It had been about three months since Naomi and Asher had been born. It had been hard at first, being a bit farther away from everybody else, but mother had stayed with us for the first few weeks. She couldn't stay much longer because Na'el had gone into labor. Her labor was long like mine was the first time and after hours of waiting she had a boy. Her and Ham had named him Jonas, after her father. He had dark hair like the both of them and the same blue eyes that Evi and Adah did. After he was born mother finally realized that us moving was a good idea, since then there would be three newborns. Naomi and Asher grew every day, as did Elijah. He was walking and talking and enjoyed following Shem around. The girls like spending time with Shem but were very interested in the babies.
We were currently getting ready for a birthday feast for the girls in our new home. Shem had kept count since the day they were born, as he has been doing with all our children, and they were to be four today. I felt that they had been feeling left out and decided to throw a feast in their honor. Mother was helping me prepare fish and vegetables, Na'el and Japheth, and Jonas, were decorating, and Shem, Ham, and father had taken Elijah and the girls to pick berries. Naomi and Asher were sleeping.
"Do they sleep through the night?" mother asked me while rubbing Asher's belly.
"Naomi is good but Asher refuses to sleep." I replied sighing.
"I have some herbs that can help him. How are Elijah's teeth? Na'el hand me the child so you can rest." She commanded.
"Better, his fever has stopped and most of them are in." I told her while touching Jonas' cheek.
"I never thought I would be able to hold a child of Hams." Mother said quietly.
"Do you worry about Japheth?" I asked her.
"Sometimes I do." She replied
The food was ready and as soon as the men came back with the girls and the berries, we all began to eat. The twins were hungry so I was feeding them as well.
"How many more are you two going to have?" father asked Shem and I.
"I don't know." Shem replied, "It's up to Ila."
"I want to have more once these ones are older." I said motioning to the babies I was nursing, "maybe once they are Elijah's age, maybe even a year older than he is."
Once everyone finished eating their dinner, mother and I cleared the plates and served the berries and crème. The girls sat on Shem's lap as everyone gave them a gift. Mother gave them some special herbs for their bath, father gave them each a flute, Ham and Na'el gave them some dresses Na'el had stitched, and Japheth gave them a necklace each that he had made from shells. After a few more hours of flute playing and celebrating the children were asleep and Shem and I were alone.
"A few more years, does that mean we won't be able to lie together anymore?" Shem asked me cheekily as he helped me clean up.
"No we will still be able to lie together." I told him, "Mother told me what to do to not get pregnant."
"You spoke to mother about this?" Shem asked, horrified.
"Of course I did. She said that as you feel the pressure about to explode you pull out and I will finish with my hand."
"How does she know?" he asked, still horrified.
"Well there are only three of you and mother is still able to carry a child, you don't think her and father to lie together do you?" I said to him.
"I prefer not to think of it." He replied.