The Princes of Ravenwood Thanksgiving Special

Riko

Why? Just why did we agree to host Thanksgiving this year? Artemis was more than happy to host everyone. Shaw even offered to rent out a private dining space at a restaurant for the whole family to enjoy the holiday without anyone having to cook.

I should have jumped at my in-law’s offer. But no, I told them we would host. Why did I do that? I sighed as Ryū started to wail in his swing.

Right. Because it’s Ryū's first Thanksgiving, and I want to have it at home as we did for Hikari’s first and then for Saki and Aiko’s first holidays. But I think I bit off more than I can chew.

I don’t know why it felt so much easier when we did this two and four years ago. “MOMMY!” Hikari yelled, running into the kitchen in tears. “Just a moment, sweetie,” I sighed as I hurried to get Ryū from his swing.

“Mommy’s here, baby. I’ve got you,” I cooed, shifting Ryū in my arms while trying to get him to my breast. Having to push aside the wine-red nursing top I had on, and the little clap on the nursing bra I was wearing was frustrating me to no end right now.

Honestly, if it weren’t for my nipples chafing and randomly leaking, I wouldn’t wear the bra. "Mommy!” Hikari tugged at the hem of my shirt, pouting up at me.

I sighed again, this time at least in some relief as Ryū latched and his wailing stopped. Of all my children, Ryū seems to be the most vocal and demanding when getting fed or changed.

Lord help me. Hikari has the annoyed Frost expression down, and he’s only four. “What is it, Hikari?” I asked, looking down at my oldest.

His dark locks tussled, which could be because he was supposed to be down for his nap, or it could be from whatever had him in the kitchen crying. “You are supposed to be taking your nap,” I added.

All the kids were supposed to be napping right now. That's why I picked now to start making the pies ahead of time. I know Elijah could make them, but I thought I could do it this year. He’s so busy with his two bakery locations.

I can’t imagine that he'd want to look at, let alone think about baking this holiday season. Hikari pouted, that lower lip of his quivering like I just yelled at him.

Okay, so maybe my tone was harsher than I wanted. But having to balance Ryū with the old kids, whose daycare is closed this week for Thanksgiving, while trying to bake, makes me want to pull my hair out. I wish the boys were home.

But Darius is at school till 3, Elijah isn’t due home till after 5, and Forrest, I don’t know when he’ll get home because he’s meeting with studio executives about the anime Chasing Kitsune.

“Saki and Aiko woke me up and stole my teddy!” Hikari snorted, folding his arms, his little brow furrowed with his displeasure. That explains everything. I love my girls, but they are hellions. “I’ll talk to them and get your teddy back,” I promised.

I know what his tedding means to him. My grandparents gave it to him when he was born. Apparently, it was my mother’s teddy before that, and so he treats it like it’s with so much love and care.

“They are holding him hostage. They said if I want him back, I have to clean their toys for a week,” Hikari continued. I sighed. Of course, they are negotiating.

I think the girls have the wrong idea of what their Grandpa Shaw does. He’s a lawyer, not a terrorist. “I’ll handle it, baby,” I assured him as I shifted Ryū to burp him.

Of course, Ryū was going to be a pain about giving me a burp. He’s been colicky recently, which only makes things worse. “Shh… it’s okay, Ryū. I know you’re upset,” I sighed, trying to rock him gently as I patted his back.

“Um… mommy…” Hikari tugged at my shirt again. “In a minute, baby,” I shook my head, still trying to calm Ryū.

“But mommy…” Hikari whined. “I am trying to deal with Ryū now. Whatever it is, can wa….” I started to say, my voice starting to rise a little.

But my words died in my mouth as I heard a crash behind me. I turned my head sharply and let out a horrid cry of anger, frustration, and utter despair.

There, sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor surrounded by a cloud of flour and knocked over mixing bowls that I knew had been on the counter when I came to get Ryū, was Saki and Aiko with Hikari’s teddy covered in pumpkin pie filling.

“GIRLS!” I shouted, only to wince. Not only had Ryū started to cry louder, but the girls and Hikari started to cry too.

Today was not going the way I wanted. And now I’m crying too. Everything was a mess now. All the work I’d put into making the pies was out the window. I’d have to start all over again.

And just to make it all worse, the smoke alarm started to blare as smoke began to plume out of the oven.

“MY PIES!” I cried, remembering I had a couple in the oven that should have come out. I sank to the floor in tears as the kids all rushed over to me, covering their ears as they wailed.

