I dedicate this book to Daniella and her family.

Sometimes life gets you down, but as long as we all stay positive and move on with our lives, we can get through these hard times.

"You've changed Becky," Michael said.

"I know, but I've changed for the better," Becky declared.

"You've changed alright, but it has NOT been for the better," Michael proclaimed.

Hmmm, what was all that yelling for, I began to wonder? I continued to hear arguing between my parents. The thought crossed my mind that perhaps I should see what was going on between them.

I tiptoed out of my bedroom and down the hall. As I peeked into the living room, I observed my parents with angry looks on their faces, arguing.

"What are you guys arguing about?" I asked.

"Ella, why are you still up?" my dad asked with surprise in his voice.

"Well, I heard you both yelling and I want to make sure that everything is okay," I declared.

"Everything is fine honey. We're just having an adult conversation," my mom said.

Right, I thought. A really loud adult conversation. I knew that my parents weren't being completely honest, kid's intuition and everything, but I was tired and wanted to get back to bed anyway.

A few days passed and I began to notice that my parents were acting different towards each other. They hardly talked to each other. They hardly looked at each other. I definitely knew that something was up.

There was something else on my mind too, more than what my parents were hiding from me and it was...Christmas! It was Christmas Eve. Oh how I love Christmas; the cookies, the decorations, the lights, the presents and the happiness in my home. Oh such a delightful and magical time it is! Hopefully, this Christmas will be better than last year. Last year I was sick on Christmas. It was miserable being sick when I should have been happy.

I could hardly get to sleep. My mind was racing with all the excitement that tomorrow would bring.

The next thing I knew, I looked at my alarm clock and it said 6:00 a.m. Yes! Christmas had arrived.

I jumped out of my bed and ran to my window to see snow falling so beautifully. Oh, it will be a marvelous day indeed, I thought. I ran to my parents' room and jumped on their bed, screaming, "Get up, get up, it's Christmas Day!"

"Merry Christmas Ella," my dad replied sleepily. "Let's go downstairs to see what you've received."



My parents walk slowly down the hall, but I'm faster as I run to the Christmas tree. So many presents; the lights twinkling and snow falling outside. What a perfect day this was going to be.

Evening has come. I have played with all my toys, eaten practically all my candy in my stocking and have played in the snow. Dad tells me that it's time for bed. I begged him to let me watch another Christmas special on T.V., but he said no. Eventually, I went upstairs to go to my bed and both of my parents tucked me in tight.

As I begin to drift off to sleep, I hear my mom and dad talking loudly again, but all I could make out was, "Let's just get through the holidays okay?"

I wasn't sure what that meant. A million ideas bean to form in my mind. Are we moving? Am I getting a little brother or sister? Are we going on an amazing vacation? But those ideas faded into dreams as I drifted into a deep sleep.

When I woke up the next morning, the sweet, yummy smell of pancakes greeted me. After breakfast, I played and played with my toys like there was no tomorrow. Later I asked my mom if we could have a New Year's Eve party. She thought about it and said, "Sounds like a good idea. We have five days so it'll be plenty of time to plan."

New Year's Eve arrived and I was so excited to see my cousins. We played with my new toys and ate lots of yummy New Year's Eve snacks. Finally, it was almost midnight! We started the countdown together as a family: my mom and dad, me, my aunts and uncles and cousins...

"10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...HAPPY NEW YEAR!" everyone yelled. We hugged and toasted our glasses of sparkling apple juice.



I knew that it was going to be a great new year indeed.