Merry Christmas! I hope this blog post finds you happy and healthy as we celebrate this wonderful holiday season.

Today, after our morning cattle chores are finished, we’ll open Santa gifts and head to Christmas mass.

The rest of the day will be spent eating great food (prime rib is on the menu), playing board games, assembling the kids’ new toys and driving around our community to see the Christmas lights.

It will be a simple but merry day spent with the people I love the most. As a parent, the best gift is seeing our kids get excited about the candlelight services at church or the little gifts they’ll find in their stockings.

Other parents have told me that although the days seem long sometimes, the years with our children are so very short. As a mom, I’m just trying to soak it all in as we make memories together as a family, knowing these childhood years will pass in the blink of an eye.

This time of year is truly magical, and the spirit of Christmas really comes to life when there are children to experience it with.

Growing up, I had the security of loving parents, grandparents, siblings and extended family.

However, other children are not so lucky. Former Dallas Cowboys tight end Jay Novacek is doing what he can to serve as a positive role model and friend to these underprivileged kids.

Related:A Cowboy Christmas Prayer

For the past four years, Novacek has invited fatherless inner-city boys to his Hope Farm located in Fort Worth, Texas.

“These are inner-city boys that do not have a father figure in their lives,” Novacek said in an interview with NBC Fort Worth.

The kids spend a day on the farm where they have the opportunity to run around and have fun. There are horse rides, a bouncy house, games, calf roping, karaoke, face painting, tractor rides and even a visit from Santa!

Volunteers come out to Hope Farm to make sure every kid receives a gift on Christmas day.

“Every single boy gets a toy bag from Santa Claus,” said Amy Novacek, Jay's wife. “When I come down the driveway, I see God's gifts every day. The sun, the trees, the animals -- and I want to share that.”

I love this feel-good story! It’s heart-warming to know these kids will have a special place to spend their Christmas day — even better that they get to experience ranch life, too!

What a great example for all of us to follow! This story has inspired me to reach and do more for the youth in my community, and I hope it inspires you, as well.

Merry Christmas from my ranch to yours! May your day be a joyous celebration with those you hold dear.

Related:Christmas is a magical time, even without young ‘uns

The opinions of Amanda Radke are not necessarily those of beefmagazine.com or Farm Progress.