#barrett and kyleigh

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Kyleigh's POV -

Harvestfest has come and gone, and we're all so fulfilled. The kids had a blast seeing their aunts, uncles, and cousins. Lilliana was born just in time this year to be able to be included in this years sibling group picture. The picture such an amazing show of the Lord's goodness in blessing us with these wonderful blessings to raise for his glory, along with any other he chooses to bless us with. We've moved into the new house now and the kids have been loving all the space they've got, so the the current time has been a time of change and of adjustment.

The boys had such an amazing time playing with Adalynn's boys, they basically spent the entire weekend running around the yard, or on the monkey bars, or at the park at the end of the road.

The girls also had a wonderful time playing in their grandparents yard, since we live nearby they do this often, but they loved being able to include their younger cousins in their usual girl games. The abundance of toddlers and infants meant they were in baby heaven!

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Some characters I’ve never drawn til now, Kylie and Kyleigh. I didn’t have time to do a proper bio since i’ve been at work, ut Kylie (with the bow) is a model, and Kyleigh (with the barrettes) is a nursing apprentice

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(Kyleigh's POV)

As we come to the end of our time in Brindleton Bay, I can't help but thank the Lord for his goodness is all things. The kids have been counting down the days until we can go back permanently, and whilst I'm insanely happy to go back to our house, I'll definitely miss our time here. My parents being in the same house has been such a blessing to us and while this was somewhat unexpected, I thank the Lord for this extra time we've spent together. As my parents age it's been on my heart to see them more often

As we get into the cooler parts of the year I've been motivated to finish my knitting projects so that the kids will have warm clothes to wear this winter. Carving out time to actually do this has been easier while in Brindelton Bay, as one of my parents will do an activity with the big kids while the littles nap. They've been memorising verses at sunday school, and a few homeschool mums at my parent's church have created a co-op of sorts for afternoon activities for the kids, so my parents have been taking the kids to those meet ups in the afternoons.

We recently celebrated Barrett & Macie's birthday, Macie came to visit after finishing a week at a worship camp for young women. The kids love seeing their aunt Macie, and begged to be able to help make their birthday cakes and decorate for the little party we had at home. Macie has been such a blessing to me in the many years that we've been friends, at this point we've known each other longer than we've not known each other. She's served as a sister, confidant, prayer partner, and many more over the years and I can't thank the Lord enough for her. We always joke that we pray for her to marry someone who lives in the area so she won't have to move too far away!

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(Kyleigh's POV)

The holiday season at my parents place is always my favourite time of the year, I like to think the kids agree too. We packed up our RV and trailer and travelled to Brindleton Bay to spend the holidays with my parents. We're actually going to be here well into the new year, we being the kids and I, Barrett headed home soon after new years eve to head back into work. The work being done on our house is due to start once the snow has melted, and we're praying work can be done quickly so that we're not away for too long. The kids haven't spent an extended period of time away from home, but they're enjoying the time they get to be at their grandma and grandpa's house. Every winter they always enjoy playing in the snow, making snow angels and having snowball fights. This year Barrett and the older boys were able to catch great fish that are sure to keep us fed over the next few weeks.

Being that we'll be here for an extended period of time, I brought almost a months worth of shelf stable groceries with us in the trailer so that my parents' grocery bill isn't overwhelmed by all of us being here. Thankfully they have access to local farms and farmers markets where its easy to get fresh fruits and vegetables, so we go and get those as and when we need them. For Christmas we had a crown roast as the main star of the show, with loads of different sides to keep everyone full.

My parents really go enjoy having us all live with them during the holiday season, and since we're here for an extended period of time they've gone and rented a house to fit all of us. Initially we were going to split the kids up where the older ones sleep in my old bedroom, and the younger ones are in cribs/pack'n'plays in my parents room and with us in the RV. They really want to soak up this extra time they get with their grandkids and don't mind the extra work, my dad can create his own schedule so they're both excited to be hands on these next few weeks while I parent alone. Our contractors have done all the paperwork and pulled all permits necessary, all we need is good weather.

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(Narrator)

It's christmas card season in this fundielicious sims world, and in an effort to include more side characters and go back to my roots, I decided to pose a few families for christmas cards. I also did the cliche thing of using said christmas cards to announce a few pregnancies. This will have the 3rd person narration of the families, the actual captions that they'll use on their simstagram post will come later with said simstagram post after this.

