#gen 3 misc

Harvestfest was a hit! Since Sabrina and Tucker have a newborn, we travelled with them in a van so we could help with the kids as all 3 are in diapers. Celeste, Reid, and their twins chose to fly then drive so the distance would be shorter as the twins have reached the stage where they don't want to be in their car seats for too long. Our entire extended family had the main Harvestfest dinner at the rec hall of Newcrest Baptist, so we had a very large family dinner on the actual day of. Before Harvestfest we were doing a lot of preparation because there were more than 150 people that we'd be taking part in providing food for, the craziest thing about that is that we'd all be related in one way or another - some more than once! (AN: referring to siblings that married into the family i.e. Tessa & Tabitha, Madelyn & Felix) We all got to do the usual family pictures as well as general pictures, it's such a blessing to get together with one another like that, especially with so many people in so many different seasons of life.

My mother always wants an updated sibling picture whenever we can take one, we've been blessed to have always been able to make it to Harvestfest so there's always been an opportunity for a picture, but you never know where life will take you in coming times. I feel so blessed seeing my siblings with their own families, it feels like just yesterday we were being told about another sibling on the way and praying for them then eventually getting to meet said siblings, especially if they were home as I'd often get to be present. I sometimes feel like my siblings were my children before I actually birthed my own children, I used to help them with homework which became hearing them spill about who they were courting, then with their weddings and now them having children we discuss milestones and all of that. One can't help but praise the Lord for all of His goodness and mercy at being able to witness such.

We've had 2 of the 4 expected babies born, so we all got to meet Bowman Crawford and Jacob Paulson (amongst many other new additions) whilst we fellowshipped together.

(Narrator's POV) Harvestfest is a time when we peek into the rest of the extended Collins family and see what's happening in their neck of the woods. These are family members that are seen over the course of the year and are mentioned here and there, that are also present on the character pages (gen 2)(gen3) and the family tree. I also decided to make posts every 3 days again cause 5 felt like too much.

D - The Hunt Family

Sebastian (56), Danielle (53), Gabriela (17), Emma (20), and James (21)

The Hunt family also gathered in Brindleton Bay this year, they joined Danielle's twin sister's family at their Harvestfest celebrations at a rented hall in town. Danielle is still baking in her spare time, for others and for the family, she also continues to be in ministry - the music ministry at church, the women’s ministry, and helping the elderly in the congregation. When she's not helping with a ministry, she's volunteering to help in the church's garden that is used to supply fresh fruit and vegetable for those in need. She also makes time to visit with friends and family both in the area and around the way, offering to babysit for her nieces Valentina & Sabrina when they need it. Sebastian is still working at veterinary clinic and training students, but is working towards retiring. Gabriela graduated high school this year and is headed to college to become a veterinary nurse, having grown up in and around the clinic with a heart for animals.

James & Emma announced that they were pregnant! They're missionaries in Henford-on-bagley and are supporting a church with a growing congregation! Emma is about to enter her second trimester, and they can't wait to welcome their little blessing to the family in the spring!

E - The Godwin Family

Ruby Rae (21), Rory (21), Elaine (51), Amelia (14), Taylor (54), Ava Grace (17), Kyra (25) and Tyler (26)

Elaine and her family are also steadily growing and blessed, they met in Newcrest for Harvestfest she's continuing to teach at the homeschool co-op that Amelia still attends and Thomas continues in his job as an engineer. Ruby Rae is working as a nurse at a children’s hospital to get experience hours to finish nursing school, then plans to further her nursing education. Ava Grace has graduated high school this year and plans on going to bible college to get an initial degree in Bible and will explore her options from there. Amelia is just enjoying her final years in elementary before she starts her high school education.

Kyra & Tyler Shearer

Kyra and Tyler announced to the family that they're expecting! Their little one will join the family next summer and the family couldn't be happier, this will be Elaine & Thomas' first grandchild.

Rory & Sara

Rory debuted his relationship this Harvestfest, he met his girlfriend Sara Felton (21) when they joined the same Christian Students Association and they've been together coming on a year now. Sara studies Communications and is from San Seqioua, she comes from a Christian family and has 3 siblings.

F - The Collins Family

Fletcher (48), Cara (46), and James Lee (17) Collins

Fletcher still works for the Newcrest Police Department, Cara continues to work for the Newcest Conservative party, JL is in his last year of high school and is on track to attend a big christian college on a scholarship.

