Finding Emma

First Christmas

It was December 20th and it was Emma's last day at school until after the holidays, it was also the day she got her cast off. Karen and Jimi picked her up from school two hours early since her doctor's appointment was at 1:00. They got to the school and Karen got out of the car and signed Emma out. Emma grabbed her things from her locker. Then the two of them went to the car. "Are you ready to get your cast off Em?" Jimi asked. "Definitely, then I can stop itching my arm with a butter knife." Emma replied and Jimi and Karen laughed.

They got to the doctor's office and they called Emma back right away. The doctor got out his little saw and cut it off. Then he took Emma back for x-rays. Everything looked good. The doctor gave Karen and Jimi a brace that Emma had to wear when she was doing any sort of physical activity for the next four weeks just to make sure that it stays healed. The three of them went out for ice cream even though it was December and it was cold out. They went to the mall to buy a few last minute gifts for their families then went home and hung out at home.

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It was Christmas Eve and Karen and Jimi decided to have a small Christmas spent at home in Nashville then on the 26th they would travel to Georgia and Alabama to visit their families. It was about 11:00 in the morning and Emma and Karen were in the kitchen making a ton of Christmas cookies. "You guys need a little Elvis in your lives" Jimi said and put in an Elvis Christmas CD and blasted it. "We have listened to this CD a thousand times since Thanksgiving" Emma said. "And that is still not enough for him" Karen said and they all laughed. "You can never have too much Elvis" Jimi replied. "Of course not" Karen said sarcastically and they all laughed again. Jimi started singing and dancing in the kitchen while the girls were baking.

It was about 1:00 and Jimi left to go pick up some Pizza for lunch. Karen pulled the last batch of cookies out of the oven then they started making the frosting. Karen put the cream cheese in the mixer and Emma put in the powdered sugar in. She put it in there too fast and the sugar made a big cloud and covered her and Karen. They both started laughing and continued to make the frosting. Once they were done they started frosting the cookies. Emma and Karen were talking and laughing about anything and everything. Jimi came back with the pizza and they all sat down in the living room since Karen and Emma took over the kitchen. They were watching a Christmas special while eating the pizza. Once they were done Karen and Emma went back to frosting cookies. They finished up around 4:00 and they cleaned up the kitchen so Jimi could start making dinner. Jimi bought a pot roast and is going to make baked potatoes and garlic parmesan green beans to go with it. "Do you want any help babe?" Karen yelled from the living room. "Nope, I got it" Jimi yelled back. Jimi wanted to make dinner by himself and declined any help offered. Karen and Emma were sitting on the couch. Emma had her head in Karen's lap and Karen was playing with her hair while they watched a Christmas movie. It was about 6:00 and Jimi had finally finished making dinner. He set the table and lit a few candles and called them into the dining room. "Wow this looks great babe" Karen said. "Thanks" Jimi said. They all sat down. "This is really good dad" Emma said. "Thank you sweetheart" Jimi replied. Once dinner was done they cleaned up the kitchen. Emma went to put in "Elf", her favorite Christmas movie, while Karen made some hot chocolate. They all sat down together on the couch. Emma was in the middle of Karen and Jimi. Jimi had his arm around Emma and she was resting her head on his shoulder. After the movie Karen put in "The Polar Express" and about halfway through the movie Emma fell asleep on Jimi's shoulder. The movie was over and Jimi carried Emma up to bed. Karen and Jimi put all of the presents under the tree and then they went to bed.

"I really hope Emma will like her Christmas presents?" Karen asked Jimi. "She will. What kid doesn't like presents?" Jimi replied. "I just want her first Christmas with us to be special" Karen continued. "It will be. I promise" Jimi said and gave her a kiss and Karen cuddled up next to Jimi and they fell asleep.

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It was about 8:00 the next morning and Emma woke up. She saw that her parent's bedroom door was closed and she went across the hall and slowly opened the door. Karen heard the door open and rolled over and saw a shadow. "Hey sweetie. Come over here" Karen said quietly. Emma walked over to the bed and climbed in next to Karen and laid her head on her shoulder. "Merry Christmas sweetheart" Karen whispered to Emma. "Merry Christmas mama" Emma whispered back. Then Jimi rolled over. "Why is my bed getting smaller" Jimi groaned and Emma and Karen laughed. "Merry Christmas daddy" Emma said. "Merry Christmas kiddo" Jimi responded and rolled over and put his arm around Karen. They stayed like that until about 9:00 then decided to get up. "Why don't we go downstairs and open some presents" Jimi said. Emma lifted her head "There's presents?" she asked excitedly. "Of course there are. What would you expect?" Karen said. "I don't know" Emma said and they all laughed then got up and went downstairs. Emma had the biggest smile on her face. "Go to town Em" Jimi said when they got downstairs. "Hold on, let me get the camera" Karen said and went and grabbed it. Emma was shocked at how many presents had her name on them. "Emma go ahead. Open one" Karen said. Emma grabbed a present and opened it. It was a fleece blanket with pictures of her, Karen, Jimi the rest of the band and some pictures of her with Daisy and Penelopi. Emma got up and gave Karen and Jimi a hug. "Thank you! I love it so much!" Emma said. "Open up the rest of your presents" Jimi said. "Emma opened the next present and it was an iPod. "You guys did not have to spend this much money on me" Emma said. "Emma, don't worry about the money" Jimi said. "Well, thank you!" Emma said really excited. Emma opened up her next gift. It was an art set. "Wow! This is so cool" Emma said. "Well I figured since you like to draw so much why not get you the works" Karen said. Emma saw a smaller box that had her name on it. She opened it and it was a gold locket with a heart shaped diamond in the middle and Emma engraved on it. "You can put whatever you want inside" Karen said. "It's beautiful! Thank you!" She gave them both a hug. Then Jimi and Karen opened their presents from each other. "Hold on" Emma said and quickly ran upstairs and brought down a gift for Karen and Jimi. She gave it to then and Karen unwrapped it. It was a black and white photo collage on canvas that Emma made with the help of Kimberly. "Aww sweetie this is beautiful" Karen said. "When did you do this?" Jimi asked. "When I was over at Kimberly's one day" Emma replied. "We love it" Karen said.

They had finished opening their presents and then cleaned up the wrapping paper. Then the three of them all made breakfast together. There were pancakes, eggs, bacon and cinnamon rolls. They all sat down together and ate. They spent the day together as a family. Later that night Jimi made a turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy and a mix of vegetables. After dinner they went to the living room and Jimi made a fire and they roasted marshmallows and made s'mores. Later they watched a Christmas special and cuddled together on the couch. It was the perfect way to end Emma's first Christmas.