Maggie and Shane are not ones to miss putting out a yearly christmas card, ever since they got married almost 10 years ago it's been a tradition. Their first christmas card together was also Maggie's debut in pants on recorded media, hows that for a fun fact. They're enjoying life with their toddlers, both are working and have them in a christian daycare during the day. They're not going on their yearly ski trip with Reece and Stacie this year, so they'll be celebrating the holiday season with Shane's relatives so that they can get a city break. There's no pregnancy announcement from these guys, and honestly we can't be sure when the next one will be, though they do have one final child to add to the family before they'll consider it complete. Maybe once the kids start officially going to school and have more independence.

Our favourite political family are announcing a pregnancy this holiday season! Colton working as the districts conservative representative means that their lives are a lot more central to Windenburg, Brittany is homeschooling Nicole and apparently they thought now was the best time to have another child. Secretly (but no so secretly) almost everyone wants this baby to be a boy, it's always tied into talk about carrying on the family name and generational blessings and all that. Whilst Brittany just wants a healthy baby (and might want a boy a bit more than another girl), she can't forget the example of her cousin Adalynn. She and her husband Mason had 8 boys in a row before having a little baby girl, and Brittany is definitely not having that many children, so she's not letting herself get too hung up on what this baby will be.

Our resident reproducers are back at it again, this time with kid number 12. The pregnancy announcement isn't new to the family, but they decided to throw it in to announce it to the friends and family that live far away and. Their house is just controlled chaos at this point, and with each kid they just slot right in. So far their prayer point for the quarter is expanding their house (and i keep forgetting to plan out what those posts will look like) This new baby will make their appearance by Harvestfest, so Kyleigh is about to be pregnant through yet another summer - poor her. Not that it's ever bothered her enough to stop getting pregnant.

Zoe and her latin lover are steadily pumping out these children, they're going on four years of marriage and by their 4th anniversary will be on their way to 3 kids under 5. They've been enjoying Windenburg life, being able to see Zoe's sister Amira and her husband quite often as they live close by so they've created their own little routine. Along with seeing family when they visit WIndenburg or when they take small trips, they've really been enjoying life. For Christmas they're staying in Windenburg for their last winter there and Francisco's family will come visit.

Now we go back to our regularly scheduled programming!

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(Kyleigh's POV)(Summary: Where we last left off, Barrett and Kyleigh are expecting their 12th child, the seasons have just changed to winter, and the next big event is Celeste's wedding - Family tree for reference)

This pregnancy is going well, and for that we thank the Lord! Sometimes I feel this little one kick and I have to say a prayer of thanks that this is going to be the 12th little blessing that the Lord has thought us worthy of receiving. I've been seeing my doctor more often this pregnancy due to the risks of preeclampsia that showed up when I was pregnant with Jackson, they're also still monitoring me for gestational diabetes and have got me on the same workout plan just so that the risk is lowered. Since we already took a family picture at Harvestfest, we decided to add in a picture of this pregnancy to our family christmas card so that this little one is acknowledged. It also serves as an announcement to those of our friends and family who haven't heard the news.

The kids are faithfully doing school as we head into the winter, but they've been counting down the days until we travel to visit my parents. They get a bit of school free time when we go visit my parents, especially around the immediate holiday season when we're visiting and fellowshipping with various friends and family. They've been working on their usual scripture memory with an additional set of scripture that they'll recite during the christmas service at my parents church. The older kids have been dedicated with reading and memorising their verses, since they don't attend the sunday school class at my parents church regularly, they want to be on the same level as the kids that they'll be presenting with.

Little Jackson is growing ever more by the day! He's made a lot of progress and hit his milestones quite quickly, wanting to play with the other kids has him pushing himself to do more faster. He's mastered crawling, but now we're slowly practicing walking. His birthday is coming up before this new little one gets here, and even though he's the 12th child in the lineup, having them grow up and progress does bring a tear to my eye.

We've had dustings of snow, so the kids get to go out if they've finished their schoolwork and their chores for the day. Violet and Olivia have gotten quite close recently, Olivia turns 6 next year and will officially join the older kids in the school classroom. That will make it 8 kids that are actively being homeschooled! People always ask me how we deal with homeschooling so many children, and I have to say that it gets easier the more students there are! I sit with the kids and we have focus time, and I've grouped them together so theres no more than 3 in each round. That way we get all the difficult bits handled before I leave them to finish their work and do their assigned reading.

