Elijah: 15
Rosa: 12
JJ: 7
Emily: 12

December 24th 1991. 6:30 p.m.

General P.O.V.

"Mommy, can we open the presents now?" JJ asks. The Jareau family and Emily had just gotten done eating their Christmas Eve supper.

"The presents?" Sandy asks playfully. "Well, what makes you think you have any presents?"

"'Cause I saw them, Mommy."

"Ok, ok. Let's go see if you have any." Sandy stands up and goes to the living room.

"Em, come on, it's present time!" JJ says.

"OK, I'm coming." Emily says.

"Ok, we'll go in a circle. JJ first." Sandy says. She hands JJ a present wrapped in red paper with a green bow. She tore into and her face lit up with a smile.

"What is it, Jen?" Emily asks.

"It's Ariel!" She exclaims, holding up a VCR of The Little Mermaid.

"Wow, cool!" Emily turns to the present beside her. "Let's see what I got. Do you want to help open it?"

"Yeah!" The girls tore into the cardboard box. They lift the flaps back and look inside. There was a pink and black comforter set and a set pjs matching JJ's.

Rosa opens her presents then. She got a new pair of jeans and a sweatshirt to go with it.

"Thanks, Mom. Thank you, Daddy." She opens a few more. She receives a paint set, and another scrapbook, this one for pictures of her and her friends.

"Eli open mine next!" JJ says excitedly. She hands him a present and he opens it up.

It's a book, one he had been looking at when he and JJ had went to the store earlier in the week.

"Do you like it?" JJ asks.

"Yes, I like it very much. Thank you."

JJ beams at him and says, "You're welcome!"

8:30 p.m.

JJ sat in the floor surrounded by all the presents she opened earlier. She had gotten numerous Barbie dolls, new pjs, which she had on, an art set and a paint set. She had also gotten a pink and purple butterfly themed bed spread.

"Mama, can you help me put my new blankets on my bed?"

"Sure sweetie, but after that it's bedtime. Now tell Emily goodnight so Daddy can take her home."

"Ok." She runs over to Emily and gives her a hug. "Bye Emmy. Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, Jen." She hugs the blonde back and then puts her coat on.

JJ goes over to Eli and Rosa and her grandparents.

"Merry Christmas, Nana. Merry Christmas Pawpaw. Good night."

"Night, Bug. Merry Christmas." Ruth and Jon say.

"Merry Christmas, little sis. Thank you for the book." Elijah says.

"You're welcome bubba. Good night and Merry Christmas Rosa."

"Goodnight, baby. Merry Christmas." Rosa tells JJ.

Michael comes back inside from putting Emily's presents in the car. Emily had also received new pjs, along with new gloves, socks and a pair of jeans and shirt she had picked out on a shopping trip.

"Ok, baby, let's go put your new sheets on your bed so you can go to bed. Santa will be coming soon." Sandy tells the younger blonde.

"Ok, Mommy. Let's go!"

Upstairs

Upstairs Sandy and JJ go to her room.

"Ok, sweetie, take of your sheets while open your new one up."

"Yes, ma'am." JJ takes the sheets and then waits for Sandy to put the new ones on.

Once the new sheets are on, Sandy tucks JJ in.

"Goodnight sweetheart. Go to sleep ok, and then morning will be here before you know it and you can open the presents Santa brought."

"'Night, Mommy." JJ replied yawning. In a matter of minutes she was asleep

9:15 p.m.

At 9:00, Sandy was the only one up. Elijah and Rosa had gone up to bed a few minutes before and she was waiting up for Michael to get back. The front door opened and she glanced up to see Emily and Michael walk back in the door.

"The roads are really icy and I didn't want to risk it. So I guess she's spending the night."

"I guess it's a good thing we got you those pjs." Sandy said.

Emily smiled and nodded. "May I go to Jenny's room?"

"Sure sweetie. You can change in the bathroom if you want." Emily nodded and started up the stairs. Once she got done changing she went to JJ's room and crawled into the bed that Sandy and Michael had bought for her. They said it was for just in case she ever didn't want to sleep in the bed with JJ.

Early Christmas Morning

The next morning Emily wakes up before JJ.

She pauses for a moment to decide whether or not to wake JJ up. She knows how excited JJ gets on Christmas morning.

Emily glances at the clock, which reads 6:32 a.m. She shuffles out of bed and decides to go downstairs and bring her and JJ's stockings up.

She tiptoes downstairs and peaks around the corner into the living room. The Christmas tree is lit up in the corner and six stockings, five for the Jareaus and one for Emily, are hanging above the fireplace.

When she arrives back in the room, she sees JJ sitting up.

"Hey, babygirl. You want to see what Santa left us in our stockings?"

JJ eyes lit up, "Santa came!"

"Yep." Emily stands up to get the stockings. "OK, here is yours." She says, handing JJ's hers.

"Look! Santa left me a princess toothbrush!" She says digging out a Cinderella toothbrush.

"Yeah, what else did he leave you?"

JJ digs around some more and holds up a bag of Hersey kisses and gummy bears and worms.

"Lots of candy." She says smiling.

Emily smiles.

