Greetings my beloved Heartie family! I have missed you guys!
I hope you all had a lovely and blessed holiday.:)
My apologies for not updating very often. I finally got a short break from school so I decided to add a quick little story to the Grant Family collection for you all to enjoy.
It was a cold Saturday morning in December. Elizabeth was drying the last of the breakfast dishes as Allie ran down the stairs with coats, mittens and scarves draped over her arms. It had been very cold over the past couple of days and the pond had completely frozen over. They had planned on going skating after a few townsfolk had tried it out. Elizabeth looked out the frosty window and watched Nathan as he wiped the snow from the firewood outside. He reminded her of a little boy dressed in his scarf, gloves and a dark brown winter jacket. In typical Nathan fashion, he was not wearing his hat. I swear, sometimes I feel like I have three children. Elizabeth thought as she watched her husband out in the cold.
"Allie" Elizabeth called.
Still hugging the winter clothes in her arms. Allie halted and looked over towards where her mother was gazing out the window.
"Yea... " She responded with a raised eyebrow.
"Is your father's hat in that pile of clothes you brought down?" Elizabeth continued.
"Are you talking about this navy one?" Allie asked as she pulled out a navy knitted hat from the pile of clothes she had since tossed on the satee and passed it to Elizabeth.
"Thanks, sweetheart," Elizabeth said, as she took the hat from Allie and gave her a quick kiss on the top of her head before heading towards the back door.
Allie cringed a little and smoothed down her hair where Elizabeth had kissed her. A small shy smile quickly took over. She felt a little old to be kissed, but at the same time, she secretly liked it. She wasn't used to a great deal of physical affection. Nathan was affectionate enough but he was never very touchy and she was still getting used to having a mother who showed her such affection. There was no shortage of affection now that their families had been bound together. Jack was also constantly being drowned in hugs and kisses as well, not only by his mother but by Nathan and Allie as well. Allie smiled at Jack who was sitting quietly at the kitchen table finishing up his scrambled eggs.
Elizabeth nearly reached the door before it flung open. A cold Nathan walked through with a few pieces of clean firewood in his arms and a dusting of light snow resting on his broad shoulders. Daisy the kitten also rushed into the house between Nathan's legs as soon as the door cracked open.
"I was just about to give you your hat," Elizabeth said, defeated.
Nathan smirked. "I realized I had forgotten it and was hoping to come in before you noticed. I should have known nothing gets past those school teacher eyes of yours..." he continued "I can put it on and go back out if you want" he concluded joshingly.
Elizabeth playfully tossed the hat on top of a load of firewood he still carried in his arms.
"If you catch a cold don't come complaining to me" Elizabeth warned with a laugh.
Nathan smiled and headed towards the fireplace. There was still a tiny flame burning from the night before. He gently tossed an extra piece of wood on top. Allie pulled Jack out of his highchair and lead him towards the kitchen sink. Elizabeth already had a wet cloth ready to wipe his face.
"Why don't you get ready and I'll dress Jack," Elizabeth said picking up Jack.
"Okay" Allie responded cheerfully as she skipped over to the pile of clothes.
Soon enough everyone was dressed and ready to go. Nathan tossed another piece of firewood into the fireplace.
"That should hold up until we get back home." He said confidently.
Allie gently slid a pair of mittens onto Jack's little hands before putting hers on. Jack had a cute little matching set of light blue mittens and a blue hat and Allie had a dusty rose colour set. Rosemary had made these for them last winter for Christmas. Elizabeth handed the bundle of skates over to Nathan before heading out the door.
The air was cold but not nippy. The sun was shining and the snow was falling in little clusters. The Grant family walked along the road and through a narrow opening where others had stomped a path in the deep snow. As always, Allie skipped ahead and met a couple of friends at the edge of the frozen pond. Jack wanted to run after her, but he was stuck between Elizabeth and Nathan who both held his hands firmly between them.
"Just wait, Jack... " Elizabeth started, "I don't want you to slip."
Nathan leaned over and picked Jack up. Elizabeth noticed that Nathan had forgotten his hat again. She didn't say anything, she just took a deep breath and smiled to herself. The snow was falling more lightly now. The snowflakes were more distinct in shape. Elizabeth watched as the white sparkly stars rested in contrast to Nathan's dark hair.
"Hurry up!" Allie called impatiently.
"Coming!" Nathan responded with an amused smile.
Allie had already put on her skates and was sitting on the dock. Nathan knelt and tied Jacks' little skates. Elizabeth quickly tied hers on and grabbed Jacks' hand. They then joined Allie who had grown increasingly impatient. Finally, Nathan joined the rest of his family on the ice. Allie had grabbed a couple of sticks and a round pebble to use as hockey sticks and a puck. Jack enjoyed trying to strike the "puck" and receiving a boom of applause from his family whenever he succeeded.
The sun was starting to set and the afternoon slowly grew colder.
"What do you say we head home and make some hot chocolate?" Nathan suggested.
"Yea!" Allie and Jack replied with rosy cheeks and red noses.
After taking off their skates they headed back to their cozy house.
"Snow!" Jack suddenly called out.
"Yes, snow!... " Allie responded encouragingly, "good job!"
Jack seemed satisfied that someone had noticed his epiphany. Nathan and Elizabeth smiled at the exchange.
Arriving at the house, the warm air poured out at them as they opened the door. Elizabeth went upstairs to change Jack out of his cold jacket and Allie followed suit.
"Looks like the fire held up," Nathan remarked, satisfied.
He hung up his jacket and quickly tossed another piece of wood into the fireplace before heading to the stove to start the hot chocolate. Elizabeth came down after cleaning up little Jack and went over to her husband.
"Can I help you with anything?" She asked.
Nathan looked over at Elizabeth's bright face. Her cheeks were still a little pink from the cold and her eyes shined up at him sincerely. She reminded him of a little girl. Nathan couldn't keep his smile inside.
"You are so cute," he said with a little laugh.
Perplexed, Elizabeth furrowed her brows. Noticing her confusion, Nathan cupped her face in his hands and gave her a quick kiss.
"I'm almost done. Thank you for asking though." He said with a grin.
Elizabeth tried to hide a shy smile as she elegantly walked over to Jack with her hands clasped in front of her body. Jack was in his usual spot on the satee twirling a little figurine he had gotten for Christmas.
After an eventful day, and a long walk in the cold, the Grant family sat down by the fireplace and enjoyed their hot chocolate. The fire was crackling, and the snow had started to gently fall again. Elizabeth looked around the room as she sat on the satee. Her heart filled with joy, satisfaction and peace. What better way to spend a holiday? She thought to herself.