We love when the aunties come over! All 3 girls happened to be in town and have a free afternoon (Ashton was in Windenburg with Amira and her family after Harvestfest, Amira chose to come into town early for the wedding), so they stopped over and had some playtime in the snow with the kids before they took the a few back to the big house for music lessons. Having a big family is such a blessing, these girls are keeping themselves busy in the season of life that they're in that I'm so grateful that they still prioritise coming to see their nieces and nephews. With Celeste's wedding happening very shortly, we're about to have almost all our family in town again - praise the Lord!

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(Narrator) As she's on her 9th pregnancy carrying her 12th child, Kyleigh is well aware of the process of labouring with and delivering a baby. As she's being monitored for preeclampsia, when she feels labour starting she's got to come into the hospital immediately instead of labouring until the contractions are close enough. The family were in Brindleton Bay at the house that her parents rented for them to stay in, so her parents stayed with the kids while she and Barrett headed to hospital.

After labouring for around 5-6 hours, under constant monitoring by the doctor and birthing team at the hospital she was cleared to go in the birthing pool.

After a short delivery, Kyleigh & Barrett welcomed Lilliana Collins to their family. The Lord chose to give them a girl after 3 boys and they're grateful for a healthy mama and baby. The doctor likes to keep Kyleigh for monitoring after birth just to check that her levels are okay, so after a night at the hospital she was cleared to head home to introduce Lilliana to her siblings.

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(Kyleigh's POV)

We celebrated Rose & Violet's birthday while here in Brindleton Bay, they asked for a day with Barrett and I since he came into town for their birthday celebrations. The summer has just flown by, I can't believe that the new baby will be here soon. We also managed to schedule in a baby appointment for Barrett to attend while he was in town with us, because of the preeclampsia I now deliver at the hospital so baby and I can be monitored, so we went over the birthing plan since baby will be coming soon.

The girls are now 9 and time if just flying by! It feels like just yesterday we were told that we'd be having twins right after having the triplets! There was a lot of prayer as we prepared to go from 3 infants to 5 kids under the age of 2. In the beginning it definitely felt like we were in a constant state of chaos, but with the help of our family and friends (as well as constant prayer) we made it and now have 2 beautiful growing girls to raise for the Lord's glory.

The kids want to go to family camp this year, so we're actually travelling back to Newcrest so Macie can be an extra support while Barrett, his parents, and my parents take the kids who want to go. That means, that even though the initial plan was for baby to be born in Brindleton Bay, we've now moved things around so I've got some support while the kids go off to camp. I'd love to be there with everyone for the upbuilding fellowship, but it just wasn't in the plans for us all to be there this summer.

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🌲🍁🥧 Harvestfest 🌲🍁🥧

(Adalynn's POV)

Happy Harvestfest! We all made out way to my parents house in Newcrest for a weekend full of family, food, and fellowship. One thing we tried to arrange beforehand was the grandkids picture since we didn't manage to get one last year, and now that the babies that were in utero last year have been born (and no one that we know of is pregnant) we decided now was the perfect time. We mixed up the kids so that there was a big kid-little kid plan, mostly for crowd control purposes so that they would be able to handle the toddlers. The oldest four (Noah, Luke, Chloe, and AJ) were holding the youngest four (Grace, Everett, Jackson, and Bethany). As the years go by and the children grow (and with more being born, Lord willing) we'll have to keep finding new ways to arrange all the children.

Annette (21), Macie (33), Casandra (53), Allan (56), Ashton (17)

