Christmas Time meant kids at home for almost a month, and in Ashley Woods, a gated community near the local academy, a burst of Christmas decorations appear all around. The only reason of this is a healthy prize to the winning house is presented at the community Christmas Dinner. Children put small Christmas trees even inside their bedrooms by windows. Gardeners hang string by string of lights, waiting their Christmas Break away from their rich employers. Pets are put outisde in ridiculous Christmas costumes. None can match the Moores.

Because of their true love of the holiday, the Moore family never loses. With the smell of fresh pastry always wafting from the mansion, and the dozens of lights put up by the ever faithful gardeners, they're hard to miss. Snow falls into the freshly cut bushes and sticks onto white pillars of the old house like a loyal friend coming back for the season.

Inside the partially famous residence, maids, the few Edward hired before this death, scuttle around readying themselves for a well deserved Christmas Break. One leaves a little Christmas note on the door, and they all shuffle out the door without a second glance.

While all the bedrooms are filled with sleeping Moores, the other are not. The office is idle, not one child finishing a last project inside. The lounge is empty, the bartender with legendary virgin Pina Coladas home with his wife and new child. The backyard is even deserted, the pool covered for the winter season and large field desperate for the two baseball boys. The forest the kids often hike through or across fallen tree bridges was only active when the occasional squirrel passed by. In the spring, one room will be empty.

But the kitchen still has a Christmas feel.

In the kitchen, cookies from the night before have settled on racks, spoons laying in the sinks with bits of icing still stuck on. Flashbacks of the night included a bunch of cookie stealing, a brotherly icing fight, two baths, and four showers from a very fun and sweet cookie fight. Eddie has complained about sprinkles in his hair, and some got icing all in her hair.

One blonde-haired boy slunk into the kitchen, stealing a cookie off the rack and pouring some milk into his favorite penguin-shaped cup he got for his last Christmas with his dad. He tore off a chunk, savoring the tase. "Perfection." His long hair was straight, but raggedy all around with his bangs in his face. His red plaid pyjamas stuck to his legs from a night of little sleep and his grey wife-beater hung off his slightly muscular frame. Eddie took off another chunk, suprised when he saw Jake's car in the front of the house. "Is Jake here?" He mumbled to himself, not bothering to leave his stool at the bar counter.

Sitting cross legged on her spacious and incredibly comfy double bed, the beauty that was Laura Moore sat chewing on the end of her pen as she stared down at the essay in front of her, glancing up more often than not the TV situated across her bedroom held most of her attention as an old movie played out on the screen. Her long flaxen hair was up in a messy pony as she sat in her favourite pair of pyjamas (which consisted of her dad's old college tee shirt and a pair of shorts) and slippers, collecting the essay she walked over to her desk and put it next to her lap top, it could wait until tomorrow. Hearing the usual morning growl in her stomach she left her room, calling Ben to follow her downstairs and walked into the kitchen, seeing her brother Eddie sat at the counter she smiled at him and ruffled his hair when she passed "good morning Ed" she said happily reaching for a bowl to poor herself some lucky charms after feeding Ben his breakfast, sitting down next to her brother and noticed Jake's car parked out front "huh, Jake stay here last night?" she asked knowing it was a little bit of a touchy subject with the eldest brother.

Krista woke up and stretched in the warm glow of morning. Her kids were finally coming around to Jake. Last night she had invited him over and they had all made cookies together. A family tradition.

Slipping her feet gracefully onto the floor she decided to make breakfast for everyone. She pulled on her bathrobe and padded down the hallway to the guest room. There was Jake fast asleep. So as not to disturb him she crept in and kissed him on the cheek and snuck out. She kept walking tip she reached the staircase and took them one at a time careful to hold on to the rail.

Reaching the kitchen she saw her two oldest kids and Ben.

"Hey Ben. Goodmorning" Krista greeted the lab as she scratched behind the K9s ears.

Looking up she sees Eddie eating a cookie they made last night.

"Eddie! What did I say about cookies before breakfast young man?" she gently chided him.

"Nicole will you help me with breakfast? I figured pancakes would be good." Krista told her oldest daughter.

"Lollipop get off my head", said Neveah as she pushed the calico cat off her head and onto the floor. The cat had been a gift from her father right before he passed away, and when the five year old was asked what she wanted to name the kitten she said "Lollipop", her father just laughed and went with it. That was one of the few memories she had of her father, being so little when he passed away, Neveah hopped out of bed and slipped her slippers on her feet.

Last night had been fun it felt like it did five years ago. Even though Neveah wasn't sure about Jake, she knew he was nice, but would he be a nice daddy, like her daddy was. she went over and checked her calendar.

"22 days, 14 hours, 28 minutes, and 2 seconds till Christmas", Neveah calculated, as she slipped on her robe then she went bounding down the stairs, "Guess what everybody 22 days, 14 hours, 28 minutes, and 2 seconds till Christmas!", she yelled, as she came into the kitchen.

She grabbed a cookie off the plate, that was sitting next to her big brother. "Yummy, yummy", she said as she bit the snow mans head off, "I womma mis deh pamcayes", she said with a mouth full of cookie.