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Welcome back to 66 Goodbook Avenue! Year 23, 2032, was a big year for the Edens! Well, for some Edens. First up, Elsie, our auxiliary Eden. Even though she's still nervous about alcohol she took a class on Mixology and received a promotion for her efforts! She is now head caterer. Yay! She also went out with some coworkers and acquaintances after work. Despite the Woman In Overalls From the Vet's Office being real cute, Elsie didn't make any big connections, but was still happy she put herself out there. And Romano Johnson finally finished his science project! He was so so proud. An almost-Eden getting extra credit in a science class?! Amazing. Now onto the Edens proper. Proverb Eden, #17, was born Feb 2031, and despite plenty of God-honoring, Biblical fellowship, Eva's womb remained closed throughout 2031 AND all of 2032. Since Eva was 41 during Proverb's birth, her fertility decreased again to 20% (Try For A Baby success was set at 80% ages 20-35, and at 50% 35-40). She's still got a shot at 1-2 more Edens before her cutoff at 45, but time is ticking! Unfortunately, Adam and Eva still have 17 children! In 2032 Ruth, now 14, finally got her teenage birthday celebration (a full year late) #eighthchildproblems! She's the one who started growing her hair out for Nathan Bates 10 years ago, and I'm pleased to report she sports a shorter, more natural 'do now. She's very artsy and loves painting and design. (Oh! And Jesus. Naturally.) Proverb also aged up into a toddler but no one knows anything about her or even took a picture because #seventeenthchildproblems. Maybe Eva will start paying more attention now that Proverb might actually be the caboose on this crazy train. Favored first child Genesis had a milestone year as well. She was promoted to the intermediate course for music education (level 2 of entertainer career) and licensed her first song! It was a haunting melody entitled "Smelly and Unlovely." shiver We'll get to #2 in a bit (giggle), but what about #3, Leviticus? Well there were ups and downs. He attempted to make dinner for the family, but that's wimin's work!!! How could he have known to keep watching the oven? This time it was not Genesis, but a different Eden daughter (Deuteronomy, #5) who extinguished the blaze. You go girls! But back to Levi. He and Exodus met up with younger bro Judges (#7) at ALERT Academy for some Manly Bonding. Behold the ALERT campus. Note: I didn't make this. I downloaded this "military barracks" from the Sims gallery. And filled it with fundie men including Kyle Vera and now Judges Eden. Exodus, Leviticus, and Judges punched bags and swam in basement pools as only Godly Young Men can do. It's nice that Judges isn't totally banished. And the reason for this Manly Men's retreat? Exodus was soon to be a groom. Exodus, 20, was set to marry Maya Mahan, newly 19. They courted for two years and were childhood friends. Maya is a creative, geeky young lady who loves the outdoors, painting, her infant brother, and her parents. (Oh yeah. And Jesus.) And while no one bothered to learn Maya's last name during the courtship, it turns out the Mahans were LOADED. Maya's childhood home was so beautiful... That it made a lovely spot for a wedding! Maya got ready for the big day in her childhood bedroom. How very symbolic. (The baby is legitimately her brother! No shenanigans here) But what emerged from the house was no longer a child, but a beautiful bride. In the Mahan's culture, white is the color of mourning, but Maya also wanted to respect the Eden's dress standards and compromised with this absolutely lovely bridal gown. The wedding was beautiful! (Note that Maya, typically with a pixie cut, grew out her hair the tiniest bit in another compromise, but she still looks stunning. You guys, I think I have a crush on a digital woman.) Elsie was even the caterer! After the wedding, the new Mr. and Mrs. Eden went on their honeymoon to Granite Falls! Since they fell in love under the stars in Salvadorada and were engaged on a camping trip, it made sense to honeymoon in the great outdoors as well. It was a cozy little one-bedroom without a stove or even hot shower, But that didn't stop them from enjoying Exodus-prepared BLTs together. And even though Exodus kept getting distracted by the first tv he's ever been allowed to watch, he was still more than ready to enjoy all the benefits of marriage with his bride. And unless the Lord intervened, there would be a very low chance of a Honeymoon Blessing. At least for tonight... ... ... ... And while a few more things happened at the very end of 2032, I think I'll save them for next entry as that was a lovely place to end. Congratulations to Exodus and Maya and until next time, Edens out!

Welcome back to 66 Goodbook Avenue! We last left the Edens celebrating 3 new additions to the family - Psalm Eden (#16) through birth, Brie Johnson (2nd child of Elsie) through adoption, and Maya (...Rudolph?) through courtship to Exodus Eden. It was a busy year, and life hasn't slowed down yet! Let's visit the Johnsons first. Elsie was still working in her catering role, which actually gave her time to spend with the children before work. She and Romano even worked on a (gasp!) science project together! Brie, adopted as a toddler, aged into a school aged girl who also went to Romano's private Christian school. She's even allowed to wear pants! Lastly, the Johnson's cat Nacho fell ill and needed to go to the vet. Only minimal treatment was required, and Elsie also happened to meet a very cute dog-owner in overalls. Elsie needs more adult socialization in her life and she was very intrigued. To be continued! Now on to the Edens. In 2030, Eva tried her hand at a screenplay, "How does she do it?" Sadly, she wouldn't have very much time to write as #17 was now on it's way! 2nd child and eldest son Exodus was also very busy...going on dates with his girlfriend "friend" courtship partner? All the dates were ANNOYINGLY chaperoned... but that didn't stop Exodus and Maya from sneaking in some hand-to-hand contact after a rousing game of chess. While he and brother Levi were still landscaping, Exodus, nearly an adult (20), realized he needed to think about his future, especially if he wanted a family someday. Educated at TSOTDRT, formal math wasn't his forte, but being a man of the house since age 11, Exodus has been very handy. He's considering a future in plumbing, electricity, or woodworking. Of course, once Exodus started thinking seriously about his future, Genesis felt left out. She's the oldest after all! Though so much of her adolescence was spent with a baby on her hip, Genesis always found solace in her violin. She's been such a blessing to her parents and they absolutely can't have her leave that they gifted her a music shed in the backyard! It is truly an oasis of song! (Numbers, #4, also began honing a new skill - gardening. This solitary "feminine" hobby is perfect for a introverted Eden needing some space from the Big House.) Genesis was so motivated in her musicianship she even started taking formal training for violin performance and teaching (entered the Entertainer Career)! Here she is after her first day. It is so much more intense than any Dining Room Table prepared her for! We've mentioned TSODRT a bunch this episode. How's that going? By the way, the Edens OFFICIALLY now have way too many kids. Adam and Eva couldn't adequately care for their toddlers after the trauma of the fire and I had to cheat several times to make the toddlers happy so they wouldn't get taken away. Or so school aged kids wouldn't sleep in the bathtub. AND the game is getting laggy because there's so many people in the household. It's not going well. But as a mentioned in a previous entry, Eden #7 (Judges) is one of the Howlers and a huge PITA. He aged up into a teenager and still had too much mouth. After much praying and gnashing of teeth, Eva told Judges the news. He was going to ALERT. Indefinitely. Nothing else to do! (Before you worry too much, I didn't kill him off or delete him or anything. ALERT is an actual "paramilitary base" I made in game. You'll see Judges again.) But back to the romance! On one of the teen group outings, Levi brought a friend, Kyle Vera, who actually lives at ALERT! Genesis was very taken by this strong, Godly man who looked way too much like her brothers (ahem Bates girls). Genesis saw him again when they had a reunion with Judges, and he showed off his muscles of fortitude. It seems Kyle likes to show off his muscles of fortitude to multiple Eden daughters. Uh oh! Exodus, on the other hand, only has eyes for one Godly maiden. At a Salvadorada Missions Trip Reunion he pulled her aside... and..oh wait! At some point in all this #17, Proverb Eden was born! (close to two years after #16) Welcome to the world, Proverb! We can't wait to...yeah yeah yeah let's get back to the actual show. Exodus pulled Maya into his arms... And asked her to be his wife! She said YES! And then Exodus was so excited that he kissed her! Bet they'll have to pray about that a lot later. But we are so happy for them! And so year 22, 2031, ends with 20-year old Exodus engaged to his lady friend belle "courtship partner" of two years (hey could be worse!), Maya SoontobeEden! See! I didn't need to remember her last name after all Oh what's that you say? Maya might keep her last name? hahahahahahaha Until next time, Edens out!

