It was Christmas Eve. My parents had presents in the back of their car. Santa Claus was meeting them at a mini mart so he could pay a visit to some very special children.

This is something my parents have done on Christmas Eve for the last two years. At midnight, Dad  leaves a pile of gifts on the front porch, rings the doorbell, and runs. He wants to remain anonymous, because the mystery of who this secret Santa is makes it that much more special.

This year, though, these kids wouldn't just be getting gifts from Santa. They would be one of the special few children who actually got to see Santa with their very own eyes on Christmas Eve. How I wished I could have seen their faces.

Tommy and Susie are two very special children, you see. The short lives that have had so far have been difficult ones. Their mother was an alcoholic and a drug addict. They don't know who their father is.  They’ve been homeless, living in different shelters, in cars, and never really having a place they could call home. A place for them to comfortably rest their heads. When their mother was too sick to take care of them or herself anymore, their aunt and uncle were kind enough to take the three of them in. After being in and out of the hopsital, God finally saw fit to take their mother home to heaven. Just seven and four years old, and no where to go, Tommy and Susie's aunt and uncle decided to take them into their home. To live with their own 5 children.

Christmas was approaching, and the spirit of the season inspired my parents to do something special for these two special children who had lost so much.  Especially since this would be their first Christmas without their mother.  That is how this special Christmas tradition began.

This year, my parents met with Santa Claus at a mini mart near where the children lived.  My parents gave Santa the gifts for the kids, along with  a little bit of information about the kids, so he'd know them a little bit better.

"Tommy is small for his age, and a very sweet kid. He's 10 now.  Susie has beautiful curly hair, and when she smiles, her whole face lights up. She's 7 now." After our quick meeting with Santa, we showed him where the house was and told him we'd meet him back at the mini mart. We then drove back to the mini mart and settled in to wait.   The suspense was unbearable. How we longed to be a fly on the wall, to see the kids reaction with our own eyes. Then suddenly, we saw Santa coming back.

Santa didn't look so good. We were a bit worried. We stood around waiting to hear how it all went. But we had to wait while Santa pulled himself together.  His face was red and  his eyes were teary. He took a deep breath and began to tell us what happened.

"I walked up to the house and knocked on the door.  The Dad answered the door and looked a little uneasy. After all, it was midnight.  I told him I had gifts for Tommy and Susie.  He then turned aside and announced to everyone 'Santa is here. Really! He has gifts for Tommy and Susie.' Then all the kids came to the door.  Mom looked shocked in the background.  Tommy and Susie were pushed to the front. Then, you know, I gave them the gifts.

 The look on their faces, it was so surreal. Like a movie." Santa had a hard time holding it together. I couldn't help but smile at how touched he was, and my eyes began to tear up with emotion. "I've never experienced that kind of raw emotion. I've been doing this for years, and I've never been so touched by a visit like this before. When I gave Susie that teddy bear, the look on her face - you were right, her whole face lights up when she smiles. I'm sure she’s going to hang on to that teddy bear for a long time. Then mom asked if the kids could take a picture with me, so I did."

As we finished up with Santa, he said he'd love to do it again next year, and to make sure we gave him a call. I was so grateful for this amazing Christmas experience, and I wanted to share it with everyone. It inspired me to do something worth writing about one day, in light of the Christmas spirit. I hope to one day experience thatsame  kind of emotion that Santa Claus did that night.