This day was only getting better. Which I couldn't quite believe, because it had started off pretty great. My first Christmas-well, my first real Christmas that is-was something me and my family had been talking about since December first began. My brothers and my Dad were sad, but of course not shocked when I told them about previous holidays. Hiding in my room, trying to be quiet, wondering if other kids had Christmases like this. You wouldn't believe how much it hurt when I learned that they didn't when I was in second grade.

I described what my Christmas had looked like after break, and the look she gave me, told me all I needed to know. No one else had Christmases like I did. I didn't tell the other kids about my holiday breaks after that. But now, I get to experience what they all do for the first time. The feeling of waking up in a warm bed, by my Dad, and walking down the stairs to see the tree we had all decorated together a few weeks ago, with presents everywhere, and smiles big enough to light up the room. This was the feeling I'd imagined for so long. And to finally get it, was the best present I had ever received.

"Merry Christmas Thee." Hayden mumbled, pulling me to sit next to him on the couch. He, Alex and Dad all had steaming cups of coffee in their hands, but for once, I didn't complain about the gross smell. It was after all, only 7 AM and that was early for all the boys in my house.

"Merry Christmas." I mumbled back, leaning into his side. I wasn't exactly an earlier riser myself, but for presents and a family gathering, I would get up.

"Do you wanna have something to eat first, or should we do presents now?" Dad asked, sitting down in the chair opposite us. I gave him a look, and he chuckled. "Dumb question, huh?" I shrugged, not wanting to call him dumb, although, I couldn't see why anyone in their right mind would choose food over presents. Even my food obsessed brothers. "Alright, presents it is." Grey patted the floor beside him, and with a smile, I slid off the couch and crawled over to where he and Beau were beside the tree.

"Okay, Thee, here are a few from-"

"Wait." I cut Beau off before he could place a present in my lap. "I wanna give you yours first."

Alex, who was standing in the chair beside Dad, tapped the top of my head, making me look up at him. "Baby, you open yours first, then we'll open ours." He smiled.

I shook my head. "No, open yours first. I can wait to get mine." Jenna had taken me to get the gifts a few days ago. She and Drew, who was half asleep on the other side of Hayden, had been spending a lot more time together recently, which I didn't mind, considering the lack of girls around here most of the time. And she was very nice, both to me and to Drew, even though her Mom wasn't very nice. I haven't seen Mrs.Hart since that day they came over. I hope I never do again.

"Bumble Bee, what'd you get us?" Hayden asked softly. I

smiled shyly, grabbing the six bags I had slyly hidden at the back. I handed them out quickly, with instructions not to open them until I was ready. When I sat back down, six pairs of eyes locked on me with pride, happiness and pure adoration, my smile grew impossibly wide. "I just wanted to say that although we haven't always been together-" I looked at Dad when I said that. His eyes were already watering, and I hadn't even started yet. "I want you all to know how much I love, and appreciate all of you. This isn't how I thought I would be spending my Christmas a year ago, but I wouldn't want to spend it any other way, and certainly not with any other people." They all looked at me like I was the greatest thing to ever walk the earth. And to them, I don't doubt for a second that I was.

"So I just wanted to say thank you for the greatest few months of my life." My smile turned sheepish as I crisscrossed my legs and waited for them to open the gifts. "Go ahead." I urged when no one did. "It's not much, but Jenna helped me, and I thought it was-"

"Thea this is the most perfect gift I've ever received." Dad said, his voice breaking a little as he held the frame up in front of him. It was a framed picture of all seven of us at the beach on my birthday. The very first picture we all took together. I was sunburned, tired, hungry and the happiest I had ever been in that photo. And going off the grins they all wore, I could say they were pretty happy too.

"You like it?" I asked softly. Dad laughed and pulled me so I was sitting on his lap.

"I love it. So much." All the other boys praised the gift as well. I guess it had been a hit. Dad and Alex said they would hang it up in their offices. Hayden said it was going in his room. Drew said he would put it in his car, and the twins both agreed that they would put it on their bulletin boards in their own bedrooms. After that was done, I didn't protest again when a present was placed in my lap.

Dad said Christmas was about getting and giving. I had successfully done the giving part, and right now, the getting doesn't sound so bad. We all took a present from Santa-who I thought was a myth until Dad told me he wasn't-and soon, we were ripping into presents as fast as they could be put into our reach. I got a lot of amazing things, which I thanked everyone in the room for even though most of them were from Santa and not them. I felt the need to thank someone, and my family seemed like good people to do that.

By the time we were done, I had gotten a bunch of new clothes for school, an art kit with paints, colored pencils, a new set of 36 crayons-with some colors that I couldn't resist using on my new sketch pad immediately-and my favorite gift of all, a small digital camera from Dad. "So we can capture more memories," He said when I opened it. Then he leaned down and kissed the top of my head.

"And we'll be making plenty more of those, baby girl, you'll see."

The day only got better from there. The seven of us, all day long, in pajamas, watching christmas movies, drinking hot chocolate, and spending as much time together as we possibly could. We were making up for nine years of missed holidays.

But now, there would be no more missed anything.

I would make sure of it.