G - The Collins Family

Grayson (45), Keira (43), Matthew (17), and Archie (12)

Grayson continues in his work as a doctor, as well as doing speaking events with various ministries, including an upcoming medical missions trip that he's spearheading going on to Selvadorada. Keira continues to work part time as a nurse, when Archie moves into highschool then she'll move back into full time work. Matthew also in his last year of high school like his cousin James Lee, and is also looking to attend the same big christian college ona. scholarship. Archie attends his elementary school homeschool co-op, and will enjoy these last few years at home before he starts attending a private christian high school like his brother.

H - The Barnard Family

Harley (45) & Gabriel (48) Barnard

(L-R) Madelynn Paulson, Adalynn Leonard, Macie Collins, Eliza Pancakes, Molly Olson

Adalynn

"Resurrection sunday was just such a blessed day! We've been preparing as a family by doing additional devotions that follow the story leading up to our Lord's crucifixion & subsequent resurrection, the kids did amazing at memorising additional scriptures that they recited during the service with other members of the youth group. Macie came to visit us and stayed through the weekend and it was so great having my sister here!"

[1] (L-R) Lorilee Collins, Lana Collins, Kyleigh Collins, Tabitha Collins, Tessa Paulson, Kelsey Paulson, Ashton Collins [2] Kyleigh Collins, Lana Collins, Kyra Shearer, Kelsey Paulson, Tessa Collins.

Lana

"Easter weekend was such a blessed time of renewal, He is risen indeed! It's always a time of revival and I want to be sure that I'm fully invested in serving the Lord with my life after all that he's done for me. Church was such a blessed time with an amazing service followed by such upbuilding fellowship, I'm so thankful to have a large, Christian family that all strive to worship the Lord together. There were many pregnant ladies in the service today, but we got a cute picture with all the babies that are due to join the family this year and it's so heartwarming to be insulated in a culture that values life. Between us 5 ladies there are 6 babies due to be born, and 17 children already born (and 2 in heaven). The weekend was a wonderful blur of worship, fellowship, and all around blessings."

(L-R) Valentina Townsend, Madison Paulson, Sabrina Crocker, Kristyn Crocker, Celeste Robbins

Valentina

zoe.moreno.27

Our Cel is getting married! Had a blast this weekend celebrating our blushing bride [c_paulson] as she prepares to marry the love of her life! It's always great when we get to see family. [amira_c_e][itsannette_]

(Narrator) Another birthday in the Collins household, this time for Priscilla and Annette who are the 2nd set of twins. As Priscilla is a married mother of 2 (at 22 mind you), Annette travels to see her so they can be together for their birthday. These two girls couldn't be more opposite in personality if they tried, Priscilla is very conservative in nature, and is probably one of the most hardcore of her siblings regarding religious views. She's quite judgemental as a byproduct of her views, but with her siblings she's adjusted to their personal differences (ahem...Maggie). Annette is definitely less hardcore with reference to her personal views of how on how to live ones life, while she's unmarried she's bound by the rules of her parents - not that her personal views are wildly different. She's definitely girly, she's just not militant about how long someones skirt needs to be. She might even be partial to wearing long, loose shorts for various activities. Anyway, they're currently enjoying their time together for their birthdays, and Annette will stay for a few weeks until after Easter.

Caption: "Happy birthday to Priscilla & Annette! Our second set of twins are 22 today and time is slipping away from me! These girls have always been thick as thieves since birth and even now that they’re in different seasons of life they still make time for each other. Annette visited Priscilla and her family in Oasis Springs for the their birthdays and for Easter sunday, such a blessing to have kids who love each other and are intentional about spending time with each other!"

(AN) I'm going to put the pictures for these under the cut because these were taken purely for this post and won't appear anywhere else

(Adalynn's POV)

Happy Harvestfest! We all made out way to my parents house in Newcrest for a weekend full of family, food, and fellowship. One thing we tried to arrange beforehand was the grandkids picture since we didn't manage to get one last year, and now that the babies that were in utero last year have been born (and no one that we know of is pregnant) we decided now was the perfect time. We mixed up the kids so that there was a big kid-little kid plan, mostly for crowd control purposes so that they would be able to handle the toddlers. The oldest four (Noah, Luke, Chloe, and AJ) were holding the youngest four (Grace, Everett, Jackson, and Bethany). As the years go by and the children grow (and with more being born, Lord willing) we'll have to keep finding new ways to arrange all the children.

