Building a Life Alongside, 2022

Patar, summer, 2022
mini-update

Looking back, Gretchen thought that perhaps he had known. Everything was so prepared and ready, how could he not have known.

Path, 2020

Hapar, spring, 2020
Anthony is 38, Susie is 34, Robin is 13, Starling is 11 and Palila is 10. Olivia Humphrey is 14, Vivienne Humphrey is 13 and Jasper Humphrey is 5.

With eight mouths to feed, decreasing student enrollment and pay freezes, it seemed like the Wren family was always one step ahead of an utter breakdown.

Survive the Storm, 2018

Peacar, winter, 2018
Anthony is 36, Susie is 32, Robin is 11, Starling is 9 and Palila is 8. Olivia Humphrey is 12, Vivienne Humphrey is 11 and Jasper Humphrey is 3. 

They were walking a long road, with a heavy burden. They couldn't afford to put down the burden because there wasn't anyone else to help them. Instead, they worked together, each lending a hand, and sometimes one holding the burden alone briefly while the other sat for awhile on the side of the road shaking with tears and fears and exhaustion. They didn't know how much longer the road would be, but they knew that when one finds them self walking through hell...it is best to keep walking.

Cool Kids, part 2

Remar, summer 2018
Olivia is 12, Vivienne is 11. Jasper is 3. Walt Jones is 35
Soundtrack: Cool Kids by Echosmith

narrated by Olivia

Things are so much different.

It's the eight of us now. We are permanently living with my aunt and uncle. For all practical purposes, we are orphans.

Cool Kids, part 1

Remar, summer 2018
Olivia is 12, Vivienne is 11. Jasper is 3. Walt Jones is 35
Soundtrack: Cool Kids by Echosmith

narrated by Olivia

I was at home when I heard the gentle tapping at the door. Dad was at work, a rare opportunity to tell jokes at the comedy club had came available. When I looked outside, there wasn't anyone there. I cracked the door open, which was stupid. We could have been killed. One does not open the door at night on the side of town that we live in.

Goodbye, 2016

Resar, fall, 2016

Walt answered the door on the first knock. "Come on in," he said to his brother in law, or his children's uncle since technically Walt and Faith never married.

Bringing Home Baby, Patar 2015

Patar, summer, 2015

Faith inhaled enjoying the feel of the smoke in her mouth. She knew she shouldn't be smoking, hell, even those walking around her knew she shouldn't be smoking. They turned up thier noses at her

Manage, 2014

Givar, winter 2014
Faith is 30, Olivia is 8, Vivienne is 7. Walt Jones is 31

It started innocently enough, an extra long nap here

Slip-Up Last, 2012

Resar, fall, 2012
Faith is 28, Olivia is 6, Vivienne is 5. Walt Jones is 29

Faith lit a cigarette and sunk deeper into the uncomfortable couch.

At Home, 2011

Remar, summer, 2011
Lyndon is 56, Nicole is 54

Nicole hadn't been feeling well.

Enjoying the Sound, 2009

Lovar, spring, 2009
Lyndon is 54, Nicole is 52

Lyndon had been doing a lot of thinking lately. The church was doing mediocre it you were being generous with your words. However he wasn't thinking about the church, instead he was thinking about his life.

How Thoughful, 2007

Havar, fall, 2007

Faith is 23, Olivia is 1, Vivienne is 4 simlonic months. Walt Jones is 24

Faith was right, the rent eventually increased at their old apartment, forcing the family to move to a new apartment. Faith didn't mind as much, their apartment was above an asian bistro and she loved the smells of dumplings that came through the vents into the tiny apartment.

Sea of Stars, 2007

Remar, summer, 2007

Tomorrow was the big day, her little sister would be getting married and she was up with her youngest daughter, waiting for Walt to come home and trying not to trip over Olivia or the numerous stale bottles on the floor.

Bringing Home Baby Patar 2007

Patar, summer, 2007

Faith couldn't help but giggle as Walt told her one of his jokes to ease her mind. The contractions were coming quickly, but not fast enough to warrant a trip to the clinic. Olivia was safe with grandparents and soon she would be a big sister.

Good Luck, 2007

Patar, summer, 2007

Lyndon is 52, Nicole is 50 (Anthony Wren is 26; Faith Humphrey is 23; Susie MacAstral is 21; Walter (Walt/Walli) Jones is 24)

"Thanks for meeting me," Susie said as she greeted her foster mother.

"I'm glad you wanted me to help. Did you eat yet? The baby need nutrients."

Silly Crush, 2006

Givar, winter, 2006

Si'Enya was finally old enough for a job. It wasn't that she had to work, she was a trust fund baby as the kids at school would sneer. It wasn't her fault that her parents were wealthy, but it didn't matter what she said, the kids would still sneer.

Trevor said that they were jealous. She knew that he was right, it just didn't help that some of them could be so mean, she thought as she sat to her station. She didn't work long hours, but it was nice that Trevor would walk her to and from work to make sure she made it home safely.

She wasn't too sure what to make of the man. She knew that her classmates were in awe of the man, mostly for his celebrity status, but Si'Enya didn't care about his fame. She liked the fact that he talked bugs with her and got dirty with her in their search for the illusive spider. If she would admit it, she also like the bubbly feeling in her belly whenever he smiled at her. It was a silly crush, but didn't every teenaged girl need a silly crush?

Her tiny crush on Trevor kept her from crying her eyes out everytime she saw Erricson with Harriet. She didn't know what he saw in Harriet, she was mean to most of the kids in school and she was...strange.