Welcome back to 66 Goodbook Avenue! We've now followed the Edens for two decades, and the f*n is only multiplying. As the Edens continue to expand rapidly, they rejoiced that God their pastor changed his mind about bunkbeds! They are allowed again (I found a mod that worked with the updates). Behold the truly space-efficient boys and girls dorms. It's a good thing there are a lot of teenagers ruling the roost now, as the littler Edens are out of control. The girls in particular really have a lot on their plates. Here, Deuteronomy does laundry while Genesis cooks, Chronicles does dishes, Ruth practices the violin, and Numbers entertains the useless boys. Similar to the Duggars, the first five Edens have actual identities and personalities, and after that, they all run together. Also similar to the Duggars, there is a group of middle boys (with one girl in the middle, Ruth!) who run completely amok. #7, Judges, is a particular PITA. Here he is on the left with a fellow Howler, making one of 666 messes this year. Timeouts have done little to curb his destructive tendencies, so Adam and Eva are praying for a fundie behavioral remedy. Look out Judges! The eldest of the Howlers, #6 Joshua (not that anyone cares), became a teen this year. He was a very good, nondescript kid who became a little romantic. Guess we'll check up on you in 5 more years, Josh! Meanwhile, the above-16s were invited on a mission trip to scary Salvadorada with their youth group. Exodus was delighted that the Lord laid it on Maya's heart to attend as well! They spent their first evening revisiting their baptisms swimming in the vacation home pool. Genesis was relieved that Maya at least tried to cover up her rockin' bod. I mean, damn, girl Over the trip, Exodus was really attracted to Maya's COUNTENANCE and heart for working out the Lord, and they got to know each other much better. Exodus truly was pleased that the Lord led them to be of service in...he can't remember the country. Genesis enjoyed it as well. Not only was it a break from her regular duties, but also she got to see how modestly and non-sluttishly the other women there dressed. She made sure Eva shared her [Genesis'] thoughts on Facebook. While the group was on the missioncation, Eva gave birth to #16 (a full TWO YEARS after #15!) Welcome the world, Psalm! We can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for you! Fortunately, the teens were back in time to make birthday cakes for the twins' fourth birthday (the blondes in turquoise). For the first time since Genesis, the Edens only had one toddler at once! They are indeed slowing down! (since the fertility decrease when Eva turned 35) Notice I said slowing down, not stopping. The sweet fellowship continues, and Eva's womb hasn't quit yet! Adam and Eva are the only ones who still seem surprised that yet another blessing is on the way! Ok but back to the teens we really care about. At the end of 2029, Exodus was turning 18 (Genesis is already a legal adult I guess, but with no romantic prospects in sight she may as well be 14 to her parents). He and his parents thought he was ready to enter the next season of life. So he invited Maya to the art museum... "Doesn't this painting of the outdoors remind you of when were outdoors helping those poor people in...Albuquerque?" gave her a rose... and asked her to enter into a courtship relationship with him. She said yes! How exciting! No word yet on how the rest of the family feels about her pants and short hair, but Exodus thinks she is fiiiiiine inherwalkwithChrist. So there you have it. We go into a new decade with baby 16 and one more in the oven, a missioncation, a courtposal, and everyone growing up! Until next time, Edens out!

Welcome back to 66 Goodbook Avenue! As always, its been a while since I've updated. If anyone is reading this, here's a recap: Eva Johnson married Adam Eden when they were both 20 (in Jan of 2010). Adam is a manager for Hobby Lobby; Eva is a Manager of her Home. They immediately moved into a 3-bed, 2-bath home in the suburbs and started procreating for the Lord. Due to various types of expansions they now have 6 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, and 14 children: Genesis (g) 10/10 Honeymoon Baby! Exodus (b) 9/11 Leviticus (b) 11/12 Numbers (g) 2/14 Deuteronomy (g) 5/15 Joshua (b) 6/16 Judges (b) 10/17 Ruth (g) 1/19 Samuel (b) 3/20 Kings (b) 6/21 Chronicles (g) 10/31/22 Ezra (b) 2/24 TWINS Nehemiah and Esther 12/25 plus their newest precious blessing on the way in 2027! (For the record, that's an average of 15 months between births - not quite Courtney Rogers fast, but definitely Michelle Duggar fast.) The first laundry-room break-down occurred only at child 3 (under 3). Soon Eva's younger sister was brought in as live-in help - she has since married and divorced and is no longer living in the Big House. A second breakdown happened about 10 kids in. Genesis had to be promoted to sister mom at age 11, Exodus became a little man of the house at 12, and Levi joined the ranks of toddler carer/handyman/and cook at age 13. Now, except for the eldest three keeping the family together, neither Eva nor I care about her sprog once they are out of toddler years. My little experiment is really mirroring fundie life remarkably well. Ok here we go: In Feb of 2027, #4 Numbers turned 13 and became the second sister-mom! She is a loner who hates the noise and mess of the Big House, and it really was getting crowded, so the Edens grifted for ANOTHER house expansion and built the Teen Wing. It is of course attached to the nursery, as who else would be minding the littles?! You can't see it from this picture, but we have truly reached lawlessness in the Big House. Toddlers fending for themselves, children sleeping on the courting bench in the garden, someone up at all hours, and everyone running into each other in the bathrooms. The only way Eva and I get through the days is to just not care anymore. And into this chaos, #15 was born! Welcome to the world Job! We can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for you! If we can remember which one you are. As you can see, the family has more and more mouths to feed. Genesis turned 16 and became a megachurch barista like her mother before her, and her teen brothers (not 16 yet but hey, fundies don't care) landscape on the weekends to help feed their siblings. Fundie teenagedom sounds like the WORST. (In true fundie fashion, I have no idea who the other kids are in this picture.) However, even in fundieland, adolescence is still a time of new adventures and opportunity. While Eva continues to write novels (her latest nonfiction work "Doubly Blessed: My life as Twin Mama and Mama to 13* More (*at time of writing)" has just been published), Genesis is a budding musician and wrote a folk song, "Big Happy Family" that has had modest success. (Hey Genesis, blink twice if your parents titled the song for you!...Oh you seem to have something in your eye.) And of course the teenage years mean getting to know members of the opposite gender. Leviticus, a budding preacher, continues to host truly terrible youth groups, but despite this, somehow Exodus and Maya begin to bond over some burned 'dog. Eventually they try a new locale. It doesn't matter. Levi is truly terrible at socialization. The others make new friends, properly chaperoned and keeping plenty of room for Jesus between them. (and of course, drinking nothing stronger than some seltzer) What fun! Speaking of teens, Deuteronomy #5 aged up in the middle of year 19/2028. Not like that! Much better. Actually, Deuteronomy is the fundiest of them all. She makes her parents so proud. And that's good, because they are going to need all the help they can get. Just as Job turns 1 and becomes a toddler, Eva tells Adam they are expecting a new blessing! "How nice," says Adam. "What number is this?" #16 is on its way!!! As if that weren't enough to keep track of, we of course always have our eye on Elsie Johnson, Eva's little sister! She has been working through a culinary career while single-moming her precious son Romano, who just started school at a private Christian academy. When we last saw them, they had just gotten an adorable kitty named Nacho. Elsie - turning 30, divorced, and a single mom - was thinking about dating again, but realized she's already an unusual catch, and her family didn't feel quite complete yet. So she adopted a little girl named Brie! If you were around for the rough years, look how full Elsie's life is now! She works evenings, so she is able to spend lots of time with Brie while Romano is at school, visit with Romano while Brie is napping in the afternoon, and watch them play together before she works (and they go to the Big House). She is truly a fundie success story and I hope she is secretly inspiring some of her nieces and nephews! Will any of the little Edens break free like Elsie has? Are any courtships on the horizon? We'll just have to stay tuned! Until next time, Edens out!