My parents and the girls at home are all doing great! Now that there's no longer anyone in school, my parents have more time for their other things, though it seems with the more the family grows the busier they'll get! My dad continues to shepherd the flock of Newcrest Baptist, there's a blossoming pastoral staff that also help to keep the place running for the Lord's glory. It also gives him time to travel to speaking engagements at other churches as well as different revivals, jubilee's, hymn sings, and festivals. My mother is also busy with her role as mother, grandmother, and pastor's wife. She somehow finds the time to show all of us that we're definitely loved and valued. She helps to homeschool Barrett and Kyleigh's kids whenever needed, as well as the kids coming to their house for music lessons. When they're not home or travelling to commitments, they're usually visiting with one of us that live out of town, they try and schedule their visits to us to coincide with their travelling for their commitments. My sisters are all busy busy bees! Macie splits her time between being at home or in ministry, and when she's not doing that she's visiting with one of us. Annette works as a babysitter helping families at church that need that extra support, she just loves children and is grateful she gets to spend time with children all day. Both girls remain in a season of singleness, and they're using it to the full, with our cousin Celeste getting married this winter they've been recruited to help with the planning and execution of the wedding. Ashton also babysits children in the congregation, she's in the church choir and spends her days helping out wherever she can. Since she has less responsibilities she spends the most time travelling, so she gets to spend longer amounts of time with the siblings.

Mason (35) & Adalynn Leonard (34) with Titus (2) and Bethany (3m), Luke (10), Paul (8), Caleb (4), Joshua (6), Jonah (4), Noah (12), Aaron (9)

We are so thankful for the Lord's grace! Little Bethany joined our family this summer and we are over the moon that the Lord chose for this little girl to join us - her 8 older brothers and her parents are over the moon! We've had two kids get saved this year (Paul & Joshua) and it's such a blessing that we've been able to lead our kids to the Lord for his glory! Since the arrival of little miss, Mason and I have been feeling like the Lord is leading us in the direction of a new house. Since she's so young and has about a year in our room with us, we have time to see whether we're going to extend the house by adding a level or whether we'll move to a whole new house altogether. We've got a bunch of prayer warriors on our side so I'm sure we'll get an answer soon.

(AN: Ignore the height differences, planning poses with so many sims means you gotta sacrifice a few things here and there)

Barrett (33) and Kyleigh Collins (31) with Preston (2) and Jackson (6m), Marigold (6), Daisy (7), Benjamin (9), Rose (8), Olivia (4), Violet (8), Jefferson (1), Allan Jr (9), and Chloe (9)

Barrett and Kyleigh are also thankful for a new blessing from the Lord, little Jackson made his appearance soon after Parker and Lana's wedding, so we got a 2-for-1 deal really! They're also prayerfully considering their house, so our prayer circles are really working hard in this season our two families are in. They also had two kids get saved this year, it brought so much joy to my heart when Kyleigh shared in our group chat that the girls had gotten saved and baptised at church! My parents started the tradition of gifting the 'savee' a bible and a family lunch, and it's such a precious tradition that they're able to now carry out with their grandchildren. They only have 12 grandkids that are in the average age range for getting saved (of course it can happen before or after that time period - all in the Lord's timing!), but as the grandchildren grow and continue to multiply they're going to need the Lord's help to get them everywhere that they're needed!

Francisco (34) and Zoe Moreno (30) with Javier Jr (3) and Cassie (1)

Zoe and her family are happy and thriving in Windenburg, Francisco's job gives him weekends off so the family gets to attend church on the weekends. Zoe has amassed a solid amount of students that she teaches piano and violin, as well as some students that she video conferences for their lessons. With two young children to care for and a house to maintain, she's an expert at managing her time. They're slowly approaching the time when Francisco gets his orders and they've got to move, but they've not put their choices in yet so we have no idea where they'll be right now. Little Cassie turns two years old in a few months, so the plan is to have a birthday party for her when we're all back in town for Celeste's wedding. Ashton is heading back to Windenburg to spend some time with them as well as with Amira and her family, she'll ride back with them for the wedding.

Shane (28) and Maggie Wright (27) with Iris (2) and Arlo Wright (2)

Maggie and her family are doing wonderful! They were in Sulani earlier this summer with Reece and Amira's families, it's wonderful getting to see my younger siblings bonding as adults with families of their own. Little Arlo and Iris seem to have grown leaps and bounds since I last saw them, the kids love getting to video chat with them and love whenever they get to visit with each other. Usually Maggie and her family will try and pass through to see us during their travels, so that's when the kids get to see each other.

Reece (26) and Stacie Collins (26) with Liam (5) and Hazel (2)

Reece and Stacie have also been doing great, Liam has breezed through kindergarten and is getting ready to start grade 1. Stacie will be homeschooling Liam through a homeschool co-op, they said that they felt that was the best option for getting the kids socialised with like minded children.