Annette (21), Macie (33), Casandra (53), Allan (56), Ashton (17)

My parents and the girls at home are all doing great! Now that there's no longer anyone in school, my parents have more time for their other things, though it seems with the more the family grows the busier they'll get! My dad continues to shepherd the flock of Newcrest Baptist, there's a blossoming pastoral staff that also help to keep the place running for the Lord's glory. It also gives him time to travel to speaking engagements at other churches as well as different revivals, jubilee's, hymn sings, and festivals. My mother is also busy with her role as mother, grandmother, and pastor's wife. She somehow finds the time to show all of us that we're definitely loved and valued. She helps to homeschool Barrett and Kyleigh's kids whenever needed, as well as the kids coming to their house for music lessons. When they're not home or travelling to commitments, they're usually visiting with one of us that live out of town, they try and schedule their visits to us to coincide with their travelling for their commitments. My sisters are all busy busy bees! Macie splits her time between being at home or in ministry, and when she's not doing that she's visiting with one of us. Annette works as a babysitter helping families at church that need that extra support, she just loves children and is grateful she gets to spend time with children all day. Both girls remain in a season of singleness, and they're using it to the full, with our cousin Celeste getting married this winter they've been recruited to help with the planning and execution of the wedding. Ashton also babysits children in the congregation, she's in the church choir and spends her days helping out wherever she can. Since she has less responsibilities she spends the most time travelling, so she gets to spend longer amounts of time with the siblings.

Mason (35) & Adalynn Leonard (34) with Titus (2) and Bethany (3m), Luke (10), Paul (8), Caleb (4), Joshua (6), Jonah (4), Noah (12), Aaron (9)

We are so thankful for the Lord's grace! Little Bethany joined our family this summer and we are over the moon that the Lord chose for this little girl to join us - her 8 older brothers and her parents are over the moon! We've had two kids get saved this year (Paul & Joshua) and it's such a blessing that we've been able to lead our kids to the Lord for his glory! Since the arrival of little miss, Mason and I have been feeling like the Lord is leading us in the direction of a new house. Since she's so young and has about a year in our room with us, we have time to see whether we're going to extend the house by adding a level or whether we'll move to a whole new house altogether. We've got a bunch of prayer warriors on our side so I'm sure we'll get an answer soon.

(AN: Ignore the height differences, planning poses with so many sims means you gotta sacrifice a few things here and there)

Barrett (33) and Kyleigh Collins (31) with Preston (2) and Jackson (6m), Marigold (6), Daisy (7), Benjamin (9), Rose (8), Olivia (4), Violet (8), Jefferson (1), Allan Jr (9), and Chloe (9)

Barrett and Kyleigh are also thankful for a new blessing from the Lord, little Jackson made his appearance soon after Parker and Lana's wedding, so we got a 2-for-1 deal really! They're also prayerfully considering their house, so our prayer circles are really working hard in this season our two families are in. They also had two kids get saved this year, it brought so much joy to my heart when Kyleigh shared in our group chat that the girls had gotten saved and baptised at church! My parents started the tradition of gifting the 'savee' a bible and a family lunch, and it's such a precious tradition that they're able to now carry out with their grandchildren. They only have 12 grandkids that are in the average age range for getting saved (of course it can happen before or after that time period - all in the Lord's timing!), but as the grandchildren grow and continue to multiply they're going to need the Lord's help to get them everywhere that they're needed!

Francisco (34) and Zoe Moreno (30) with Javier Jr (3) and Cassie (1)

Zoe and her family are happy and thriving in Windenburg, Francisco's job gives him weekends off so the family gets to attend church on the weekends. Zoe has amassed a solid amount of students that she teaches piano and violin, as well as some students that she video conferences for their lessons. With two young children to care for and a house to maintain, she's an expert at managing her time. They're slowly approaching the time when Francisco gets his orders and they've got to move, but they've not put their choices in yet so we have no idea where they'll be right now. Little Cassie turns two years old in a few months, so the plan is to have a birthday party for her when we're all back in town for Celeste's wedding. Ashton is heading back to Windenburg to spend some time with them as well as with Amira and her family, she'll ride back with them for the wedding.

Shane (28) and Maggie Wright (27) with Iris (2) and Arlo Wright (2)

Maggie and her family are doing wonderful! They were in Sulani earlier this summer with Reece and Amira's families, it's wonderful getting to see my younger siblings bonding as adults with families of their own. Little Arlo and Iris seem to have grown leaps and bounds since I last saw them, the kids love getting to video chat with them and love whenever they get to visit with each other. Usually Maggie and her family will try and pass through to see us during their travels, so that's when the kids get to see each other.

