by Barb Hickey

Created on: February 20, 2009

I adopted my now 19 year old daughter in September 1997. She was seven years old and turned eight in November. Living in an orphanage in Guatemala she knew all about Papa Noel (Santa Claus) but he never left her any presents when she lived in Guatemala. The most wonderful thing about her first Christmas is she was experiencing all of the sights and sounds for the first time in her life at eight years old. She loved driving around the neighborhood and looking at all of the houses decorated in lights. She loved decorating the Christmas tree and still does today. She enjoyed the music and decorations at the mall and wasn't afraid to sit on Santa Claus's lap for a picture. She watched every Christmas special that was on television from Rudolph, to Frosty The Snowman, to Charlie Brown's Christmas to How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Even at 19, she still watches them every Christmas season. She also loved singing all of the Christmas songs even though she didn't understand a word of what she was singing.

Christmas morning was truly magical. There were lots of presents waiting for her under the tree. Most children who grew up with Christmas are up at 6:00 AM on Christmas morning. She slept until 9:00 AM, having absolutely no idea what to expect. When she finally came downstairs, and looked under the tree, her eyes were as round as saucers and she squealed in delight. It was hard for her to understand that all of the presents were for her. She was so happy with the first present that she opened that she wasn't going to open anymore. We had to convince her to keep opening them up. She opened them one at a time and stopped to play with each one before opening another. She was as excited about the electric Barbie car as she was about the new pajamas.

Christmas also meant taking her second airplane trip to visit family members in Atlanta. She loved the festive atmosphere at the airport and the Christmas carols on the plane. The family visit meant more presents and gifts for her and what has now become our annual visit to Calloway Gardens to see the light displays and enjoy a warm hot chocolate.

The most amazing part about all of this to me, is that my daughter has now experienced 11 Christmases in the United States and I can still see the excited eight year old who likes to drive around to the look at the lights, decorate the Christmas tree and experience the holiday sights and sounds of the mall. And, she still treasures every present under the tree and would rather give than receive.

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