January 3, 2017- My Recap of the Past 12 Years (Paige)

I found out I was pregnant with Junior on Henry's and my "half-iversary". He had taken the day off so we could be together and as we went into Wal-Mart to get some ibuprofen (Henry had pulled a muscle in his back on our honeymoon in Orlando); I passed the feminine care aisle. That's when it hit me. I hadn't bought pads in a while. A long while. I remember my mind was rushing faster than I thought possible. Henry and I were married six months previous in February. I was at least two weeks late. We had sex every single night on our honeymoon, which was a two-week long vacation in late May. I put three pregnancy tests in my bag and bought the ibuprofen. Low and behold, two hours and three positive tests later, I was on the bed crying. Henry came in, I gave him the 411 and he comforted me. The next day I went to the doctor and he confirmed that I was nine weeks pregnant.

Within the next two months I think I gained at least twenty pounds. By my last month, I was at least forty pounds heavier. March of 2007, I gave birth to twins, Katherine and Tamora. Originally, until I was six months pregnant, the doctors heard one heartbeat and saw one fetus. Kat (or Tam) decided to show themselves at my 22 week ultrasound. At the time I was being the best fulltime Whitelighter as possible, but having that title doesn't give you room for a full time job and Henry's paycheck, while great for a bachelor and acceptable for a newlywed couple, didn't cut it for a family. I had to cut back on my guardian angel duties and get a job. I tried getting back into social services but unluckily; there were no jobs open at my former job and none available in any other agencies in San Fran. At one of the agencies, the guy who interviewed me liked me so much, that he decided to get me in at a law firm. Me, not being interested in law, tried to decline but he insisted. I interviewed for being a legal secretary at Jackman, Carter, and Kline. I would start off making three thousand dollars more a year than working as a social worker for five years. So with my career set, I got back into the magical world. I took on more charges, while trying my best to take care of my toddler, of my husband, of the household, plus trying to excel in a demanding job. This went on for a month until early 2010.

In March 2007, I had, what the doctors like to call, 'a mental breakdown'. My blood pressure was sky high, I had to take anxiety medicine and I was in the hospital for a month. I took off from my job and I had to hand off my charges to other people. Henry took care of me until I decided to go back to work. By now I had gotten Leo a job at the firm and he was enjoying himself. I found out I was pregnant again at the beginning of the summer in 2008. We conceived during my stint off of work. Henry Lamar Mitchell Jr. was born on February 20, 2009, on Henry's and my three-year anniversary. So with three kids, Henry and I outgrew his two-bedroom apartment. We went on the market for a small house near the Manor. The nearest neighborhood that had smaller houses, instead of huge Victorians, was about a three-minute drive from the manor and a ten-minute walk. It was even shorter a distance from Phoebe's house to ours. This way, my kids could grow up with their cousins.

With my connections at the firm, I helped Henry find his birthparents. The Marshalls lived in San Bernardino, which was a six-hour drive from San Fran. We met them and they were really nice, way better than Henry's adoptive parents who abused him. We found out, among other things, that twins ran in his family, he had three full siblings and one sibling by his mom, who was older than him. They gave him up because, at the time, they weren't married, they were homeless, and Henry's dad, Kent, was just getting off of a drug habit. Henry's older sister, Angie, was being taken care of by his grandmother, who had kicked her mom out when she found out she was pregnant for a second time out of wedlock. Henry cried a lot that day and so did his parents, and so did I. I was happy Henry got to know his original family like I had met mines a decade previously. The girls started school in 2013 and the twins two years later. They are both in second grade with Tam in the gifted class. The twins went to Magic School last summer after their powers set in. Magical twins are funny. Sometimes their powers are complementary, the complete opposite, or one has powers and one doesn't. Well my twins' powers are sort of complementary. Tamora inherited the powers of my Whitelighter side. So far she has Orbed, hovered, and healed. She is the more outspoken twin and the most artistic. She can sing and her finger paintings belong to Picasso's kid. We are getting her piano lessons. Kat inherited the witch side, having telekinesis and telepathy. She is soft spoken and, even though she is only five, very sarcastic. She is exactly like her father. The twins get along well and they fight very little, even wanting to share a room. Junior started school in 2015 and he is in the first grade.

Junior, as Henry says, was the luckiest of the trio. He didn't inherit any powers. I'm doing some family history research to find out why but he doesn't feel left out. He has a brown belt in karate and he is very strong. So I have a great job, which I love, a husband who loves his family and shows it, I help people (magical or otherwise) daily, and my kids, are smart, great and (mostly) humble. Life is amazing right? Well, yeah, it was until the demons came back.