My Letters To Santa Were Answered

Yes, I really did, when I sat down with my grandkids to write letters to Santa Claus I asked him to bring my son Johnny home safely to me. All I wanted for Christmas was to see my son. It was his first year away at college. I was going crazy having him hundreds of miles away from me. Before this he had never spent more than a couple nights a time away from home. His Christmas vacation couldn’t start soon enough for me. I know, call me a mother hen or whatever – I just call it a mother’s love!

The whole family came over the day Johnny arrived home. I gave him maybe fifty hugs the first hour he was home. We all had questions for him. I was proud of the man he was beginning to be. It was a very happy day for us all.

We all sat down and had a lovely dinner together. I noticed that he had lost a little weight while he was away.

After dinner we spent hours just talking about how he was doing in school. He told us all about his roommate Joe. Joe we learned had numerous tattoos and piercings, hearing that made me a little bit nervous. He went on about his professors and all of the interesting people he has met. Johnny admitted that while he was having fun at college he still missed the whole family and home cooked meals.

Johnny’s brothers and sisters came in to kidnap him. They wanted him to help them write Santa letters. As he helped the younger kids I realized how mature he had become. It was so nice to have him home. His siblings had really missed him. They spent a long time at the table that day just talking and catching each other up on things. I’m glad that my children have great relationships between them.

Over the next few days we all spent as much time with Johnny as we could. I was happy when he no longer was annoyed when his younger brothers pestered him to play army. He even took over the job of mixing up the reindeer food. He told his brothers and sisters that when they went away to college he would teach them Santa’s magical reindeer food recipe.

I was amazed that he volunteered to help clean up around the house. He even motivated his siblings to pitch in and help. It was sweet the way that he made time to spend alone with each of his brothers and sisters. He was the camera man the day the letters from Santa came for his brothers and sisters. But on Christmas Eve Johnny was just as excited as all of the other kids. You could tell that he couldn’t wait to find a gift from Santa under the tree for him.

After everyone was asleep on Christmas Eve I tiptoed into his room just to watch him sleeping for a moment. My heart melted when I noticed the teddy bear he slept with every night when he was small on top of his dresser. No matter how old they get they will always be my babies!

A Loving Family & Sant Letters – The Best Christmas Gift Possible

Last year I received the best Christmas present I have ever been given. It was a complete surprise and I never expected it. Let me tell you how it all started. Like most families we all write letters to Santa every year.

Last year while the kids were writing their letters I wrote my own asking for a photography studio. I never intended to do anything with it. I tossed it aside to help Trenton with the glitter he wanted to use. From there I can only assume one of my other children found letters to Santa. I didn’t think about that Santa Claus letter again until Christmas morning.

Before I had children I loved taking and developing photographs. There came a point that we no longer had the room for my dark room. We sold my projector and chemicals. At the time I wasn’t even sad about it. I had a digital camera and no free time to spend in the dark room. Now my kids were older and they no longer need or want to spend every moment of every day with mom.

I had been so busy raising kids for the past several years I didn’t know what to do with myself now that they were older. I was actually finding time to get bored. I needed something in my life that was just for me.

Christmas morning we all rushed around the tree to find gifts from Santa. The kids ripped into the wrapping paper and rainbows of ribbon rained down around the room. When the gifts were all opened I couldn’t help but notice I hadn’t received even one.

We all gathered the wrapping paper and cleaned up the bits of ribbon and tape. I was about to take the trash out to the can when suddenly all six members of my family were at my side. My husband took the bag from my hands and told me to close my eyes. He led me through the back yard. The sound of crunching frozen grasses stopped and I opened my eyes.

They had read my letters to Santa. Before me was a nice sized ‘shed’ with a green velvet ribbon on the door knob. I can’t imagine how they got the shed past me. Inside the shed was everything I could possibly need for my photography hobby. The interior of this building is extremely comfortable and inviting. But the best part is that my loving family worked so hard to keep everything a secret just to surprise me with a gift that was beyond my wildest expectations and dreams. Tears filled my eyes and I couldn’t speak for a few moments. I was surprised that they had been so sly. They told me sneaking out to paint the inside of shed black was the hardest part to pull off.

