Christmas letter, 2020

 Hello friends and family!

     It has been NEVER since we've written a Christmas letter, but this has been such a phenomenal year for our family, that it seems like this year more than any other deserves a letter.  Let me first introduce the main characters . . . and they are characters!!  First, there is the head of the illustrious Morrissette family, Jay.  Jay is an all-around amazing guy.  There is so much I could say, but I'll just let that suffice.  Then, there is the wife and mother extraordinaire, Jennifer.  I can only say she is a modern-day Pro. 31 woman, far above her weight (which is perfect, by the way) in gold.  Lastly, we have our son, Donny, who is considered a genius by one and all.  He was spotted playing ball in the park and was recruited-the youngest recruit ever-to play for the local soccer league.  He is fully expected to start playing on a national level within a few years.

     Because of the social and political climate, we have delayed formal education for now, and have instead devoted this past year to travel.  We have circled the globe several times.  We have been to both poles, and also to the equator.  As a family, the three of us climbed both Everest and the pyramids in Egypt.  We loved racing across Alaska pulled by a team of sled dogs!  Wherever you can name, we went and had an amazing time!

     Also in the vein of racking up experiences, we were able to personally meet with all of today's top artists, painters, singers, writers, philosophers . . . you name it.

     There was only one slight disappointment in our year, and that is that we lost all of our photos.  We look on this as a blessing, though, as it forces us to cherish our memories in our hearts.

     We hope your year was as amazing as ours . . . though it probably wasn't.  Better luck next year!

                                                                    Much love to you and yours, and bright hopes for a great 2021.

Baby sharing banana with dog

Why I Love Christian History and Biographies

 I love to read books on Christian history and Christian biographies because reading about the One True Faith for all the ages and for all people reminds me what a privilege it is to be adopted into the one, great family of God, with our one head, Jesus Christ, and our one book of truth, the Holy Scriptures.  This is something for which I am so thankful, that faithful men and women from thousands of years ago right up to current times, have held to the same beliefs I hold to.  God is the God of many.  He is the God of Abraham, and, as anyone who went to Sunday school knows, "Abraham had many sons."  I am one of them, and it is so great to know that there are so many.  When I read biographies of Christians from thousands of years ago, or biographies of Christians who are living, I am reading about my brothers and sisters.  This becomes especially precious to me when I think of all the people who are lost in a spiritual buffet, taking a little Ghandi, some Confusious, a side of Oprah, and some Deepak Chopra for dessert.  Thank God for the spiritual meat that is The Bible, and for the One faith that is for all times!

A Fun Day

 Today was a day for the books . . . and for my blog, and for Facebook.  The youngest member of the M house got his first haircut.  Unexpectedly, he was happy and content throughout the entire process; so we considered that a good sign that it was going to be a good day, so we set out to make the most of it.  We knew just what to do; we went to the beach.  We had a great Italian lunch on the patio.  The weather couldn't have been better, the wait staff was all very friendly, and a beautiful group of five gazelles pranced proudly out of the surrounding hillside.  (OK, there were no gazelles . . . it was a group of deer.)  After lunch, we all made our way leisurely down the street for a fancy cup of fancy coffee, as we pretended to be fancy people.  We sat and relaxed like Europeans.  It was splendid.  We eventually had to head home, where we continued the relaxing with some playing and reading and watching TV.  It was a very good day, a day to write home about.

So You Feel Useless?

 Think you don't have the gift of encouragement? Let me encourage you to think differently. Due to some disappointing, discouraging, disheartening, and even disgusting news, I woke up feeling really down-so down that a hat couldn't even cheer me up. So I packed up my best friend, and we went to the local Christian university where I sometimes hang out and pretend to be young and hip. I needed to be with God's people. I had a coffee and a really good and encouraging conversation with a friend who happened to walk by. Then I went to . . . wait for it . . . the bookstore, and the nice student cashier made a good book recommendation to me, and his brother came in the store and seconded the recommendation. I sat outside and started to read, and I met up with a friend of mine. We just chatted; not about anything deep or theological, but I left very encouraged. Just by being present and friendly, all these people changed the course of my day. God used each of them to give me refreshment. Be present to those around you, and be friendly. You never know how much they may need it.

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Mama and Baby's Big Day Out

Donny and I had a coffee date at the local Christian University.  It was just going to be a casual date.  (Relationships, like plants, need regular tending and care even after they are well established.)  We saw a good friend, (oddly enough, the very friend who had first alerted me to the existence of this particular coffee shop.)  While sipping our drinks- or just pouring them over our heads-we met a very nice woman named Clare, and she and I had a great little intellectual chit-chat about my necklace that says, Life is a Beautiful Ride.  I told her that I thought a bike ride, with it's hills and valleys, straight paths and blind corners, was a good metaphor for life.  I used my date as an example; who would have thought, that after 23 years of marriage, Mr. M and I would adopt a newborn?  Clare and I agreed that when, as Christians, you know that God sees
your path perfectly even when you have no idea what's ahead, you can just trust Him and enjoy the ride.   

From there, I took my date to the campus bookstore-a home away from home for me-and we looked at the literary offerings.  I got him a book about kids with special needs.  I can't remember a time in my life when I wasn't filled with joy as I interacted with special needs kids.  That type of compassion and joy is something I definitely want to pass on to him.  After the purchase, we found a nice, shady spot by the car and read the book.  That made me want to ask my friends:  What unique gifts or character traits do you want to pass on to your children--or anyone else who is in your life?

From there, we got in the car, cranked upthe tunes, and rolled the windows down.  We want to give Donny a well-rounded appreciation of music, and 80s music seems especially well-suited to listening to loudly in a pimped out ride; although I don't know how much musical appreciation can be found in Bobby Brown's "It's My Prerogative."

Who Am I, and What Happened to the Author of this Blog?

 I found a stranger in my home tonight when I returned from a walk.  The stranger was me.  I was org

anizing photo albums on my wall unit, and feeling really good about it.  As I was standing on the ladder, I thought how much I was accomplishing, and that what I was really doing amounted to nothing less than MAKING MY HOUSE BIGGER.  By organizing, I was making more space, and I'll be able to use that space to store stuff, thus MAKING MY HOUSE BIGGER . . . AND CLEANER.  This is a new me, one that I have never met before.  I must say, I liked her, I mean me, a lot.  Still fun and funny, smart and sassy, sarcastic and skeptical, I was just more appreciative of my domestic role.  I found myself delighting in this grand plan to make my home a true haven of rest and peace and comfort for myself and my housemates (beloved husband and son), as well as for family and friends who stop by.  I was reveling in this aspect of femininity, reveling in making a warm and welcoming home for friends and family.  I had a wonderful time eating at a restaurant and relaxing at their patio with my BFF (who comes over all the time and will be a beneficiary of my domestic efforts), and then I had a wonderful time standing on a ladder organizing photo albums on the wall unit in my home.  Mundane as it may be, I felt extremely fulfilled in this small act of making our home more homey,  and I will go to bed-soon-feeling that I had a productive day.  I am proud of my accomplishments and am proud to be a woman and a homemaker.