Growing up I remember some wonderfully extravagant Christmas mornings and some that were more reminiscent of harder times. One thing that remained constant through those years was looking forward to a new Christmas image by the late Norman Rockwell. These images always seemed to remind us that Christmas is ALWAYS wonderful--even when the gifts are a little smaller. It reminds us that it's the look on the children's faces-the sparkling tinsel--the sparkle on the snow and the hope for a better tomorrow that fills us this time of year; and that's much more important. Though Mr. Rockwell is gone, this is how I would envision his presentation to us this year in 2008. Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas season and hoping all will take a minute to reflect on its magic; past, present and future. This image took about 16 hours and a lot of trashed files to create. I used Poser, Painter IX, Photoshop CS2 and PhotoImpact11 to create the effects. (Yep--used everything but Vue which I'll use in my 3D entry, LOL!)