This was my last years Christmas Story for Christmas Eve to my Grandchildren. I’m working on this years story now!

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
Three of the grandkids had just gone to bed,
But Nicole and her brother thought they’d stay up instead.
Owen looked at his sister, and without a word,
They both jumped to their feet at the sounds that they heard.
Nicole pulled back the curtain; Owen stared at the sky,
Then they turned to each other with a look that asked, why?
Wasn’t Santa supposed to show up on his sled?
So, what’s with the trumpet and the bright star instead?
“Wait here.” Owen whispered as he ran down the hall,
“I’ll wake up the girls without waking them all.”

Kyra yawned than woke up, Cadence opened one eye,
Alexis rolled over in bed with the covers pulled high.
“Wake up, please wake up, there’s something you’ve got to see;
It’s a light that is brighter than the lights on the tree.”
So they grumbled and stumbled their way out of bed,
With dreams about Christmas still fresh in their heads.
“I’m cold and I’m tired, so this better be good.”
It was Alexis who spoke, but they all understood.

It wasn’t Prancer or Rudolph, of that they were sure,
Maybe it was an angel in the midst of the blur.
Cadence knew it was Christmas. So why couldn’t it be?
“Let’s go out on the lawn,” she said “so we can see.”
The quiet shuffle of feet down the hall, out the door,
Was proof that all five of them thought there was more.

They all huddled together with a quick look around,
The place seemed so different; there was hay on the ground.
There were sounds of a horse, a sheep and a cow,
Against the wall of the stable was a two handled plow.
The cars and the parking lot, where did they go?
The stable was there, but where was the snow?

Nicole waved her hand and said with a shout,
“Come on; let’s go see what all this is about.”
The five of them followed the light to the stall;
But they weren’t alone, there were eleven in all.
In the shadows, three shepherds, their staffs on the ground,
Knelt at the manger without making a sound.
In an animal feed trough a sweet baby slept,
While a world lost in darkness quietly wept.
Was it Joseph and Mary with Him in that stall?
If it was, did they know he would die for us all?
The moment was sacred, the five of them knew,
That the story of Christmas had to be true.
It wasn’t Santa and presents, the reindeer and sleigh,
But it was Jesus who came on that first Christmas Day.

Kyra tugged on her jammies as they walked through the snow,
Cadence couldn’t believe it; where did they go?
All five of them saw it, the scene was complete;
Now all they could see were the cars on the street.
In the house Owen wondered if the story was true,
Until he untied his laces and found straw in his shoe.

It was now Christmas morning; the whole family was there,
Grandma kissed all the cheeks, Papa hugged like a bear.
The fire, the coffee, the lights on the tree,
Made it feel like a home; a place you should be.
Oh . . . this year would be different, last night made it clear,
The first gift of Christmas . . . He stopped by . . . He was here.