Despite keeping Jill away from David as much as possible when Steve and Steve 2 were at work, she still liked-liked him more. Steve was too boring and the other Steve was too angry for her tastes. David and Mrs David - not Ms. thank you very much! - got married in a Godly church, and are currently waiting for God to bring them their first child. In the meantime, David is spending his days fishing in Gods green gloryness, and Mrs David is spending her time singing Godly tunes to praise Him. She hopes that God will provide a guitar and piano, though she wonders how a piano will fit in the RV since there is barely enough room for the crib. Darn Sims baby is required to sleep in a crib even though their bedroom with attached private bathroom has more than enough room for a cage. (I'm not sure if I'm going to continue this. I was playing it with the hopes she would end up with someone else, so the gameplay would be more interesting and less... real.)

I'm jumping ahead a bit in time here, but hopefully, I'll be able to do some catch-up posts in the next couple of days. Anyway, the Lord has decided to bless the O'Hurleys with twins. In addition to the two toddlers already in the house. Thankfully, Matthew is only one day away from aging up. I caved and used the free real estate cheat to buy them a nice big house in Brindleton Bay. Now, I'm off to look into the MC Commander mod since we've almost got a full house already!

Hi everyone! So I've started working on a custom TTH for the O'Hurleys to move into when the family gets a bit bigger. I'm not the greatest at building Sims homes, so I could use some input. Here is the layout as it stands right now. Now obviously it's going to need at least one more bedroom. Ideally, I want to keep all the main living space on one floor and leave a basement open for laundry and a game room. Can someone who's good with layouts help me figure out how to fit another bedroom and more bathrooms on the main floor, or the basement if need be? I want to keep it to one main story to keep track of everyone more easily, but obviously, I want to have plenty of space for all future blessings. TIA!

At about 2 in the morning, Mary-Anne woke up to use the restroom, and what do you know? She went into labor! She woke up her hubby, who after a brief moment of panic, found peace through the Lord, and promptly went to play video games. He ultimately broke the computer in doing so. #besthubbyever After some prompting in his heart from me The Lord, Mark gave his laboring wife a relaxing massage. Luckily, things went quickly, and at 5:39 AM, Matthew O'Hurley entered the world! After nursing the little one, an exhausted Mary-Anne went back to bed, and Mark took over the babysitting parenting duties. Such precious moments with a new father and his firstborn son! #bestpapaever Oh, he also took out the trash, so #besthubbyever, I guess. Having slept most of the day, Mary-Anne woke up at about 10 PM in a pretty good mood, so, hey hey hey! And I think I'll leave it at that for now. Until next time! - Mark, Mary-Anne, Matthew, & Baby P.S., At least she can hide the bump behind the baby. For now.

Welcome back to 66 Goodbook Avenue! No one's life is as exciting as Elsie's right now, so this "episode" will be mainly about her. Elsie took to wearing her courtship proposal clothes following that fateful night, because they seemed lucky Providential and made Elsie feel like a pretty princess she was bringing attention to her countenance. As Elsie had joined the family when Leviticus was the baby, she was his mom has always shared a special bond with him. On his 4th birthday, she was the one to make the cake, and afterwards Elsie and now-child Leviticus shared a very precious moment. Happy birthday Leviticus! (Notice Leviticus' birth parents are nowhere in sight.) We are so glad that the Lord has turned your clingy toddler personality into an outgoing one to better share the Good News! Maybe we'll have a preacher in the family one day! With 2 adults, 1 teen, and 3 children in the family (plus 2 toddlers and 1 baby), the bathrooms were getting pretty crowded. But with the addition of bunkbeds, sleeping space was no problem! (custom content used: http://pixeldreamworld.tumblr.com/post/131973418125/basic-bunk-bed-frame-only-another-new-bunk-bed, http://pixeldreamworld.tumblr.com/post/156093289040/updated-fixed-matresses-for-bunk-beds-re, http://pixeldreamworld.tumblr.com/post/156411968190/functional-toddler-bunk-bed-frame-zero-footprint) And there was another big birthday in 2017! Elsie didn't want to make her own cake, and no one else was going to make it for her, so she celebrated her birthday at brunch with sweetheart Cale and the children. First, eldest son Exodus had to meet Cale at the door and ask for Cale's intentions towards his meek and impressionable aunt. Hmmm...does Cale look different to you? Why yes he does! I did a little research into Cale's past like any good FJ-er, and it is juicy and totally explains his descent into fundamentalism! Cale is one of only two children (how sad), and his parents are HOT MESSES. His dad is this flashy mofo who is cheating on Cale's mom, and Cale's mom is a sluttish partier. Cale's sister is also a mega harlot, and mean to boot. It's no wonder Cale wants to get out...err, turn to the Lord! Cale will have such a good testimony with his worldy background, but after being threatened by meeting with Mr. Johnson about a courtship with his daughter, Cale was convicted to lose the hair dye and look more like the upstanding Baptist male he totally always dreamed he would be. What a great birthday brunch! Elsie is richly blessed. And now both she and Cale are 20 years old! Totally adults and ready to take that next step. Or at least Elsie was. She attempted to turn Cale's heart towards marriage by inviting him over for that famous godly creation, his favorite meal, grilled cheese! Turns out, in addition to loving dogs and music, Cale is also a huge foodie! The dinner was a smashing success and since Elsie's life aspiration is to be a master chef, err submissive and meek helpmeet, they had so much to talk about! Shortly after that, in October, an entire 16 months after #6, Precious Blessing #7 arrived! Welcome to the world baby Judges! We can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for you! Except no one really cares anymore, so back to Elsie. After 11 months of seeking each other's hearts and discerning the will of the Lord through godly courtship, Cale and Elsie went back to Chez Llama. Even though their server had purple hair and pants (!!!!!gasp!!!!!), love was truly in the air...I mean, the presence of the Lord was clearly felt... And the Lord moved Cale to ask Elsie the one question she'd always dreamed of, "Will you marry me and be my helpmeet?" Since they're front-hugging she better have said yes! (She did!!!!!!!!!!!!!) Congratulations Elsie and Cale! We are so excited for y'all and can't wait to see what the Lord does in your lives together! What a precious testimony y'all are!!!1!!!11!!!! Well that's 2017 in a wrap! Oh wait. Somewhere along the way, Joshua turned one and became an ANGELIC toddler (while Adam was overcome with the Holy Spirit. Or something)! Happy birthday sweetie! Sorry we've already forgotten about you! So that's a wrap on 2017! Wedding bells and the loss of live-in servant Elsie coming to the Edens very soon. Except I won't blog about that until 2019 and one kid later. Just kidding! Stay tuned to see if Elsie can find a God-honoring t-shirt dress (don't count on it) and if the entire Eden household will fall apart without her (signs point to yes). Edens out!

