Unexpected Family Member

[justagirl4fun]

"No. I'm hungry. Can I have a snack?" Clare asked as she dried her tears.

[Shy-Diapers]

"Sure you can. How about some soup?" Anna asked, getting a frozen container of homemade chicken soup from the porch and putting it into the microwave to thaw.

[justagirl4fun]

"Okay. And crackers too?" Clare asked as she climbed up on a bar stool at the counter. She loved oyster crackers with her soup.

[Shy-Diapers]

"Of course honey. Once it heats up it'll be all ready and a good snack to get you warmed up too." Anna said tussling her hair.

[justagirl4fun]

Clare relaxed and chatted with Anna about her day until she heard footsteps on the stairs. "Mom, I'm hungry," Mary Frances announced, glaring at Clare when she saw her sitting at the counter.

[Shy-Diapers]

"Sit down and you can have some soup like your sister. It's almost ready." Anna said when the microwave beeped. She poured it into two bowls and set them at the table. She sprinkled a big handful of oyster crackers into Clare's bowl.

[justagirl4fun]

"Mom, are we gonna put the tree up tonight?" Clare asked as she slurped up her soup. "How many more days til Christmas?"

[Shy-Diapers]

"Yes we can honey." Anna said. They had picked out the tree the day before but hadn't had time to set it up yet. "And it's about a week til Christmas honey."

[justagirl4fun]

Clare giggled and squirmed excitedly. "I hope Santa got my letter!" Frankie just rolled her eyes. She knew there was no Santa, but had been forbidden by her parents to say anything to her younger sisters.

[Shy-Diapers]

"I'm sure he did sweetie." Anna said smiling. She wished all her girls still believed in santa. She wondered if her new niece did or not.

[justagirl4fun]

"Mama, will Santa know Julianna is here now?" Clare asked. "What if he doesn't know, and she doesn't get any presents? Maybe she should write him a letter too, an' tell him she's here."

[Shy-Diapers]

"I'm sure Santa knows. He has elves to keep track of things just like this honey." Anna said smiling. "Don't worry. I'm sure she'll still get what she wants."

[justagirl4fun]

"Yeah, but she should probably write a letter just in case," Clare said before finishing her soup and slipping off her stool. She skipped off to find her younger sisters and her cousin. "Hey, guess what! Mama said we can decorate the tree tonight?" she squealed when she found them in the playroom.

Frankie rolled her eyes again and groaned, as she could hear Clare all the way from the playroom. "She's so annoying!" she muttered before going back to eating.

[Shy-Diapers]

"Don't talk that way about your sister." Anna said sternly. They had no tolerance for name calling.

[justagirl4fun]

"Well, she is! You know we were late because of her today, and since it was the third time this marking period, Mrs. Miller made me sit at recess! It's not my fault she can't get out of here in time!" Frankie said angrily as she pushed her bowl away. "She said next time it happens, I'll have to stay after school!"

"Yeah, a Christmas tree. Don't you know what that is?"

[Shy-Diapers]

Anna sighed. "You know your sister can't help the fact that she needs to use the bathroom a lot."

Julianna shook her head. They kind of talked about it in school when she was younger but as they got older they did less and less holiday stuff.

[justagirl4fun]

"Yeah, but I can't help it either, so it's not fair that I get punished for being late when it's not my fault! I don't wanna stay after school because of her!" Frankie said angrily. "Next time, I'm just takin' the bus without her! She can be late all by herself."

Clare raised her eyebrows at Julianna. "How old are you?" she asked incredulously. "You really don't know what a Christmas tree is? For real?"

[Shy-Diapers]

Anna sighed. "How about I write a note for you tomorrow and hopefully that will help clear things up?"

Julianna looked down. "Seven." She mumbled quietly.

[justagirl4fun]

"Fine. But if it doesn't, I'm riding the bus without her

[Shy-Diapers]

Anna sighed and shook her head.

[justagirl4fun]

"Okay, so what's the problem?" Doug asked as he entered the kitchen once Frankie had gone upstairs.

"Okay, well, did you at least write a letter to Santa?" Clare asked Julianna. Surely the girl must know about Santa.

[Shy-Diapers]

"Frankie got mad because she had to sit through recess because she was late to school this morning. She said next time she'll have to stay after school."

Julianna shook her head. She felt really dumb now.

[justagirl4fun]

"Oh. Well, I suppose that's not really fair, but it's not like Clare has any control over it. When she has to go, she has to go," Doug said with a shrug as he got himself a bottle of water.

[Shy-Diapers]

Emma giggled and ran away from her sister, running into the living room and hiding behind the door to the closet.

[justagirl4fun]

Evelyn tripped on her way to the living room, giving Emma just enough time to hide without being seen. Evelyn crept around the room, looking for her sister.