Saki and Aiko were now getting pumpkin filling in their ears and hair. We were all a literal and figurative mess as the kitchen door was thrown open, and Elijah rushed in.

Elijah

I finally felt that my staff could handle the two locations without me watching them. The original location I know can run smoothly without me. We’ve been doing this for years now. But my new location it’s their first Thanksgiving which is a big season for us. And Justin was stressing himself and me both out with his anxiety.

It took a phone call with his husband to get him to chill. And after going through every step from making the crust to the filling to baking the pies several times, Justin and his crew finally have the hang of it. I just wanted to get home.

I hated knowing that Riko was alone with four kids. I should have asked mom and dad to take the older ones for the day since daycare is closed. But Riko was adamant she could handle it. And I want to trust she can.

Yet I also know she’s been dealing with postpartum depression since having Ryū. The spa getaway we set up for her after Halloween had helped, but it’s like a bandaid.

It was only a small step to healing. Forrest tried the other night to suggest maybe seeing Doctor Flores.

Riko shut the idea down, saying she could handle it. And we want to believe it, but getting out of my car, the sound of the smoke alarms going off made me think otherwise. I rushed up the back steps and into the kitchen.

Of all the possible scenarios of what I would find walking into my house, this was not one. The kitchen looked like a tornado hit it. There was smoke coming from the oven. And sitting on the floor crying in a huddled mass was my family.

Saki and Aiko were obviously the tornado source as they were covered in flour, pie crust dough, and pumpkin pie filling. Their cherub cheeks were red and stained with tears as they huddled around Riko.

Hikari didn’t look to be covered in pie ingredients, but the teddy he was clutching around the neck looked like he’d taken a bath in pie filling. Just like his sisters, his face was stained with tears.

Poor little Ryū looked like he was going to pop. His face was so red as he wailed in his mother’s arms. That’s saying something since of the kids, he’s the one that’s going to scream his lungs out.

And in the center of the crying children was my poor sweet cupcake. Her hair was a mess, her shirt was open, one breast still poking out, and yep that’s milk leaking from the nipple. She was covered in flour and pie filling from the kids. Her cheeks were stained with tears.

“E...Elij...Elijah,” she hiccuped, sobbing as her head turned and those tear-filled brown eyes locked on me. “Aww… cupcake,” I sighed. “Let me turn off the alarm and the oven,” I said, holding a finger up.

I rushed to turn off the oven, opening it to let the smoke out. Then I opened the window nearest the oven before turning off the smoke alarm. “Whoa.,” I grabbed the counter to stop myself from slipping on pie filling.

“I… I’m sorry,” Riko apologized, crying. “Shhh… it’s alright, Riko. You never need to apologize,” I cooed as I made my way back to her and the kids. “But… it’s my fault,” she shook her head.

I sighed, crouching behind her. Carefully I scooped her and Ryū into my arms. “It’s going to be okay,” I promised, kissing her forehead. “Hikari. Saki. Aiko. It’s okay now. The alarm has stopped,” I said just sharply enough to get their attention.

Three little faces blinked up at me. “Ba... Bampás,” they sniffled, rubbing their eyes. All getting pie filling in their eyes. I sighed because emergency bath time was going to be a thing.

“I need you three to be good big kids. I am going to take mommy and Ryū upstairs. I want you three to stay exactly where you are. Think of it as red light green light. Right now, I’m calling red light,” I instructed.

They sniffled and nodded. Saki went to take a step towards me. “Red light Saki. You know the rules. Stay put. You don’t want to break the rules,” I instructed. “Okay,” She sniffled, pouting as she nodded.

“Elijah… are you sure we should leave them alone?” Riko furrowed her brow, adjusting her hold on the still screaming Ryū.

“Yes. They will stay put. If they don’t, they will deal with me,” I said, giving a stern look back at the kids. I may not be Darius, but I can be an authority figure when I need to be.

Saki and Aiko both gulped a little. Yeah, they know they are in for it when I get back down here. There is no way in hell this isn’t their fault. And cute as they are, and I love them, but this is not going to fly.

“But… I can… I need to clean up,” Riko tried to protest. “The kids and I will clean the kitchen,” I sighed as we reached the fourth floor and the master bathroom.

I gently sat her on the closed toilet. “I will handle it. I want you to just relax,” I sighed, taking Ryū and shifting him so he was lying across my forearm.

