Spring Valley 3/31/24

 400 Pine St:  Garrett and Nora welcomed their fourth child, another boy John, and are already expecting their fifth.  Things should get easier for Nora, however, because heading into fall all three of the older children will be in school, leaving just John and the new baby to care for during the day.  Garrett brought in a large eggplant crop, which will earn him a pretty penny, but didn't have enough money to replant his entire field for the fall harvest.  The family should still be more than okay financially though as they move towards winter.

400 Main St:  Patience is finally getting a handle on things.  With the twins in school, she was able to get down to the school and officially hire, not only Gertrude Ford, but Gertrude's sister Jane as well.  She feels she could use at least one more teacher, but there don't seem to be any qualified candidates at the moment.  Mayor Johnson has informed her that there are also no headmaster applicants, so she'll need to hold down the fort a bit longer.

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 3/28/24

 200 Grove Rd:  Brody has officially taken over as head of household now that he's married Lydia (Ford) Jefferson.  Unfortunately, that means taking on the responsibilities (and headaches) that come with the position.  Rachel Adams was unable to pay the full amount she owes him, and he had to settle for a lesser payment.  The family is still okay, but with the large crop of lemons that came in, Brody worries he won't ever get the full amount he's owed, which is worrisome now that he will soon be a father.

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 3/27/24

 100 Farm Acre Rd:  The Johnsons said goodbye to one family member and hello to another this season.  Claire Johnson passed away at the age of 64.  She leaves behind two sisters, three children, and three grandchildren.  Life was never easy for Claire, but she can rest now in the knowledge that her son Curtis has become the mayor of Spring Valley and will be able to help them get back on their feet.  At least she got to meet her very first granddaughter, Eve, before she died.  Clay harvested a good crop of strawberries, so the fridge is stocked, and he'll have a payment coming next season.  He's determined to drag his family out of poverty.

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 3/25/24

 300 Pine St:  Elsa is back home now that Rachel has a handle on things at the store.  Penelope is working at crafting flower arrangements, but she's finding out it's not as easy as her mother made it look.  Andrew did indeed bring in a bumper crop of peppers for the summer and is set to harvest another in the fall.  Aaron reached adulthood and has decided to start his own farm, specializing in pole beans.  His brother took some time to show him the ropes of farming, so he'll be ready to plant once spring rolls around.

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 3/24/24

 200 Pine St:  How the family's fortune has changed!  Shortly after the birth of their sixth child, Kathleen, Ernest and Virginia's son Jesse happened upon an old lamp while tending the strawberries.  It turned out the lamp was made of gold and Ernest was able to sell it for $1000, which is an amazing windfall for this family, who has been struggling to keep their heads above water.  They bought a couple of things they needed, but decided to save most of the money to make sure they get through the winter.

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 3/23/24

 100 Pine St:  Nathaniel harvested a bountiful pepper crop, which is great news since he and Charity recently doubled their family with the birth of twins, Nicholas and Noah, and later another daughter Jasmine.  Money was a little tight, so he didn't plant much for the fall harvest, but the payment he has coming should be more than enough to carry them through the winter.  It's also a load off Nathaniel's shoulders knowing that he has an heir to take over the farm because he's certainly not getting any younger.

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 3/22/24

 300 Old Mill Ln:  Lee did not win the mayor's race, but instead settled into his father's cousin's (Julia Jefferson) house and became a fisherman.  His twin brother Jude has now taken over from their father in the daily running of the farm and household.  His family was overjoyed to celebrate another wedding, with Jude's nuptials to Gabrielle (Adams) Johnson.  It's a bit confusing with his brother being named Gabriel and his wife Gabrielle, but soon Gabe will be out on his own.  He's decided to become a miner, but before he moves to the mining camp, he will set up a residence in town for his bride to live in, and hopefully they'll get their family started before he has to go away.

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 3/21/24

 200 Old Mill Ln:  Samuel and Hope's siblings pooled their resources to help the family get back on their feet.  Daniel was able to sow and harvest a pretty good crop of cucumbers.  Hope added to that with a few potholders as well.  So, they are financially stable, though nowhere near wealthy, at the moment.  However, they have a different problem to contend with now, as Hope cannot stand Daniel's new bride Lucy.  They bicker constantly and no one in the household can get a moment's peace.  Daniel feels his mother is being too critical; after all, Lucy's lost so much in her life, with her siblings dying in a fire and her mother Julia just recently passing away.  In any event, he hopes they can get past their differences because Lucy's not going anywhere, and she will eventually be the mother of Hope's grandchildren.

 Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 3/20/24

 100 Old Mill Ln:  William passed away at the beginning of the summer, just after planting a full crop of pole beans.  He leaves behind three sisters, six children, and two grandchildren, though he didn't live to see the second one, Ruby, born.  He lived a hard, but honest life.  Henry is happy with his two little daughters, but knows he needs to get an heir as soon as possible because there are no guarantees in life.

