The Christmas Joy Ride by Melody Carlson Page A

help Sean with the exterior lights?”
    As Miranda worked with the boys to hang up lights around the windows and along the eaves, she managed to extract pieces of the Mahoneys’ story. Apparently this family of eight was relatively new.
    â€œThe two youngest girls, Katie and Kelsay, have a mom named Kara,” Sean quietly explained while Phillip returned to the RV to get a box of light-hanging hooks. “She’s our foster mom’s niece, but Kara, uh, she got arrested for drugs last year. She’s doing time.” He reached up to loop a hook onto the gutter’s edge, then laced the lights’ wire through it. “The rest of us are siblings. Our parents split up a long time ago. Our mom had custody.” He sighed. “But our mom’s kinda like Kara . . . I mean as far as her problems go.”
    â€œPrison too?” Miranda asked with sympathy.
    He nodded. “She got sentenced last February. That’s when we came here.”
    â€œWell, the Mahoneys seem like wonderful people,” she said. “I think God has blessed all of you by bringing this new family together.”
    He brightened. “Yeah . . . I guess so.”
    â€œStill, I’m sure it’s hard for you.” She handed him anotherstrand of lights. “And I’ll bet your siblings really look up to you—since you’re the oldest. You could really make a difference in their lives.”
    He nodded slowly, as if considering this. “Yeah, I hope so.”
    â€œAnd remember,” she said quickly since Phillip was on his way back, “you are not your parents, Sean.”
    â€œYeah, I know that.”
    â€œYou have the chance to make something really good out of your life.” As she continued, she wondered why she was giving him this little pep talk—what made her any sort of expert? Except that it just felt right to encourage this young man. “You get to write your own ticket, Sean, and nothing your parents have done or have not done should stop you. Be your own man, man .”
    Sean smiled shyly. “Thanks.”
    She reached out to shake his hand. “I expect great things from you.”
    He grasped her hand with an embarrassed expression.
    Phillip rejoined them, and after about fifteen more minutes of work they finished up. “You ready to power it up?” Miranda asked the boys. “To make sure it works?”
    Sean went over to plug it in and—voila—they had light in a rainbow of colors.
    â€œIt looks like the gingerbread house,” Phillip said as they all stood back to admire their work and Miranda snapped some photos.
    Back inside the house things seemed a bit chaotic but were going fairly well. Joy had put Christmas music on and Ellen was trying to direct two of the children in setting up a nativity scene. Meanwhile, Katie and Kelsay had just started decorating the tree. Before long, all the kids were helping with that. Joy’s creative, kid-friendly selections meant it was more fun to playwith the ornaments than to hang them, but they eventually got them all up.
    As Miranda surveyed the finished product, she had to chuckle. The results were not quite up to Joy’s usual standard of perfection. Several of the garlands were taped to the walls at child height. And many of the decorations looked slightly cockeyed and haphazard. But the children seemed quite happy and proud of their work, and Miranda doubted that anyone would really notice or care about the slight imperfections. The place was colorful and festive and fun. A great improvement to the functional but otherwise drab home.
    â€œI don’t know how to thank you,” Ellen told Joy as the grown-ups stowed the gift bags for the children in her bedroom closet. Later Ellen and her husband, Tom, would place them under the tree. “I can’t even imagine what Christmas would’ve been like without your generosity.”
    Joy reached out and clasped