Christmas Letter, 2005

What child is this, who, laid to rest on Mary's lap, is sleeping;
whom angels greet with anthems sweet, while shepherds, watch are keeping?
This, this is Christ the king, whom shepherds guard and angels sing.
Haste, haste to bring him laud, the babe, the son of Mary.
Why lies he in such mean estate, where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christian, fear, for sinners, here
the silent Word is pleading.
Nails, spear shall pierce Him through, the cross be borne for me, for you
Haste! Haste to bring him laud, the babe, the king of Mary.

Seasons Greetings to family and friends, far and near. We hope this finds you well, warm, and with the ones you love. As promised in last year's Morrison family holiday update, I am encouraging you once again to reflect on the message of a well-known Christmas carol as the opening to our letter. The words above catch in my throat every time we sing them, especially as part of a big group, knowing that so many among us have yet to hear the Lord's call. We are all familiar with the Scripture describing Christ as the Word of God, but how often do we consider that Word's beginning? God's ultimate message of love to his creation began without words, as an infant--silent (or at least speechless)--who simply by His presence pleaded with a sinful world to acknowledge Him as its savior. Throughout His life, the Word continued to plead with His people, in voice, deed, tears, and pain, in death and in life after death. He still pleads today, through the ministry of His Church and the work of the Holy Spirit. Let us attend!

This has been a year in which attentiveness is endlessly required of us. On February 1st, after much attending to every kick and contraction, the attending doctor helped us welcome Ella Grace into the family. Last year I promised to update you if she chose to ignore our request for a six pound maximum; 9-3, people. Taking after big brother, she hasn't exactly slimmed down in the past 10 months, either. She is a joy and beauty to behold, though, eyes every bit as big as Momma's, and a personality no less sassy. She pretty much has Daddy whupped. We are loving the addition of some girliness to balance Sean's rampant boyhood, and Stacey is thrilled to have a real live dress-up doll. She took her first step on December 6th and has directed each one since toward the nearest carpet-staining liquid, toxic substance, or lethally sharp object. which frees up Sean to paint himself with yogurt. Ah yes, as parents of two, we must be attentive.

And speaking of Mr. Silent Word, we are relieved and excited to report that Sean finally seems to be making strides in his speech development. After exhausting the options (and ourselves) trying to discern what was holding him back, we went the old-fashioned route: we held him down while a specialist cleaned the heck out of his ears. It was traumatic for everyone (except Ella, who found it mildly entertaining), but since then we have noticed significant improvement in his ability to understand and repeat sounds. An especially memorable manifestation came courtesy of Pixar. Sean discovered an all-consuming love for Buzz Lightyear one night while watching Toy Story 2, and exclaimed with unfettered exuberance, "go, Go, GO, BUZZY-WOOOOO!". You could have mopped us off the floor. He now owns four Buzz Lightyear dolls and one adorable Halloween costume.

When he's not attending to their needs, he's attending day school, along with Ella, at Concordia Child Care Center... which reminds me of another fairly important development from the past year: we moved back to San Antonio. After a wonderful two and a half years in Dallas, we decided to follow a couple of promising job opportunities back to the Alamo City in July. Stacey is a teacher at Concordia Child Care, while the kids play down the hall, and I am working as an office manager for a construction company. Some of you may know the story of Sisyphus in Greek mythology, who was cursed to spend eternity trying to roll a giant stone up a hill, only to have it roll back down when he reached the top. I often related my work at Blockbuster to that story, always sensing that my labor was both pointless and futile. God displayed his sense of humor again this year, by delivering me from the Sisyphean tasks of Blockbuster... to a company called Boulder. And at the risk of beating you down with the metaphor: my new job rocks. We are so thankful for the Lord's provision, in this and all the aspects of our life, and we look forward to seeing what He can do with our future.

He may have his hands full. When He came as a baby, the silent Word brought life into the world... He still does. On November 1st, Stacey and I found out we are expecting our third child. Just typing that still gives me jitters, but I am quickly calmed by the blessed assurance that He has the whole world in those hands. Sure, this may delay our plans, to get Stacey back to school so we can begin moving toward seminary--but God knows the plans He has for us, plans to prosper and not harm us, plans to give us a future with hope. Nowhere is that hope more knowable than in the life of a child. We are blessed beyond measure to be made participants again in the creative nature of his love, and we ask your prayers as we attend to the details.

May you all be blessed by the Pre-eternal Child, Our Lord Jesus Christ, as we hasten to bring him laud now and always.