Welcome back to 66 Goodbook Avenue! We ended Year 6 with a number of burning questions and I have answers for you on all fronts! Firstly, Exodus is actually a pretty great little dude without the smugness I feared. He is diligent in his homeschooling, shares a particularly precious bond with Leviticus, and is upstanding in his walk with the Lord (whew! Had to throw Jesus in there). He is also learning how to workout from his father, who couldn't bear to witness the End Times in Spandex at the gym, so is performing calisthenics Safe At Home and getting in pretty good shape. (Genesis is doing all of the above AND a lot of cleaning, but that's her role as Godly young elementary-school girl so why mention it) Secondly, Adam realized that in order to be the Spiritual Leader of the home that he was ordained to be, he needed to spend more time with his kids. He was much more involved in Year 7, and was actually even there for the (outdoor) birth of his 6th child! (June 2016, 13 months after #5) Welcome to the world baby boy Joshua! We can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for you! (And hope you don't mind having the only normal name of your siblings so far!) Speaking of siblings with weird names, Deuteronomy aged up to a toddler! Happy birthday sweetie! Very relieved that you got "charming" for your toddler personality! (Her color will be pinkish) A "good" toddler personality is no guarantee of peace though, because even good toddlers can't control their emotions all the time. Independent and obedient Numbers, the easiest kid so far, was so distressed by the addition of her newest brother that she smashed the treehouse in a fit of rage! Elsie was so embarassed that CALE, who was spending time with the family, had to witness her niece's sinful nature. (In the picture below, notice Eva coming to yell at Numbers - though not blanket-train her - and Elsie in SWEATPANTS!) Though Elsie was NIKE in her workout attire, Cale didn't seem to mind and they enjoyed time in athletic pursuits together. Elsie had of course learned her lesson, and let Cale win. Soon after Joshua's arrival, Eva and Adam hey-hey-heyed to their hearts' content with Elsie potty-training Deuteronomy the next wall over. So it should be no surprise to anyone anymore that Precious Blessing #7 is on its way!!! How neat! For those of you concerned about space issues, fear not! My maximum household size is 25, and the Edens bought bunkbeds!! (custom content downloaded) Below, see the toddler bunkbeds for Numbers/Deuteronomy and all the precious babes asleep. See? There is still lots of room to stack those arrows for Jesus like cordwood. The last question to be answered in Year 7 again concerns our pet-fundie Elsie. After chatting on the phone in front of their families and going to the park again with Genesis and Exodus, Cale asked Elsie to Chez Llama for a Very Special Date. (picture taken by a chaperone who was obviously there) Though he couldn't work up the courage during dinner, in the romantic night air Cale finally asked Elsie if she would enter into a Courtship Relationship with him! What?! Elsie and Cale had only been getting-to-know-each-other/special friends for 1.5 years now. She completely didn't see it coming! But OF COURSE she said TOTALLY! while they sweetly held hands for the very first time. They may not be on the level of a no-touch engagement, but what a Godly example these two are. The Edens had a better 2016 than most, but can the happiness last? Hoping for new blessings, sweet family moments, and a successful Courtship Relationship in 2017/Year 7, Edens out!

Welcome back! Here's a brief recap of what the O'Hurleys have been up to since we last saw them. Fascinating, I know. With Mark at work all day, Mary-Anne has filled her days with writing and housework. Luckily the worst of her morning sickness has subsided and Baby is growing bigger every minute day! One day, Mark came home from work having just received a promotion and a huge bonus. Rather than spend it on useful household appliances that would lift a huge burden off his pregnant wife's shoulders, he decided to take said pregnant wife to a foreign country on a mission trip! #besthubbyever As you can see, both Mark and Mary-Anne got in on the proselytizing action. It was so precious to spend time interacting with the Selvadoradians and learning about their culture! They even visited an archaeology museum and saw so many neat artifacts! They did spend their last evening in Selvadorada having a nice date night outside their villa. Overall, I'd call it a successful what-some-might-call-a-babymoon. Clearly, traveling abroad to save lost souls paid off, because the Lord blessed them in a major way when they returned home! The house just down the street went up for sale for less than the value of their current home, meaning they were able to buy a new home debt-free right there on the spot! It even had an extra bedroom, allowing Mary-Anne to set up a nursery for Baby! PTL! Baby O'Hurley's arrival is now imminent, and I'm sure that's not the last time I'll be saying that! Until next time! - Mark, Mary-Anne, & Baby

This update is going to be short and sweet because Mark and Mary-Anne have some exciting news to share! I'll let the pictures do the talking. Mark needed a cold shower after that to squelch unrighteous desires. You know what that means! Mark looks thrilled with the news. (In his defense, she did wake him up in the middle of the night.) As you can see, Mary-Anne has had some "reassuring" morning sickness. So there you have it! The first O'Hurley blessing is on its way! What will the O'Hurleys do next? Go on a mission trip, of course! Stay tuned. Until next time!

Welcome back to 66 Goodbook Avenue! A lot has happened since we last checked in with the Edens! Here is the history of the family so far (pictured below, and ages based on time of day children born and the corresponding month in my realistic aging plan): Adam Eden (age 21) marries Eva Johnson (age 20) Jan 2010 Genesis (girl, purple) born Oct 2010 (That's right - honeymoon baby! *smiles*) Exodus (boy, green) born Sept 2011 (11 month gap) Leviticus (boy, orange) born Nov 2012 (14 month gap) Numbers (girl, bassinet) born Feb 2014 (16 month gap) Elsie Johnson (teenage girl in blue, born 1997) moved in with the Edens middle of 2013. And of course, at the beginning of Year 6/2015, Eva was heavily pregnant with Blessing #5. Here she shares a precious moment with her newest baby, while largely ignoring her older children. Numbers may have the worst name but she's definitely been the best baby so far. Numbers continued to be the perfect fundie daughter when she aged up to a toddler with the Independent trait! Happy birthday Numbers! We love your meek spirit! Not too long after, Blessing #5 was born! (May 2015) Welcome to the world baby girl Deuteronomy! We can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for you! (And again, sorry about the name) Speaking of babies (?), the Lord laid it on Adam's heart to lose some of the sympathy baby weight he'd acquired since marriage, so Year 6 he ventured to the gym. Alas, NIKE! All the sluttish women there made him weep, gnash his teeth, and workout in a room by himself. If he can bring himself to go back he will have to ask Steve Maxhell how to bear short shorts. All that getting-in-shape sure does a body good. And guess what?!?! Blessing #6 is on its way! (Are you surprised? No? Adam's not either. He just wants to eat his breakfast in peace.) In 2015, Exodus turned 4 years old! Adam told Exodus how special he was, how he was the answer to Adam and Eva's prayers, and how he would do great things to bring people to the Lord. Well Genesis, it doesn't look like Exodus will need too much manhood-nurturing to accept his role as spiritual leader and fundie heir! What a smug-looking preschooler. But of course, I know everyone is here to learn about Elsie! She turned 18 and was FINALLY ready for her future husband to find her! Could Cale be The One? She and Cale texted for a while in a group chat, and finally met again at the park. However, no longer living under her father's umbrella of protection, she seems to have forgotten her meek and mild spirit! Not only did Elsie make SINFUL eyes at Cale, but she also BEAT him in Chess! (Pray for her.) Following this he left in a huff and Elsie was SEVERELY scolded on her Jezebel ways. After Elsie had sufficiently apologized and submitted herself to both Cale and her BIL/new headship, Cale was invited over to the Eden's home for some more getting-to-know-each-other. They jumped the gun and sat on the plastic courting bench though! This setting severely confused Elsie, and after chatting about Cale's job (LANDSCAPER for a gardening company!!!!) and his love for dogs, Elsie let her feelings for Cale slip! Once again Cale left in a hurry and Elsie was so embarrassed. She thought for sure the getting-to-know-you period with Cale would end and that she would be gossiped about as "forward." Already giving away heart pieces for Jesus' sake! For the next few weeks Elsie kept her head down in servitude to God and to the Edens. She volunteered with Genesis, prayed with Adam for humility, and really just focused on her walk with the Lord. And the Lord forgave Elsie in her penance, and who should ask to come over again but Cale!!! Elsie was SHOCKED. Maybe waiting for a man to pursue her heart did work after all! This time, Elsie served Cale homemade food and agreed with him on theological points (much better) AS ADAM AND EVA FLAUNTED THEIR SPECIAL MARRIED PRIVILEGES NEXT TO THEM. Way to keep it classy Duggars Edens. And Cale, like Ben, surprisingly did not run away screaming from this blatant display. Instead he started flirting with Elsie!! And they even snuck off to...take a picture together! Say "side-hug!" And there ends year 6! Sorry that it was a bit of a hodge-podge. I hope to have a more cohesive story for year 7. Speaking of Year 7, when will Blessing #6 enter the world and whatever could its name be? Will Exodus turn out to be as much of a prick as he looks like? Has Adam checked out from child-rearing completely? Most importantly, will Elsie and Cale enter a courtship relationship? STAY TUNED! Edens out! And ladies, let those men pursue you!