Riko blinked as his wails softened as I gently bounced him. “How… how is that working?” she asked. “I called mom and asked if any of us had been colicky and what she did. Apparently, grandpa Ares showed her this trick,” I explained.

“I figure if it worked on her and Darius, it would work on our little man,” I smiled, pleased that Ryū had finally stopped crying. Riko’s shoulders finally relaxed, and for a moment, she looked calm, but then the tears started.

“Why… why is this so hard? It wasn’t this hard when we did Thanksgiving when Hikari and even the girls were born,” she sobbed, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands. “Oh, cupcake. It was never easy. Rose-colored glasses,” I chuckled.

She pouted. “Remember the burnt turkey the year Hikari was born? We were all trying to get him to settle down because he had that ear infection. We all forgot about the turkey till mom and dad arrived and asked what smelled like it was burning,” I reminded her.

“I... I guess I forgot that. But we had such a good Thanksgiving,” she frowned. “Because Forrest ran out and got the last already cooked turkey that Boston Market had,” I smiled, kissing her forehead.

“And the girls’ first Thanksgiving, you tried making homemade mac n cheese for the first time. Remember what happened when we had a double diaper blowout?” I arched an eyebrow. A small smile started to shine through on her kissable lips.

“Darius and Forrest were covered in baby poop, so they and the girls needed an emergency shower. You were watching Hikari, and I forgot to put the pasta into the water and burnt the pot because the water evaporated,” She tried so hard but failed as she laughed.

“Exactly. None of our Thanksgiving dinners have been perfect. We have kids. Something can and most likely will always go wrong with our holidays. At least till they are all maybe over ten and less likely to distract or be underfoot,” I smiled, kissing her softly.

“Now I’m going to put Ryū down for a nap and get the kids and kitchen cleaned up. You will run a bath and just take some time for yourself,” I instructed, pointing to the tub. “You know if you keep being so bossy, I’m going to think you and Darius switched places,” she teased.

I chuckled softly and kissed her again. “One more week, cupcake, and all three of us are going to be dominating you on our kid-free getaway,” I winked, leaving her alone.

“Ryū, my little man. You need to take it easy on your momma,” I whispered to my slumbering son as I put him in his crib and turned the monitor on.

Forrest

I have a perma-smile on my face. I don’t think it’s ever going to fade. I think I finally found the perfect studio to create Chasing Kitsune into an anime. That meeting with the studio heads went fantastic. Other studios wanted to cut content and make it PG. Some thought offering to make it PG13 was a compromise.

Just as one does not simply walk into Mordor. One does not simply censor Yūri Konishi. Those people are mostly dead. I’m sure many have tried to censor my grandmother-in-law. I know her dad didn’t like her sass mouth, and well, it cost him his head in the end. So I had to hold firm and push back against censoring the story.

And this studio, Madhouse, is perfect for Chasing Kitsune and what it really needs to be. I can’t wait to tell everyone I signed the contract. I especially can’t wait to tell Yūri and Hibiki. It is going to be epic. I was still smiling as I pulled into the driveway parking behind Elijah.

“Huh, looks like he got home early. Cool,” I nodded, heading for the house, a spring in my step. But then I noticed the window in the kitchen open. It’s a bit cold to have that open. I shrugged and thought maybe Riko or Elijah or both were prepping for Thanksgiving and wanted to get some fresh air.

My nose wrinkled when I smelled smoke and burnt pie. Looks like the Thanksgiving curse has struck again. I chuckled, but it died in my throat as I heard crying. My heart raced because I knew those cries. It’s the kids. Why are they crying? These aren't like the ‘someone broke my toy’ tears.

I rushed for the door and stopped, staring wide-eyed at the kitchen. Flour and pumpkin filling was all over the floor and lower cabinets. The oven was open with two pie-shaped hockey pucks cooling on the rack. And standing with their arms around themselves shivering in PJs were my son and twin daughters.

Hikari was clutching his teddy, who looked like he had taken a pumpkin bath against his chibi ‘I am Batman’ PJ set, shivering as he sucked his thumb, trying to stop his crying. Saki and Aiko were a complete mess, telling me they were the source of the destruction, in their pink baby shark PJs.

The pair was wailing the loudest. Three sets of tear-filled brown eyes landed on me. “Otōsan!” they exclaimed in almost unison. “Ooh, my poor babies,” I frowned, closing the door and putting my messenger bag aside as I knelt, opening my arms to them. I don’t care that I’ll get dirty.

