#theflemings

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Candace Love! What a Precious Little Girl!

I recently gave birth to Candace Love Fleming, right on schedule! I chose a natural hospital birth this time around due to her being my sixteenth baby. Everything went off without a hitch!

Some of my littles are still adjusting to being big siblings. Cecilia is about to turn five years old, and she already has three younger siblings, can you believe that?! Still, cultivating a joyful heart can be a challenge for some littles.

Luckily, I have my older kids to be great examples...

And a sweet hug from Mama now and then doesn’t hurt :) 

Recently, our precious Claire aged up to being a young adult. It’s so hard to believe that she is all grown up!

Claire shocked both Jon Edwards and I when she told us she wants to attend college to study culinary arts. She found a very Godly college with an emphasis on homemaking, but we were both hesitant. It took a great deal of praying before we decided to permit this. AN: Patience and Jon Edwards were actually horrified by this development! They’ve been so absorbed with having new babies that they failed to see how burnt out Claire has become as she raises her own siblings. They assumed she would want to get married soon, living close by so that she could still help out Patience with the younger kids. When they realized that Claire had found--and been accepted by--a college that she liked, they were so afraid of her defiance that they let her go! Go, Claire!

In other news, many of you know that we are expecting blessing #17. He is due just 18 months after Candace Love. Even more amazingly, he is due a whole two months before our first GRANDBABY!!! That’s right, Jon Edward and I are officially grandparents!!!! We are overjoyed beyond measure. Little Addisyn Marie Gorman will join a trove of adoring aunts and uncles! We give thanks every day for this little blessing ever since we found out about her.

Carly has been such a help to me around the house since I am expecting. She loves cooking the family Franks and Beans recipe that we have passed down for generations!

The little ones look up to Carly so much. She is a true example of what a Godly woman should be!

Claire is settling into college life and is learning so much about loving the Lord and keeping a good home. We can’t wait to see her over Christmas break!

Please pray for a healthy and safe delivery for baby #17!

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The Fleming Family Modesty Guide!

Lately, a lot of people have been asking us how we dress our little ones in a way that honors the Lord, particularly our girls. I know a commitment to modesty was hugely important to my parents when I was growing up, and Jon and I have raised our children with the same convictions. Modesty can be simple for boys--shorts always go at least to the top of the knee, no tank tops, and boys must always wear t-shirts with their swim trunks. Girls have many more fashions available, which can make things more tricky, so I decided to share a modesty guide with our followers! We are so excited to invite you into our closets and our hearts!

First, I’ll start with my younger daughter, Carly. Carly is only a toddler, and any attempts at “modesty” now aren’t done for the sake of actual modesty, but for practicing later on. Our girls will get accustomed to longer skirts and sleeves from a young age.

Carly in a typical play outfit. Note the fun leggings!

Carly in a “party” outfit. Our older girls wear skirts at least to the knee, but we are not so strict when our children are in their pre-school days.

Carly in another play outfit!

Carly’s “swim dress” 

Claire is a perfect model for feminine modesty. Our goal as a family is to draw the eye to our faces! Above, Claire models a swim dress. 

Claire in a formal dress for a wedding we attended last year!

Claire in an everyday, play outfit

Claire in a nicer everyday outfit that she might wear for homeschool or even church!

A winter outfit

Typically, we have our girls wear dresses alone. However, there are a small number of outdoor activities that require pants. Above is a good example of a “pants” outfit we may have our girls wear under special circumstances.

Thank you so much for reading our modesty guide! Please keep us in your prayers, as I just found out I’m expecting again--and it sounds like it’s going to be another boy!!

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A Baker’s Dozen for Us!

Howdy, readers! It’s hard to believe how quick things are moving around here! We’ve got birthdays, babies, and so much joy in this house! Aren’t we blessed?

Christian, our third baby, recently aged up. It’s so hard to believe that we now have three teenagers in this house! Send prayers, LOL!

Because our family has expanded a LOT recently (a set of triplets and a set of twins...we are so blessed!) we did some renovations, including a special toddler play area in our yard...

And a new living room to make room for everyone! What do you think?

Calder (#5) seems to love the new living room! He loves mechanical projects and such. He’s such a boy’s boy! Maybe he’ll be an engineer someday!

By the way, the twins recently aged up...and just in time, too, because I’m expecting again!! We are SO thrilled! We will be adding another member to the girls’ room in the fall! 

My hubby has been SO good to me throughout my pregnancy with baby #13. Now that I’m almost 36, pregnancies are getting a bit harder on me, but I have no greater joy in my life and I am so grateful that I get to be a Mama again!

He took me out to dinner recently. We had some yummy rootbeer floats, too! We do not consume alcohol, but ice cream is definitely okay :) 

Meanwhile, my babies have been so good. Carly recently designed and sewed a brand-new modest dress for herself. She is such a little lady!

Cooper and Calder had a mud fight on a recent rainy day. I couldn’t bear to scold them! Boys will be boys!

Sweet Carly has really been flourishing lately. Not only does she have a deep conviction for modesty and a love of fashion, she is also blossoming into a real musician!