Welcome back to 66 Goodbook Avenue! Year 5 started off with a large expansion for the kids' rooms in expectation of a large expansion of the family. Notice the Heaven-Bound theme to keep little minds thinking about where they go when they die *smile* Elsie started a barista job at the family church like her sister before her, because she clearly wasn't doing enough to earn her keep, and Genesis turned 4!! As a child and no longer a toddler, she got right down to covering her body for Jesus and starting household chores. In Feb, baby girl Numbers was born! Welcome to the world Numbers! We can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for you! (Sorry about the name) In true Eden fashion, after Numbers' birth Eva couldn't wait to again give her headship what only she could provide. Yes Adam, look at the fine badonkadonk heart for the Lord your wife has. What again Mom? Geez Louise! (Yep, Blessing #5 is on its way!) Poor Genesis. Not only does she have to deal with an endless stream of younger siblings and start doing chores at 4, but she also has to homeschool herself. What could go wrong? (Also I would like to reassure everyone that what you see is a Creationist-approved science table. The state made them get it.) Okay besides Genesis' trials (and there are many), the Edens had a nice thing going year 5. Elsie was the best help ever!!! and seriously bonded with the kids, the house was expanded and decorated, and Eva wrote her most successful manifesto to date, "Finding My Contentment: Abandoning my Personality for Jesus." Eva had indeed abandoned her personality and was on permanently-maxed motives. Sure, she still slept and ate sometimes but did she need to? No!!! She has turned all her needs over to God and become a great mom (but only to toddlers. Genesis is still SOL). According to the MIT living wages calculator (http://livingwage.mit.edu/counties/51003), a two-parent one-worker family (in Albemarle County, VA because that's where I spent my early childhood) needs 50k/year plus an additional 5k for every kid beyond the first one. So even if Elsie is paying her own way, that's 70k/year needed for the Eden 6. Adam's job was $35/hr (salary equivalent $73,000) so they were jussssst squeaking by and with a new baby on the way. But the Lord provides! Mid-year, Adam was promoted to Hobby Lobby Regional Manager and is now bringing in $110,000!!!!! While Adam probably won't progress much further in his career, if he stays a job-type person the family will finally start to have some breathing room and can stop grifting. Here's Adam in his new fancy suit. The other big news in year 5 is that Genesis and Elsie began socializing with the outside world! Eva is really too busy to care about her oldest child and her sister-slave, so they've had some fun adventures. Especially Elsie. Elsie Elsie Elsie. Elsie took Genesis and Leviticus to the park to "give Eva a break" and while it WAS super wholesome fun for Leviticus and Genesis, Elsie also just so happened to meet a teenager named Cale while she was there. He was playing with children on the pirate ship and clearly has a servant's heart! And if you take away his dyed hair and patch up his jeans, he actually looks a lot like the young man her parents told her to pray for (read: Republican)! During their conversation chaperoned by some elementary-school children, Eva learned that Cale loves music too! They have so much in common! Eva quickly remembered her modesty after this, but she just may have to take Genesis to the park again soon... Goodnight Edens! Do you know where your super-sheltered super-oppressed super-horny fundie sister is? I kinda hope not! (As long as she’s safe) Edens out!

Since it was the weekend (not that he worked anyways, so every day is the weekend) David decided to go fishing. He caught a minnow, which he was extremely proud of. Steven took his day off from his fireMAN job to work out. Jill went to the library to read a secular book. It it about having babies, so it is acceptable. She sees a man - potenital baby making helper - come in, but his skin is too dark. She also notices a slutty woman walk past her. Steve, being a pervert sinner who needs to go to the prayer closet - if only his small home had a closet - decided to sit next to Jill on a two seater sofa. She is a Godly young woman, so Jesus will forgive him. He is reading a book titled "What do you mean by communication?" It is okay, but he hasn't read anything in it about God yet. Perhaps in the future he will write his own book about communication. Jill notices a non-slutty woman, so she approaches her, fully ignoring the slutty woman standing next to her. They gossip and laugh. Kindred spirits! [I noticed Jill got a want to mooch money off of her right after introducing herself] They all head home at a pre-planned time to fellowship over a meal prepared by the female of the home, after which they all sleep in independent beds in a shared bedroom. It is cramped, but not so much as an RV. Plans for the future: Upon waking, Steven will be going to his fireMAN job and Steve will be going to the hospital to make a donation. He insists it is not sperm, since every one is sacred, and he has a life plan to get married and have as many children as God wills. David will fufill his wish of fishing before 6AM. Jill is unsure what she will do after she primps herself up at the mirror. Perhaps she will go to the church to pray... What; there is no church in the town? We must do something about that right away! I don't think I'm going to update this every game day, but I'll try to keep it up, assuming other people are interested in seeing the story progression. I intend to let them have as much free will as possible, and will marry Jill off to whoever she loves the most - because after love comes marriage and an SUV sized baby carriage.

So I seem to have come across yet another, albeit minor, issue. I loaded up the game. I get a notification saying that one or more CAS items have been removed. From what I can work out, all that’s gone is one pair of pyjama bottoms (which happened to be the ones Eliza and Emily were wearing). I repaired the game, removed the couple of items of CC I had, still this one item is missing. As I've removed the CC, I’ve had to give Evelyn a new skirt. It’s a PITA but it’s minor in the grand scheme of things.

So it's been 2 years and 2.3 kids and year 3 started with this... Another fire! Clearly Eva should never bake again. Although no humans were hurt, the stove and neighboring counter were completely burnt, and there was no money to replace them. The Edens got very sick of autumn salad and BLTs, but in general year three was pretty good to them. While Eva put the kids to bed and did all the chores, Adam stayed up late writing reports on how Hobby Lobby was doing the Lord's work, (such as building a Museum of the Bible on the National Mall https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/01/can-hobby-lobby-buy-the-bible/419088/) and the Lord personally rewarded him with a promotion to assistant manager! God is so good y'all! Eva was still able to actually parent her little Blessings, and Genesis retained an affinity for the bathroom in which she was born. (Also notice the stove in the background, blackened and burnt to remind the Edens that to ash they would return. Fun.) Genesis also learned how to go down stairs PRAISE JESUS!!! (I've Eva has since decided that climbing stairs is the godliest skill a toddler can learn, and the highest priority for little Edens. The Lord wouldn't want her to carry a toddler when she's 13 months pregnant, would He?) Speaking of which, Eva has been pregnant FOREVER. Internet forums were beginning to reach Jill-level hysteria on baby watch #3. Exodus even reached his first birthday while Eva continued to gestate. (Happy birthday Exodus! Thank God you got a "silly" personality instead of "fussy" like your older sister!) Finally, about 14 months into pregnancy, while Eva was starving and exhausted, labor pains began. This moment also coincided with Genesis inconsolably throwing a fit, and the downstairs toilet breaking in spectacular fashion. Not even the giant stuffed teddy purposed to serve as temporary babysitter could rescue Eva from this desperate situation. (The picture doesn't do it justice guys, but things were ROUGH. Eva's hunger and fatigue were well into the red and there was only salad to eat, Genesis wouldn't stop crying, Exodus was hungry, the toilet was spewing goodness knows what, and Eva already had a -40 moodlet from being actively in labor.) Into all this chaos, baby #3 was born. Welcome to the world, little Leviticus! We can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for you! Immediately after delivery, Eva took a nap and left her toddlers to fend for themselves and open the door for the toilet repairman. And in the sake of honesty, I used a cheat at this point to max all of Eva's motives (satisfy all her needs). So I would actually consider two toddlers under 3 + brand new baby to be Eva's first breaking point (and understandably so!!!). But God would never give them more than they could handle, right? Eva will just need to better manage her contentment. And it couldn't be that bad - no grifting this year! Adam's promotion paid for boy's room furnishings, and the Edens were still able to get everyone to sleep at the same time. Well, except for Eva, who was of course up doing laundry. Does the Lord have a laundryroom breakdown in store for Eva? We'll just have to stay tuned! And so year 3 ends with 3 children under 3 (how perfect!), a useless giant teddy bear, still no stove, and no new blessing immediately on the horizon. Let's see how long it lasts! Edens out!