They went to rush me but stopped as Elijah’s voice firmly called out, “RED LIGHT!” I blinked and looked at my brother. He’s supposed to be the sensitive and kind one.

Darius was usually the authoritative disciplinarian. “Elijah?” I arched an eyebrow, trying to understand what was happening.

“The girls are in trouble. If you hadn’t guessed, the mess that is our kitchen is their doing. And it all resulted in our wife needing some alone time,” Elijah explained, giving each of the kids a stern look. I frowned. I don’t like disciplining the kids. But I also don’t like Riko hurting.

“What happened?” I asked. “That’s what I want to know,” Elijah sighed, walking over to close the window. “I came home to chaos. The smoke alarm going off. Smoke was coming out of the oven. And Riko was in tears in a pile of crying kids. I put the kids in a suspended red light game and carried Riko and Ryū upstairs,” Elijah sighed, running a hand over his face.

“Is she okay?” I asked, worried about our wife. Postpartum had hit her hard this time. She had been fine after Hikari and then after the girls. There are probably a million reasons why it’s after her third pregnancy she got hit with it. And we can try and help the best we can.

And we do try. We’ve been navigating our schedules, so Riko isn’t alone with them for long periods. We sent her to that spa day after Halloween because we knew she needed it. This week with daycare closed, it means all the kids are home at the same time.

Usually, I’m home to help, but I had a meeting. I would have skipped or tried to push it to after Thanksgiving. But it was the only time they’d be here to talk.

Riko assured me she could handle it. I feel like I let her down. If I had been here, this wouldn't have happened.

“Don’t,” Elijah pointed a finger at me. “What?” I blinked. “Do not blame yourself,” Elijah sighed. Damn him and knowing me like the back of his hand. “Now then. Hikari, you are going to start. How did this happen?” Elijah asked, pointing to our son.

Hikari sniffed, taking his thumb from his mouth. “Saki and Akio kidnapped Teddy while I was napping,” he began clutching the bear tighter. “They said I had to clean their toys for a week if I wanted him back,” he explained. Elijah and I shared a look.

Now neither of us brothers ever pulled that on each other. But we know for a fact our dad and Uncle Adam used a very similar tactic against Aunt Sophia when they were kids.

“Dad is never telling the girls his childhood stories,” I sighed. “And then what happened?” Elijah gestured for Hikari to continue. “We were only playing,” Saki pouted.

“I did not say you could speak. Now zipper that lip, little lady,” Elijah pointed at her with a narrowed look. She gulped and quickly closed her mouth. The kids were not used to seeing Elijah like this.

“Hikari, tell us what happened next,” I encouraged. “I came to tell mommy. Ryū was crying. He was hungry. He’s always hungry. When mommy was distracted, Saki and Akio snuck into the kitchen. They threw my teddy into the bowl of pumpkin. It knocked over, and then everything went loud. Mommy was yelling, and then she was crying,” Hikari recounted, starting to cry again.

“Is mommy okay?” he asked. “Is she mad at us?” Saki questioned. “Does mommy not love us anymore?” Aiko sniffled. Oh, that broke me. Screw Elijah and his red light. I went to my children and pulled all three of them to me.

“It’s okay, guys. Mommy’s okay. Bampás made sure mommy was okay. And she may be upset that you ruined her hard work and made a big mess, but never ever think she’d stop loving you. You kids are her world. We all love you so much,” I assured them, kissing their heads, not carrying that I’m getting dirty.

Elijah sighed and pulled the kids from me to hug them too. “You three love each other, right? You love Ryū too?” Elijah asked. “Yeah,” The trio sniffled but nodded.

“No matter what you do to each other or how much you annoy each other, you’re siblings, and you’re going to love each other forever. Well, it’s the same for us. You are our babies, and we will never stop loving you,” Elijah assured them, kissing each of them on the head.

“Now, when we do something wrong, what do we do?” Elijah asked. “We say sorry?” The girls asked. “We do something nice?” Hikari asked.

“Exactly. So first, you three will go with Otōsan to wash up and change your clothes. Then you will report back to the kitchen to help me clean up,” Elijah outlined.

The kids sniffled but nodded. “Come on, guys,” I smiled, getting to my feet. I led the way to the second floor peeling each kid out of their dirty pajamas and starting two showers. I trusted Hikari to shower solo, so I left him to wash up in the shower and set out clean clothes for him.