"Well, I bet he'll want you to enjoy all that candy and then use your new toothbrush to brush your teeth really well tonight. Huh?"

"What did he leave you?"

"He left me… a purple toothbrush, some hot-'n-spicy candy, and some candy canes."

"Can we go wake my mommy and daddy up now?"

Emily checked the time and saw that it was now 6:56.

"Sure, come on."

The two girls ventured out of the bedroom and down the hall.

"Mommy, Daddy, wake up! It's Christmas! Santa came!" JJ yells, jumping on her parents' bed.

*Later that Morning*

"Alright, let's see what you guys got." Sandy says, bringing the video camera out.

"Look, Mommy! I got a Barbie house!" JJ says excitedly, uncovering a Barbie Dream House.

"Wow! That's what you wanted, isn't it?"

"Yep!"

"Cool, a new pair of sneakers. Thanks guys." Eli holds up a pair of sneakers he had his eye for a several months now.

"What did you get, Roz?"

"A charm bracelet." Rosa holds her hand up. It has a charm bracket that has a paint brush and palette, and a star charm. Rosa loves to go out and look at the stairs during the summertime.

About twenty minutes later Sandy decides it was time for breakfast.

"Okay guys, I think it may be time for breakfast. But first…" She pulled a camera out. "I want to get a picture with the kids in front of the tree."

Eli and Rosa go over to Emily and JJ who are already by the tree.

Sandy snapped a few with just the four of them, and then got some with just Rosa, Eli, and JJ. She sets up the camera tripod and turns the timer on so her and Michael could get in the picture too.

"Ok, now I want Emily and JJ to get by the tree so I can get one of them in their matching pjs."

"Yeah!" JJ jumps up and runs over to Emily.

"Come here." Emily picks the younger girl up and balancing her in her hip. It is a little difficult since JJ has grown five inches between meeting her at five and now, at seven years old, but she does manage it.

Sandy snaps a couple of pics.

"Alright!" Sandy claps her hands. "Who's ready to eat a Christmas breakfast?"

"Me! I am!" JJ yells as she runs to the kitchen.

*Later in the Evening*

"Okay, who's ready to open some more presents?" Grandma and Grandpa Jareau ask as they come through th door with two trash bags full of presents.

"Me! Me! I am!" JJ hopped around happily.

"Alright, go pick out a spot to sit and Grandpa will bring the presents over.

"Emmy, come sit by me. It's almost present time again!"

"Okay, bug, I'm coming."

Grandpa Jareau hands out the presents and then sits down on the couch beside his wife who has her own video camera out.

"I got another box of crayons and markers for school!" JJ says, holdings them up. Her last set of crayons has several of them broken, used up, or lost. Crayons are certainly a treasured item in the Jareau household.

*2½ hours later*

Soon everyone had opened their presents and JJ was showing her grandparents the Barbie Dream House Santa gad brought her.

"See? It even has a staircase so Barbie can get upstairs."

"Wow, that's really cool. What's this room right here?" Grandma Jareau asks, pointing to a room on the first floor.

"That's Barbie's living room." JJ points to another room on the first floor. "And that's her kitchen." Another room, this time on the second floor. "And her bedroom." Another. "And this is her bathroom. It even has a bathtub so she can take bubble baths."

"Hey, Jenny," Emily calls. "Come say goodbye. I need to go home before it gets to dark and cold. It's getting late."

JJ pouts but comes over anyway. She really enjoyed spending Christmas with her best friend, but at the same time, does not want it to end. She loves being around Emily, and getting all of the older girl's attention.

"Emily, I think I may have some of your clothes here and another pair of your pajamas if you just want use those."

Sandy knows that Emily's parents are working tonight. Her mother, especially, is not going to be at home. A shame, really.

What mother wouldn't want to see her child on Christmas, of all times?

But she does not want Em to be stuck at home by herself.

Emily thinks about it for a moment. She knows she will need to phone her dad, which she does. He says it's fine – he does not want to think about his daughter being alone while he is stuck at work, dealing with idiots who just have to commit felonies on Christmas night.

Emily tells JJ the good news. It makes the little girl extremely happy. JJ yawns and climbs into Emily's lap.

"I think it may be someone's bedtime. Go tell Granny and Grandpa goodnight and thank you for the presents. Then you need to brush your teeth, and it's off to bed."

"Okay, Mamma. Goodnight. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, baby."

After a round of 'good nights', 'Merry Christmases', and 'Thanks yous', JJ and emily head upstairs to change.

"Ok, Little Bug." Emily says, giving the tired blonde a piggyback ride to her bedroom. "Which bed do you want to sleep in tonight?"

"Yours." JJ replies through a yawn.

"Mine? Ok." She lets JJ off her back and then climbs into bed. "Goodnight, bug. I love you."

"Goodnight, Emmy. I love you, too."

What did you guys think?

I know it's a little weird especial because of JJ's dream that came on suddenly. But, I had a thought and this is what happened.

Please review!

This officially concludes the year '91.

Next: Easter
Then: A chapter about a storm somewhere between April and June.
After that: JJ's 8th birthday.
Then: Halloween.
Last: Maybe something during 3rd grade.