Welcome back to 66 Goodbook Avenue! We left off with baby girl Genesis (#1) entering the world and a lot has happened since we last checked in. After the birth, Adam and Eva wasted no time getting back down to the romance... Which of course meant Blessing #2 was soon on its way! Wait...already?!?! Yes already! What a blessed couple you are. Speaking of which, Eva published her second major blog piece "Blessed: God is so good y'all" which continues to bring in modest income along with sales of their garden-grown produce (Garden of Edens) and scrap metal. This season of life was still pretty calm, and Eva and Adam enjoyed peaceful #family moments such as this. Ah young love. (And actually, HERE ends year one of marriage. Two Sims4 pregnancies that seemed to last forever led to me look online and...yep! In Sims 4 pregnancies last for 72-84 hours AFTER notification (24 hours after conception or pregnancy test). Which means, yes it's more random like in real life, and yes pregnancies can take longer than 3 days - Genesis' was 3.5. So for a variety of reasons I'm going to have 4 simdays/year.) But back to our story, this newlywed/1.5 baby peace was not to last. In Sims4, while babies are objects (stay in their crib, have to be moved in buy mode), toddlers have 9 different personality options - fussy, angelic, silly, clingy, wild, charmer, independent, and inquisitive. I couldn't bring myself to blanket-train even a virtual family, so I used a random number generator to determine Genesis' toddler personality. And of course I got...FUSSY! YAY! Happy birthday Genesis! You may be cute but you are already a royal pain in the... Don't be too upset with her though. The financial situation was already pretty bleak for the Edens (I think they bought more house than they could afford), and Adam had to ask his father for $500 to furnish a child's room. Before they could afford a high chair, Eva and Adam left fruit on the floor for Genesis to eat as she played with her two toys (which in combo are enough to fill her imagination/movement/thinking skills. They're not monsters. Just super broke). The other bleak part about year 2 was the laundry situation. As a stay-at-home wife, Eva used to be able to keep up with the laundry using this charming setup: But pregnancy brain kept leading Eva to forget to change the water in the wash tub, she ending up doing the same load of laundry three times, and when Genesis arrived she could no longer keep up. It got to the point that third trimester Eva was doing laundry at 3am in the attempt to provide clean work clothes for her headship. But Adam loves Eva and is a kind headship, so he grifted $1000 from his Hobby Lobby colleagues to buy Eva a stacked washer/dryer unit for the upstairs bedroom. Automated washing and all on one floorl? Eva could've sweet-fellowshipped him, except the whole 8 months pregnant thing. She went for an over-the-top blog post instead. Behold! So year two may have been a little rough. But that isn't to say the Edens were unhappy! Adam and Eva remain deeply in love, and while he may not help with cooking or laundry, Adam does like to play with Genesis and of course, lead her spiritually. Through childcare and education by mom during the day, and lessons on manners and personal responsibility from dad at night, Genesis is slowly learning to stop being so damn darn defiant! She also has a vivid imagination, can look at picture books by herself, likes bobbing to music (but no dancing of course), and is halfway to potty independence! (I need to get more cute pictures of Genesis. She really is not so bad.) Of course, the biggest event of year two was the blessed night Blessing #2 was born!! Welcome to the world baby boy Exodus! We can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for you! (And how many books of the Bible we get to!) After a few hours weeks rest, the sparks were flying again for the Edens! (Are you okay guys? That looks kinda dangerous honestly) And year two closes with another precious blessing on the way! Yes! Eva is so excited! I think that's an excited face? Anyway, if you're keeping track at home, in two years it's been 2.33 babies, one fussy toddler, one fire, $1500 grifted, numerous floor fruits, LOTS of fireworks, and a lot of FamLove. This post got a little dark so I'll try to take happier pictures for year 3, and thanks for following our little (but growing!) family! Edens out!

Hi everyone! Even though I don't think many people will read this, I'm super excited and super nervous to make my first "blog." I've been entertained and inspired by @singsingsing, @AlwaysExcited, @mango_fandango and others, and want to make my first sims quiverful family. But I'm also a type-A scientist and want my game to be as realistic as possible. It's a virtual experiment, if you will, of the infamous laundry room breakdown, and finding a breaking point for my poor mother Sim. So here goes: I have both Sims 3 and Sims 4 but will be playing on Sims 4 even though I just got it a few days ago (thanks Origin sale!) because it's smoother on my computer and I'm using an awesome mod: MC Command Center. Through this I can adjust lifespan, baby's sex, etc. etc and crucially, KEEP CHILDREN OUT OF SCHOOL. I will also be using a mod that allows anyone (not just teens) to have part-time jobs, and a mod that recreates the child stove from Sims 2 and 3 in Sims 4 (gotta have those sister-moms). Lifespan: pregnancies last 3 days. A 4 simday/year ratio would be perfect for this realistic aging, but this is still a GAME (keep telling myself that) and that is too long for me. So I will operate as 3 simdays = one year. The extra-long pregnancy in my year ratio (12 months instead of 9) will be accounted for by abstaining after birth or breastfeeding acting as bc or whatever. Anyway: Baby (0-1 year) 3 days Toddler/Little Kid (1-5 years) 12 days. Toddlers in Sims4 are super dynamic and develop over time as they earn skills. So by the end of toddlerhood Sims can tell full stories, run, read toddler books, know shapes and even practice spelling. So "toddlerhood" will last 4 years. School-age Child (5-12 years) 24 days. Let SOTDRT begin! Teenager (13-19) 21 days. SOTDRT largely ends. Time for part-time job or sister-moming. Thank Jesus! Young Adult (20-35 years) 48 days Adult (36-65 years) 90 Elder (66-75) 30 Total lifespan: 225 days Fertility: Parents must TFB at least once per day. With the MCCC mod I can change successful Try for Baby %. In an internet search (but don't ask for citations), a young adult has roughly 25% each month of becoming pregnant, or 70% chance in 4 months (1 sim day). This is slightly lower than Sims default of 80% success rate. An adult ages 36-41 has 15% chance each month, or 50% in 4 months. Adult nearing menopause (42-50, 19 sim days into adulthood) has 5% chance each month, or 20% chance in 4 months. And menopause hits Sims mom at age 50 (but let's make it a 2% chance each TFB to be fun, 43 sim days into adulthood). Other rules: Modest dress only, girls must be in skirts/dresses until they move out. Boys/men will never be assigned to help with chores/childcare, though I will instagram #besthubbyever but not stop them if they automatically volunteer. No school for children or teens. Must learn skills at home. Mom can have part-time job only before kids. Teen boys MUST get part-time job at 13 (retail, Chik Fil A, manual labor only) and can also make money through hobbies. Teens and adult women can have a part-time job at 16 (retail, Chik Fil A, barista, babysitter)...but only if they're not needed at home (SUPER doubtful) and can make money through traditionally feminine hobbies as well. If I'm super desperate, I will add to household a farmed-out sister-mom from another family. And finally, based on my naming scheme I will control the baby's sex (but not the number- like twins or anything). And if you made it through all that, here's a picture. Happy Friday! Thanks for being an awesome community. Eeep!

