Christmas came a lot faster than expected and it was late on Christmas eve before the presents were even pulled out of the closet to be wrapped. Adam's parents and sister had flown in the day before and life had been loud and crazy since then, and remembering to wrap the presents hadn't crossed anyone's mind. That is to say it hadn't crossed the mind of any of the adults, but the kids were chomping at the bit to wrap the presents they'd picked out for their siblings.

Avery got to go first, and was very excited to sit with her mama and daddy, and stick the tape in the places they told her to. She babbled on and on about Coley and Ben and she loved them and these were presents for them. Adam took her hand and helped her to write names on the tags of the presents and she bounced up and down gleefully when everything was done.

"Presents, secret," she said, putting one finger to her lips. "No say."

"We won't tell honey, I promise."

"Mama, Avery presents for you?"

"Daddy and I got presents for each other. We'll have things to open."

"Oh. Daddy, you get mama?"

"I can't tell you what I got for mama, she's sitting right here!"

Avery giggled and climbed down from the bed, smoothing out the wrinkles in Adam's old t-shirt that she wore and insisted was a "beau'ful dress."

"Can you go downstairs and tell Ben that it's his turn to wrap presents?"

"Yup! Avery do that."

She practically skipped out of the room and down the stairs and after a moment they heard her yell for Ben.

"She's turning into quite the little diva isn't she?" Adam chuckled, finding the presents Ben had picked out and setting them on the bed.

"Yeah. I don't know where she gets it."

He laughed and pulled her into his arms, unable to resist the fleeting moment alone with her.

"You're so naïve. It's cute."

"I know, I am pretty cute," she replied, lifting an eyebrow. "I bet you don't know how cute I could be."

"You always keep me guessing," he agreed with a smile, before leaning down to kiss her. They were interrupted by a clearing throat and tapping toes from the doorway. Ben stood there with his arms crossed over his chest, staring them down over the top of his glasses.

"Excuse me but I thinked I was invited up here?" he said after a moment. "This don't look invitin' for no one but you two."

"We were just killin' time until you got up here. Ready to wrap presents?"

"Yep. Guess I'd better sit 'tween you two or you'll be slobberin' all over each other. That's what Dunner says his mama and daddy do."

"Oh is that right?"

"Yep. Now, which present should we do first? I think I want to wrap Cole's first. I am envious of it so it would be best to cover it up."

"Where'd you learn the word envious, Ben?"

"From Jo-Jo. Tonight she telled us kids that when you want what someone else gots, that's envy and another word for jealous. I like that word. It sounds mean, like how envy is sometimes. She 'splained that to us too. She said that when we want somethin' because we don't want someone else to have it, that's mean jealousy and that's why it's envy instead."

"Jo sure is smart, isn't she?"

"Yep. I like when she tells us stuff like that. Now, help me cover up this present so I don't got envy no more."

They laughed and showed him how to wrap it and in a few minutes it was all done.

"Great, now I am ready to wrap sissy's present. I don't got no envy 'bout this one. I don't like girl dolls."

"Well aren't you going to play with it with her?"

"Yeah, but I got my boy doll. Remember the cabbage kid what was daddy's long ago?"

"Oh yeah."

"His name was Anthony back then, but I named him Howard. So if sissy wants to play dolls with this girl doll, then I will play too, but only with Howard. No girl dolls for me."

"So it's not that you don't like dolls, it's just that you don't like girl dolls."

"Yeah! Dolls teach ya how to be a good daddy so they're worthwhile. But girl dolls, you gotta dress them up. Boy dolls can wear the same clothes day after day. That's the difference."

"Oh, I get it."

"I guess if sissy really wanted me to play with her girl dolls, I would do it for her. I do love her quite a bit after all."

"Well that's good. She loves you too."

"I know by the way she sometimes in the night comes and cuddles in my bed with me when she is scared. And how she pats my cheek when I'm distressed."

"Yeah, you ended up with a pretty good brother and sister, didn't you?"

