Virginia gazed out the window at the purple and cotton-topped mountains while sipping a fresh cup of coffee. The snow, visible in the distance on the peaks of the mountains, turned her thoughts to her children and grandchildren back in the Midwest.

“I wonder if they have snow this morning,” she mused to herself.

Virginia knew how a fresh-white blanket of snow added to the luster of Christmas morning. Before moving to Arizona a few years before, she could have looked out the picture window and seen for herself. Seldom did she miss the cold-harsh winters back home. Christmas morning, however, was one of those days when she did.

In her mind’s eye, she could see Billy and Gracie rushing down the stairs with the excitement of the season in their eyes. Under the tree, blazing in Technicolor lighted majesty before a window framed with icicles and snow, Virginia pictured the presents she had sent amid many brightly wrapped gifts.

Virginia had almost suggested to Burt that they should grab a plane and head back to Chicago for the holiday. But Burt was moving a little slower these days and she worried about dragging him through busy airports when so many others were trying to get home to their loved ones.

“Oh well,” she thought, as Burt came in from the kitchen.

“What do you say we open our gift,” he said, emphasizing the singular nature of the last word with the playfulness of those who have already received more gifts than they could ever ask for.

Virginia smiled at her husband and nodded towards the large box from her daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren. She watched as Burt moved, with a little more spring in his step than usual, over to where the box was on the floor next to the table with the small flocked Christmas tree.

Burt carried the box over and the couple sat beside each other on the loveseat. Relaxed and reclined, Virginia continued to sip her coffee as Burt unwrapped the present.

“Aren’t you going to help?” he asked playfully.

Virginia ignored her husband’s teasing and took another sip of coffee. Suddenly, she sat forward, nearly dropping her coffee in the process, as Burt pulled a large picture frame from the box. Tears welled in her eyes as she gazed at the canvas stretched inside the frame.

“Oh my God,” Virginia said. While setting her coffee on the table beside her, she glanced at Burt just long enough to see a slight glistening in his eyes, too.

“That’s so beautiful,” she said, as she gazed into the cherub faces of her grandchildren and the glowing faces of their parents.

She only had to slap Burt’s hand once when she caught him scratching lightly at the surface of the canvas. “What are you doing?” she asked, as though he had lost his senses.

“Is it a painting?” he asked.

For a second, Virginia wasn’t sure. Then she looked at the card her daughter had included in the box. Virginia read how the whole family had gone to Wancket Studios for a portrait session weeks before so that grandma and grandpa could see their family on Christmas morning.

If you’d like to know more about Wancket Studios and the unique gift of a professional portrait session with one of the top photographers in the country, visit www.wancketstudios.com or call 847-587-3350.