Beckett (24) and Mandy Collins (22)

Beckett and mandy are back for their yearly vacation from the mission field. It's so great to see them in person and hear the wonderful stories they have to tell about the great work that they're doing out there in Selvadorada. Whilst they haven't been blessed with a child as of yet, the Lord has kept them content with their current life and has showered them in blessings of many kinds. They'll be focusing on fundraising efforts for the mission field, as well as trying to see as much family as they can.

Thomas (24) and Amira Eichelburg (23) with Maya (1)

Amira and her family are wonderful and thriving! Little Maya is such a sweet girl, a total reflection of her wonderful mother! Amira was such a wonderful baby and child, and Maya is exactly like her mother. Their little family are wonderful and are so blessed by the Lord, and they've been doing more travelling this year when their schedule allows. They'll be sharing Ashton with Zoe this winter as they get to have some quality sister time before we meet again for Celeste's wedding.

Felix (26) and Priscilla Robert (21) with Andrew (2) and Grace (9m)

Little Grace has joined the family since we were last all together, and her name is so precious! Little Andrew is such a wonderful big brother and these two babies are the light of their parents lives! Priscilla always says that life in Oasis Springs spoils them with the heat, but she does miss having the traditional autumn and winter weather and is glad to be with family - as we all are!

Charles (20) and Lorilee Collins (19) with Everett (9m)

Charles and Lorilee welcomed little Everett into the family around the new year, and have been thanking the Lord for that blessing. Lorilee has been sharing that she's been doing better than expected at the postpartum period, especially for a first-timer. They're talking about moving out of their apartment and finding a house for their little family (that they're hoping to expand!)

Parker (19) and Lana (19) Collins

Lana was also a new joiner to the family this year! She's such a sweet girl and is a wonderful wife to Parker. Their wedding was beautiful and wonderfully glorified the Lord, which is a testament to the minds and hearts of Parker and Lana. As an older sibling, it's been my prayer that my siblings find spouses that challenge them and push them to the Lord, and I'm thankful to say that Lana does exactly that!

We also managed to take a group picture! There's 55 people in our 'immediate' family - imagine that! There's my parents, then the 13 kids, the 10 spouses, and 30 grandkids! The lord has blessed us greatly and beyond our wildest imagination.

For comparison, this is a picture from way before any of us got married, and then a picture with Mason, Noah, and Kyleigh in the family. Who would've thought that in less than 15 years we'd go from a family of 15 to a family of 55! This is probably the biggest example of God's goodness in our lives!

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(Kyleigh's POV)

I'm pregnant! Baby number 12 will be joining our family at the end of next summer. I didn't particularly feel any of the symptoms, I just had the feeling that I should take a test and it was positive! I called my OB and went in for an ultrasound, and we have one healthy baby! My blood work hasn't come back yet, but with my history of preeclampsia there will be more monitoring done for this pregnancy and any subsequent ones that I'll have.

You'd think that by my 9th pregnancy (and 12th baby) I'd be used to the rollercoaster of morning sickness, but it definitely is something that's a constant reminder of the new life that's growing inside me. Thankfully I cook in bulk and have a rotation of leftovers and fresh fruit and veggies, so I don't need to cook daily which definitely helps with my aversions to smells.

The kids are doing great with their school, the triplets are in grade 4, the twins in grade 3, Daisy is in grade 2, and Marigold has started grade 1, the littles do skillbuilding work so that they don't feel left out. The big kids do their work after breakfast, i sit with each set and explain whatever concepts they dont understand, and afterwards they will finish their workbooks while I sit and explain more to those who don't understand. The littles are in their room having quiet time or napping whilst the oldest are doing their work.

Barrett and the boys (AJ, Benji, Preston, and Jefferson) are enjoying little Jackson, no matter how many children we have we'll always have so much love and gratefulness for babies in our hearts. They're also happy to have another little brother to love on since they're currently outnumbered by the girls.

Little Jackson is growing so fast it's so hard to imagine that he only joined the family earlier this year! He's been hitting milestones so quickly that soon we'll be celebrating his birthday and he'll be a walker!

My belly definitely shows a lot faster the more pregnancies I have, but I'm not complaining since I love feeling my belly when I'm pregnant. The kids are constantly asking me to feel my belly and constantly asking to be the new baby's buddy, with little Olivia turning 5 next year the kids love being able to help their little siblings. Rose has especially been loving on my belly and talking to her little siblings, the kids sometimes repeat their scripture memory verses to my belly so that the baby will come out the womb having memorised it all!