Every time I walk through the door of my dark room I can’t help but take a few moments to be grateful for being blessed with such a loving and giving family.

Jasper - Lost and Found

Our family has a gray and black stripped tabby cat. We rescued him from a shelter about four years ago. He is the kind of cat who is happier curled up on your lap rather than chasing toys around on the floor. Jasper was an indoor cat and we had never known him to try to make an escape.

The first Christmas Jasper was part of our family he got lost. My husband Drew and the boys brought home a gigantic Christmas tree. It was a beautiful tree with full deep green branches. I couldn’t wait to have the tree set up. It was going to be a magnificent Christmas tree once it was covered in our ornaments and twinkling lights. The problem was it was going to be tricky getting it through the front door.

I got the kids to start writing letters to Santa while I tried to help Drew get the tree in the door. It wasn’t an easy task. I think the kids thought it was humorous to watch us struggling with the tree. Jasper must have slipped past us while we were wrestling the massive tree in the house.

No one noticed that Jasper was missing until the next morning. Jasper always came looking for his breakfast when I put the coffee on. At first I didn’t think much of it but when lunch came and went with his bowl of food untouched I became worried. The kids and I looked all over the house.

We posted signs around the neighborhood about Jasper. Some of the local shops in our town let us put posters up on their bulletin boards. Sally decided she was going to write a letter to Santa and ask if he would help bring Jasper home. My daughter had become real attached to Jasper. She walked up and down the street several times a day calling his name to avail.

Days went by and we still had no sign of Jasper. We put food out on the front and back porch. I worried that Jasper might not know how to deal with the cold weather. In our area the temperatures often drop to well below freezing during the winter. I hoped that he was resourceful enough to find a place to keep warm. Sally thought that maybe Rudolph would know what to do so she sat down to write a letter to Rudolph.

On Christmas Eve Sally came running in the house with Jasper in her arms. She was overjoyed that Jasper had come back home. She thought that because of the Christmas letters she sent to Santa and Rudolph our pet was home. We never found out where Jasper had been or what finally prompted his return home we just assumed that maybe Santa used a little of his Christmas magic to bring Jasper back to us.

The Missing Christmas Letter

We pulled into the parking lot of the post office. All of my kids walked to big blue mail box. Except the one who was frantically bouncing around in the back of the van. I knew that could only mean one thing. Trenton had lost his Santa Claus letter. He came to me in a panic. I told him not to worry, I was sure we would find it back at home. We checked all around the van to make sure he didn’t drop it at the post office.

When we got home Trenton flew through the house like a tornado. I told him that if he couldn’t find his letter to Santa that I would help him write another one. He just kept on searching the house. I felt sorry for him. I had already checked everywhere I could think of. I had no idea what could have happened to his Christmas letter.

We looked under the couch, in the stack of mail on the desk - I was running out of places to look. When my husband Drew came home he joined in the search for the missing letter to Santa Claus. He checked the driveway, the garage, and every inch of the porch.

Trenton sat on the couch looking as pitiful as a rain soaked puppy. I got out all of the stuff to make a letter to Santa. He said he just wasn’t in the mood to write another letter. He sulked off to bed. I decided I would try to talk him into it the next day.

The next morning he came running to my room. In his hand was a bright red envelope with silver and gold stars, it was his missing letter. He had put it in his stocking so he wouldn’t lose it and had forgotten. He could barely stay in his seat waiting for breakfast to be over. The letter never left his sight while he ate breakfast. After breakfast was over and cleaned up he tried his best to rush out the door.

He held tight to his letter until we made it to the post office. He looked a little reluctant to drop it in the big blue box. On the way he told me that he hadn’t really been all that worried. I smiled remembering his frantic search the night before.

Later that week the kids’ letters from Santa arrived. Trenton was so impressed that his letter came on the same day as everyone else’s. I told him to never underestimate the magic that can found at Christmastime. I was glad we had a happy ending after the missing Christmas letter.