Then I washed the girls off. “You two need to stop being so mean to Hikari. He's your big brother. He loves you, and as you all get bigger, he’s going to protect you. But that’s a two-way street. He’s going to need to trust you to have his back, too,” I explained as I dried them off. “Okay, Otōsan,” they sighed as they got into their play clothes.

“Now go clean up your mess,” I smiled, gently patting their butts as they headed downstairs with Hikari. I poked my head into the nursery and sighed, seeing Ryū sleeping soundly. I took their dirty clothes and the poor bear and put them all in the wash before making my way to the fourth floor.

I could hear Riko softly singing along with Ed Sheeran’s song Perfect. I smiled because I love that song. After all, we played it for our proposal and at our wedding. I quickly change my clothes, letting her continue to enjoy her ‘me time’ and head down to help Elijah and the kids.

Darius

When I returned home from work the last day before Thanksgiving break started, everything had been cleaned up. But I was told all about it. While I was very disappointed in the girls for their behavior, I was impressed that Elijah was the one to discipline them.

Not only did they have to help clean up the mess they’d made, but all three kids also had to make sorry cards for mommy, were banned from watching tv for two days, and had to tell me what they’d done when I got home.

I’m not sure which was the worse thing. But I think having to tell me might be up there after no tv. I don’t like that I’m the disciplinarian. It’s just how it all worked out. I dole out the punishments, Forrest is the goofy one that can turn a frown into a smile, Elijah is the one that listens and picks up even their unspoken feelings, and Riko is the heart that gives the best hugs and kisses boo-boos.

Next weekend cannot get here soon enough. Riko needs this getaway. Abstaining from sex for eight weeks sucks, especially when your wife is at hot as ours. But our need for a weekend alone with her is outweighed by her need for a kid-free weekend. We were flying her to an all-inclusive Caribbean resort to enjoy some adult-only time on sunny white beaches.

I love our kids, but it will be an excellent long weekend, just the four of us. And we don’t have to worry about the kids since my parents are taking them. And honestly, if they could wrangle my brothers and me, then they can handle our kids. So hopefully, all of us will relax and not worry about the kids.

But today is a day for family. Our parents are coming over for dinner, as is Riko’s dad and his girlfriend. There will be a surprise visit from Hibiki and Yūri that we’ve been sworn to not tell Riko about. I can’t wait to see the look on her face when her grandparents burst through the door.

It’ll be their first time getting to meet Ryū. I’m sure they are going to just adore the little sour puss. Maybe he’ll smile for his nana Yūri. We have all four kids in the outfits that Hibiki and Yūri sent. They, of course, look adorable. And I see this knowing that I hated being forced to dress identical to my brothers.

The boys are in navy long shirts, sweaters, and a patchwork turkey with H and R's initials on its belly with khaki pants. The girls were in long-sleeved navy ruffled dresses with similar patchwork turkeys, but they have bows on the turkey’s head and their initials S and A on their individual dresses.

Riko managed to get them to sit still long enough to put their hair into two tiny buns. Riko had styled her hair to match, so we have three bunheads in the house today. I would like to say the kids were the only ones my grandmother-in-law sent custom shirts to. But that would be a lie. All of us are wearing navy long shirts featuring turkeys with our initials.

My brothers and I wanted to protest, but Riko’s eyes lit up when she realized we’d all be matching and gushed about how cute our pictures will look. Who can say no to that? Certainly not us. I can’t think of a time any of us have told our wife no. If it makes her happy, then we are happy.

“Daddy, I need help,” Hikari called out to me from his seat at the coffee table. “Coming, bud,” I smiled, shifting over to be next to him. “How do you spell Otōsan?” he asked, looking up from his orange leaf that had a wobbly O on it.

“O-t-o but with a line over it-s-a-n,” I smelled it slowly as I held his hand to guide him into making the letters. I chuckled and kissed his head. This kid was cute.

“What about me?” Forrest looked up from where he was feeding Ryū a bottle. “You are something our son is thankful for,” I explained, gesturing to the leaf.

“Aw. Thanks, bud. I’m thankful for you too. And oo you even wrote it on an orange leaf,” Forrest grinned, shifting Ryū to his shoulder.

“Of course! It’s your favorite color,” Hikari grinned. “How do you spell Bampás?” he asked, grabbing a red leaf from the pile. I chuckled and helped him write that as well. “What about mommy and me? Do we get leaves?” I asked.

