Joey Trombone surprised his parents last Thursday with an unlikely Christmas gift that sums up his gratitude for them.
As the family lounged on their sofa that morning, he sat between his parents and reached for his pocket handing a white envelope to them saying, "I have one more gift for you - for both of you."
His mother looked on with curiosity as the gift came with no Christmas wrapping but rather a plain tightly sealed envelope. She took her time opening it and told Joe that it must be special since it came after everything else.
The envelope contained a hand-written note that listed three items, each one having a small checked box before - "Raising Kids," "College Loans," and "Mortgage." The note ended with a message: "Your house is paid off. Merry Xmas - Joe."
His mum flipped the note with disbelief and cried with joy as she handed the note to her husband to read.
The mother hugged and kissed her son repeatedly, sobbing and saying, "Oh, I love you. Thank you, thank you Papi!"
When Joe's dad read the note he also broke down in tears and when he finally managed to compose himself, he hugged his beloved son by thanking him for the wonderful gift.
The three ended with a heart-melting family hug.
'Tis indeed the season for giving and Trombone wasn't the only one with a generous heart this Christmas.
Cheryl Semien was working on her birthday as a Whataburger cashier when she received a mink coat worth thousands of dollars from a total stranger.
Semien said she casually complimented the woman. To her surprise, the customer took off her fur coat and handed it to her.
"The lady said, 'That's a beautiful coat,' and she was so sweet," said the woman behind the magnanimous gesture who was tracked down by Eye Witness News and asked to be identified only as Nadine. "So I took it off and handed it to her through the drive-thru window."
"She didn't ask for it," Nadine added. "But she would have loved to have had one."
