It was Christmas Day and Ronnie was woken up by Matthew jumping up onto the bed between her and Jack.
"Merry Christmas sweetie" Ronnie said sleepily before checking the time
It was gone 6 which was an improvement on last year.
"Mummy can we check to see if Father Christmas has been?"
Ronnie nodded before climbing out of bed. Jack did the same, as much as they both wanted to stay cuddled up in bed.
There was no sign of any of the other kids being awake yet.
Ronnie and Jack followed Matthew down. They both loved how excited he was when he saw the stockings all filled with presents.
"Can I just open one?"
"No you have to wait for everyone else to be awake"
"Can I go and wake them up then?"
"No we agreed to wait until 7 didn't we?"
"How long is that?"
"45 minutes"
Suddenly they heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Ronnie turned to see Amy and Jess both coming down in their dressing gowns.
"Morning girls. Merry Christmas" Ronnie said before giving them both a hug
"Can I go and see if Ellie is awake and Ricky?" Matthew asked excitedly
"You can check but don't go waking them up if they're still sleeping"
Matthew returned a minute later with Ellie and Ricky too.
"Does this mean we can open presents now?"
"I guess it does. Just wait for Mummy to finish making some coffee" Jack said
The kids all went and sat down next to their stockings and presents. They were all eager to open them up.
Ronnie returned with two cups of coffee so sat down on the sofa next to Jack.
The children were all really happy with the presents they'd received. By the time they'd finished opening them all the lounge was a complete mess with wrapping paper everywhere.
They got it sorted before the kids gave presents to Ronnie and Jack.
After this Ronnie and Jack went to make a nice breakfast for everyone. Once it was ready Jack opened a bottle of champagne to make some Buck's Fizz and then they all sat at the table to eat.
Ronnie couldn't help her mind thinking about Roxy, she couldn't even put into words how much she missed her sister. If she was here she knew she would be nursing a hangover but still trying to make sure Amy had the best day she could.
Ronnie glanced at Amy who looked happy. Christmas hadn't been easy for Amy since Roxy had died but each year it got a little bit easier.
"Right I better get this turkey in the oven" Jack said once they'd all finished their breakfast
"And while you're doing that I'm going to get ready" Ronnie said
Amy, Jess and Ellie all went upstairs to get ready too. They loved getting ready on Christmas Day and using things that they'd got for Christmas.
After having a shower Ellie came into Jess and Amy's bedroom and did her hair and makeup in there. She had a bit of a stomach ache though which she was finding annoying.
Ronnie came in as they were all getting ready. She was wearing a red dress and had done her hair and makeup really nicely.
"You look so nice Mum" Jess said
"I love your dress" Ellie said
"Thanks girls. You're all looking lovely too. Are you nearly ready?"
"Yeah we just need to get dressed and then we'll be ready" Amy said
Ellie went back to her bedroom and Jess and Amy got changed into their Christmas outfits.
Once they were changed Amy and Jess went downstairs.
"Auntie Ronnie please will you take our photo in front of the tree?" Amy asked
"Of course I will"
Amy passed her new phone that she'd got for Christmas to Ronnie.
Ronnie took some nice photos of Jess and Amy before Ronnie passed the phone to Jack so Ronnie could be in the photos too.
"Let me go and see where Ellie is and I'll take some photos of all 5 of you" Ronnie said
Ronnie went upstairs and found her eldest daughter lying on her bed still in her dressing gown.
"Are you okay?" Ronnie asked
"I have a stomach ache"
"Oh do you, when did that start?"
"Just after breakfast"
"Oh sweetie, do you need the loo?"
Ellie shook her head.
"I'm going to get dressed and come down now"
"You can stay up here for a bit if you'd prefer"
"I'll be okay"
"Well hopefully you're feeling better before we eat. We can't have you missing out on the Christmas dinner"
"I really hope so"
Ronnie left Ellie to get changed and went back downstairs.
Once Ellie was dressed they took some nice Christmas photos.
The kids then played some games whilst Ronnie and Jack cooked the Christmas meal.
By the time it was ready everyone was really hungry. It smelt amazing so everyone was really looking forward to it.
"How are you feeling now?" Ronnie asked Ellie quietly whilst they were all dishing their food onto their plates
"Better now thank you"
"Good" Ronnie said smiling
They all sat down at the table and pulled crackers before tucking into their meal.
After finishing the roast Ronnie brought the Christmas pudding in. They lit it on fire before serving it. Ronnie also had some chocolate puddings as they didn't all like Christmas pudding.
By the time they were finished everyone was extremely full.
They decided to play some games so they all went into the lounge.
They all had a lot of fun playing together. It had been a lovely Christmas Day.
Sorry it's short. Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas x