It was like Christmas all over again for three families in the Boothbay region Jan. 27 and Southport artist Sue Heil Kibbe got to be Santa, again.

You may recall the story from a few weeks ago, about the pastel pencil portraits Heil Kibbe created of children she’d seen in photos in the Boothbay Register.

The children were visiting Santa during the annual Harbor Lights Festival. After deciding to give the portraits to the families of her young subjects, the artist displayed them in a few art shows last year, but no leads came from them.

On Jan. 18, thanks to some local networking by Southport Central School Principal Lisa Clarke, Heil Kibbe was able to present the first painting to Myles Witfield and his mom Heather Sinclair at Southport Memorial Library.

Once the story about the portraits was published online and in print, it didn’t take long for the remaining three families to get in touch with Heil Kibbe. Lilly Brown with mom Cody Orne and grandmother Sherri Brown; Hunter McDaniel and his mom Heather McDaniel; and Charlie and Piper Barter’s grandmother Sally Barter, gathered at the library to receive their unexpected Christmas gifts.

Heil Kibbe received thanks and great compliments – from wonderful to beautiful – and everyone noted how spot on her representation of the children was. But, hey, portraiture is one of this artist’s gifts.

When Sherri Brown saw the feature on the Register’s website, she messaged Orne and told her she thought one of the paintings was of Lilly. And she wasn’t the only one; Boothbay Register Editor Kevin Burnham recognized Lilly. And then of course there was the hat. Said Orne, “She always wears a hat when she sees Santa, and I found some pictures of her wearing the same hat.”

When Orne saw the portrait, she not only recognized her daughter, but Hunter as well. “Those blue eyes and dark hair … (Sherri and I) knew it was Hunter.”

“Cody emailed me about the article. I saw it and called Sue,” said Heather McDaniel. “She did a wonderful job.”

Sally Barter said she got quite a few phone calls from friends telling her the two kids in one of the portraits looked very familiar.

“I went online and sure enough, it was Charlie and Piper. I called Sue and my son in Old Saybrook (Connecticut),” Barter said. “They were thrilled ... but, I’m keeping it. They’ve seen it online - they’re good!”

Heil Kibbe is thrilled to have finally found the families. “Suzi Thayer had taken the Santa photos at Sherman’s that year. When I saw the pictures in the paper I was so taken with the children’s facial expressions I just had to paint them.”

Thumb drive in hand, Heil Kibbe visited Thayer at the Register and left with 12 photos of kids visiting Santa. “I chose these four … but I’d love to do more! I’m just so happy to have been able to give the portraits to these families.”

Moms and grandmoms thanked Heil Kibbe many times for a gift they will always treasure. It was a special moment in the lives of their children and grandchildren preserved for all time – on canvas.

And, as for the kids … Lilly Brown pretty much summed it up in two words: “I’m famous!”