Morrow Family Christmas Letter #9: Christmas 2010

Cuties. You get one guess at which one is
faking her "sleep" for the Christmas Card... 

These are consequential times. The frivolity of the Morrow Family Christmas Letter (MFCL) from so many years past simply will not do in 2010. We are in the midst of a recession. People are literally fighting to protect their “junk” from enhanced patdowns at airports. Our children likely will never know the joy of a joystick, cassette tapes, typewriters, camcorders large enough to throw your back out, the Soviet Union, or private health insurance.  What’s next, Happy Meal toys? Yet here we sit. Staring at the blank page destined soon to drip with our annual Manifesto of Holiday Cheer. And no one is in the mood to laugh.

Further complicating matters, private conversations between Morrow Family Christmas Letter diplomats recently were released by Wiki-leaks - revealing that despite the trillions spent on two holiday-cheer bailouts, it likely was premature to deem the MFCL too big to fail.  The quantity of Christmas joy created or saved by the MFCL may have been artificially inflated because we actually just kept re-counting ourselves. And believe us when we say we have been plenty happy enough to make up for all of you!

The kids visited Santa Claus at Bass Pro Shops

The cold, hard truth is that holiday cheer has not responded as quickly as we had previously claimed (brazenly boasted). But do not fear, we will not rest until we have saved your festivities. The burden is great. The only possible answer to save everyone's holiday is to take an even larger portion of what little remaining cheer you still have; add it to the cheer we will borrow from future holiday cheer; give it to our holiday cheer-meister; and redistribute it. We call it our gift to you. You’re welcome America. Again.

Not everyone sees the wisdom in our approach. The 'gift baggers' have this crazy notion that it would be better if you just kept your own holiday cheer and put it in your own bags. But these are the same folks whose “jolly” hero annually delivers free toys made on the tiny backs of elves in a foreign unregulated workshop.  These people aren’t to be taken seriously. Disregard everything they say.

Yes. We let them climb ladders. Really tall ones.
Without adequate fall protection gear. Parents of the Year!

Former President Bush may be the one on a glitzy media book tour, but we are here to tell you he isn't the only one making tough Decision Points. The Morrow Family has some Decision Points of our own that have shaped 2010. Ours are similar in importance to “The Decider's.” But we didn't catch any perch. And we never woke up with “the remorses” after embarrassing ourselves at a Barbara Bush dinner soiree.

The HBA board has decided to keep Matt around for a tenth year.  Matt decided to put his business card in a fishbowl and won a free iPad. And he decided to buy a television for the first time since 1993. Rachael decided to accompany Matt on a trip to New York this fall and to use her time at home to perfect her enhanced interrogation techniques on the kids.

Speaking of our children (cue transition)…



In His infinite mercy, God allowed Alex to see three. Alex is fearless and tough and decided this year he wants to be a dishwasher when he grows up. He also loves to wear super hero costumes, swim, speed chug chocolate milk, and pretend to be a dog. He never misses an opportunity to play “football” with Dad. The football itself is optional. He’s really in it for the collisions. He goes to preschool twice a week. Based on the body part placement in Alex’s drawings he may in line to be Heidi Montag's next plastic surgeon - if the career path he has charted in the dishwashing industry doesn’t pan out.




Annie is six and in the first grade. This year, she made the most important decision a person can make. She decided to ask Jesus to be her personal Lord and Savior. We are so excited for her and we enjoy watching her grow in the Lord.  She loves (dictating as we write): coloring, holidays, riding her bike and her birthday.  She is taking piano lessons this year with Daddy. She can be as emotionally unpredictable as Speaker-Elect John Boehner and frequently 'blesses' us with her singing.  She says she 'can't believe' she sounds exactly like Ariel (The Little Mermaid). It is hard to believe.




As you make your own Decision Points for the coming year, we pray you will pause to remember the most important decision ever made - when God decided to send His only Son to pay our debt and provide us a way to be reconciled with Him.  His incredible love, sacrifice and victory for us is the reason we celebrate His birth and give Him our praise.  We want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a blessed 2011.