We sang through the whole song, with Ben calling out the words in advance. By the end of it, everyone was smiling. The kids wore

these little brown hot-chocolate mustaches.

"This is funl" Jamie exclaimed.

"Remember last year, when those kids went from door to door, singing carols?" Charlotte said.

"They came to our house," Jake said, "and my mom invited them in for cookies."

"Can we do that?" James asked.

"Go caroling?" I replied. "You really want to?"

"Yeeeeaaaahhh!" It was unanimous.

Ben and I looked at each other. "When?" he muttered.

"Closer to Christmas, like next Saturday," I suggested.

"Yeeeeaaaahhh!"

The kids were jumping up and down. Nina's hot chocolate mug went flying (fortunately it was empty and plastic).

"Sounds good to me," Ben said, paging through the book again. "I guess we better keep practicing. Okay, how about 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer7?"

Well, we got through that one, and "Silent Night," and "Oh, Hanukkah," and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," and a couple of others.

Halfway through  "We Three Kings," I

caught a glimpse of the stove dock turning to 12:27.

I was due home at 12:15.

"Oops, I have to go!" I blurted out.

Ben looked disappointed. He walked me to the door, while the kids scattered.

"I don't know about this," Ben said. "What if the kids get too shy again? What if we don't sound good?"

"Don't worry, it’ll be great," I said. " 'Bye!"

" 'Bye."

What’s the worst thing about having seven siblings? Sometimes your parents don't even know you're alive.

What’s the best thing? Sometimes your parents don't even know you're alive.

When I got home, Dad was busy chewing out three of my brothers while Mom was doing an art project in the basement with the rest of my sibs.