Chapter 271:

In the morning, breakfast and cleaning up after was done as speedily as possible so they could begin to get things ready for their guests. They had had quite a few affirmative RSVP's to the invitation and several who said they were hoping to make it but weren't sure yet at the time they returned the card.

Hannah, Amanda and Jenny were on hand already, keeping an eye on the older children out on the playground. This was freeing the adults up to care for the babies and finish the preparations for their guests to arrive beginning in just a couple of hours.

Debbie and Mary were organizing the trays and discussing how they would rotate the food out to the ballroom where the buffet tables were set up already while Seb and Lisa did one last walk through to make sure the house was in order and the decorations were all where they should be, Kayti especially had been caught on more than one occasion playing with them.

Lisa noticed that Debbie had rushed away to the restroom several times this morning already and when Debbie came back out this time Lisa cornered her and asked if she was feeling alright.

Debbie's eyes filled with tears.

"I'm sorry Lisa. You need me here in top form today. It's usually gone by now." Debbie began.

"Oh Debbie. Are you pregnant?" Lisa asked her quietly, not wanting to announce news to the whole house that Debbie might want to be kept private.

"Yes, and I know this wasn't part of the plan when you hired me. I'll do my best to keep this from affecting my job."

"Debbie don't worry about that. We'll manange around it. The question is are you happy about having another child and have you told Jim.?"

"Yes, Jim knows. He's so happy, I'm surprised that he hasn't announced it to the whole world already. As far as me, I wasn't intending to have another child now with my other three half grown but, I can't be upset about any child coming into the world. I guess we were meant to have another one. I go to the doctor for a sonogram next week. I really am hoping though that this is just one baby and not twins again."

"As long as you and the baby are alright, things will work out. Is this supposed to be kept a secret?"

"Not really but we haven't told the children yet and I would like to be able to tell them before they figure it out or hear it somewhere. We'll tell them tomorrow."

"Mum's the word then. They won't hear it from me. But things seem to be well under control here. Why don't you go home for a while and rest until the nausea passes and then come back."

"Are you sure? I do think if I could lie down for a while, I would be more help this afternoon."

"We'll be fine here. Mom and Alex are on their way over. So we will have plenty of hands to help. There really isn't anything left to do except to bring food out when someone arrives and keep an eye on the children and the three girls seem to be doing a fine job with the older kids. I'm getting ready to feed Jessica and put her in for a nap."

"Okay, I'll be back in a while then. Thank you Lisa."

Lisa knew that Debbie wasn't feeling well but as she watched Debbie walk away, she was under the impression that Debbie was still worried about her job with the unexpected pregnancy. She would just have to find a way to reassure Debbie that her job was secure. As far as Lisa was concerned, there could never be too many babies around.

Lisa smiled as she watched Jim meet Debbie as she crossed the yard. Debbie spoke to him and was obviously telling him that she's told her about the baby. Jim turned and looked right where Lisa was standing and smiled at her. Lisa smiled back and waved. Then Jim put his arm around Debbie's waist and guided her into the house, shutting the door behind them.

Mom and Alex arrived a few minutes later like a couple of Seargants in the Army, ready to fall into line wherever they were needed, only to have the wind let out of their sails when they were told that everything was under control and nothing needed to be done until the guests began to arrive.

Alex told them that Urs and Dad would be along in a while. Urs was showing Dad some of the wood working projects that he had been doing.

Carlos and Vicki also arrived early, planning to visit for a while and then Amelia would be going back to the condo with them for the rest of the weekend. Lisa could see how the transition was already being made. Amelia responded well to Carlos and Vicki and loved the attention they lavished on her. She was so proud to be Carlito's big sister and loved to show him off to the other children, telling them of every new thing he did.

Aaron was also doing new things. He was currently fascinated with his feet and was working hard to get them to his mouth. He had a foot in each hand at first but when he couldn't work both feet to his mouth, he let go and decided to use both hands on one foot until he was successful. Then he spent a while exploring his toes with his mouth, gumming them and creating a drooly mess that ran down his leg.

"Were having a pool installed right after the New Year. We're going to enclose and heat it so we can use it year round. His doctor said that water therapy will be a big help for him and they are already seeing some signs of tightness in his calves so we want to be on top of getting his therapy going soon. He's going to start regular physical therapy next week. But with him doing things like that with his legs, it is very encouraging." Alex told Lisa as they watched the baby entertaining himself.

"I'm glad they're not waiting to start his therapy. It's important to stay ahead of whatever his muscles decide to do."

Urs and Dad arrived a short time later, adding a couple more watchful eyes as the older children were in and out of the house and the babies mostly just needed a cuddle and a change now and then. The Mom's all were still handling the feeding duties for the three infants.

*
Not long after the appointed start time for the open house, the first guests arrived, shocking Lisa. An invitation had gone to her but Lisa never expected Mrs. Collins, Brenda's supervisor to actually show up. Lisa had to push the case of nerves away that threatened to appear. She told herself that the house was meticulously clean and the children were all well and happy and there was not one thing that Mrs. Collins could find fault with.

Lisa found Seb and had him come to the foyer with her. They wanted to try and welcome as many of their guests at the door as they could manage.

Mrs. Collins, along with her husband were welcomed in and were given a quick tour of the ground floor, showing them where the food was and told them to help themselves to whatever they wanted.

"Your home is decorated beautifully for the holidays. Is it hard to keep everything out of the little ones hands?" she asked and for once, Lisa didn't feel like it was an accusation or reprisal but instead a genuine inquiry."

"Thank you. The only one we have to really keep after is Kayti. She's our all around trouble maker. If there is trouble to be found, we can count on her to find it. The others are old enough to follow instructions better and the other two aren't mobile enough or in Lauren's case, she isn't allowed access to the ballroom where most of the things she could reach are at when she is crawling around."

Just then, Debbie came into the room carrying Jessica who had just woken from her nap.
Lisa took her and turned her so that the Collin's could see her.

"And this here is our newest addition, Jessica Marie. She is going to be three months on Tuesday.

"She's beautiful. Congratulations. Are the children all adjusting well?"

"I think they are. All of them except for Lauren are seeing Dr. Jessica Talbot. Jeremy and Holly go twice a month which is down from once a week and Sammy goes once a month. She sees Kayti too but only once every couple of months right now."

"I've heard she's very good."

"She is and she's wonderful with each of the children. They all have different personalities and needs and she responds well to each of them."

The Collin's didn't stay long after they had something to eat and had a peek at all of the children and on their way out, Lisa handed Mrs.Collins a gift bag.