North Carolina: They're Home for Christmas

For one struggling family in Charlotte, fate, luck and hard work all come together at the right time to make this a holiday to remember

Brandon and Nicole Harden drew a poster together at school that captures the rough journey they have taken together this year. On one side is a picture of a skull with knives stabbing through it. "This is bad," they wrote, "so never have a bad holiday or a bad birthday or other bad days." On the flip side is a heart, a promise of better days.

A lot of good hearts have helped give the Harden children a real Christmas this year. But six months ago, when their mother Tamey left them in Poplar Bluff, Mo., to search for work elsewhere,...

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