"Yep. And I know I am a good brother because I love them a lot. You think this present is wrapped good?"

"Yes, it looks great."

"Thanks for helpin' me. I'll go tell Cole it's his turn."

He hopped off the bed and ran out of the room and a few minutes later, Colton came up.

"Why'd you take your shirt off buddy?"

"I got hot," he replied with a shrug. "We ready to wrap presents?"

"Yeah, sure."

He climbed up on the bed with them and concentrated hard on wrapping the presents, not saying much as he folded and refolded the paper a few times before he was satisfied.

"There. I did a good job," he decided, picking a small piece of tape off of his finger and leaning back on the bed, his arms behind his head. "Remember at our little apartment how me and Ben had those glow stars on our ceiling?"

"Yeah, I remember," Lindsay said, laying back with him. "Why do you ask?"

"I was just remembering when we lived there. It was nice back then."

"You don't like this place?"

"I do like it. A lot. And I'm glad we have Aves now too. But sometimes I remember the old apartment and I think about how I was a little kid when we lived there. And ever since we've been in this house, I feel more like a grown up. How come that is?"

"Well buddy, it's probably because since we've lived here you've grown up a lot. You started school, you learned to tie your shoes and ride a two wheeler. You've had to do a lot of brave things, son. That's why you feel more grown up."

"Oh. Could maybe… maybe we could get some stars to put on mine and Ben's ceiling again? Just for old times sake? And maybe so… so Ben will feel like a little kid for longer?"

"I think that's a good idea. Maybe daddy could help you put them up so they look exactly like the night sky. How would that be?"

"That would be great! I'm going to go and tell Ben!"

He jumped off the bed and ran out of the room while Adam and Lindsay stayed where they were, laying against the pillows amid bits of wrapping paper, tape, and a few pairs of scissors.

"You know, we've got sixteen years left before all our kids are adults," Adam mused quietly. "Does that seem like a long time or a short time?"

"Depends on the day," she said with a smile. "For now I am going to call it a short time. Let's go downstairs and set out some milk and cookies for the man in red."

"You know my dad is going to eat it, right?"

"Yeah. I figured we could leave a shredded cotton ball on the plate and tell the kids it's beard hair."

"I thought we could put some soot around the hearth and tell them Santa pushed it out on his way down."

"I think we have way more fun having kids than most people do."

He chuckled and held his hand out for her and they went downstairs. The kids were running wild, so excited for the holiday and that they had guests that they could barely contain themselves.

"Hey check out how I can jump over the coffee table!" Ben announced, launching himself from the arm of the couch straight for the coffee table. Adam caught him halfway down, saving him from certain injury.

"Ben, you know better than that. No stunts when mama's home. It gives her heart palpitations."

"Oh brother," Lindsay sighed, pulling a singing Avery out from behind the tree. "Honey, you look very festive with tinsel in your hair but there's not really room for you back there."

"I chubby," Avery agreed with a nod.

"Yes, you are. Are you ready to unwrap your Christmas Eve present now?"

"Oh present! I sit Hannah!"

She climbed up onto the couch and into Hannah's lap, smiling widely and clapping her hands.

"Now present, mama. Now present."

"Very astute, honey. Now is also the present," Adam chuckled, finding the three presents under the tree.

"No daddy. Present. In hand."

"Oh, you want the present I have in my hand?"

"Yes!"

The boys clambered up onto the couch too, both knowing that they were going to get Christmas pajamas, because that's what they got every year. They were still excited to see it and the way Avery was clapping her hands and kicking her legs made them play into it a lot more.

"I turn!" she hollered, wanting to go first. Adam handed her the present and she turned it over in her hands for a moment before Hannah showed her where to start ripping.

"Oh jammies! What that?"

"That's a moose," Hannah chuckled, tracing over the design on the thermal pajamas.

"Moose. Roar!"

"Moose don't roar," Colton said with a shake of his head. "They… um… mama what do mooses do?"

