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Hello, Reader.

That illness that knocked a couple of my kids out of commission last week? It's been making its rounds through the whole family. Only my husband and I have (thus far) managed to avoid it entirely, thanks be to our merciful God. Everybody else feels like death warmed over.

Which explains why our Christmas letters have still not been mailed, and we've had to forgo several of our other holiday traditions, as well. About all the fam has felt like doing for the past 10 days -- when they aren't resting in bed under a pile of quilts with cold rags on their foreheads -- is lounging on the couch watching Christmas movies.

So guess what? That's the theme for this week's link list. Hope you're staying warm and well this December. Fortunately, you don't have to be running a fever to enjoy the following holiday flicks!

Free resources for you this week:

• ​Name that Line - Can you match these famous quotes to the holiday movie they come from?
• ​White Christmas Trivia Test - How well do you know this Bing Crosby classic?
• ​It's a Wonderful Life - Test your knowledge of the most popular Christmas film of all time.
• ​While You Were Sleeping - Do you consider this one a Christmas movie? My girls and I do!
• ​Who Wore It Best? - Match these famous Santas to the movies they acted in.
• ​Elf Christmas Trivia - View this fun movie as a family before taking this quiz.
• ​8 Must-See Christmas Movies - Here are just a few of our family's favorite Christmas films.

What I'm reading this week:

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In Dr. David Servan-Screiber's deeply personal book, Anti-Cancer, the author traces his struggle with cancer through a surprise diagnosis, standard course of treatment, later relapse, subsequent lifestyle change, and ongoing recovery. Of particular interest to me was the chapter on anti-cancer foods, as it confirmed that many of the diet and exercise changes I made after my own diagnosis have proven helpful & effective in fighting against metastatic tumors. However, be warned: this book isn't written from a Christian perspective, so much of its discussion feels hollow and depressing. Eventually, we'll all die and face our Maker. Any response to cancer that doesn't take that fact into account seems like a missed opportunity.

This week's reader request:

A subscriber from the Netherlands wrote to ask for a Dutch translation of my Armor of God coloring page to use in teaching children's class on the topic. So we worked together to create a suitable translation.

I've now added that Dutch printable to the original post, right alongside the English and Spanish versions. You can download any/all of them here.

On the podcast this week:

Recording a new episode was just one more item on my lengthy didn't-get-around-to-it list last week, so I'm sharing another from the archives today. Enjoy!

Loving Life at Home: Episode 21 ​FAVORITE FAMILY CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS​ By special request, we are discussing favorite family Christmas traditions on the podcast this week: Why they’re important. What counts as a family tradition. How to establish a few new traditions. And what to do if an old tradition no longer serves you well. I hope you'll listen in and be encouraged! ​ Listen Now

Progress on last week's goals:

So many, many things left undone on last week's to-do list! But first, let's celebrate the wins: I did manage to ✅ complete four pages in my Joy to the World advent journal, ✅ design and ✅ send invitations for a friend's upcoming wedding shower, ✅ pare down my inbox from 500+ messages to only 97 still awaiting some kind of response from me, ✅ walk four (but ❌ not seven) miles, ✅ do two (but ❌ not three) days of weight training, ✅ finish decorating (most of) my house for Christmas, and ✅ finish planning (almost all) the itinerary for our family's upcoming trip.

On the list of chores yet to be done? I did NOT ❌ record a new podcast, ❌ starch my crocheted snowflakes, ❌ send semester grades to my algebra students, or ❌ stage our traditional Christmas card assembly line.

Personal goals for this week:

• address & mail Christmas cards!!
• starch & hang snowflakes
• put up Christmas village
• compute and post semester grades
• finish sorting/wrapping gifts
• send package to son in South Korea
• finalize itinerary and share with family
• process a new batch of Winkie's Tonic (we're running low after last week's illness)
• plan meals for the week away and order groceries
• plan Christmas crafts to keep kids/grandkids entertained while we're together
• make felted nativity scene
• cut emails in inbox down to 50 or fewer

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Thanks so much for all your help! I'll be back next week with more links, reviews, and resources. If you have any special requests, please don't hesitate to let me know. 😊