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 3/19/24

 300 Main St:  Tragedy struck the Adams household.  Lightning struck a tree at the general store, causing a massive fire.  Christopher fought valiantly to extinguish it, but lost his life in the process.  Much of the store's inventory was also lost.  Crippled by grief, pregnant Rachel asked her sister Elsa to move in temporarily to help with the children and the household, as she tried to get a handle on running the shop.  They still need the income and, of course, they still owe money to the townspeople, despite the loss of the inventory.  Rachel worked tirelessly, selling everything that was salvageable at the store, making just enough money to pay everyone something, though some had to accept a payment that was less than what was owed to them.  She hopes to get them caught up by next season, if they can just be patient.  The only bright spot for Rachel this summer was the birth of her son, Seth.  Christopher finally got the heir he so desperately wanted, though he didn't live to see him born.  Christopher died at age 60, leaving behind his wife, his sister and four children.  He will be missed.

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 3/18/24

 200 Creek Dr:  Julia Jefferson passed away at the age of 65.  She leaves behind two siblings and three daughters.  Julia lived a hard life, but she can finally rest with the knowledge that she did all she could do for her children and to keep her husband's legacy alive.  She left the house to her cousin Luke's son Lee.  Lee lost the mayoral election and needed a trade, so the timing was perfect.  Lee and his new wife, Fiona (Jefferson) Johnson, welcomed a baby boy Ian during the summer, and are expecting their second child.  Julia taught Fiona as much sewing as she could before she died, and even sewed a couple of projects as a wedding present to the newlyweds, which will help them get started.

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 3/17/24

 1500 Main St (Spring Valley Inn):  The family is growing so quickly, Victoria can hardly keep up with all the new additions.  Her daughter Nora had a set of twins as well and is expecting her fourth child, while Graham and Mercy have welcomed a new baby girl, Esther, and are also expecting their fourth child.  Six grandchildren and more to come!  Life is good for this branch of the Jefferson family.

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 3/13/24

 700 Chapel Hill:  David and Scarlett had another baby boy, Zachary.  And as if six children aren't enough, all the kids are constantly inviting their friends over and David always has a parishioner or two visiting, so they house is teeming with people on a daily basis.  Scarlett has her hands full keeping up with everyone, but she knows she shouldn't complain because she will miss them when they're grown.

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 3/12/24

 100 Creek Dr:  Life is good for the Fords.  Charles brought in another excellent haul and he was also appointed to the mayor's council, for which he will receive a salary.  He started making some toys to sell as well and, of course there's still Ruth's baked goods to sell.  All told, he'll be expecting about $1100 in income next season, which will go a long way towards cementing the family's wealth and savings.  They are currently working on extending the boys' bedroom, but once that's done there won't really be any major purchases to make for the foreseeable future.  They are well prepared for the new little one that's one the way and, after so many boys, they would really like their last child to be a girl finally.

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 3/11/24

 100 Grove Rd:  Isaiah and Faith's son Ezra has now officially taken over as head of household.  His sister Lydia moved out in order to marry Brody Jefferson, and he married Joanna Jefferson.  His two unmarried sisters were planning to move to the boarding house, but there isn't currently any room there, so they'll remain here for the time being.  The summer brought in a nice apple harvest, but with so many mouths to feed, there wasn't enough left over to sell.  Luckily, Faith is still making her flower arrangements, so they do have some money coming in the fall.

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 3/10/24

 PBH Unit #3 (500 Chapel Hill):  The Ford sisters were joined by three roommates this spring - sisters Amelia and Gretchen Adams, and Naomi Adams.  The attic room is the largest, but with seven women living in it, it's still pretty cramped, especially in light of the fact that Naomi and Amelia can't stand one another.  It makes for a stressful living situation for everyone.  At least Clara's pleas were heard and they've finally elected a mayor for Spring Valley - Curtis Johnson.  He will be appointing a new headmaster as soon as he finds a qualified applicant, which is a load off her shoulders.

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 3/9/24

 400 Pine St:  Garrett and Nora had twins, Ryan and Emma.  Twins seem to run in Nora's family.  Her siblings, Graham and Glenda, are twins, and Graham and his wife also have a set of twins.  Nora is barely managing to keep up these days, with three little ones and another on the way, but she knows it'll get easier once Tyler is out of diapers.  Garrett was able to expand his field this season, so the eggplant crop should be rather sizable, bringing in a substantial income in summer.

400 Main St:  Patience is moving forward with life as best she can.  She is technically in charge of the school now until another headmaster is appointed, but she doesn't have a clue what she's supposed to be doing.  She's had Gertrude Ford's application on her desk for some time, but she's yet to contact her about the teaching position.  The twins take up all her time and energy right now.  Perhaps she'll be able to get something done once they're a bit older.