Chloe has started writing in a journal, she's shared with me that she wants to do a scrapbooking project so that she can journal her journey in her relationship with the Lord. They had mentioned the idea in sunday school and she couldn't wait to come home and let us know what she wanted to do, the other kids also knew about the project but wanted to wait a bit before they started their own.

Chloe is doing so well with her knitting, we try and sit down 2 to 3 times a week for an hour so I can watch her knit and help her as she goes along. Her goal right now is to finish a jumper for one of her younger sisters, and to continue to make hats since we're in winter now. It's so great that the kids are now becoming older and can pick up skills, Violet expressed wanting to learn how to cross stitch, so we're working on that as well so by spring she'll have some nice pieces finished. Rose has been asking to learn how to cook, but since she's still quite young she helps me with meal planning and the easier prep items.

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(Kyleigh's POV)

After the Celeste's wedding weekend I rushed back home to do loads of laundry and finish packing up the RV for our travels to my parents. It was such a blessing to have the family all back in town (barring Beckett and Mandy - though we did send a tonne of pictures and videos back and forth to make them feel included) for another family wedding. Zoe announced her pregnancy just before this loads of chatting about appointments and ultrasounds and kids clothes. We're headed to my parents for the christmas and new year period, so it's been heads down and focus mode on in preparation for travel. I've been to see my doctor and we had a scan for baby, all is looking good and I'll all set to see the doctor when we come back in a few weeks. Since we're planning to be gone for a bit longer than usual, I've gotten in contact with a doctor in Brindleton Bay that I can see in case I need anything while at my parents'. We've scheduled the work on the house to start in the spring once all the snow has melted, in the meantime we'll have an extended stay at my parents house before coming back to Newcrest and staying at the big house until the house is livable again.

No matter the state of the house, there's always going to be someone who needs a little extra special time every now and again. Violet has such an open heart and is getting better at expressing herself more and more, and one day she had a terrible down day that just wasn't letting up. She shared her heart with me and we had a bit of prayer time and that made her feel just right! Once she was feeling better she asked to feel the baby, the more pregnancies I have the bigger my bump gets earlier. All the kids love feeling their new brother and sister in my belly, though right now it's still too early to feel any movement.

We're currently on a homeschool break right now for the holiday season, but Rose still loves writing down notes. She's always writing something, be it letters to friends and family or her notes from sunday school. She's taken it upon herself to write letters to the senior citizens that we visit with our ministry to the retirement homes, she wants to personally wish every single one of them a Merry Christmas & a happy new year as she knows that not all of them have family to go visit during the holiday season. We're going to post all her letters before we go so that they can get them in time for christmas.

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(Kyleigh's POV)(AN: This post is VERY religious from the jump, gotta hammer in how fundie these people are)

We dedicated little Jackson back to the Lord this weekend! It's an honour that this is the 11th child that we've been able to do this for, the Lord sends us children to raise up for his glory and we're so thankful for his undeserved blessings and are ready to receive any further blessings that the Lord thinks we deserve.

My parents always try and be there for the kids' dedication services, they absolutely love being grandparents and try to be there for any events that involve the kids. They say that each child is an answer to prayer, and I'm so thankful that my parents raised me to view children as a blessing. Being an only child, my parents told me the story of their struggle with infertility and the circumstances that led to them only having me (AN: I actually did a backstory on her parents since they were added to the story years ago when I gave everything a backstory - let me know if you want to hear their backstory, I've been debating on whether to add a character page for the in-laws and other side characters that will be seen now and again.)

More great things have been happening recently, the kids learn both at home and at church that in order to get to heaven they need to be saved. The older 5 kids got saved at different ages, but recently both Daisy (7) and Marigold (6) both got saved. They approached Barrett and I separately after we did our nightly devotions and said that they wanted to be saved. Barrett sat both of them down and asked if they were sure about their decision, but they both expressed that they realised they were sinners and wanted to go to heaven. Each of them said the sinner's prayers and we then prayed with each one afterwards, they told their grandparents the next morning and they announced it at church where they were later baptised by their grandfather. I feel so unbelievably grateful that my children have such firm, Godly foundations in their lives with both sides of their family working to live for the Lord. Whenever a grandkid gets saved, Allan and Casandra gift them their own personalised bible and we have a family lunch after church on sunday, with Adalynn's kids they travel over to see them to have that time with them. The older the grandkids get, they're going to have to be creative with how they see them when it comes time for them to be saved.

