(L-R: Derrick and Brenna's wedding day in 199x, portrait with oldest twins in 199x, Winterfest Watcherfest 200x)
[Brenna's POV]
Paine Family Blog post: Throwbacks & A (Re!) Introduction
While we were finding photos to include in Bethany's wedding slideshow, I came across some beautiful shots of our family over the years. When Derrick and I met at the Institute for Learning Watcherly Ways' first annual ministry weekend all those years ago, this life ONLY lived in my wildest dreams. Won't the Watcher create it?!!
(L-R: Denzel Paine, holding Brielle Paine, Brittani Paine, Bethany Paine holding Bailey-Jane Paine, Brenna Paine, Derrick Paine, Darrius Paine, Demarcus Paine holding Brynn Paine, Darren Paine)
Last year, we renewed our vows in Tartosa and this was our last big family photo. It's ALREADY out of date—hopefully once the dust settles from our little mini wedding season and other spring & summer fun, we'll have an updated one. For now, we snapped some individual shots at home (BTW (By The Way -- sweet Beth taught me this one), would you all be interested in a home tour/"day in the life" post?):
First, Mama (me!) and Daddy, and Baby Boy (#10!) coming soon. Deacon Josiah is currently the front runner for his name, but feel free to email suggestions (our naming theme -- Ds for our boys, Bs for our girls, and J middle names)
Our recent bride Bethany Joy! She's moved out now, but her sweet, outgoing spirit will never leave our household. Our little kids have already been asking when they can go to 'the little house' for a sleepover. So tender!
2. Bethany's twin and our oldest son, Darrius John, who's engaged to be married to his childhood sweetheart, Joelle Query. Darrius is the epitome of an eldest boy--self-assured, hard-working, always ready to lend a hug or a hand to his youngest siblings. He has his eye FIXED on the Plumbob! We are so excited for his wedding later this summer and to see him lead his own home as he's led in his time as a son and brother.
3. Our first singleton and our second boy, Denzel Jeremiah, is soon to become a young man. Over the years, Denzel has struggled to mind his temper and envy, but the Watcher has worked on his heart HEAVILY. He has found so much solace in alone time fishing, woodworking, and in fellowship with his father and brothers. He's opted to leave homeschool early and start his own small business performing odd jobs and maintenance for the elderly and infirm of our church, and is trying to get his affairs in order to start a home of his own when Mrs. Right comes along.
4. Our little genius, Brittani Janae, is such a service and help to me and her siblings in schoolwork, maintaining the homeschool computers, and even assisting her Daddy in some of the bookkeeping and website design for his real estate business. As thrilled as we are that she has found a special area of ministry to succeed in for herself, we pray her heart will soften to some of the more womanly callings in her life. ILWW's next session of Glowing and Growing is starting, and we think she'd benefit greatly from serving as a counselor. (And get a little summer vacation before the new baby arrives!)
5. and 6., Demarcus James and Darren Jacob just celebrated a birthday! Demarcus has such a quiet, yet dignified and masculine spirit, and has expressed interest in trying to accelerate his high school education so he can enter nursing school early. Darren is less sure about his vocation, but he has really calmed down and found a positive outlet in athletics--this fall will be his first season playing in our local Watcherian travel basketball team!
7. Our little tomboy, Bailey Jane! We pray that she'll settle in more inside, but for right now, I'm allowing the Watcher to guide me towards being content in this season of spirit and sweetness.
8. and 9. Last, but certainly not least, our babies and soon-to-be big sisters, Brynn Jordan and Brielle Johannah. These little ladies are unbelievably spoiled, and maybe a little clingy as a result, but I know that the day will come (too soon!) where they won't be begging to be picked up and hugged and kissed!
I am so blessed that so many new names are reading and hearing our family's testimony! If the Watcher wills it, I hope you all will stick around for all the exciting seasons of life to come.
'No Longer Watching' Forum >> Subforum: ILWW Nuts >> Thread: Brittani Paine Courting?? (Started: Summer 13, 201x)
CurlyCyborg: ILWW homepage hasn't failed us yet for catching the courtships early...anyone else see the GAG (LOL) counselor picture?
[OPEN THREAD?]
AutumnFawn: think they probably just paired up one boy one girl for each cabin...no known couples here?
