For Jesse Lawton, even that was too often. A legal-aid lawyer who fought a never-ending battle against poverty and injustice, he thought Christmas was a time-wasting, energy-sapping distraction from the realities of life.

To Robin Greer and her energetic seven-year-old son, Christmas was life. As they decorated their Connecticut home to the hilt and hung a zillion ornaments on their tree, Christmas became a promise of all the good things that might happen in the world -- wonderful things that could touch Jesse's life if he'd only let them. Christmas was laughter, and love, and sometimes... miracles.