“Mhm. Already done. I can spell those. Ms. Matthews taught us,” Hikari nodded, pointing to the yellow leaves he’d scribbled the words. I smiled and gave him another kiss. “How are you girls doing?” I nodded to the twins, who were both concentrating on their leaves.

They can’t spell, and well, they decided to draw what they are thankful for. Saki and Aiko are so cute, with their noses wrinkled, brows furrowed, and tongues sticking out.

The wrinkled nose and brow were all Riko's, but the tongue thing was Forrest when he was trying too hard. “Almost...done,” they declared in unison, holding up their leaves featuring what I think is a pie.

“Good job, girls. Keep it up. And after dinner, we will read them and put them on the thankful tree. Make sure to save some leaves for your grandparents to write on,” I smiled. Speak of the devils. I managed to get to my feet as the doorbell chimed. “I got it!” I called out.

I smiled when my parents' faces greeted me. “Happy Thanksgiving, Darius,” Mom smiled, giving me a hug and kiss on the cheek. “Um… nice shirt?” Dad snickered. “Don’t trash talk, or I’m telling Yūri, who bought them, how much you’ve raved about them,” I threatened quietly as I took their coats.

“GRANDMA! GRANDPA!” Three squeals of excitement followed by rushing feet told me the kids realized who had arrived. “Oh, you all look so precious,” My mom gushed over them, giving them hugs and kisses then passing them to my dad, who did the same. Well, no one will ever say our kids aren’t loved.

“What about me?” Ryōta questioned, putting his hand up to stop me from shutting the door. “Ojīchan! Laura!” The kids cheered as they rushed them as the couple entered the foyer. “Hey, Ryōta. Hi Laura. Happy Thanksgiving,” I nodded while taking their coats as well. “Where is my baby?” Mom asked.

“I’m right here,” Forrest called out, bouncing Ryū gently in his arms. “Oh, you too. But I meant Ryū. Hand him over,” Mom insisted. Forrest rolled his eyes but transferred our youngest.

“Oh, you are so precious, just like your big sisters and brother. I can’t wait till next weekend when you come to visit us,” Mom sighed, peppering Ryū with soft kisses.

“I will assume my daughter is in the kitchen,” Ryōta commented. “Yep. She and Elijah took it over, and we are all banned from entering,” I shrugged, scooping Saki up into my arms. “Kids, why don’t you show your grandparents your thankful leaves,” I suggested.

Of course, they eagerly tugged at their grandparents, getting them to follow them. Soon the living room was filled with overlapping hyper-child voices telling their grandparents about all the things they are thankful for.

“OH MY GOD!!!” Riko’s shriek sent Forrest and me running for the kitchen. We were both worried something more had gone wrong than the great pie fiasco. I smiled in relief when it was not imminent danger.

But Hibiki and Yūri sneaking in through the back door. “Grandma! Grandpa!” Riko was smiling so brightly as she hugged them.

“We couldn’t miss our latest great grandbaby’s first Thanksgiving. And oh, don’t you four look cute in your shirts,” Yūri grinned, pulling each of us brothers into hugs, complete with kisses on the cheeks and pinches of our asses.

“And I see you are keeping those glutes in shape,” she winked. All any of us could do was laugh and shake our heads.

Their arrival surprised everyone and sent the kids into overdrive. Because now they have two more people who will fawn all over them. Dinner went well. I think we should be happy the Thanksgiving disaster happened before Thanksgiving itself. When all was said and down, our thankful tree had more leaves than any tree in our yard.

Everyone was stuffed full with the delicious meal our wife and Elijah cooked up. After the kids were in bed and parents and grandparents off to their own homes or hotels, the four of us were in the living room.

“I love you three so much,” Riko sighed as she got comfortable stretched across our laps. “We love you too,” my brothers and I responded in unison. “I’m so glad we survived Thanksgiving,” she sighed. “Yeah, but now we have to survive Christmas,” Forrest chuckled, rubbing her feet.

“And we will,” I said, giving Forrest a look wanting him to shut up. “Because the four of us can do anything when we are together,” Elijah added. “Yeah. Anything is possible when I’m with you three,” Riko smiled. And she’s right. So is Elijah.

When the four of us are on the same page and set our minds to something. We make the impossible happen. Just look at our marriage. We aren’t the typical family, but we are an incredible family, and our house is full of love.