Christmas Shopping – The Fun, The Memories, & Christmas Letters

Every year my husband and I head out to the stores and malls to collect gifts for all of the people we love.  We plan on going during the weeks when the stores aren’t as crowded. We go out and have dinner alone together. We love to see how the store windows are decorated. I don’t understand how anyone can help but be caught up in the spirit of Christmas. It gives us time out of the house to reconnect during the sometimes hectic holiday season.

There are many people on our Christmas list. We try to find something special for each and every person on our list. That is easier for some than others. Let’s face it – there comes a time that children become difficult to buy for. At least that’s how it seems to me. Not only do the gifts they want get more expensive, I honestly have trouble picking out what they will actually want or use.

It doesn’t seem all that long ago when getting a letter from the North Pole was the highlight of my grandkid’s Christmas. Now they ask for things I have to Google just to find out what I’m looking for. I gave up on buying clothes for my older grandkids - I have been told that I don’t know what is in style. Besides socks I take them with me to buy their clothes. I remember going through this same thing with my own kids as they were growing up and with my parents when I ‘suddenly got smarter than them’. It happens to all of us as we age. It’s simply part of becoming a teenager.

Okay, back to shopping. When my husband and I are out shopping we like to recall memories about Christmases we have shared in the past. We laugh about how cool the kids thought they were the year they got an autographed picture of Santa. We have collected so many Christmas memories together that we never run out of things to talk about while we shop. As we talk we collect more and more bags. Every once in awhile we will run across something that we just know someone special will love. Those are the gifts I look forward to giving the most.

We still buy toys for the youngest children. John and I love going to the toy store. We revert back to children as soon as we walk in the door. We have no trouble finding a gift from Santa for every kid in our life. Sometimes I have to remind John to behave himself. I think we try out about every toy in the store. Little kids are so easy and fun to shop for. Every year we go overboard at the toy store - I guess we just can help ourselves.

We try our best every year to get what is in our kids' letters to Santa. we have never had a Christmas where the little kids were unhappy with what they got. I like it when they open up things they weren’t expecting. I enjoy the surprised look on their faces. We try our best to give all the children in our lives happy Christmas memories to carry with them for the rest of their lives.

         

       

Christmas Snow Blown In From The North Pole

The first snow of the year just happen to fall on the same day my kids received their letters from Santa. When we woke that morning we turned on the T. V. and sure enough school was going to be out that day. Like all schoolchildren my kids were overjoyed. There just something special about a day when school gets canceled due to snow. They went straight to the closet and started to pull out their snow gear. It was only two weeks until Christmas and that’s all they could talk about.

They had all been checking the mailbox everyday waiting to get a letter back from Santa. My son Johnny said that he thought it had been forever since he had sent off his letter to Santa.  In reality it had only been a week or two. Thank goodness it seemed like the snow was giving them something else to think about that day. I made them come in and have warm up breaks. No one protested because they knew that hot chocolate and cookies were waiting for them inside.

At lunch time them came in and had chicken noodle soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. The conversation turned once again to their letters. My daughter said that maybe a letter from the North Pole brought all the snow with it. We all laughed and noticed that the snow was still falling outside. The snow had really begun to pile up everywhere. My husband John made a fire and the kids gathered around close to warm up. Once they had warmed up they went right back to playing in the snow.

I heard the front door open and a troop of snow boots running across the room. They were all yelling and holding in their hand a letter from Santa. They had seen the mailman coming and met him at the mailbox. There was a letter to each of them from Santa. My youngest, Derek, said he thought the letters really brought the snow with them from the North Pole. He called his Grandma to tell her all about the letters and the snow. My mom told him she was glad he could get a letter back from Santa.  

The snow kept right on falling and our city shut down. Every morning the kids waited to hear that school was canceled. The kids said they thought it was just a gift from Santa for being so good all year. School was canceled for the rest of the week. We spent the time just hanging out together and playing in the snow. There was some Christmas magic in that snow and just maybe it had been sent from the North Pole.