#alcotts

"Oh, Thomas, it's just perfect!" While their family was growing, Thomas had been working hard clearing more land for a new, larger house. Finally, the months of toil had paid off, and they were ready to move from the tiny cabin to a real home.

A small time skip later... things are changing again in the Alcott household, with the boys growing older and a new baby on the way!

Life at the Alcott farm continued with the addition of their new family member. The boys were growing quickly, and becoming an inseperable pair, while the crops continued to flourish alongside them.

Not long after Sidney's birth, Thomas received word that another family had moved to the bay -- Charles Gardener had brought his wife and two children to Deadgrass Isle, and intended to get the old lighthouse up and running again. The journey to the isle was more arduous than Elisabeth and the new baby could manage, so it was only Thomas and the two boys who took a small rowing boat across the water to where the lighthouse perched on the edge of the cliffs. They were warmly greeted by Mr Gardener, his wife Mary, and their children Jeremiah and Harriet. While the adults made each others acquaintance inside, the children preferred stayed outside, first tentatively and then more enthusiastically getting to know each other.

"He's just perfect, isn't he?" "Yes, my love, he is."

While Susanna was mostly a happy child, she struggled with fits of wilfullness that Elisabeth found increasingly difficult to calm as she herself became more exhausted from pregnancy. Thomas tried his best to support his wife, but it was difficult when the crops were demanding so much of his attention.

Once again Elisabeth was expecting, and a house that had seemed so large was already starting to feel full! It was only in the dark of the evenings and nights that Elisabeth and Thomas found time to whisper their hopes and dreams for their incoming arrival, snatching tender moments around their increasingly busy lives.

When Thomas received word that a family had moved into their old cabin, he couldn't quite believe what he was hearing - finally, after so much toil and effort, people were slowly starting to move into the Bay. On a fine day the family travelled back to their old home, eager to meet their new neighbours. Iain and Claire MacKenzie were a young Scottish couple, looking for a fresh start in America with their daughter Caroline. Thomas was quickly taken with Iain's frank, open nature, and the families got on very well indeed. Both sets of parents were pleased with the prospect of friends for their children, and plans to visit again were quickly made.