Chapter 51

With the tree surgery finished and after placing it safely in the stand, they spent quite some time making sure the tree was straight before they would allow the children to start putting the ornaments on. Knowing that this would be their first holiday after moving back from Hawaii, Mac and AJ had made sure that the Christmas decorations were shipped back rather than put into storage until they had a place to live.

In between eating pizza and later the popcorn that was supposed to be strung for the tree, the nine of them worked on decorating the tree. Marta's ornament placement had to be supervised, but the rest of the children were doing a great job, even though a ladder had to be brought in to put the ornaments on the higher branches.

Every year, the person who would put the star on the top of the tree changed. Although it had been a Chegwidden tradition that the youngest family member would do it, AJ and Mac had realized that wasn't fair to the other children. So they had started letting the children have the honor in alphabetical order, if they adopted a new child they would just take their place in the rotation so no one was left out. This year it was Evan's turn.

The three younger children had just been bathed and put to bed when the phone rang that evening. It was Chloe, she told them she had big news and asked to be put on speaker phone so she could tell everyone at once. She and David had been trying for four years to conceive a child and her jubilant news was that she was finally pregnant! She was due in the early fall. Congratulations were called into the phone and she was left in no doubt how excited her family was for her. The only problem was that all the kids wanted the new baby named after them!

Late that night, after a very intense lovemaking session, AJ and Mac lay cuddled together in their bed. Mac sighed and said, "It's so hard not having everyone together this year for Christmas."

"I know, darling, but we knew that they would grow up and move out one day. We just need to comfort ourselves with how well they are all doing."

"Yes, I guess you're right," not wanting to dwell on it any more, she changed the subject, "How are you doing on the puppy situation?"

"Fine, I'll pick him up tomorrow and the Baxter's have agreed to keep an eye on him 'til we get home from the party. I'll go and get him when the kids are in bed."

"Wonderful, they'll be so happy. They miss Dammit so much."

"I think the only thing that kept that dog alive for as long as she was, was knowing how sad the kids would be when she went. She held on a long time."

"I know you're right. I still can't believe that she was almost twenty!"

"As near as the vet could tell when she found me, she was about five years old then, I had her two years before we got married, and she was with us until this past summer, so she had to be around seventeen."

"You could sure see it in how gray she was getting. Remember when Andi found out I colored my hair and suggested we do the same for Dammit?"

AJ chuckled, "Yeah that would have given Miss Clairol a whole new ad campaign!"

Mac giggled and agreed.

Getting seven children ready to go anywhere all at the same time was always a chore, but when you added in the fact that they were excited, it was the day before Christmas, and they were heading to a party, it became exponentially more difficult. Mac had finally reached the end of her patience and in her best Marine General voice bellowed, "Anyone who is not in the car and buckled in within the next ten minutes will be left behind!"

To be continued….