Si'Enya couldn't say too much about Harriet considering that she was becoming fast friends with Harriet's little sister, Elphy and her classmate, Rosemarie. It was nice to make some friends her age. Since S'Ahmisa had started university and joined the county council, Si'Enya was seeing less and less of her best buddy.

Thankfully her new friends were introducing her to other guys besides Erricson who had a girlfriend and Trevor who was a pipe dream.

----

Meanwhile, Faith was realizing that her new apartment was a pipe dream. With the arrival of baby Olivia, Faith needed more reasonable hours. Thankfully she was able to get a job as a clerk at her favorite department store. However, the change in hours also meant a drop in pay.

Combined with Walt's crazy hours and low paycheck, the couple was searching for something a bit more affordable. Free rent would be the best, unfortunately there were very few options that were free. They couldn't move in with her parents due to the small size of their apartment.

Besides, her parents were always at the cramped apartment helping out with Olivia or dropping off a meal for the couple.

Faith was growing bigger each day and the baby was healthy. Walt had insisted on finding out the gender at the delivery, which was fine with Faith.

Either way, the new baby would be sharing a room with big sister Olivia.

Faith just hoped that they could find a nice, cheap two bedroom apartment soon. On the bright side, they didn't have to worry about being on the "bad side" of town. With all the revitalization, there wasn't a bad side of Apple Valley.

That also meant that there wasn't a cheap side of Apple Valley that a struggling stand-up comedian and cashier could afford to raise their tiny family. They already had taken out a loan for some basic nursery furniture and had even begun to skip the occasional meal, which wasn't the best idea considering Faith's condition.

Walt had pawned their TV as well to make the last rent payment. That meant that Faith would often walk into the bathroom to find Walt rehearsing his routine in the bathtub or singing some silly song about Pirate Bluebeard and the Llama Crew.

The first time she walked in on him playing in the tub, Faith had backed up very slowly...not sure if he was slowly loosing his mind. Now, she was used to it and calmly peed while he continued his song.

Anything Down, 2006

Havar, fall, 2006
Faith is 21, Olivia is 1 simlonic month

Dear Susie,

I'm glad to hear that you made it to Los Lagos safely with the rest of the dance crew. I hope you get over your seasickness soon though and are soon able to eat again. I bet it was really sucky not being able to keep anything down.

Things are going well here. The hood has been doing an urban renewal initiative here and my apartment was on the list. You should see it now. It's like a new apartment complex...well, that's cause it is. The complex used to process fabric dye, but you can hardly tell that now. I hope that I'll be able to continue to afford this place, there's been talk about rent increasing thanks to the recent renovations and on going interior renovations.

Olivia and I moved in without much fuss, mom, dad, Walt and Anthony helped us move in.

You can tell Anthony that he doesn't need to call each simweek to check on me. However, I have a feeling that you told him to do that. I appreciate it, I really do, but don't worry I will call if I ever need anything.

Walt lives in the apartment on the lower level, I don't know why he even signed the lease on his place, though.

He spends most of the time in my apartment helping with Olivia,

chatting about our limited funds,

or just hanging out with me.

My days have gotten pretty routine now. I usually spend the mornings feeding and nursing Olivia in the kitchen.

Thankfully we have a nice view of the pier so I can distract myself with the boats as I rock Olivia to sleep.

Once I have her settled down, I make myself a meal-usually a processed meat sandwich

and once again stare at the nice view.

It helps me to think about my next move. I know that I can't keep up with my DJ job much longer. I make more each night than I did working at the SiMusic Records Store, but the hours are worse. I work nights and so does Walt, so I often have to ask mom or dad to care for Olivia during the night and I hate asking them to do that considering their own work schedules.

I invited Walt over for dinner, you know that cooking isn't my talent, so I made a simple cheese pasta.

Over cheesy macaroni, I asked him to move in with Olivia and I. It just wasn't making much sense for us to struggle with our rent payments and we spend most of our time together anyway.

He agreed, I shouldn't have worried since he had been hinting at getting married a while ago, hmmm, I haven't heard him speak about it lately...I wonder if he gave up on the idea.

Besides finances there was another reason I asked Walt to move in with me.

I had been sick to the stomach lately, barely able to keep anything down.

I took a test, and it's positive. I'm going to be a mother again. I don't know when exactly it happened, but next spring you'll be an auntie again.

I miss you and can't wait to see you again soon.

Faith
---
Baby Humphrey is due Patar 2007.

Bringing Home Baby Havar 2006

Havar, fall, 2006

Faith idlely flipped through her meager clothing options. She didn't know why she was looking for something to wear, the hospital would have a gown for her to give birth in.

She was annoyed that she couldn't go to the clinic now. The doctor said to wait until the contractions were closer and more frequent which could take hours since this was Faith's first time delivering.

Finally, she knew it was time to go to the clinic. She guess the baby was waiting for Walt to return to the apartment after his comedy routine, for as soon as he walked in the lobby, Faith was walking out.

---

"You're daddy's little girl, aren't you?" Walt cooed to the tiny infant.

Faith watched jealously as little Olivia gave one of her rare smiles to her daddy.

She shouldn't really feel jealous, Olivia did share a lot of smiles with mommy. Thankfully mommy and daddy were both actively involved in Olivia's rearing. Walt was at the apartment so often that Faith thought about asking him to move in. He came as soon as he was done with work and stayed up all night with Olivia as well, giving Faith some moments to rest before her own job.

"She's beautiful," Nicole breathed looking at the child. She said the same thing each time she visited and Olivia truly is a beautiful baby with Faith's faint violet eyes and Walt's bright red hair, Olivia was a unique mix of genetics.

"And she needs to be changed," Walt said sniffing the air. "Let me handle that."

---
Welcome Olivia Humphrey!