Hidden

I got a bit worried as to where Amonost and Adonnen had gotten one afternoon after the high school students had gotten out for the day. Normally, the twins come home right away. However, Cadrier returned home alone having no idea where his brothers had gone. I tried not to panic too much. It was very unlikely something had happened, and more probably they had just wandered around for a bit. That pretty much turned out to be the case. It was such a nice day they had decided to walk home instead of taking the bus. On the way, they came across the ice cream truck. They proceeded to buy an icicle for all of us, and came home carrying them all. I would have said something about them at least giving me a short text letting me know about the delay, but the ice cream cooled my slight annoyance.

Giving In

I really didn't mean to, but I almost forgot. Again. I thought I needed to start marking the calendar so I wouldn't have this issue anymore, and I was close to doing just that. It was simply that the household had been so calm after that crazy storm of birthday after birthday. I was enjoying the new schedule we had all fallen into, and I was looking forward to the days ahead. Then I remembered the days ahead included me having another child. By the time the realization came, my normal deadline for conception had long passed. With few options available to me, I went back to the house where Henry lived. I hoped this one particular man I had met on my previous trip there, Mr. Clifton Langston, would be willing to do a little something with me. He welcomed my advances warmly, although I did hesitate for a moment. I hadn't noticed before that he was decently older than the men I usually sleep with. I really didn't have much of a choice though.

The Presence

Honestly, I pretty much forgot about the time I spent with Henry. It had been a moment that was so routine and uninteresting compared to all the highs I had experienced with Wesley, so it took the bulging of my stomach to remind me that I was carrying another child. I became excited then. My first thought was hoping to have another girl, but there was a strangely confident thought within my mind whispering over and over again that the child would be a boy. I wanted to find out to prove my hopes superior, but this was not one of the pregnancies where I would find out ahead of time. I've done a good job up until this point of keeping to the tradition I decided on. It would have been a shame to break it.

Henry ended up being excited too when he heard I was pregnant. Sort of. His excitement certainly isn't anything compared to the real excitement that had been so obvious with Wesley when I was pregnant with Amonost and Adonnen. I'm just glad Henry is willing to try though, and isn't going to shirk off his responsibilities.

One Special Day

It was the knocking on the door that woke me up. Obviously one of my children wanted to come in, but opening my eyes was much harder than I anticipated. It felt like I had been sleeping for an eternity even though it had been quite difficult to actually fall asleep. The back pain caused by my pregnancy had just hurt that badly. The knocking came again- louder this time. As I wearily sat up, I very vaguely noticed I was not wearing the same clothes I had gone to bed in. My stomach had grown too big for my normal night dress, but for whatever reason it was what I was clothed in.

And, my stomach was its usual size. I started to panic and feel terror as I wondered if I had somehow lost the baby while sleeping. However, there was no sign that such a thing had happened. Even if it had, there was no way my stomach could have shrunken so drastically in a mere few hours.

The Goddess' Order 1 Year Anniversary Behind the Scenes Special!

I feel like Ellothiel right now.

Can it really have been this long already? A year has gone by? It feels as if it's taken forever, but also as if I've only just begun. It's hard to believe I'm more than halfway through the challenge. It's also a bit sad. Doing this challenge has become such a big part of my life that I don't know what I'm going to do when it ends. Another challenge, yeah, but it will never be the same. I'll never get attached to another Sim project like how I've grown attached to The Goddess' Order. It will be special. I probably won't ever be able to leave it alone. Perhaps for each anniversary, or whenever I feel like it, a bit more of Ellothiel's life will be presented to you. I'm sure I have enough creative juices left in me to always find a new story of hers to tell. I'll get lonely without her if I let her go entirely.