Primrose Boarding House (500 Chapel Hill):  Rose Johnson passed away at the age of 66.  She leaves behind four siblings, four children, and seven grandchildren.  Her boarding house and her shop are now in the hands of her daughter Joy.  Her other three daughters are married and settled, so she can be at ease that she did everything she could to protect and set her family up for success.  Joy is not sure she's ready to handle so much responsibility on her own, but she'll have to rise to the occasion now that her mother's gone.

PBH Unit #1 (500 Chapel Hill):  The ladies did get a new roommate, but it wasn't Julia - it was Molly Johnson.  Molly wants to try her hand at sewing.  Jane put in an application for a teaching position, but Gertrude told her not to hold her breath, because her application has been in limbo for quite some time now.

PBH Unit #2 (500 Chapel Hill):  Since Cadence's brother Samuel is married to Katherine's sister Hope, they both were keen on helping the struggling family.  They talked about it with Rebecca, since everyone pools their income together, and she understood completely - family is everything.  They scraped together a little money and gave it to Samuel.  Hopefully it will help him get back on his feet.

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 3/8/24

 200 Grove Rd:  Liam didn't receive a large payment for spring, but he shared what little he had with his brother Samuel, whose family is in dire straits.  Money was a bit tight for a bit, but they'll do just fine once their payment for the lemon crop comes in during the summer.  He and Doris also welcomed their seventh child, a second son named Declan.  Their eldest son Brody will get married next season, as will their daughter Fiona.  Her intended husband is Lee Johnson, who could be the new mayor of Spring Valley, so the family is watching the polls closely.

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 3/7/24

 300 Pine St:  Andrew grew to adulthood and officially took over as the head of household and it was not a moment too soon, as Sarah passed away at the age of 64.  She leaves behind three siblings, six children, and three grandchildren.  She didn't get a chance to see her son settled down and married, but she knows everything is in place for that to happen and that her unmarried daughters will be cared for as well, so she will rest in peace.  Before she died, though, she made quite a few flower arrangements to sell, so the family will get a good payment come summer.  Penelope will take over the flower making, but she doesn't have the skill her mother did, so they'll likely not see another large payment for a while.  Luckily, they should have a sizable pepper crop coming in.

100 Farm Acre Rd:  The status quo remains for this family.  They've not been able to replace any of their missing items, nor were they able to make any pies/cakes to sell.  They did, however, plant the fields, so they should have a good strawberry crop coming in soon.  Clay and Bethany's new baby was born - a boy named Carver.  Their third child is on the way as well.  Curtis is doing exceptionally well in the polls - he might just become the first mayor of Spring Valley!

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 3/5/24

 200 Pine St:  Spring brought changes to the Adams household, some joyous and some heartbreaking.  Ernest's mother Samantha passed away at the age of 71.  She leaves behind four siblings, six children, and 17 grandchildren.  She will be missed.  Naomi decided to move to the boarding house for a fresh start.  Virginia gave birth to her fifth child, Alma, as her first child, Gabrielle, made plans for her wedding to Jude Johnson in the summer.  The family is still struggling to eke out an existence, but they are still haning in there.

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 3/4/24

 300 Old Mill Ln:  The Johnsons welcomed a new family member, Lucile.  Lee is worried about the poll numbers in the mayoral race.  He's running against his father's cousin and, at the moment the numbers don't look good.  He has big plans should he win the race, so he really needs to turn things around.  Luke is expecting a large tomato crop come summer, which means filling the cupboards, as well as a nice payment from the general store.

100 Pine St:  Nathaniel got his pepper crop planted and hopes for a good harvest in summer.  Charity gave birth to a third baby girl named May.  Nathaniel is happy about his new daughter, of course, but worries that they won't have a son to pass the farm to.  Charity is not too worried about that, since she's already expecting again.

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 3/2/24

 200 Old Mill Ln:  Times are really tough for this family.  Food is scarce; their harvest barely brought in enough to keep them from starving, which is especially difficult now that they have yet another mouth to feed, newborn Holly.  Hope was not able to afford the supplies to make any potholders either, so they'll have no payments coming in summer.  If they can't get some help from a family member, they won't make it through another season.

Happy Simming!

Spring Valley 3/1/24

 300 Main St:  Christopher and Rachel welcomed another baby girl into the family and wasted no time trying for a fourth child.  Christopher fears he'll never have a son to pass the store to, but there's still some time left.  Rachel assures him that even if they don't have any boys, it will be okay because all of their daughters already have marriage matches, and one of their husbands would surely be willing to take over such a thriving business.

100 Old Mill Ln:  Henry, with William's help, managed to plant a small crop of pole beans, just enough to put away for the family.  There wasn't much money left over for pottery supplies, so Anna was only able to make one plate to sell to the boutique.  Happily though, Henry and Leah finally got married and had a baby girl named Dorothy.

Happy Simming!