"Mommy, mommy I'm done! Come see!"

"That's beautiful, Kadyn," Leah exclaimed, placing a kiss atop her daughter's mass of sandy curls. "Daddy's gonna love it!"

"What about mine, Mama?" River asked, holding up his finished product.

"Oh, now that's just awesome, River!"

"What about mine? Is mine awesome too, Mama?"

"Both of my babies did absolutely fantastic," Leah declared, crouching down in between the space of the two chairs at the kitchen table, one child on either side of her, taking time to marvel at each of their finger painted, cut-out paper plates, that were to be used as ‘Christmas wreaths'.

"Can we hang ‘em up?" River asked, bouncing around his seat.

"Of course, but after we let them dry," Leah replied, standing up, and taking each of their plates, carefully tapping off any excess glitter, and letting it fall onto the news papers that served as a table cloths

"Why don't we set these in one of the window sills, and then get you two cleaned up," Leah suggested. "And then I was thinking we could put in Frozen?"

"Yaaaay!!!" The kids shrieked in sheer excitement, as if they hadn't spent the better half of the year watching the popular Disney animation.

Do you wanna build a snowman!

Or ride our bikes around the hall!

I think some company is overdue,

I've started talking to,

The pictures on the wall.....

As the kids sang along to Frozen in the family room, Leah was busy cleaning up the mess left behind in the kitchen: newspapers, glitter, watercolors, paintbrushes, yarn and a flurry of magazine clippings. Parenting was no easy task, but was by far the best thing that she had ever done in her life. Looking back, she could never imagine her life being the way it was now.

Within the last few years everything had changed dramatically; from touring night after night, and releasing album after album, to starting and indie label alongside her husband. Instead of being front and center, she was now behind the scenes helping to develop up and coming artists and she couldn't be happier. Starting the label had provided them with the stability that they needed to be present in their children's lives. 

"Daddy!" Leah smiled at the sounds of River and Kadyn's excitement over the sound of their father coming home. A few minutes later, he came strolling into the kitchen, a child on each hip.

"Hi, honey," JC's lips curled into a smile at the sight of his wife, still just as beautiful as the day he'd laid eyes on her; Her beautiful brown skin just as luminous, her emerald eyes as bright as ever, and her soul still as captivating.  After all these years, he still felt the same way that had when they first fell in love, only stronger.

"Hey, babe," Leah replied, as JC leaned down to gently place a soft kiss to her lips, and let each of the kids down, to which they raced to the family room to resume watching Frozen. "You know we only come second to Olaf."

"Hurtful," JC faux-winced.

"'Tis true. Our kids love an animated snowman more than their own parents!"

"Ha, well let's see if they remember that the next time they get hungry," JC quipped. "So what happened in here?" He asked, just as Leah finished cleaning up the kitchen.

"Craft project."

"Lemme guess, elves made from toilet paper rolls?"

"Wreaths made from paper plates."

"Pinterest?"

"Precisely."

"So, have you heard back from everybody?"

"I've received the final RSVP this morning," Leah responded. "From your Uncle Phil and his wife."

"So that makes how many?"

"Fifteen guests in total." This year - for the first time- JC and Leah would be hosting Christmas dinner in their home, and inviting their immediate family members. They decided it would be best that everyone gathered in one place rather than choosing either Leah's or JC's family to spend Christmas with, or trying to fly to two places altogether. This way, both sets of parents got to see their grandchildren for the holidays, and everyone was happy.

"That is a lot of cooking," JC gasped.

"I know, which is why I'm getting started tomorrow, and need you to be home with the kids."

"Why so early? Christmas is a week away!"

"Josh, did you hear yourself just now? Christmas is one week from today. I have fifteen guests to cook for, and I haven't even gone shopping yet. Not to mention we have two four-year-olds, who constantly need tending to."

"Well, LA is like what? 80 percent Jewish? Every place in town will be open, why not just order Chinese and call it a day." JC suggested. "My family is pretty low maintenance."

"And mine isn't I don't want my mother, condescendingly putting her hand on my shoulder, and saying ‘That's okay baby, not everybody can do it, you would have been much better calling a caterer,' in that syrupy southern drawl of hers."

"Catering is actually not a bad idea," JC said, reaching into the refrigerator for a can of Coca-Cola.

"Yeah, you are so not helping," Leah sighed, cocking her head to the side, and placing her hands on her hips, leaning her backside against the table.

"All I'm saying is that cooking for fifteen guests, plus us- almost 20 people- is no easy undertaking. No one would blame you if you had the dinner catered; if for anything the sake of your sanity."

"No, what's for the sake of my sanity, is not giving my mother the satisfaction of being right. I will not give her the upper hand yet again in my adult life. She will be amazed by my roast chicken and herb butter rub. She will be wowed by my scalloped potatoes. And she will be awed by my caramel apple pie. There will be no ‘poor babies', or ‘bless her hearts' coming from that woman's mouth this year, Josh. Mark my words."

"You. Are. So. Stubborn." JC said, with every step he took toward her. "And that is why I love you," he said kissing her, slowly, lovingly.

"Well, this stubborn chick is taking a night off," Leah retorted. "Tonight, dinner is your responsibility," she said, stealing his Coke can and walking off towards the family room.

"California Pizza Kitchen it is, then!" JC called after her.