Just when things had been looking pretty low, everything turned around for the Avendale family. Shane rushed home after work, excited about some good news from work.
“Honey, you’ll never believe it,” he exclaimed. “I got a §31 an hour raise.” He didn’t bother mentioning that Shanda was no longer in charge of the crime ring and the deal she had struck with previous administration had been “lost” during her replacing. Now Shane wouldn’t have to worry about going to the police force.
Carrie hugged and congratulated him, proud that her husband was doing so well at work. She knew that he truly wanted a promotion, rather than a raise but, if he got the raise first, it would surely be beneficial in the long run.
“That’s not all,” he smiled, knowing that two rewards in one day would make her day as well. “The hospital decided to honor me for all my work at the vaccination clinics. They even gave me a special plaque.”
He showed her, and then carefully placed the plaque on the floor next to the bookshelf, under the picture of them at their high school prom. He knew he would eventually have to find it a permanent place but, for now, there would work fine.
After he admired his achievement for a moment, he surprised Vesper by attacking her with the claw.
Just then, Uvie came home from school. It was a Friday so she wasn’t in too much of a hurry to get her homework done. Instead, she headed over to the rocking horse and jumped on.
“Daddy, daddy, can I have a real pony,” she shouted between her giggles of joy.
“No, Uvie. Not until you’re older. We don’t have room for a horse right now anyway,” Shane responded, then settled in to read a story to Vesper.
“Uvie honey, aren’t you too old for that,” Carrie stated over her shoulder. Uvie knew that it was more of a suggestion than a question.
“Ugh, the twins get all the good stuff,” she muttered. “Oh well, Spangles, maybe one day I can make you into a real horse.”
The twins had their birthday that week as well. Vesper aged up first, as she was the older of the two, by three minutes. She looked a lot like Uvie just with black hair and green eyes. Shane smiled, thinking that his father, Justin, at least from the pictures he had seen, had black hair.
Next was Verne who had more of his mother’s nose rather than the Avendale one though he also had his father’s eyes.
“Honey, I need to talk to you for a minute,” Carrie pulled Uvie to the side. “Now that your sister is bigger, you’re going to have to share your bunk beds with her.”
‘But mommy, you said they were mine!”
‘But mommy, you said they were mine!”
“I know sweetie, but for right now, you two can share. You can’t sleep in both beds at the same time.”
Uvie rolled her eyes and glared at her sister, not liking this ‘sharing’ thing. She was determined to make it into the room first to get her pick of the beds.
As the kids sat enjoying cake, Carrie addressed the sleeping situation with Shane.
“Did you order Verne’s bed from the department store,” she asked.
“Oh, shit, no. I pulled up the website at work and then got called off to the ER. I never thought to go back. I’m sorry.”
“So where are we going to put him tonight,” Carrie sighed, “Damn it Shane. That would have been so simple.”
“You know, you’re just as capable as I am of ordering a bed. Especially considering that you’re home all day.”
“Yeah, well, you aren’t trying to balance a kid and 2 toddlers with no car and one stroller. I know I could have done it, but going to the library was just not on my list of things to do today.”
“Okay, let’s not fight about it. I’ll sleep on the couch and Verne can sleep with you tonight.”
“Daddy, the sleeping bag!”
“What Verne?”
‘We have a sleeping bag. Can I sleep in it, it will be like camping!”
Shane and Carrie just looked at each other and laughed. They gave the go ahead for ‘camping’ that night. If he thought it was fun, then the sleeping bag it would be!
A few minutes later, Verne walked into the first of a sibling spat.
“If you don’t want me sleeping in your bunk, too bad,” Vesper snorted.
“It’s just that when mommy and daddy gave it me, they said it was mine. They never said I had to share,” Uvie tried to explain.
“Well, you do. So I’m taking the top.”
“But what if I want the top,” Uvie pleaded.
“You know what, I don’t want your stupid bed anyway. Purple is an ugly color. I’ll sleep on the floor.”
“How about I sleep on one of the beds and you can have the sleeping bag,” Verne offered.
“Okay!” Both girls agreed to this and all was right in the world again.
Saturday morning rolled around and Carrie decided to make pancakes for breakfast. As she got everything ready, she and Shane talked about the upcoming holiday. They both agreed that little presents for the kids would be nice but not anything for each other. Money was tight and they still needed to finish building the house. Shane offered to help the kids write Christmas letters while Carrie was at the salon and then, later they could all decorate a tree together.
Carrie headed off to work, this time leaving Shane home with the kids. He was excited to have a day with them as it was a rare occasion that he was off work.
“Vesper, don’t touch that. Mommy is working on it,” Shane explained to her, as she stood in front of the easel.
He got all the kids to sit at the counter to write out their letters. Uvie, though so easy-going and sweet, was determined to do her letter on her own and wouldn’t let him see it. He watched over the other two but they too wanted to do their letters themselves.
After everyone finished, he took them all to a movie.
Shane was a little concerned that Uvie had noticed that they didn’t have much money. He wondered if the kids at school were teasing her for their small house in the nice neighborhood. Most of her list was doable though he wasn’t too interested in getting a puppy. Vesper, though her handwriting was atrocious, had taken the time to draw pretty pictures on her letter for Santa. He felt guilty when he saw that she wanted a bed. They were going to have to make sure each child had their own space. Verne had made sure to use lined paper and made his letters as even and neat as he could. All he wanted was his own room and a tv to play games on.
Christmas morning dawned and Carrie got up to put all the presents under the tree. She surveyed everything to make it look perfect and then hurried back to bed to pretend to sleep.
She made it just in time because shortly after she got back in bed the kids came in to wake them.
The kids opened their gifts and everyone was quite happy. While Carrie started breakfast, Shane went to the back and got ready a few more surprises. They couldn’t afford two new beds but he had bought Vesper a new bedspread and Verne now had his own bed as well. Then he scooped something up and went back to the living room.
“Uvie, come here please. This, is for you,” he said, holding a small, fuzzy bundle in his hands.
“Oh my gosh, daddy for me!!!”
“Yes, he is yours. But you have to take care of him; feed him, take him out, he is your responsibility.”
“Oh yay, Daddy! Thank you, thank you! I will name him Rumplestiltskin,” Uvie exclaimed having just read some fairy tales.
All in all, it was a wonderful Christmas and, the most important thing of all was the time spent with the family. Shane and Carrie snuggled into bed that night, grateful that they had three beautiful children and enough money to take care of their family.
Awwww, Happy xmas <3
ReplyDeleteThat was adorable! The letters were a nice touch as well. : D
ReplyDeleteI loved the letters! Kids can be heartbreakingly honest with stuff like that! And I love the name uvie gave the pup!
ReplyDeleteSO CUTE! Best sims Christmas ever. =D
ReplyDeleteOh wow. What a great Christmas! The letters very a very great addition. I'm so glad this family had one drama free day.
ReplyDelete