"They kind of grunt I guess."

"Aves, mooses grunt."

"Oh. Moose grunt," she repeated with a nod. "Boys have jammies?"

"Yep we do!" Ben said, ripping into his package. "Hey, I got a moose on mine too! I like the look of this moose!"

"We all got mooses! Let's go put them on!"

They boys dashed upstairs with Avery hot on their heels, displaying much less finesse than her brothers. She had gotten pretty good at dressing herself at least in pajamas and they boys could help her if she got stuck so they would all be fine on their own.

"I thought Christmas pajamas were supposed to have Christmas things on them," Sharon chuckled, picking up the wrapping paper that Ben had left on her lap.

"Well with normal kids that might be the case, but the boys will refuse to wear the pajamas any other time if they're too Christmasy."

"Hmm, sounds like someone else I know."

"Mom, it just didn't feel right wearing a Santa shirt in the middle of March!"

"Yeah, but you didn't have to protest it so vehemently."

"What did you do, honey?" Lindsay chuckled turning her gaze on him.

"I ran around naked for a day in rebellion."

"Why am I not surprised? I should never wonder where our children get their weird behavior."

"I won't deny it. I've got weird genes and I passed them on!" Adam agreed with a laugh.

"We got our jammies on," Ben announced from the top of the stairs. "We're coming down to show you!"

The boys hopped down the stairs and showed off their matching pajamas, while Avery thunked down the stairs behind them. Her feet slapped against the floor as she walked over to the doorway, hollered some gibberish and did a Sumo stance, her face one of total seriousness. They all laughed at her as she checked out her little muscles and stomped her feet a few times before clapping her hands and running to jump up on the couch with a little laugh.

"I think we'd better start getting you kids ready for bed. We don't want Santa to pass over and think we don't celebrate Christmas."

Ben's eyes grew wide and he rushed upstairs while Colton just chuckled and followed him. They'd never believed in Santa, but they liked to make a game of it for Avery. They'd been talking about Santa for weeks and she now knew that it was something very exciting, but she wasn't sure why.

"Mama, Santa?"

"Yeah, we'd better get you to bed."

"Hannah tuck?"

"Sure, I'll tuck you in. Come on babe."

"Hey, if Aves if gettin' special tuck ins, we want one too!" Colton hollered. "Grampa and Gigi need to come up here please!"

"You've been summoned," Adam chuckled as they stood up from the couch and headed upstairs.

"Our stairs have been getting quite the workout today," Lindsay commented softly

"I know. I'm exhausted and we still have to put presents out, and put Avery's kitchen thing together."

"Well maybe your dad can help you with that," she replied with a little yawn, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"It might be comical if we try it now."

"Like when we had to put Avery's new bed together? I still can't find that screwdriver."

"We make pretty neat kids but we're not really good at constructing anything else together."

"I know, it is our one marriage downfall."

He laughed and cuddled her close, kissing the top of her head. They knew they had more things in their marriage that could be better, but it was okay to tease about perfection sometimes. Especially when the mood was light and the future seemed so clear.

"Oh goodness!" Avery exclaimed, twirling around in delight as she looked at the kitchen set that was by the tree. "Oh goodness!"

"Wow sissy, that's awesome!" Ben said, looking at the toy and nodding in approval. "It has a oven!"

Avery opened the oven and squealed happily when she found dishes inside. There was fake food in the fridge and it was with trembling hands that she put on the apron that was made just to her size.

"Do you like it honey?"

"Avery so like," she breathed, setting a frying pan on the stove. "Make eggs now."

"Sissy, I bet you will be a real good cook for you really know what you like!"

"Yep! Anyone bacon?" she asked, sniffling the last of her happy tears away and wiping her hands on her apron.

"I think I'd like some bacon Avery," Dave said, giving her a grin.

"Okay grampa."

She pretended to cook for a minute, then handed him a strip of fake bacon.

"I make. You like. Okay?"

"Okay honey."