--CurlyCyborg [reply]: MacKenzie girl (redhead)'s mom showed a picture from their ILWW welcome dinner and Emily & Steven were sitting close...we assume courtship
bakingmage1985: Even if they are, we probably won't know till an engagement, that's the unmarried Osuji boy. If you look back at the megathread for ILWW Conference 200x, there's a recording of when Papa Osuji led a 'father's roundtable' and he talked about 'Watcherian chaste betrothal' among other crazy fundie shit lol
twinkle_toes: anybody spot her on ide's simbook...i know @/Knightmare was following before she threw her tantrum and deleted the blog and went private
[1 day later]
Knightmare: Sorry i was late y'all, Baby Knight actually slept last night~
Screenshots are the pictures they took after GAG that Ide posted on Simbook...she announced the new baby names ('Connor' for the ABCs and 'Sage' for the fake hippies :eyeroll:) but no news about Nnamdi (or Tolu :(( ). But, they didn't say anything about Rachel until literally the wedding & Kiera and John were announced at engagement...
L-R: Anituke Osuji with Addison Osuji on knee, Brooklyn Osuji, Rachel Osuji
L-R: Ade Osuji, Clay Osuji, Kiera Osuji
Tolu (Osuji) Kayode and John Kayode
L-R: Moniade, Nnamdi, Monisola, Eniola, Ide, Folami, and Tayo Osuji
Spring is winding down, and things wake up more and more each day at our house!
We call it The Ranch, but we don't keep animals here (Derr and I did briefly keep a cow and a small garden before our oldest twins were born!). When we were planning where to purchase our family home before our wedding, we wanted an area with small-town, modest values and space -- Henford-on-Bagley fit that measure perfectly. We've fixed up and renovated this house as our means allowed and it does what we need it to do!
Things start with breakfast, of course -- next week, I'll post the recipe for the homemade take on Righteous Chicken Breakfast Bagels! We love their values and their food, but it's a rare treat here ($$!)
Our exercise room sees plenty of traffic first thing in the morning! Denzel needs to stay strong for his job, and Darren's coach mandates a strict home exercise standard as part of their team's program.
Our teens go to co-op classes in-person with other ILWW and Jacoban homeschoolers, and end of year = projects, projects, projects! Britt's closer to the end of her school time, so her attendance is split part-time with some light work outside the home babysitting for local families.
Our soon-to-be-married man has started at the local credit union as a personal banker, so he's usually out of the house by 8 A.M. -- how rare it is to see a young man wearing a suit and tie to work!!!
After the morning rush, my attention turns to Bailey-Jane and her jurisdictions & school work, and managing the toddlers. (Prayers for Watcherlike spirits about clearing the table, long division, and potty training!)
And last, but certainly not least, Bethany surprised me by coming over and delivering the news that her daddy and I are being promoted to Grandma and Grandpa! In secular circles, some might think I'd be despairing to be called 'Grandma' so young, but the Watcher teaches us that it is our greatest heritage to see our children experience creation and hold our grandbabies -- and what a testimony to be expecting my 10th at the same time as my first grandbaby!
If you forgot about the amazing double engagement that took place at our oldest set's birthday:
The first of our engaged twins, Bethany, walked down the aisle to be united with her beau Gideon under the Glow forever, on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon at Evergreen Harbor Jacoban!
(L-R: Brenna Paine, Brittani Paine (turned away), Darrius Paine, Darren Paine, Bethany (Paine) Harris, Derrick Paine)
We started our morning with what Derrick and I pray will become a treasured tradition--our bride had her favorite breakfast, blueberry pancakes, on her last morning as a Paine.
The beautiful invitation!
(L-R: Top - Gideon Harris, Jeb Harris, Denzel Paine, Darrius Paine. Bottom - Nani Kealoha, Greta (Laurent) Harris, Joelle Query, Brittani Paine)
(a/n: i don't think i'll ever be quite over the game auto-naming a sim my own damn name)
The beautiful bridal party! The couple included friends, some of our older kids, as well as our new kids-in-love, Greta and Jeb, who stood as SUCH a solid demonstration and encouragement to this couple through their courtship, and her twin's gorgeous fiancée as the maid of honor. What a joy and honor it is to see children grow up together and follow in the Watcher's ways!
