Page 3 - ThreeGiftsForFlipBook

My wife and I spent an evening with some of my high school friends and their wives shortly after we were all married and we talked of past events in life. The conversation turned to one Halloween when my three friends stole some children’s Halloween candy. I was not with them on this escapade, but listened to their telling of it and how embarrassed they were. This event, plus some things that have happened to me and those I have known, gave me the basis for this book. I hope my friends, family, and the students I have taught over the years can enjoy reading this book as much as I did writing it. May we all feel the three gifts of Christmas in our own lives. Daris Howard I would like to dedicate this book to my family, and especially to two of my daughters. On the December 23, 1996, we had a stillborn daughter. As we sat in the hospital room and her still little body was placed in our arms, I thought about my sweet little Tracy and wondered what kind of life she would have had if she had lived. Just two years later, as we were trying to adopt our beautiful little nineteen-month-old foster daughter, whom we called Angel, she came down with chicken pox. We always reenact the Christmas story as a family. I usually have a starring role as the donkey. However, on that Christmas Eve Angel wanted her “Daddy” and I sat on the couch with her curled up in my arms. I remember tucking her into bed that night and reaching out to brush her beautiful blond hair from her face. She reached out her chubby little hand and held onto