Welcome to 66 Goodbook Avenue! Thanks to the power of Jesus the Sims 4 gallery, our newlywed fundie couple is able to use almost allll their money to move into this beautiful "3/2 Starter Home." A few modifications had to be made (like expanding the upstairs bathroom and demolishing a closed-door computer den...the horror) but now it is move-in ready for a young couple and any blessings the Lord may give them. And here's our fundie newlyweds. Meet Adam and Eva Eden. Adam's aspiration is have a successful lineage of quivers for the Lord, and he is self-assured, ambitious, and family-oriented. He is also an aspiring businessman for Hobby Lobby and has a very smackable face. Eva Eden's life dream is to have a large happy Christian family, and she is family-oriented, neat, and a music lover. They are both 20 years old and, even though they first spoke 8 months ago, are best friends and soooooooo in love (so much that I set the romantic decay to 20% of normal). They are also starting with a few skills thanks to their years at the SOTDRT (and sister-moming for Eva). Adam is level 2 in guitar, and level 3 in charisma, logic, writing, fitness, and handiness. Eva is level 2 in charisma, and level 3 in violin, logic, writing, cooking, and parenting (and I have also slowed skill acquisition rate 50% to account for longer lifespans). According to my timeline conversion, Adam and Eva have been married for 2 days in the picture below, and they already have the fundie stare down pat. Here, Eva gazes at her husband as he looks off into the distance (and bored). And they got right down to it (and hadn't bought a hamper yet oops)! After sweet fellowship in Sims 4, one can take a pregnancy test to see if one's womb has been opened (also notice the hamper). Eden may not sleep in a skirt but she is already expecting so take that haters! The first year of marriage passes peacefully. Adam works his way up from mailroom technician to office assistant, plants fruits and vegetables, and works on his confidence and charisma. Eden cooks, cleans, and Manages Her Home happily. She even finds time to start a blog and publish her first major piece, "Honeymoon Baby - How to be favored by God," which brings in very modest grifting money. Here, Adam works on a speech while a pregnant Eva hand washes clothes on her knees. Hopefully someone will send her a love offering of a washing machine soon. But it is not all roses. Oh no! Eva was initially convicted to continue her maiden's work as a barista at her megachurch until the baby came (though the outfit required pants, the apron modestly covered any eye-traps). But one day, Eva left in a rush and forgot to prepare Adam's breakfast. He had to procure cereal and juice on his own and he was Not. Pleased. At all. After this, Eva was convicted to quit her job and stay at home to be a better helpmeet. Eva also learned that her sister-mom cooking skills sadly did not extend to baking prowess. Fortunately the only things hurt were sugar cookies and her pride. All in all though, it was a great year. Eva labored lovingly at home (even while in actual labor) until at last...in the bathroom...blessing #1 arrived! Welcome to the world baby girl Genesis!!! We can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for you! (But it's probably sister-moming. Lots of sister-moming) And so, the Eden's head into their second year of marriage with a precious newborn and many more adventures (and blessings?) to come. Stay tuned!

Ok, folks, Reed's birth was huge blessing and all, but Ranfords soon started to worry about Satans shenanigans. Because something was wrong, and it had nothing to do with them or their choices. First of all, Viola couldnt get pregnant right after giving birth, although Ranfords sure did everything they could about it. Poor tent can confirm. O.O Zacahary was devastated. Will Reed reach his toddlerhood without being a big brother? Will Viola end up having less than 10 children?? Will Zacahary grow old without a quiver full of red haired arrows to show off as a sign of his manliness??? Second, even with only one child, parenting was hard. Like, baby sometimes cried and was stinky. Putting him in muddles didn't help. Admittedly, Ranfords practiced hands-off parenting, sometimes literally But can you blame them? (Well, I can). They had sooo much work, folks. Winter was coming, so they had to fill the refrigerator with food. I mean, Viola had. Zachary did manly work. But Ranfords still knew they were doing the right thing. They received small, encouraging blessings every day. For example, Zachary got a fishing talent badge, although he had only catched one fish in his entire life. That does, of course, prove that they are Right Kind of Christians and everything will be provided for them. Somehow. Reed grew up into toddler (and Viola wasn't pregnant yet.). He looks like his daddy. He is somewhat neat, very active and outgoing, maximally playful and extremely grouchy. Oh-uh. Little cult leader in making. There was no cake or anything. As his birthday present Reed received a new outfit. A proper boy outfit, not that girly pink thing he grew up into. His parents, however, celebrated with sweat fellowshiping. And heard a chime! Stranger yelled on them again, just like when they got pregnant with Reed! Its a sign. Townie left angry and frustrated, probably to start #FreeReed movement. Although pregnant again, Viola still sometimes felt doubts about this lifestyle. As much as she tried to convince herself, count her blessings and control her own thought life, she didn't see a way for this to work out. To keep it sweat and submissive, she took her anger out on garden gnome. Viola (inside): "You will never be republican senator, idiot, you can't even figure out how to build a proper house!" Did I mention that Zachary finished kitchen? Because he did. Viola now could grill their hotdogs inside. Only the first time she did, a fire started! (Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa - forgot that grills shouldn't be used inside.) Fire! Fire! What do you do when fire starts at your home?! Zach had no clue. Reed, being smarter than his parents, left the room and entertained himself till it was over. Viola almost burned to death, but Zachary saved her. (Viola now can use it as metaphor to talk about Hell and Faith.) Finally fire burned out. Ranfords lost a grill, a fridge and few old boxes. The biggest loss was food that burned with furniture. BUT GUYS! There is a great testimony in it all!!! The SIGN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS! THE TOTAL BLESSING. THE FIRST BUMP OF PREGNANCY! It sure means... Something. Viola was so tired she fell asleep right there. Zachary worried about her dangerously low needs, possible death and their lost furniture. This is going to be a looooooooooooong pregnancy.

What do you do when you are just married and allowed to touch each other for the first time? Ranfords did that. The whole day 6. At one point their making out and baby makin' activities were RUDELY interrupted by cockroaches. That happens when you annoy people and they kick your trash can, Zachary. This screenshot also illustrates the state the lot was at this point. Its partly my fault, I had never played with reed spawner in residence lot, only in community ones. I had no idea how quickly they take over everything. Anyway, back to baby makin'. At early morning day 7 they were FINALLY lucky enough to hear a chime! Random townie judged them. (Phone in the background was deleted, I just needed it so Viola can call Lindsay and make their friendship stronger before going back to no electricity rule. Till Zach masters mechanical skills, Viola and Lindsay have next to no chance to meet each other; I didn't want them to loose their friendship status. Who knows, Lindsay may be used as cult follower one day.) Viola got fundie-approved makeover and started to harvest reeds. She wanted to clear all garden before baby is born. There were other things needed for baby: a crib, first and foremost, and a changing table, and toys. Only one way to get these things: make them. Zach cried a bit before he gave in and started to learn how to make furniture. It will be long hours spent at basket weaving station till he reaches creativity level needed to make a baby basket. He also had to chop and buck trees to build walls. Lifes hard! He hadn't even changed the clothes from wedding. But it was worth it! I guess? Anyway, Zachary finished the bathroom walls, changed toilet to regular one and installed a sink. Then Viola came up with an idea to move the refrigerator (they use it to store food, but its not working, at least thats how I justify its existence), grill and stumps to make an improvised kitchen area. Cozy? Of course, Viola did all the womans work at... house. Not much to do , when you only have one room, though. FIRST BUMP!!!!!111!1! And Zach learned how to make a refrigerator from reeds! Well, its more like just a box, but Viola still thinks he is AWESOME! Nikes. Zach tried to learn fishing. He was #blessed to catch an old boot that cant be eaten, but can be used as amazing decor. Very traditional. See? It looks good in their new living room! Viola kept sweet. And tried to fish for herself. Zachary at least got better at hunting (sorry, Rufus). And he was still making furniture. So Viola just focused on her duties: reed harvesting,cooking, and birthing. And she succeeded! It was hard, and took 3,5 days, but she removed every single reed from the lot, and the damn spawner as well. Phew! It was also the first day of Autumn. A new season of year. It would be so neat to start for a new season of life right now, Viola though while picking nuts and berries in forest. And she was indeed blessed when her wish came true. Who needs homebirth, if you can forestbirth? Zach was, as usually, pretty useless. Viola gave birth to a healthy baby boy. She considered the name Forest, but ultimately decided to leave it for one of the future blessings. This baby was named Reed. This is Zach. Celebrating. You know, first born son makes him all adult and manly. Oh, and Zach managed to make a baby basket. It was too cold to keep baby outside, so they put him in only room with a roof. You know, bathroom. Welcome to the world, Reed Ranford. Im sorry, kiddo.