I love hearing the lovely strains of her music straining through the house!

Meanwhile, as our kids have gotten older, we’ve had to put a strict curfew in place. Parents, don’t let worldliness dissuade you from setting boundaries with your kids! Allowing them to stay out late is just asking them to fall in with the wrong crowd and go astray! This is one reason we are so grateful for homeschooling. It keeps our kids away from activities or other silliness that might go late into the night.

Everything is going well around here! We are so grateful for each other and for our loving family. What a happy home we have!

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Welcome, Cecilia May!

Recently, our family was blessed to have a large protest for the Foundation for Less Mischief on behalf of my wonderful hubby, Jon Edwards. After, we took the chance to capture some precious family photos. After all, our family seems to be growing every day!

We are all truly so blessed to have such a wonderful husband and Daddy! Jon is such a blessing!

Aren’t my babies the sweetest?!

Meanwhile, things at home have been calm and happy. Calder is up to his usual mechanical projects.

Cooper is very interested in chess and logic. I don’t understand how that whole game works, but Jon loves to watch! He has such a great, logical brain! Cooper must have gotten it from him. 

Soon before I went into labor, Claire and I spent some time playing and training with some of the littles.

I soon felt labor pangs!

I had a fast and normal delivery at the hospital, and soon enough our newest, WONDERFUL blessing Cecilia May was born! She’s gorgeous and has fine blonde hair just like mine!

Also, just a few days before Cecilia was born, the triplets aged up. It’s so hard to believe that Caraline, Camilla, and Cathryn are big girls now!

I love all my children so much and I am grateful for their joyful hearts! We are blessed. 

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So Many Blessings on the Way! We Couldn’t Be Happier!

AN: I’m back! Between living a couple of miles away from the recent attempted coup on the Capitol and figuring out my schedule for this coming term, I’ve gotten behind on posting here, but I’m so excited to start up again! 

Thanks so much for all of the wonderful other Simmers who have been commenting on my posts and sharing their stories. It’s been so fun to read, and has helped me relieve stress as the world burns...

Welcome, readers! I am so happy to share the BIG gender reveal party that myself, my sisters, and our sweet sisters-in-love participated in this past weekend! Our family is expecting SO many sweet little ones soon! All of the married sisters and sisters-in-love are expecting aside from Hope Geraldine, who recently delivered her sixth child! We are so happy for her and grateful that her family is growing and thriving. 

My sisters and I grabbed a few pictures together! Evy is expecting her second child, a girl. Helen is expecting her first, a girl. Helen got married just a few weeks before I did, but she and her husband did not conceive for some time after they married. Fortunately, they were able to find a wonderful Christian doctor who helped them! Helen experienced two miscarriages before this sweet rainbow little one, and she is due to deliver about six weeks before me.

A picture of all of us! Emily Anne is expecting baby #5, her fifth boy (!) and Laura is expecting her first. I am pregnant with my fourth!

We love each other so much and were so happy to be all together!

Team girl! Our sister-in-love, Chloe (married to my older brother Isaiah Stetson), is expecting #5, and her fourth girl! She got married a couple of years before me and is such a role model! She has such a servant’s heart and is always so sweet-tempered!

Team boy! How sweet is it that my husband’s sister, Laura, is expecting a boy around the same time as me?!

We enjoyed each other’s company, shared parenting tips, and looked after little ones. 

It is always such a gift to spend time with family!

In other news, our precious firstborn just aged up! I can’t believe how much time has flown, nor can my husband. I am both so thrilled to have a big boy and so determined to cherish my babies while they are little! They grow up so fast.

In the meantime, we’re continuing with homeschooling and enjoying our little ones. God is so good!

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Well, the big day is here!

AN: I can’t believe it’s already time for my third generation of this challenge! I love being part of fundie simblr. I am so glad I started this blog and can’t wait to continue this challenge! It’s hard for me to believe I’m at my last post from Patience’s perspective (and that the birth of her last kid will have to be described through the perspective of her daughter...) but time flies when you’re having fun!

I also wanted to mention that Patience is definitely done after baby #19! It’s been really fun to mimic a huge family, but she’s starting to strain medical possibility. Going forward, my goal won’t be for my Sims to literally have as many kids as possible...they’ll still have big families, but probably in the low teens at the highest. 19 is a huge number!

With that being said, during Carly’s time as heir I’m going to focus less on her siblings’ weddings than I did with Patience’s generation. That’s because there are so many of them, and I don’t want my save file to consist solely of Carly’s siblings’ kids! I am going to pick up focusing more on sibling weddings and babies in future generations, though.

Thank you so much for reading! I appreciate all of you so much! :) 

Well, everyone, the special day is here! What a bittersweet and joyous day this was. Our little Carly is married, just two months before she turns 18!

Her and Walter got married in the same church where Colton and Estrella wed. We loved the pastor there and thought he made a wonderful wedding sermon, and we were excited when Carly and Walter chose it!

Aren’t these two a beautiful couple?!