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(Lana's pov)

Newlywed life has been glorious! We've spent loads of time together, creating a routine for ourselves and just enjoying being married. Date nights are something we were advised to prioritise by almost everyone who gave us advice, so we've been going out once a week wherever we are or having date nights at home. Sometimes we're at a fancy restaurant, a small cafe, or we have a small picnic in the park - as long as we're together.

Since moving to Newcrest I've been loving being near Parker's brother and sister-in-law, they have the most kids out of all of Allan and Casandra's kids and she gave birth to their 11th child, Jackson, a few days after our wedding! I've loved getting to know the kids over the past few months and I'm happy that I can spend more time with them now that we live close by. I've also enjoyed spending time getting to know my fellow Kyleigh, at the reception Kyleigh, Stacie, Lorilee and I took a group selfie that we labelled the Mrs.Collins club. It's been great to hear her testimony and stories from her childhood and her walk with the Lord, she grew up an only child so it was so interesting hearing her experiences since I can't relate.

Little Jackson is such a cutie, he's still learning how to exist as a little human and is finding out new things about himself almost everyday. The great thing about being over at Kyleigh and Barrett's house is because there are so many children there's always someone to talk to, they have 3 toddlers in the house who love snuggles too, which I'm always down for. Some days when I have a few hours to spare, I'll ask Kyleigh what their plans are for the day and if there's any way that I can help. Sometimes I come over and read to the toddlers while Kyleigh focuses on school with the older kids, other days I come over just to keep the toddlers occupied because it's something I enjoy.

I don't just stick to the toddlers and infants, I've recently taken advantage of the hot summer weather and taken the older kids out for various activities. It's been great getting to know them and learn about their individual personalities and their interpersonal relationships. I had 3 of the girls in my bridal party and they're still talking about how much fun they had! None of the kids know how to roller skate, so our afternoon at the rink was a bit of a steep learning curve for them - but they did say they had fun regardless. We also had a water balloon fight in the park that's next to the skating rink, which is definitely fun when you have a big group of kids with you. As we were on the way home, all the kids could talk about was doing it again, which we're definitely going to have to do whilst they're still on summer holiday. Their family usually travels to an annual camp with Parker's parents and other relatives during the summer, but with the timing of Jackson's arrival they chose to sit this year out. Hopefully the adventures with the kids continue and we can add more kids to the mix as they grow older.

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(Kyleigh's pov)

Little Jackson is now an infant and we're all delighted that the infant stage is so interactive. Whilst we don't let the kids pick him up yet, they do great work at entertaining him and we let Chloe, AJ, and Benji take turns on giving him his bottle when it's feeding time. Their one prerequisite is that they have to have done their school work and at least half of their chores before they can be focused on Jackson. Casandra saw a deal on infant carriers when she was out one day, and got me one as well as one for any of the mothers at church who may need it.

From when I was a child through to right up to the time I got married and moved away, I would spend a few afternoons a week ministering at an old people's home in our area. A couple from my parent's church runs the ministry, and they gathered a bunch of volunteers to do various things. Some of us baked goods (with pre-approved recipes since a lot of the residents were on health related diets), some would play the piano and sing for the residents, whilst some would just simply sit and visit with them. A lot of the residents in the home had relatives that some reason or another weren't able to visit them as often, if at all, so it was a blessing for me to be able to go and spend time with those who need people to talk to. That's why I decided to introduce the kids to this ministry, our church started doing it a few years ago but I wanted the kids to be a bit older before we started going so that they can understand why we're there and our purpose.

I took the oldest 5 (Chloe, AJ, Benji, Rose, and Violet) as I feel that they were old enough, and they pleasantly surprised me! Chloe has been learning chess with her grandpa during the week, so she was excited to be able to use what she's learnt. Before we visited, I asked the kids to make a list of questions that they were going to ask, as well as various topics for them to talk about. It was great to hear the kids asking the residents about their lives, their testimonies, as well as about random things like their favourite snack.

