Stubborn Love

Epilogue

Four Years Later

    "Are we there yet?" I heard from the back seat. I think that is the tenth time James and Hailey have asked that in five minutes.  Unbelievable my children are.

    " How many times do I need to tell you, asking if we are there yet to won't make us get there faster," Josh said sounding extremely annoyed.

   "Josh babe they are kids. Asking if we are there yet is what they do,"  I whispered to Josh and squeezed his hand gently.

   "It doesn't make it less annoying," he replied making me laugh quietly. I turned up the radio effectively distracting the kids from asking when we will be arriving at our destination.  the magic music can do.

   It is December 23, two days till Christmas.  Josh, the kids, and I are heading to a cabin where we will be spending Christmas and New Years. The kids are extremely excited about this because they think they get Christmas twice this year. we already celebrated with our families at home before coming to the cabin because we all couldn't make it up here.

   An hour later we finally arrived at the cabin and to say the kids were happy was an understatement. They are bouncing up and down in their car seats.  it is quite funny to see actually.  While I took James and Hailey out of the car Josh grabbed all of our bags.

   The cabin is beautiful.  It is not a very big cabin, it's a decent size. The walls were bricks and the floor was a nice dark brown. It is very cozy and I know we are going to have tons of fun here. After setting all of our stuff up and feeding the family, we all bundled up to look for a Christmas tree.  we are going to find the perfect one in the woods surrounding the cabin and Josh is going to chop it down for us. it is the first time the kids get to pick out the tree. This whole experience is going to be super exciting.

   we walked through the woods for about ten minutes before the kids picked a tree. a huge twenty foot tree. "Sorry kids but that tree won't fit in the cabin, " I said to them apologetically. 

   "And I sure as hell am not cutting it down," Josh said. 

   "Joshua James watch your language, " I scolded my husband. and to think he is a grown man. His reply was to mumble incoherently.

   "Kids you have to pick a different smaller tree," I told the kids with a smile. They chorused an okay and moved on to a different tree. A little bit later they finally settled on the perfect tree, with Josh's guidance on a tree small enough for him to chop down of course. 

   Josh had the delight of carrying the tree back to our little cabin. it was quite the sight to see him half carrying half dragging the tree. The moment we got back to the cabin the kids started bouncing around the living room.  they were so excited to finally decorate the tree.

   The tree was decorated with colorful lights and many different ornaments. The tree looked absolutely adorable since it was decorated by the kids. I insisted on taking a picture of them in front of the tree. I have to capture a picture of their masterpiece and capture memories.  What kind of mother would I be if I didn't.

   While Josh played with the kids by the fire that was lit in the fire place I started on dinner. since today is not Christmas eve or Christmas day, I decided to make chicken alfredo pasta. it is a popular dish in my house. I quickly set the table before calling everyone for dinner. my boys ate so quickly I wondered if they even tasted it. Josh cleaned the kitchen from dinner while I changed the kids into their pajamas. Both James and Hailey had Christmas Mickey Mouse pajamas that were onsies. I searched everywhere for them.

   While the kids were picking out some movies to watch Josh and I quickly changed into our pajamas. Once every one was ready for bed we piled on the couch and spent the rest of the night watching movies.

   Christmas eve consisted of playing in the snow. it was a cold but very fun day. While Josh warmed up the kids and changed them into dry clothes I started on cooking dinner.  i made a turkey with mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, corn. all the Christmas foods you can name I made.  I am a big believer of a good Christmas meal on the twenty fourth. When dinner was ready I yelled for my family to join me at the table. "Dinner looks great babe," Josh said before him and the kids dug in.

   After a long dinner filled with good food, family, and laughs, I cleaned up the dishes. it didn't take long to finish cleaning because I didn't make a huge mess. I hate making a mess while cooking so i try not to do that.  By the time we had settled down for the night after completing the normal routine with the kids of putting on pj's and brushing teeth it was already quite late, and i was exhausted and ready for bed. Josh and i put the kids to sleep before going to bed ourselves.

   i woke up to the smell of coffee and pancakes. Josh must be making Christmas breakfast, what a wonderful husband i have. After brushing my teeth and washing my face i wandered into the kitchen to find both my children already stuffing their faces. Those two really love to eat.

   "Good Morning, Merry Christmas," i said to my family planting a kiss on each of their forehead. They all mumbled back a good morning or a Merry Christmas as well. I took my seat and immediately started eating pancakes and drinking my morning coffee. Breakfast was delicious. Once everything from breakfast was cleaned up we all went to the living room to open presents.

   James and Hailey got all the things kids usually get on Christmas. Toys, toys, some clothes and books and more toys. they were very happy with their presents. Josh was very happy with the drone he got and i was in love with my jewelry. We were all very happy with our presents this year.

    As i sat in front of the fire watching my family, i couldn't help but to be overwhelmed with joy and happiness. i am so blessed with the family i have and i couldn't have anything better than moments like these. i am truly the luckiest women alive.