2012 Rowan Christmas Letter: Approved by the Mayans!

Well, it's that time of year again ... the most wonderful time of the yeeeeeeeeeear! The time when you get the Rowan Christmas Letter (We capitalize it out of respect.). I've heard many readers of the RCL have foregone the traditional reading of "Twas the Night Before Christmas" on Christmas Eve in favor of said letter. Bout time. I heard that old rag was based on scandalous lies anyway. Fun fact: the real name is "A Visit from St. Nicholas." See, it's all a big charade. Unbelievable. Anyway, at the writing of this letter we've got approximately 20 days to live according to the Mayan calendar. So, let's get moving. Like the kids say these days, YOLO, which is Canadian for "Hurry up and finish this letter before a giant asteroid obliterates the earth." Or it means "Year-old liver and onions." One of the two. 2012 has been good times for the Rowan household. This year marked 12 years married to the most wonderful creation the Good Lord ever put together. Jenny is the bee's knees, the cat's pajamas, and the monkey's banana. (I made that last one up.) I couldn't imagine doing life without her. She gets the girls ready for school every morning; takes care of the shorter ones all day; fixes breakfast, lunch and dinner; does the laundry; makes people awesome cakes; leads two small groups; combs my back hair; walks on water; heals the sick; cleanses the lepers; casts out demons; etc. I suggest saluting the next time you see her. I go to work. Elena Kay is wonderful young lady. Her foray into 2nd grade has been quite successful. Her reading skills are exemplary and has taken to reading a lot of Junie B books. Whatever that is. She also likes to read her Bible every night before going to sleep. Someone more cynical might say it's a ploy to stay up later, but I'm all good with my 8 year old "gettin' in the Word" every day. Train up a child, suckas! Cassia started school this year. She's not a big fan of the educational system. I kid. She'd rather be hanging out with Mommy, but who wouldn't? She is doing a great job, as well. Also, if you need a good cuddle, Cassia knows what she is doing. She continues to provide the best one-liners in the family. This week after eating Jenny's empanadas she said, "That was awesome! I burped loud like Dad!" Train up a child, suckas! Josiah is a stud, obviously. He had his first year of soccer. He had fun. I yelled. Mostly, "KICK THE BALL!" He did score 3 goals – 2 in one game. He's a great multi-tasker. Not only was he playing soccer, but at the same time he was admiring nature, being Spider-Man, wrestling his teammates and running in circles. Let's see Lionel Messi do that. He also has a fan club at church mostly consisting of college-aged children’s workers who like to shout, “JOSIAAAAAAAAAAH!” whenever they see him. Addie – what can you say? She is small, feisty and fully aware that she has all of us wrapped around her iddy, biddy, teeny, weeny, cutesy-wootsey woo finger. I like to call her Peepeeps, Neenutes, PreePreeps, Tinkletutes, etc. In Addie’s world, every chair is for climbing on, every drink is for drinking and every neck is for hugging. She almost has the dictionary memorized. That last part is a falsehood. In reality, we have more than 20 days to live. We actually have eternity to live. Thanks to Jesus being born in a manger and eventually dying for our sins and rising again, we have the opportunity to live with Him forever. Not only that, He gave us abundant life right now. Despite what some doomsayers may think about the economy, politics, or anything else Jesus is still the KING of kings and LORD of lords. It’s all going according to plan. So, let’s have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. The Rowans love you.