“What a meal!” Paul said, sinking
into his easy chair. Nadia, Megan, and Kenny crowded around his chair. The
girls sat on his knees and Kenny sat on the arm of the chair.
“Now
what?” Nadia asked.
“What do
you mean?” Paul returned.
“We have
to do something fun now,” Nadia replied. “We should do something fun every
Christmas.”
Lillian
and Oakley snuggled together in her rocking chair, “We could start a tradition
of sorts.”
“How
about a fun Christmas story, Pa?” Faith prodded.
Paul
chuckled, “I have plenty of stories, but I have another idea. My family used to
do this each year when I was a boy. Let’s each go around and mention a gift or
something special we received—whether it was for Christmas or not—and say why
it was so special.”
“Can I
start?” Nadia spun around to look at Paul. At Paul’s nod, Nadia barreled into
her story. “Last year was our first Christmas as a family....”
“Ma and
Pa bought me a pair of brand new shoes! I never had my very own new pair of
shoes before. That was my favorite gift ever!”
Lynn sat
up from between the twins, “I remember we had a stray puppy come to our house
one day. Belle and Albert said we could keep her unless we found her owner.
Taking care of Flower was the first chore I ever had ... back when I was excited for chores.”
Taking care of Flower was the first chore I ever had ... back when I was excited for chores.”
This
evoked chuckles from the group.
“Papa
began a tradition of buying us boys our first pocket knife,” Isaac spoke up
from the hearth. “Albert was eight when he got his first and so was Gideon. But
by the time I was eight, Papa had passed away. I was really hoping for a pocket
knife, but I wasn’t expecting one. But on the morning of my birthday, I woke up
to find a brand-new pocket knife sitting on my nightstand.”
Isaac couldn’t help the smile that split his face. “Albert and Gideon had been doing odd jobs and had scrimped and saved up their money for months to buy me that knife from the trader shop. I was so surprised and excited. I’ll never forget that.”
Isaac couldn’t help the smile that split his face. “Albert and Gideon had been doing odd jobs and had scrimped and saved up their money for months to buy me that knife from the trader shop. I was so surprised and excited. I’ll never forget that.”
“I remember
that,” Faith said. “Albert was so worried he wouldn’t get the money in time,
but he worked hard and came up with just enough, just in time.”
“Danielle
has something to share,” Lillian announced
Danielle,
sitting at Lillian’s feet, looked up in surprise. “What?!”
“I see
you smiling down there,” Lillian replied with an arched eyebrow. “You thought
of a memory.”
Danielle
sighed but complied. “Well ... when I was a kid, Mama had these hairbows that I
was so jealous of. They were so
bright and colorful. I always asked to wear them but Mama would just say ‘when
you’re older, darling. When you’re older.’ I gave up after weeks of pestering,
but on Christmas morning, I found one of the hairbows in my stocking! I was so
excited that day. That hairbow meant so much to me.”
Cassandra
nudged Danielle with her foot, “You softy.”
Danielle
rolled her eyes, “Okay, since Ma volunteered me, it’s her turn to share what
her favorite gift is.”
“Well,
when I was ten, my parents bought me a horse. He was black and white and a
spirited beauty. I named him Prince and I loved him. My brother, sister, and I
all would go riding together and I have some of my favorite memories from
then.”
“How
long did you have him?” Elsie asked.
“I had
him until I married Paul. We needed work horses, not show horses. I sold Prince
and we used that money to buy Midnight and Copper.”
“What
about you, Pa?” Nadia squirmed on Paul’s lap. “What was your favorite gift?”
“Well,
I’ve had many gifts of all shapes and sizes over the years. But last year’s
gift was probably my favorite of all time,” Paul remarked.
“I knew
the axe was a good gift!” Danielle grinned.
“No, not
the axe. You girls.”
The
girls grew quiet, except Megan. “What do you mean, us?”
“Lillian
and I always wanted a big family. And it seemed that wasn’t God’s plan for us.
It was hard for us accept. When Lillian was pregnant with Oakley, we were both
excited, thrilled! But deep down inside, I knew Lillian wouldn’t be able to
have another child. I knew that Oakley would be the only child we would have. I
prayed and asked God to help me accept this. I was upset, but I didn’t want to
seem ungrateful for Oakley.
“That next morning, I went into
town and Mr. Trombley mentioned that the sheriff had been finding homes for
these sisters and there was still one girl that he had.” Paul shook his head
and laughed. “God just literally dropped you girls right in front of me. It was
so perfectly planned out. If I had been in town earlier, all you girls would’ve
been together, and to be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t have wanted to adopt all
you girls at once. At that point, I wouldn’t have felt capable to take you all
in. But God eased us into it. Danielle was our first taste of you Hansen girls.
And believe me, she was a handful—” Paul winked at the little girls who were
laughing as Danielle rolled her eyes, “—but we grew to love her and couldn’t
imagine life without her. Then when we saw all you girls ... we knew we wanted
you all to be a part of our lives.”
Lillian watched Paul with tears in
her eyes. Paul didn’t often share his feelings like this. He was a loud man,
but never shared a lot about himself.
“God gave me a lovely and beautiful
wife,” Paul said with a smile at his wife. “And a healthy, great son. And I was
prepared to be content with that although I wanted a much bigger family. But
then God blessed me with nine girls and two more boys. And that’s my favorite
gift.”
No one spoke after Paul finished. A
log on the fire shifted, creating a sharp pop and crackle as sparks flew up the
chimney.
“Well...” Nadia spoke up, “you and
Ma are one of my favorite gifts too, Pa.”
Paul and Lillian both laughed at
Nadia’s touching remark.
“Danni,” Faith called, “are you
crying?”
Everyone turned to look at Danielle
who was attempting to discreetly wipe away a tear. “What? No! I don’t cry!”
“Mhm,” Lillian murmured, bending
forward to kiss the top of Danielle’s head.
“I couldn’t help but tear up
either,” Cassandra said, defending Danielle. “That meant a lot, Pa. And I know
I speak for all of us when I say that we are so grateful for you and Ma. We
loved our old life with Mama and Papa, but after God took them home, we
couldn’t do it by ourselves. There’s no place I’d rather be right now, than
here with all of you.”
“Agreed,” Elsie sighed contentedly.
The group fell to silence again,
just enjoying the moment. Though it was nearly past the youngest girls’
bedtime, no one wanted this night to end.
“Can you tell us a story now, Pa?”
Megan broke the silence.
“Honey, it’s bedtime,” Lillian
protested.
“But it’s Christmas!” Kenny
pleaded. “Can’t we stay up just this once?”
“ ‘Just this once,’ ” Lillian shook
her head. “If I give in tonight, you’ll want me to give in every night.”
As if they had planned it, all the
siblings begged, “Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease!”
“Looks like you’re out numbered,”
Paul chuckled.
“Oh, all right ... but seriously,
only this once!”
“Tell us a story from your mining
days,” Isaac called out before anyone else could request a story topic.
“Have you heard the one about me
meeting Judd Peterson?” Paul asked.
“No!” came the chorus.
“Well, when I started working for
the Rosenthal Mining Company, I needed someone to show me the ropes of the
work. This wily old fellow came up to me and he...”
Lillian smiled as she watched the
children hang onto every word of Paul’s. Years ago, she had hardly dared to
dream of such perfect Christmases and now here she was, living the dream she
had told herself to never dream of.
Thank-you,
Lord. You know I don’t deserve all this ... but I sure do appreciate it.
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