The events of this day came as surprise to me. I planned to make a wife in CAS. But at least one townie was dumb enough to volunteer as a tribute. - Zachary got out of his swing when his social bar dropped low again. He started to chat the with first townie that walked by. And she was different than other heathens. Zach had almost lost a hope to find a girl like that! Cute girl. Almost modestly dressed. Feminine. Didn't tell Zach rude things like that he should find a job. Zach covered all appropriate first conversation subjects, like religion, money and family planning. They were talking about the evils of modern music, when townie (her name is Lindsay, btw. Not that Zach cares) suggested that Zach should meet her friend. You see, Lindsay was not interested in Zach herself, but she knew this desperate and crazy meek and nice girl with low standards servant's heart. Zachary agreed to blind date (with Lindsay as chaperone, of course!) Zachary and Viola indeed clicked right away. They knew the moment they laid eyes on each other that they will spend the rest of their life together, making babies and trying to keep reeds under control. Their starcrossed love manifested as high chemistry and strong desire to make out. After a day spent chatting and low-key flirting, the date ended at ok mark. Could be better. Could be worse. Zach was not complaining. Neither was Viola, who just didn't leave the lot. Zach felt little uncomfortable about it. Aren't godly woman supposed to follow his lead? And are not supposed to stay out after dark even with chaperone? But he couldn't ask Viola and Lindsay to leave because because what if Viola doesn't come back? Zach doesn't have a phone, how could he call her? So he just made them some hotdogs. “What a keeper!” Viola thinks. “A guy who can cook!” After hot dogs Viola got into hot tub. Oh my. She is too worldly! Zach will need to lead her to right direction. He used this as an opportunity to show Viola how REAL MODEST swimsuit looks like. Lindsay didn't care about these two. Despite Viola's inappropriate behavior, the night continued awkwardly and at one point these two realized that they are match made in desperate fundie heaven. Look who still doesn’t give a fuck. Viola excused herself to use Zachs shower, and Lindsay decided to use a moment to... umm, say goodbye. Lindsay! WTF. Are you suggesting polygamous cult?! Zach was too confused and excited to figure his next step now. He went to sleep, leaving Viola alone. She explored the forest, while thinking about... umm, godly marriage, of course. Totally motivated by right reasons. Not like dating. Witch is sin. Ok, at one point she had doubts about her life choices. Don't tell anyone! She prayed and felt peace with herself. Everything was going to be alright. When Zachary woke up next morning, he found Viola in his hot tub. So, there she was. A young, naive girl with family aspiration. A girl he just met and barely knew. They had a crush on each other, but they werent even best friends, and they didn't love each other yet. There was only one logical choice, from Zachs perspective. He married her. And they had their first kiss at wedding! With cutscene and everything! How neat! Zach is truly #blessed to have a wife after all this time alone, and Viola is #blessed to start a #family with such a great man! (Special thanks to hacked wedding arch, which allows to marry sims regardless of their relationship, Batbox that has an option to delete these "kissed mysterious sim" memories adults from CAS have, and ACR mod that made it possible to consummate this marriage before their relationship was high enough to do so in regular gameplay.)

Days 2 - 4 were not the most interesting season of Zach's life - but day 5 deserves it's own separate entry, so there. Zachary started day 2 by cutting yesterdays tree in logs and building a small wall. He then learned his first mechanical skill point to put together an old barrel and some kind of pump. Enjoying his hard-earned shower here. (Sorry, NIKE! picture, but he was so happy ) He explored a forest a bit more and found wild bees. Someday hell be able to steal honey from them without getting hurt, but this is not that day. Then first animals appeared and Zach tried hunting for first time. He learned he is useless with hunting with spear. I learned I put too many animal spawners in this forest and removed most of them. Zach managed to kill a wolf and a deer with sword. Which meant - FOOD. Thats right. Zachary got over himself and learned a cooking skill to know how to use grill. No more mushroom and berry snacks, Zach is eating like a man. Homemade hotdogs, yummy. After first real meal in days, Zach felt like annoying some people for faith. His social bar was low. Almost as low as townies interest in his crap. Manly handshake, sure, dude. You are the most masculine male man ever. You hunt. You eat. You flirt with ladies, and they turn you down. Next few days were almost the same. At one point Zach learned enough mechanical points to put together a swing form an old tire and a rope, and to turn a water tank into hot tub. But otherwise it was pretty boring. Only reed spawner got completely out of control (it's a part of basket weaver set from medieval sims - useful if you pick up reeds and make things from them. Not useful if you are Zachary Ranford.) At day 4 his lot looked like this: Zach started to worry a bit. No, not about reeds. His wife will pick them up. The problem was where to get a wife. Townie women were all sane ungodly whores, and he had no electricity, so he couldn'tt order one from internet browse SAHD blogs. Also, he started to hate hot dogs. Maybe wife could cook something else, like hamburgers and tater tot casserole. At day 5 Zachary woke up with completely new wants for him. Instead of flirting, getting married, and having his first kiss, Zach wanted to catch butterflies and roller skate. And he spend a lot of time in his new swing. Was he giving up? Was he turning into manboy, trying to convince himself that he doesn't care anymore? Was it injured pride? Was he just loosing his mind?

Inspired by @singsingsing's blog, I started to play Zachary few days ago. By now he is married and has a kid, but I will post about his journey in separate entries, because othewise it's too long. - Ranfords, day 1 Meet Zachary. He is generation 2 fundie (well, actually he comes straight from CAS, but dont tell him that), youngest son of alphabetically named quiverfull family. As you see, his name starts with Z, which means that by the time he was born, nobody cared anymore. Stripped from education, opportunity to learn skills and develop interests, Zachary reached his adulthood with limited options. For his homeschool graduation party he asked (and received) an old van. He packed up few things an old refrigerator, grill, tent, some old boxes and drove as far as he could. Van broke down here, in small island called Crystal Archipelago. There is only a forest and a river. There are no electricity, running water or community business. And Zachary decided that he likes it that way. He can build it all. With help of pretty wife and billion children. Maybe some of the townies will join them, and then Zachary will have a cult of his own! The forest Zachary lives in is made mostly from stuff from here: http://www.medievalsims.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=240. There are cuttable trees, harvestable berries and mushrooms, nuts and fruits, and hunting stations. There is also a fishing spot (loved by townies) and reed spawner. It should cover Zachary’s basic needs from food to materials for furniture. As Zachary moved in, first thing he did was jumping rope. A smart choice actually – one needs at least three body skills to cut down a tree, and he needs logs to build a house. But before that there were... more... rushing needs. Zach needed a toilet. So he used his first body skill to dig one. Eww. Not even he liked it. (But it fulfilled his want to get one, so. Good enough for now.) After that was covered, Zach continued to work out. He only stopped for a while to grab some wild mushrooms for dinner. He started to sink (it was very clear that the first thing to build was a shower), and he was exhausted. But he did it! Right after midnight Zachary cut down his first tree! He wanted to build a shower right away, but was too exhausted. He didnt even made it to his tent. And it started to rain. Eww. First day was a bit disappointing. What the next one will bring?