The kids loved being able to play games whilst getting to know their new friends, they even learnt how to play Dont Wake The Llama. We control how much they can play different types of games because we don't want the kids to be engulfed by thoughts of playing all day, but the Bible does speak about doing things in moderation, so a day of fun here and there won't hurt anybody.

Before we got there I was given a list of songs that the residents wanted to hear, thankfully all the songs were hymns that I knew already so I didn't need sheet music. The children came round and sang 2 or 3 songs together but other than that they were spread around chatting to the various residents. I don't get to play the piano very often, so I was thankful I got to dust off my skills to be able to minister to the elderly. We're hoping to go back in 2 weeks or so, since we'd need to have schedules match up for what the home has planned for their residents as well as those of us who volunteer for the ministry.

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(Kyleigh's POV)

We had a great time at Parker and Lana's wedding, we love being able to welcome new members into the family and Lana was no different. She's made such an effort to get to know Barrett and I, as well as making sure to get to know our kids as their future auntie. Lana was also gracious enough to have the girls in her bridal party, she had Chloe as a junior bridesmaid whilst Rose, Violet, and Daisy were flowergirls. The older they get the more kids are included in different family weddings, though now there's only 3 potential immediate family weddings left for the kids to maybe have a part in. The girls love weddings, whenever they hear of a wedding we'll be going to, that's all they can think about and talk about, they'll even put on mini weddings with their toys. I think it's great that the girls are aspiring to marriage, I think it's healthy for little girls to have good ideas about marriage, since the world seems to put out negative messages about it.

We made great time heading back from Oasis Springs, the day after we got back I went into labour and little Jackson joined the family! Little Jackson brings the count to 6 girls and 5 boys, the boys are ecstatic to have another brother, AJ and Benji have been competing with who will get to hold him and feed him a bottle when it's feeding time.

Chloe has taken an interest in my garden, I've planted some herbs and veggies so that we've got easy access to healthy food and little cost. Feeding 10+ people means being smart with how we source our food, a lot of fruits and veggies we get are actually from the big house. Barrett's great aunt actually started the garden at the big house years ago, with his aunt Danielle taking over afterwards, and now Macie maintaining the garden. The garden has been growing and producing to maintain the upkeep of a large family, so Macie drops off some stuff that's in season or when I'm taking the kids over for their music lessons I'll leave with a healthy basket of goods.

With Chloe taking an interest in gardening, I'm going to use this to my advantage and incorporate this into the kids science lessons. Right now we have loads of flowers and a few good apple trees, so I'll work on more fruits and vegetable seeds to plant in the garden.

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(Kyleigh's POV)

Harvestfest was a blessed weekend! Having all the family over was amazing, all the kids enjoyed having all their aunts, uncles, and cousins over - it's all they could talk about for weeks prior! One thing I love about Harvestfest is that since we're local to Newcrest, there's no need to travel long distances and we can sleep in the house and travel to wherever the events are. Now that we have 11 children, it takes that much more planning and necessitates us having much stricter protocols in place for getting us from point a to b on time and in one piece. We got an updated family picture, and with the timing of harvestfest we get to use the updated picture as the family christmas card. I'm always looking back at family pictures and feeling like it was just yesterday that we were finding out that we were pregnant with the triplets, and yet here we are almost 10 years later and their the best older siblings to their 8 younger siblings. Getting Beckett and Mandy back for the time being is also amazing, it's such a blessing that we get to have missionaries in the family, they have such great stories and testimonies from their time in Selvadorada that are such great inspiration for the kids to listen to.

The kids absolutely love having all their cousins come into town, there are currently 19 cousins but 18 of them don't live in Newcrest, so they take advantage of the cousins being there to hangout. The kids love to video chat and send little clips to their cousins, even though they're older than most of the cousins they love and adore all their cousins equally. The smaller kids love being around the older kids, and though they could just ignore the smaller kids or find them annoying, they embrace and love their younger cousins and remind them that they're loved. I feel so blessed that I get to raise my children in an environment and within a culture that views children as blessings and not burdens, it creates such strong family bonds and a love and appreciation of children and family.

We also had a sip'n'see for Adalynn's little girl Bethany in the same weekend, having a girl after 8 boys was definitely a reason to celebrate and to shower her in all the cute girl clothes. It was great to have another reason to meet with family and friends for a celebration of life and family. The whole weekend was generally just a constant flow of fellowship, blessings, and reminders of God's goodness.