This is is a true story of Jared's first Christmas Eve. Jared wasn't quite so tiny, however. He was almost eight and a half pounds, and I carried him for almost ten months. When I had my children, I knew it was very important to have special first memories so Jared could share them with his family one day. I wanted to carve time out of each day to read, explore, and discover our world again through his eyes. Then, I realized how my little man had changed and how fast he was growing. In the years to come, we would have large family gatherings, and I would teach him beautiful Christmas songs. When Jared was about ten, we took him to the Nutcracker Ballet. Even as Jared was much older, he watched Christmas shows with his brother, selling the Christmas goose to Scrooge in scenes from A Christmas Carol and me as Mrs. Cratchet. So, as I share some of our Christmas holidays, I hope your children will enjoy the colors, the pageants, and the real reason we celebrate this joyous time of year! Merry Christmas to all.