She beamed and ran back to the kitchen, getting completely lost in her little world, humming to herself and putting different foods in all the dishes. She even made sound effects.

Ben and Colton were soon ripping into their presents, hollering excitedly at what they got. Ben was beside himself with a remote control robot and Colton had already opened the trunk of Harry Potter books and was reading the first one. They didn't have any other presents to open, but they had stockings, which hung forgotten above the fireplace.

"I think you guys are going to have a hard time topping this one next year," Sharon chuckled.

"Yeah. They're easy kids to buy for."

"Didn't you two get each other anything?"

"Yeah, we'll do ours after breakfast. Makes the day last longer."

"Oh no! Eggs burn!" Avery hollered, whipping her potholder through the air before dropping the small frying pan in the sink, then making the sound of water pouring over it.

"Guess she learned that from daddy," Colton commented, his nose buried in his book.

"Hey dude!"

"What? She did!"

"Yeah daddy, Cole says the truth. You burn things lots. Even the other day you spilled my cereal onto the stove."

"Thanks for rattin' me out Ben."

"You're welcome daddy! Anytime, I am glad to help."

"My sarcasm skills are lost on him."

"Poor Adam."

"Hey kids what do you think about having some breakfast and then we'll go play outside?"

"Can I take my dinosaur?"

"Can I read my books?"

"I cook in snow!"

"I think you just got rejected babe," Lindsay chuckled as the kids all went back to their new toys.

"They don't understand the importance of quality time," Adam said, even though they really did understand it.

"Hey kids, what if I come out and play in the snow with you?" Dave asked.

"Yeah! Let's go!"

"Wait!" Lindsay shouted, making all three kids stop in their tracks. "You need to get dressed first and eat breakfast. Then you can go out."

"Aw mama!"

"It's going to be cold out there you know. It snowed two more inches last night."

"More inches!" Colton and Ben whooped in unison, jumping up to look out the window.

"You shouldn't have said that, Linds. Now they're going to be chomping at the bit to get out there."

"I guess we're both failing today."

"Hey, at least we're failing together."

They spent almost an hour eating breakfast, not wanting to rush the day too much. The boys were happy to hear stories about Adam when he was little, and Avery kept asking how to make everything on her plate. They obviously weren't upset to not be outside just yet, but the second Adam told them that there were more presents to open they all groaned.

"But daddy, us kids already got our presents. Why do we gotta watch all you grown-ups open yours?"

"Because it's polite."

"But-"

"Listen to your daddy. And help me clear the table."

"Oh man mama, you gotta wash the dishes too?"

"Well what are we going to eat on for lunch if I don't?"

Colton sighed and started to gather plates while Avery jumped out of her chair and ran into the other room.

"Dishes," she said, bringing in an armload of her metal toy dishes. "Avery make. Mama wash."

"I don't think so, baby bird. You've got a sink in that kitchen, you can wash them in there."

"My hands!" Avery sighed, going back into the living room forlornly.

"Where does she come up with the things she says?" Sharon asked with a laugh.

"From her mother," Adam answered, pinching Lindsay's knee under the table.

"Maybe so. Now, who is going to help me with these actual dirty dishes?"

"No one. You're going to leave them in the kitchen and I'll do them later."

Lindsay agreed and soon breakfast was cleaned up and they had all congregated around the fire again. Dave and Sharon exchanged their presents, just small sentimental things that really only meant something to them. Hannah had been spoiled with the things she'd gotten and they were going to have to ship some of her books back to Arizona as they'd had them sent to New York when they'd ordered them, and not thought about the added weight in their luggage.

Adam and Lindsay had agreed to go small this year, as they promised every year, but both of them were holding back gifts that had been in the works for several months. They were definitely both excited about the gifts and had almost slipped up and told each other what they were getting several times.

"I've got to go get yours, it's hiding somewhere," Lindsay said, standing up from the couch. "Be right back."

She went upstairs and found the oddly shaped package in Avery's closet, then headed back downstairs, finding a large box sitting in the middle of the room, and the kids inspecting it closely.