The sight of their sweet, pure love was so refreshing. Their commitment to each other was only exceeded by their commitment to purity!

We hunted for ages for the perfect wedding dress for Carly, and we were ecstatic when we found one that was just right. We had it tailored for Carly and altered a bit for modesty, plus customized to add even more extra sparkle. I just love how it looks on her! She is an angel!

We loved celebrating these two and seeing their first kiss at the altar. It is so difficult to let a daughter go, but we know that this is God’s command and that Walter will take amazing care of her!

The two of them have already moved into their new place to start their journey together.

They decided to skip a formal honeymoon to save money, but Walter is waiting two weeks before he starts managing his own restaurant so that they can have time together!

This couple has such a bright future, and we can’t wait to share it with them!

Also, in a major surprise for both of us, Jon Edward and I are expecting! I will deliver my (likely) last baby at 44, just like my mother did. I like to think she had a hand in this! 

We loved taking this photo together. Both Hatsue and I are expecting (me, #19, her, #7). We told Carly to pose the same way for good luck! Here’s hoping we have a grandbaby soon!

Please do wish us a safe and healthy delivery. I am 43 now and due in two months, just before my birthday. I am considered very high-risk, but the pregnancy has been going well so far and we are being closely monitored!

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He Didn’t Want to Wait!

Our Colton knows what he wants, just like his Daddy. After a year of getting to know each other and four months of official courtship, our oldest son has turned 20 and decided to propose to his childhood sweetheart, Estrella!

Colton wanted to honor us by bringing us along to the proposal. It was such a special moment!

Estrella was so surprised and yet overjoyed. Estrella will turn 20 right before the wedding, so she and Colton are both the perfect age to wed. 

We are so excited for this wonderful couple!

Due to their radical purity commitment, these two are not allowed to kiss yet, but they had fun teasing a smooch for their engagement photo shoot! 

These two are just such good examples of purity to their younger siblings. I hope they will encourage my children to marry early and to resist temptation to touch before engagement. 

We could not be more excited to have our oldest baby married--just before our 16th gift is due!

Colton and Estrella were engaged for two months. We try to avoid long engagements in our family, because a period of waiting always leads to temptation, especially because a couple is so close to the altar and allowed to hold hands and hug.

We had a fantastic ceremony at Estrella’s childhood church in Windenburg. 

Both couples emphasized their physical purity in their vows, and all of the younger children in both families were impressed with the importance of saving their first kisses for their wedding days!

Their first kiss was great! 

We love these two so much. Their ceremony was beautiful!

We are so thrilled for this new season of life and for the future blessing of grandchildren!

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Three’s company..our triplets are here!!

AN: I was genuinely shocked when Patience conceived two sets of multiples in a row! I do use MC Command Center on this save, but I randomly generate pregnancies. I will be altering any multiple pregnancies going forward for the sake of realism...only singletons from here on out!

You know how they say two is better than one? Well, I would argue that three is even better than two! That’s right, our sweet triplets arrived recently. How overwhelmingly blessed are we?!

I am so fortunate that my older children helped supervise my younger ones while I was away at the hospital giving birth. Colton and Claire are both nearly teenagers now!

While I was at the hospital, Caraline, Camilla, and Cathryn were born. We love them so much!

Also fun--the doctors told us that Camilla and Cathryn are identical! Isn’t that just so fun?! We cannot wait to dress them in so many sweet, matching outfits!

Can you believe that we have THREE babies? The girls’ room is awfully full right now!

Our entire family is so excited about this birth and has been eagerly pitching in to help them. Look at my sweet hubby giving Camilla a bottle! He’s becoming a natural!

Also recently, Colton aged up after turning 13!! Aren’t my boys so handsome and silly?! (See Colton and Cooper goofing around a bit during Colton’s birthday! Haha!) 

Six months after the triplets came along, December 1st arrived. Christmas season really crept up on us this time around! Christmas is an extremely important holiday for people of our faith, and I was determined to continue our traditions despite the chaos of having so many littles and my exhaustion from giving birth so recently. It meant a lot to Jon and I to give our children a proper Christmas! We went out and got a real Christmas tree and many decorations and gifts. It was just such a joy to give that to our children. We know that they will always have fond memories of Christmas now, which is all we want!

In other news, Jon and I learned a few days before Christmas itself that we are expecting again...and it’s twins, both boys this time! I’m only a couple of months along, but showing a lot very early this time around! Hopefully that means our boys will be big and strong! I can’t believe they’ll be here only around sixteen months after our triplets...we will be taking a bit of a break after this, I think. Not using birth control, of course--that is never an acceptable option! Instead, we may make the choice to faithfully abstain for a period so that my body can recover :) 

Aren’t these pictures with my hubby so sweet? He is truly my rock and a shining example for all Christian husbands. He is so dedicated to our children and to Christian politics! I am convinced that he will be president one day!

Look at this beautiful family that God has given us. We are so blessed beyond what we deserve, and we give thanks every day!

We have so much fun together as a family!

Please pray for us, as more of our children will become teenagers soon...

And we hope you’ve had a wonderful Christmas season!