food while Daddy’s away. Of course, TDYs also seem to bring mishaps...

...so yesterday I decided to go to PWOC a different way, looking for Gate 10. It’s not on any of the maps of the area, and about this time I’ve decided it’s a myth, until a friend of mine from church said it’s actually pretty close to where we live. Besides, you can avoid all the craziness, red lights, and traffic on Ft. Campbell Blvd. (Why do they have a street that big in the middle of town? Sigh.) She told me to “turn at the riding stables.” Well, I found the riding stables and turned LEFT. Oops. An hour later I found the riding stables again and turned RIGHT like I was supposed to in the first place. 

ANYWAY while I was meandering around on these really long roads in the middle of nowhere (honestly, I didn’t even know what state I was in) I saw a big red barn with smoke billowing out of the roof. Because in most places this means the barn is on fire, I called 911. "There's a big red barn with smoke pouring out of the roof!” I told the operator.

She laughed. Oh dear, I thought.

“That’s ok,” she told me, “They’re just smoking tobacco.” 

“Oh...I’m...sorry...I’m...new in town...” I stuttered, seeing my gold star for a good deed going down the drain. 

“It’s okay, we get these calls all the time this time of year.” (To her credit, she didn’t treat me like an idiot or anything.)

As I said, I was an hour late for PWOC. But at least I had a funny story to share.

And I won’t be calling 911 again unless I see FLAMES.