That's the future though. Ellothiel still has a lot more to tell you, and many more babies to give birth to. You're stuck with her and me for a little bit longer. And so, in honor of our one year anniversary, I've decided to make this post. There were many ideas I considered, none of which I will tell you in case I decide to do them later. I don't want to spoil anything. What you will be getting is a a behind the scenes look at the lovely Sims of The Goddess' Order. Things go wrong in-game more often than you would think, or otherwise the Sims are just odd. There are also some things I think would be interesting to share, but would weird to include in the storyline.

So here we go, your first look at what happens when you glance your eyes away!

Sunset Valley

It was a relatively long trip to arrive at our new house. I knew Eloril was getting a bit frustrated with me since I would not stop glancing back towards the direction of Aurora Skies, but I simply couldn't help myself. My head shifted of my own accord before I recognized what I was doing. I knew it was time to leave there, the certainty of that almost overwhelmed me, and yet it was still very hard to leave. Much like my children back in Appaloosa Plains, my children who remain in Aurora Skies told me to go wherever I could be happy again. However, the feeling that I've somehow betrayed them lingers in my heart. I think my regret is a large part of why the chill of my grief will not depart from my skin.

Thus, it was relieving to be distracted when ada, Eloril, Elioviel, Zuri, and I all finally arrived in Sunset Valley and pulled up in front of our new house. We eagerly got out. The car we were in was spacious, but after five days of almost non-stop driving even that extra room wasn't enough. Elioviel and Zuri were the happiest amongst us to be freed. The relief grew into excitement stepping through our new front door. I had been very much in love with the open design plan since the first moment I saw the pictures. The design is mostly why I chose it.

The house somehow reminds me a lot of home, and I need to be as comfortable as possible right now into order to have a clear mind when I make a final decision as to whether I will stay or go.

Unexpected News

Once Renduil, Rion, Sidhion, and Ortherion's winter break finished, they all became very busy with school work and activities. We began to see each other less and less. That's when ada took on the role of being the one to make sure the entire family spent at least a little quality time together each day. He always had this role at home as well- even though he was the busiest out of everyone. It never mattered if all we did was sit down and talk for a couple minutes. It never mattered if ada was exhausted and stressed beyond compare. Naneth, Eloril, and I were his family, and he would not forget us for anything.

So now that ada's here and has very little to be stressed about, he's easily fallen back into that role. Some days we really only can do nothing other than sit down and talk for a couple minutes. Then there's the days where we have the almost the whole afternoon to do whatever we want. We tend to head to the small lake to skate on those particular kind of days. Though I never fall, I've been staying on shore lately just to be entirely sure that I don't do anything to hurt my baby.

I've found out that I'm having a boy again. It's a little disappointing that I'll remain the only female in the house for a while longer. However, when I see ada, Eloril, and all my sons enjoying themselves without any cares, the fact that they're male and I'm female becomes irrelevant. All I see is family.

Embarrassment

It's taken the last few months, but I can say with confidence now that we've all adjusted to this new situation we're in. For the most part. The never-ending loud noises and unavoidable run-ins that occur in the house, coupled with my decreased patience because of my pregnancy, sometimes cause me to really slip every now and again. I have no choice but to leave the house and go somewhere else to stop me from doing something really stupid. When I calm down and get a grip on my senses, I'm always greeted with warm smiles, hugs, and a lot of love when I return. That is all I need to make everything bearable.

What has also helped is that ada worked past that uncomfortable and unsure stage he was in when he first arrived. Now he acts just like he does when we're at our home. With his and Eloril's personalities, I feel like I've simply added two more big kids to my count of children. The two of them never stop playing. In truth, them playing with my children is what helps the most. Lomaraniel, Serith, Tirith, Renduil, and Rion love having the extra attention.

Although now that I look at ada more, I realize the way he is here is the most carefree I've ever seen him. I assume this is because he doesn't have to worry or stress himself out over dealing with all his duties that he must do to watch over our land. He's also surprised me, because he hasn't tried at all to be a parent to my children. He will help to keep them in line. However, he is so far refusing to interfere with how I'm trying to raise them despite his own personal opinions.