My husband of twenty-one beautiful years and counting is no pastor, so his surprise and joy when Bethany and Gideon asked him to officiate their wedding was genuine! I think he may have cried more than five-months-pregnant Mama of the Bride! 😭 He is in commercial real estate and loves the Watcher with all his might, so it wasn't too trying for him to find his public speaking muscle!
It is our GREATEST wish that all nine, soon to be ten, of our children can share the testimony of remaining modest, pure, and chaste until the day the Watcher directs them to their love, and Bethany and Gideon did not waver once. The day of their engagement was the first time they held hands, and the altar was the site of their first kiss.
They were both SO giggly through their vows and the exchange of rings. Gideon's been so respectful and nervous on not breaking standards that when they were pronounced man and wife, Bethany had to go for the kiss!
EHJ's gym transformed BEAUTIFULLY for a pizza & cupcake luncheon reception! The Plumbob remains directly above us at all times, and Bethany and Gideon felt their wedding was no exception. Their colors were green, spice brown, and white.
During their ILWW (Institute for Learning Watcherly Ways, our family's resource for following Independent Jacoban & historic Watcherian values) pre-marital counseling, they were given the idea from their mentor couple to have a cake shaped like the Plumbob. White cake and a pistachio cream cheese filling--SO delicious!
Another kiss by their beautiful barn backdrop installed in the gym by the Harris brothers--every single one after the first one is practice! Practice makes progress, and progress makes grandbabies 😊
Now, the newlywed Harrises are starting their own home! I know for some of you, this may be the first post of mine you're seeing, so I'll give an introduction post with our next family update.
Yours in Fellowship of the Watcher,
Brenna
(So, this is mostly @snapdragonsimming's fault, with a little enabling from @fundielicious-simblr for providing Beth's wedding dress. But also my own damn fault, because I never quite got over the fun and agony of running @our-little-kingdom back in the day LOL
I'll update my pinned with the Sims Tree where you can keep up with the Paines more regularly!)
Praise the Watcher, we have made it out of the first trimester and blossomed into the second! And found out the gender -- it's a BOY!
Baby Harris is now the size of a large banana, and is giving Mama a run for my money. My own mom never struggled much with morning sickness or tiredness or any of the normal symptoms, so I was surprised at just how sick and how tired I was! Me and Gideon got a chance to speak about this in our ministry's webseries for newlyweds, but it was truly a testimony to our shared passion and trust in affirming the Watcher's complete and total control over life and creation. These 'discomforts' are just the opposite, delights! And what a blessing to have the privilege of walking through this during our 'honeymoon period' (which is gonna last a lifetime, Watcher willing it!)
Prayer and time in conversation with the Watcher is a cornerstone of our home. My sweet Giddy-bear is an apprentice landscaper, specifically trying to learn how to do high-end arrangements and commissioned fruit gardens, so he needs to look after his practice plants first thing, which gives me time to do personal devotions.
Everyone told me when I got married, I was going to have to learn to stop cooking for an army. But, between the way Giddy loves to eat and trusting the Watcher the way we have with my womb, I don't think that's a skill I need to misplace! For right now, though, it's nice to be able to do the things that take longer like pancakes <3
After we're done eating and before Gid goes to work, he leads us in prayer and we read a verse he chooses. He's not the most passionate for stuff like ministry or preaching on his own, so I even MORE profoundly appreciate his diligence in finding wisdom for us. Experiencing his leadership, as well as learning to submit to one another and the Watcher's leadership, has been such a meaningful start to our forever, and we are so elated for our baby boy to join us on that forever!
[A/N: yeah, bethany is who she is lol. we'll pop into her mind and household every so often, but prepare for an onslaught of warriors for the watcher to just keep arriving in the background]
A short one -- Paine #10 arrived safely yesterday afternoon, and couldn't even wait for the midwife!
I started contracting BADLY in the middle of making lunch and Praise the Watcher, Bailey-Jane was able to run and dial for Daddy to rush home! He was rushing and calling our home birth midwife on his way home, but DJ was ready to come -- Daddy caught him screaming in our bedroom. Our biggest baby and fastest labor...maybe a sign of the grand finale?
I am entering the later half of my adult years, so obviously the Watcher may be preparing to wind down our days of creating, but for now, we are basking in all the snuggles <3
