The Carsons

"And an Oystercatcher in a Pine Tree"

"There ya go, Cooper! Way to go!"

Barbie proudly patted her six-year-old son on the back at his big help in the front yard, boasting that Cooper was nearly on his way to being a full-fledged son after her own heart.

Decorating for the holidays.

The Roberts family always had a winning tradition of going all-out for the holidays, whether they were traditional or not. Christmas, yes... Halloween, of course... Fruitcake Toss Day? Puppy Wig Day? Non-Traditional Charcuterie Day? All celebrated in their own way...

And bringing her whole family into the home décor tradition was something Barbie was really looking forward to each and every year they were together.

"More lights over there, mama?", the little boy asked, pointing towards one of the other side trees. Barbie chuckled and nodded.

"You betcha! The more lights the better!"

An appreciative voice shouted out from their front porch.

"Wow, this is looking really nice, you two!"

Barbie beamed up at her husband up above as he casually leaned over and surveyed the area with an approving study.

"Thanks, hun! It's getting there."

"Want some more help?", he asked, gesturing towards the other two children who had taken it upon themselves to already dash off down the front stairs. Barbie smiled at their gusto.

"Always"

When Elizabeth and Charlie joined in, Barbie pointed over towards their brother.

"We're almost done in that area by Cooper, but we'll need some help over here with these trees. You ready to put up some reindeer and the Santa?"

"Oh yeah!", Charlie practically bounded on his feet, jumping with excitement. Elizabeth grinned and ran towards the Santa blow mold that was larger than life.

"I call the Santa! I'll put him on the big rock!"

"Just like always", Barbie smiled, feeling a wave of nostalgia hit her. It was always a special moment, decorating for the holidays with her family... at first as a young child and now as a mother. While it's been just about eight years since Libby was born, each day kept growing more precious than the last.

Eight wonderful years of a family.

And nearly six years this February with the Carsons joining in as a family of five. Sharing her children with the love of her life and childhood best friend, Ken, was simply a joy she just couldn't put into words. With three kids, life was full of joy, pure and fantastic joy... but chaos. Lots of wild and crazy chaos.

I think three kids is just fine, Barbie thought wryly to herself.

"When you guys are done outside, I have the trees almost up", Ken announced from the porch, thumbing back towards the house.

"Perfect! Give us a half hour and we'll be in", Barbie shouted back up to him. With a nod, Ken took his leave back inside to continue setting up the trees; one small one in the exercise room, one on the back porch, and the massive 10' main attraction in the front window that let all of Rockledge Avenue know that they were a family that celebrated.

****

Ken grunted and groaned, righting the enormous pine structure in the living room. As it was placed precisely in front of the bay window, finally secure to the point where it wouldn't topple over, the blonde man stepped back to admire his work.

"Daddy! It looks awesome!"

He turned with a big smile to greet his family coming back in through the front door. Libby, Cooper, and Charlie ran up to the tree and gawked at it in awe. They craned their necks to get the full view, nearly falling backwards.