"But what is it, daddy?"

"I can't tell you. You're just going to have to wait and see."

"But it's so huge. Did you spoil mama rotten?"

"I guess we'll just have to see."

"Whoa mama, that's a funny lookin' present! What's in there?"

"Something for daddy."

"Well, are you going to open them?"

"Sure we are. Daddy first."

"Are you sure babe?"

"Yes. I've had this hidden for six months. I'm very impatient."

He chuckled as she handed the gift to him. He looked it over for a moment, then ripped into it, finding that everything inside was wrapped separately, but it was very obvious that one item was a new hockey stick.

"But… babe… I don't even play anymore."

"Because you insist that you don't miss it, but I know you do. Now you have all new gear and no excuse."

"Really?"

"Yes. As soon as the streets are clear, you're playing."

"Thanks Linds."

She gave him a bright smile and he kissed her softly. He didn't know that she knew how badly he wanted to play and how much he wanted to do something that was just his own. He tried to downplay it, but the truth was that it would be nice to get out of the house just for fun sometimes.

"I've never seen you play hockey, daddy! I didn't even know you could do sports! This is pretty cool!"

"I don't like hockey," Ben noted with a shake of his head. "You don't get into the fights that they do on the TV do you?"

"Nah, I don't play that kind of hockey. Maybe sometime I'll let you guys come watch."

"Have you ever watched it mama?"

"Yes, I suffered through three different games before I realized he liked me whether I went or not and I didn't have to keep going to games just to keep up appearances."

"This is great babe, really."

"There's one more thing in there."

"Linds," he said opening the small package she'd indicated. "You got me a new watch."

"Yeah. You were always complaining about how your old one always knocked into things because it was too big and the face was all scratched. This one is a little smaller and it has a waterproof band on it, plus it's got a scratch-free face."

"You're awesome, do you know that?"

She just nodded and flipped the watch over so he could see the engraved 23 on the back. He didn't need any explanation and he smiled, knowing that the thought she'd put into the gifts could only ever be fully appreciated by him, and the gifts themselves, while perfect in their own way, would never mean as much as the reasons for them.

"I do my best."

"Your turn now."

"I think it's going to take me days to unwrap this thing. What is it?"

"I can't tell you, just dig in honey."

She hesitated for a moment, then giggled and sliced the wrapping paper with her fingernail.

"Adam…" she said when she realized what it was. "You didn't."

"Yes I did."

"Where are we going to put it?"

"I'll figure it out."

"You got me a dishwasher. Really?"

"You always act like you don't want one, but a couple months ago you were saying how much you really did. So much time every day is taken up with washing dishes and this will give you more time to sneak into the pantry and eat chocolate and read a book or spend time with the kids or whatever you want to do. Plus it will make your hands pretty again. I didn't get you this as a woman in the kitchen joke, you know. I just want to free you up to do what you want sometimes."

She just stared at the appliance, her eyes watering because she never thought that something so practical would make her heart beat so fast. They'd never had a dishwasher in their entire marriage and for him to buy her one now said so much more than if he'd found her one years ago. She loved when they would do the dishes together and that didn't have to stop, but this would make things so much easier. No more dreading being in the kitchen and having to maneuver around dirty dishes. This really meant more to her than most people would ever understand.

"Oh mama. Wash Avery dishes in'nere?"

"I don't think so honey. Not right now at least."

"Well why don't you go ahead and look inside anyway?" Adam suggested.

"What did you put in there?"

"I don't know."

She smiled and opened the dishwasher, finding a brand new, charcoal black pea coat, the one she'd been eyeing since early fall.

"You are amazing."

"So are you."

They smiled together as the kids started to play and the room grew louder with happy chatter, knowing that the feelings they had in this moment had nothing to do with the money or the time that they'd spend planning gifts, but more with the time they'd spend learning each other and the work they put into their relationship every day. Neither one of them could possibly be happier.