Let us introduce you to brothers 12-year-old Quinton, 11-year-old Xavier and little sister, 7-year-old Iyiana Denson.
The Denson kids are smart, polite, friendly and well spoken.
But they have been through, literally, a living nightmare.
This time last year, Quinton, Xavier and Iyiana saw things no kid should ever witness.
Monday will mark the awful anniversary when their mom was stabbed to death in her own bedroom.
The kids could hear their mom's cries from help from beyond a locked door. By the time their dad busted in, it was too late.
"We saw my mom on the floor, blood on her bed, walls, carpet," Xavier told WKYC Channel 3 News.
Quinton sat on the couch at his west side Cleveland home, eyes glazing over, and bravely, candidly said, "Well, I miss her every day. I sometimes try to forget what happened and I try to focus on my work but I really can't."
Iyiana is a perfect little extension of the best parts of her mamma.
"Everybody says that I look just like my mommy," she says.
Cearly her mommy was beautiful.
These 3 engaging, bright eyed, adorable kids are about to spend their second Christmas without her.
"All I want is family and friends and my mom over my head," says Xavier, pointing to heaven.
Iyiana, already showing empathy, kindness, and selflessness far beyond most 7-year-olds, says, “When I grow up, and my daddy gets old, I want to help my daddy do groceries."
And as much as she misses her mom, Iyiana looked up to the ceiling in gratitude and said, "At least we have a house."
It’s these kinds of kids who Cleveland cops celebrate each Christmas.
'Shop With A Cop' is a shopping spree for deserving kids. This year there were 80 of them buzzing through the aisles of the Steelyard Commons Target.
They are either crime victims themselves or saw something awful like the Denson kids.
Each gets $200 to spend.
“It’s awesome! Because I get to get all the things I have wanted forever," says Iyiana, grateful, again.
For Quinton, "it's fun, but it would have been better if my mom was here. But I am so grateful and also want to thank this guy,” Quinton says as he pat’s his new Cleveland Police officer, Jordan, on the back and pulls him in.
"Maybe he's the guy who probably helped put the guy who killed my mom in jail," says Quentin.
For the Denson kids, their hope is that their mom’s gift is her in heaven.
"Saying what good children I had!” says Xavier.