The rest of November flew by and by the time we knew it was already the last week before Christmas break. Molly seemed to be doing pretty well with her tutoring and school work, but we still wanted what was best for molly and if ho,eschool was the best choice right now then we will have her homeschooled for the time being. Annie was doing great in her classes and she recently won a spelling bee in her class. Grace and I were so proud of both Annie and molly at how had they've been working.
At the end of the day on the Friday before Christmas vacation grace and I went to Molly's classroom to meet with miss evans once again.
"Good afternoon mr and mrs warbucks I'm glad we could meet today."
She shook our hands warmly and guestred for us to sit down . I was the first to talk.
"Well molly does seem to be doing alright with her reading and writing, but we noticed that she still gets frustrated easily."
Miss Evans shook her head agreeing at my words.
"I have noticed that also. I think molly learns best in a one on one setting. So I think homeschool would be the best thing for her right now. She can come back when she is ready and we will all miss her. She has som pretty good friends, but again this is the best choice for her."
Grace took her turn to speak. She did not sound happy at all.
"I understand this if the best situation for her right now is homeschooling I can't agree more but I would hate to isolate her."
I took her hand and squeezed it
"We don't have to isolate her she can have her friends over any time she wants and she can go overan time she is invited she'll be fine."
"I guess you're right Oliver thank you miss Evans we really appreciate all this. We will find her th best homeschool teacher she could get!"
"You're darn tootin' we will'. Thank you miss Evans happy holidays."
We all got up to leave and shook hands once again.
"Best of luck happy holidays! Call any time for updates."
Grace and I silently walked back to the car and drove silently to the mansion. We both had so much going on. We were sure molly wasn't going to be too thrilled with the arrangement but if this was the best choice for her right now then I, sure she will agree to it. Grace was silent and I took her hand and kissed it. Once we arrived to the mansion grace suddenly burst into tears as she did on the day we found our molly had dyslexia and right then mrs Pugh followed her up the stairs. I decided to find Annie and ok,y and discuss this with them. I found both of them in th kitchen eating cookies. Mollys eyes lit up when she saw me.
"Hi daddy! Come have a cookie we made them with mrs Pugh!"
I decided to take a cookie and yes it was delicious.
"They're great honey thank you both! Molly can I talk to you for a minute? Annie you can stay."
"Am I in trouble daddy? I'm real sorry!"
"Oh not at all princess I just wanted to talk to you about our meeting with miss Evans today."
I scooped Molly onto my lap and explained to her about our meeting .
"Well princess we know how much you love school but we think it is best if you are homeschooled for the time being. It's best for you and you Karen better one on one.
Molly gave me the reaction I was dreading she would give me. Tears rolled down her cheeks I gently wiped them away.
"Daddy I like school I can learn how to read and wrote just like everyone else and my best friends are in class with me!"
"I know princess but just think you'll have the teacher all to yourself and you can learn at your very own pace and mommy and I can look in on your lessons and you can invite your friends over any time you want and when you get invited over you are more than welcome to go!"
Molly cheered up a little at this and Annie put in
"Yeah and I can help worth your reading too and I'll play with you after school and when I have my friends over or go over to Jamie's I'll invite you al the time."
"Well I guess if I can learn faster with a homeschool teacher and I can see my friends I'm alright with homeschooling I love you daddy."
I gave both her and Molly a tight hug. I was so proud of Molly for handling this situation. And Annie for being th most caring big sister and including Molly in everything. I let Molly go talk to grace and I went to the study to start looking for homeschool teachers. We decided to keep Molly's tutor as a homeschool teacher since she was very good with dyslexic children. With that all settled we could finally focus on family and Christmas coming up in just a few short days, she would start homeschooling after the break
The girls were so excited to celebrate Christmas. And so we're grace and I. This is going to be our first real Christmas as a family and we were glad there will be NO Mudges or FBI agents this year. It'll be an anniversary of both girls adoption. We were so excited to celebrate all the big events coming up. Grace and I wanted to make sure both Annie and Molly got everything they asked for.
Graces sisters would be joining us again for Christmas. They were all scheduled to arrive late morning Christmas Eve. Annie and Molly were bouncing around all morning so excited to see their cousins. Jen and her kids arrived just before noon and not a few minutes later Melissa and Chris arrived. Annie and Molly ran up to their cousins and gave them all a big hug. I kissed my niece and nephews and shook hands with Melissa and Jen.
"Merry Christmas everyone! Thank you for joining us for the holidays!"
The kids ran upstairs to play while the adults sat in the study with wine and cocktails. Most of the chat was about family work life and kids. Jen brought up Molly's dyslexia.
"Oh grace how is Molly doing with her reading?"
"Well she seems to be doing alright in a one on one setting so we decided to homeschool her...".
She then started to cry a little. I wiped her tears gently and kissed her.
"Honey remember this is best for her. We will never isolate her and she will improve so much maybe she can go back in the fall."
Grace sniffed and kissed me.
"You're right Oliver I love you and Jen and Melissa I am so happy to have the two of you support me! I love you so much."
"We love you Gracie Liz we will always be here for you when you need it."