Reece (26) and Stacie Collins (26) with Liam (5) and Hazel (2)

Reece and Stacie have also been doing great, Liam has breezed through kindergarten and is getting ready to start grade 1. Stacie will be homeschooling Liam through a homeschool co-op, they said that they felt that was the best option for getting the kids socialised with like minded children.

Beckett (24) and Mandy Collins (22)

Beckett and mandy are back for their yearly vacation from the mission field. It's so great to see them in person and hear the wonderful stories they have to tell about the great work that they're doing out there in Selvadorada. Whilst they haven't been blessed with a child as of yet, the Lord has kept them content with their current life and has showered them in blessings of many kinds. They'll be focusing on fundraising efforts for the mission field, as well as trying to see as much family as they can.

Thomas (24) and Amira Eichelburg (23) with Maya (1)

Amira and her family are wonderful and thriving! Little Maya is such a sweet girl, a total reflection of her wonderful mother! Amira was such a wonderful baby and child, and Maya is exactly like her mother. Their little family are wonderful and are so blessed by the Lord, and they've been doing more travelling this year when their schedule allows. They'll be sharing Ashton with Zoe this winter as they get to have some quality sister time before we meet again for Celeste's wedding.

Felix (26) and Priscilla Robert (21) with Andrew (2) and Grace (9m)

Little Grace has joined the family since we were last all together, and her name is so precious! Little Andrew is such a wonderful big brother and these two babies are the light of their parents lives! Priscilla always says that life in Oasis Springs spoils them with the heat, but she does miss having the traditional autumn and winter weather and is glad to be with family - as we all are!

Charles (20) and Lorilee Collins (19) with Everett (9m)

Charles and Lorilee welcomed little Everett into the family around the new year, and have been thanking the Lord for that blessing. Lorilee has been sharing that she's been doing better than expected at the postpartum period, especially for a first-timer. They're talking about moving out of their apartment and finding a house for their little family (that they're hoping to expand!)

Parker (19) and Lana (19) Collins

Lana was also a new joiner to the family this year! She's such a sweet girl and is a wonderful wife to Parker. Their wedding was beautiful and wonderfully glorified the Lord, which is a testament to the minds and hearts of Parker and Lana. As an older sibling, it's been my prayer that my siblings find spouses that challenge them and push them to the Lord, and I'm thankful to say that Lana does exactly that!

We also managed to take a group picture! There's 55 people in our 'immediate' family - imagine that! There's my parents, then the 13 kids, the 10 spouses, and 30 grandkids! The lord has blessed us greatly and beyond our wildest imagination.

We celebrated our gorgeous bride this weekend! Macie and I found a cabin in the woods and coordinated with everyone on schedules, a few weeks later the 12 of us gathered to celebrate Celeste finding the love of her life! While not everyone that was invited could make it, I'm glad that we got to have time with our family!

We all transformed into girls for a weekend, having snowball fights, making snow angels, and making snow people. It was a great period of relaxation and bonding, the togetherness that Celeste specifically asked for before entering a new season of life.

All the 'Paulson girls - current and former' were able to get together and it was so special! Having 6 brothers means that us sisters have been welcoming more sisters with each wedding (and hopefully Kelsey joins our crew in the future). Having Tessa, Sabrina, and Madison be pregnant still making the effort to be with us made it even more special!

We all took turns cooking, and Macie and I had prearranged the cooking groups so each day we had 4 people cooking per day. We were definitely spoiled when it came to food, we had everything from homemade doughnuts, fresh bread made daily, great soup, and homemade lasagna - to name a few. The kettle was constantly going so we had an abundance of hot chocolate and coffee available over the weekend too.

I finally bit the bullet and did an updated group photo for gen 3 because I wanted to replace the header I have for this account right now. I'm still stuck on what to do for a profile picture, but I'll figure it out eventually I guess. When planning out the posing for this, I was inspired by @duggardata to do some info points for my sims, so I'm going to be doing some basic and random facts about these little bunches of pixels to end the year. This ended up being a mini thesis, so grab a snack if you plan on scrolling down, and I'll put the post under the cut to save your scrolling the TL. When I started this it was meant to be a small cute post with random information, and has now become an actual analysis. If I've missed anything or if i find more that I can talk about, there definitely can be more of these later down the line.

I'm going to queue this for 11:30pm my timezone, so I wish you all a very happy new year, may you get everything you desire and more!