I fancied doing another Fundie Sims family. Meet Hugo and Verity Harper! This will mostly be from Verity's POV, until the kids are old enough (so when they're children). 

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I was so excited to finally move into a house of my own with Hugo. The wedding had been and gone, and now it was time to really begin our adult life together! The house in Henford-on-Bagley was fairly basic, but with lots of potential. It had a large garden area, too.

One thing Hugo and I had in common was that we both fancied being as self-sufficient as possible. With this in mind, I headed over to the nearby Finchwick Market to purchase some seeds to grow plants with. I was looking forward to being able to create tasty meals with delicious home-grown produce.

Another thing I enjoyed doing was playing musical instruments, particularly as I knew it pleased the Lord! Unfortunately we were not able to afford a piano. I discovered that there was an art gallery in the city of San Myshuno that also happened to have a "music room", where members of the public were allowed to play the instruments available there.

How generous! I thought. I headed over there immediately to experiment with the keyboard.

I decided to start a prayer and Bible journal as a way of keeping track of what I wanted to pray for, and to note down the Bible verses that particularly spoke to me.

Hugo had decided that he wanted to be a full-time preacher. Part of me wondered if I would be able to earn some sort of income, too. Growing up, my father had been the main breadwinner, although my mother had also contributed to the household income by selling hand-knitted clothing. 

"Hugo... is it OK if I earn a little money for us, too?" I asked.

"Yes, of course. I know many women who live Christian lives like us who bring in money to their families. As long as you're able to do any work from home, then I don't mind. We may not be blessed with children right away, so it will give you something to do."

I tried to make sure I spent time in God's Word every morning. 

One day, as I went outside to take care of the garden, I noticed an adorable bunny rabbit! I offered it a freshly-harvested carrot which it seemed to like. I also started talking to it; I felt a bit silly, but no-one was around to hear me...

"So... why don't we see if the Lord will bless us with a child?" Hugo asked one evening.

"Ok," I said, not entirely sure how to react. 

Unfortunately, that occasion turned out to be unsuccessful. I was a little disappointed, but tried to keep my spirits up. After all, it did sometimes take a while... I resolved to pray to the Lord about it.

On Wednesday evening, we headed over to Newcrest Baptist Church for a religious gathering. We spent a lot of time fellowshipping with the other churchgoers. 

On Thursday morning...

"Hugo! We're going to be PARENTS!"

"Oh, wow! I'm so excited!" he grinned.

I decided to form a Ladies' Bible Club, where we could all fellowship and discuss the Bible together. I knew that not everyone had the same modesty standards as I did, but I chose to not let it bother me. I didn't know these women all that well yet, and didn't want to alienate them. 

With Hugo's words about me being able to bring some money into the household ringing in my mind, I decided that one way to do so would be to write a book. I decided to write a short story compilation, titling it "An Expectant Mama".

When I reached my second trimester, Hugo and I went to get an ultrasound done. I was ecstatic to learn that I was expecting twin girls! I was so excited, imagining a pretty pink nursery for them both.

On Monday evening...

"Ooh! I think I've gone into labour! That's a contraction!" I gasped at the kitchen table.

"Ooh, I'm going to be a father soon!"

In time, I gave birth to our sweet girls. I named the older one Martha and the younger one Rachel, two names I liked and that were Biblical. 

As time went on, I got better at being able to tell the twins apart. I had read that it was a good idea to "colour code" twins. I knew some people dressed their twins identically, but I felt like it would be much easier in the long run to *not* do so. Even if they were identical, they were still two different people. So, I dressed Martha in pink and Rachel in purple.