Melissa and Jen both hugged Grace tightly for a few moments until mrs Pugh said that dinner was ready. Dinner was pretty light because tomorrow we would be having a huge feast. We had ham, potatoes, and bread and butter. Everyone chattered about how excited they were for Christmas and what Santa would bring them. It was a great night spent together and we couldn't wait for the next day. We spent a quiet evening in the study playing cards and chess until it was bedtime. Annie protested and said she wanted to stay up to see santa and she even got Molly and her cousins into it.
"Mom daddy we really want to see Santa!"
Molly got into it too.
"Yeah mama please?!"
"Sweetie santa won't be here for a very very long time and you will be exhausted tomorrow to open your presents! You all have an exciting day!"
Molly stuck out her lip like she was going to cry, but mad no other comment. So that was settled all the kids went up to bed and we all went up soon after them. Grace and I said goodnight to the girls and went to our room. Before heading to bed grace chuckled,
"Oh Oliver those girls..."
"I wouldn't agree any more! They wer both so intent on meeting Saints tonight I'm just glad they could enjoy this holiday without being in that horrible orphanage."
"I'm so glad we adopted them. Our little rebels. Goodnight Oliver I love you."
We both snuggled under the covers and soon fell fast asleep. It didn't seem too long when our bed was shaking with two very excited girls shouting.
"It's Christmas its Christmas! Wake up! Santa came!"
Seeing that it was still dark I looked at the clock and groaned at how early it was. It was not even 530am! I scopped both Annie and Molly into my lap.
"Yes it is my darlings but it's very very early why don't we get some sleep."
I could tell Molly was trying to not be tired but she was yawning and nodding her head off. I pulled Molly in next to me and Annie layed down next to her. In just a few short minutes Annie gave up being not tired and fell asleep herself. Soon we were all snuggled in together and woke up for real at 8am. Annie and Molly were the first to wake up.
"Merry Christmas mom and daddy!"
Molly gave grace and I a hug.
"Merry Christmas mama and daddy! I went to see what Santa brought us!"
"Merry Christmas darlings daddy and I love you."
I scooped both Annie and Molly up.
"Merry Christmas! I love you all lets go see what Santa brought you!"
At that they both scrambled from my arms and ran down th stairs where they were soon met with their cousins Melissa and Jen. I wished them all merry Christmas and let the kids open their presents. They each got tons of games toys, doll houses, books, coloring books, paint sets. Some clothes and the biggest gift of all was a bike for each of them! Annie's was red and Molly's was pink. Annie squealed with excitement.
"Leapin lizards my own bike! Even one for Molly too! Thanks mom and daddy!"
Molly jumped up to hug us.
"I love my new bike mama and daddy thank you! Can you teach me and Annie hoe to ride?"
I chuckled and ruffled her hair.
"Of course I will teach both of you how to ride your bikes we can do that after breakfast. I think we're done with opening presents so let's eat!"
Everyone scrambled to the dining room for a huge breakfast of pancakes, ,sausages and many more. Everyone chattered away about their new Christmas presents and all the fun they'll have with their new toys. Grace and I were so glad Annie and Molly enjoyed everything they got and could finally have the best Christmas they could ask for. Right after breakfast everyone got ready and went outside to teach the girls how to ride their bikes. Annie picked up in a matter of minutes and soon she was racing up and down the driveway. Molly wasn't too far behind and didn't even fall over once. By the end of the morning Annie and Molly were both racing up and down the driveway and even got their cousins involved. I couldn't h lol but smile at how much fun they were all having together and felt Grace lean into me. I put an arm around her.
" I'm so glad the girls love their presents especially their bikes. I love you grace merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas Oliver I love you."
Grace kissed me and the kiss started to get deeper but then we stopped knowing that there were young eyes among us. The rest of th day was spent playing with new toys, talking and enjoying time together as a family. Before dinner I nested to make a toast.
"Before we eat I would like to make a toast. This time last year we were just adopting Annie and Molly and I want to take the time to say how proud I a, of my daughters and how far along they've come since arriving here. I am so happy to have my whole family with us celebrating this wonderful holiday together. Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas!"
Everyone raised their glasses in toast, then we all began to eat a wonderful meal of turkey, potatoes, vegetables and many many other things. We all talked and laughed and promised to have a holiday get together every year. Dessert was pie cookies and ice cream. We all enjoyed a quite evening together and headed to bed early. I went to check on the girls before heading to be myself. I went to check on Annie first.
"Merry Christmas Annie I love you."
"I love you daddy Warbucks thank you for adopting me and Molly."
"You're very welcome sweetheart. Mom and I both love you two very much."
I kissed Annie before tucking her in and watching her drift off. I gently shut her door and went to Molly's room, where she was just about to go to sleep.
"Merry Christmas princess I love you."
"Goodnight daddy I love you merry Christmas."
I tucked my youngest daughter in and she quickly drifted off to sleep. I gently left her room and went to our room to get ready for bed. Grace was already asleep I smiled at how peaceful she looked. I climbed into bed and pulled her into me and whispered
"Merry Christmas Grace I love you and the girls more than anything."
Grace smiled in her sleep and snuggled into me. We fell into s peaceful sleep. I was so glad the girls had such a great first Christmas and couldn't wait for many more holidays like these to come. I finally had a family of my own forever and always and I couldn't wait to see what the next year would bring.