Chapter 19

When the cats, dogs, birds and other animals arrived on Tuesday, Tim, Ellie and the kids stayed away. Instead, they introduced Henry to Neo. The two carefully checked each other out and then Neo gave the toddler a big face lick. Henry wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh or cry but laughing won. The whole family went for a walk with Neo, stopping when they heard someone calling them. It was Ana, out for a stroll.

She was greeted with hugs by Tim and Ellie while Ty and Brynie remembered she was a new aunt and gave her a warm Ty and Brynie welcome. She shook hands with Lia, who giggled, Henry, who smiled shyly and Mackie, who grinned at her with his 3 new teeth. Neo sniffed her politely and gave her a friendly hand lick, her sign of approval.

Ana joined them on their walk, her heart melting at Tim's children. Lia and Henry toddled along holding hands with Mommy and Daddy while Ty and Bryn walked a few steps ahead with Neo. When the toddlers got tired, they rode in the double stroller like royalty while Mackie continued his sky adventure, riding in his baby backpack on Daddy's back.

Ana looked at them all, "You have a beautiful family! I'm happy for you both."

Beaming with pride, Ellie and Tim thanked her. Then Tim squirmed as Mackie kicked him. "Oh boy, hon, we're going to need a triple stroller and soon."

Ellie nodded, holding Mackie's feet through the backpack. "Let's look in the storage barn first, then we'll hit Craigslist. Although we'll need it for at least two more years."

"Maybe not, Ty and Brynie were out by the time they were 3. Dad and I brought the stroller if we were going to walk any great distance but other than that, it usually ended up being used to store things or as a shopping cart. You remember, we were home and married before Brynie turned 3."

"That's right, I do remember. I also remember that when we were here for your case, Ty wasn't using the stroller at all and Brynie was hardly using it."

Ana looked at Tim, "Your case?"

"Long story, tell you later."

Ty turned around, "Daddy and Poppy arrested a really bad lady with mean eyes. She killed people and tried to hurt Daddy a bunch of times." His face lit up, "That was the first time we got to see Mommy, Uncle Tony, Uncle Tobias and Uncle Bob in a long time, almost a year. And Mr. Evan too, I forgot he was here. You should have seen them, Tia Ana! They were in their battle gear, with big boots, helmets and goggles. Daddy, you should show her the pictures of you and Mommy kissing in your battle gear and you, Poppy and Uncle Tony hugging and crying in your soldier stuff."

Ana hadn't heard that story yet but had to hold back a laugh at the horrified look on Tim's face. She'd ask later and maybe Gibbs, that is Jethro, would be a safer one to ask. Ellie smiled at her and responded to her son. "Remember that none of us were hurt that day, Tyler, and your father and I were very upset that the Marshal talked about it in front of you."

"I remember. Oh, I shouldn't talk about it in front of the littles. I'm sorry!"

Tim took off the baby pack, handing Mackie to Ellie. Then he walked over to Tyler, "It's all right this time because we never told you not to talk about it before. And the littles are younger than Brynie was that day. They won't remember you saying it. But don't mention it again, okay son?"

"Not even to you?"

"It's okay to talk about it with your mother, me and Poppy. But only when you're alone with Mommy, Poppy or me. And we're sorry we didn't tell you before now."

Ty smiled as he looked at his parents; usually he was the one apologizing. "I accept your apology, Mommy, Daddy."

Neo gave a little woof, he was done inspecting this area; it was time to move on. While he loved his spacious, covered dog run, being out in the open with his people was the best. As they continued walking, he sniffed at all the wonderful new smells and then stopped, turned in the direction of The Grove, sat down and woofed again, looking at his family. Why was there a new pack and where were they? After living in the shelter with a pack who had mostly disappeared when it was cold, Neo didn't understand why this was not the same pack.

Brynie quickly reassured him, "They're at The Grove, Neo, not here. You know, where Mr. Henry and Mrs. Bess live. They just got here, they're not your pack, I promise. Toby, River, Lucky and Blue went home to Oklahoma. You're our only doggie!"

Tim pulled a doggie treat out of his pocket and offered it to their pooch who gracefully accepted it and Brynie's explanation. They promised Mommy would take him to meet the other dogs someday soon.

When Mackie started fussing, they turned toward home, inviting Ana for lunch. She accepted with a happy smile. She offered to carry the baby and that distracted Mackie from his hunger and restlessness. He liked riding on Daddy's back but now he wanted to crawl.

She loved the house and enjoyed watching Tim and Ty put lunch together. She was surprised to see that Mackie was the only one in a high chair, the new little boy, Henry, and Lia sat proudly in their booster seats. Ty laughed, "Daddy, I remember when we moved home from here, I didn't need a booster seat anymore!"

"That's right, Tyler, you were 4 years old and big enough to reach the table."

After lunch, the kids went into the playroom, it was too hot to play outside, the three littles went down for naps and excusing herself, Ellie also went to rest. Keeping an ear out for the kids, Tim and Ana sat in the family room where he quietly told her the true story of their first sojourn in New Mexico, following it up with the version they'd told most people, so she wouldn't be confused if anyone else referred to 'their case'.

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While Shannon assisted some of the new residents and Ana visited Tim and Ellie, Jethro helped the owners of the alpacas, llamas, sheep and goats move the animals into the animal paddock at the new barn. The horses, Acorn and Vámonos, were at the Ortizes and would be introduced to the new animals in a few days. The newly arrived animals found hay and water and in minutes were busy chowing down.

While the new folks and their animals settled in, the Serenidad residents relaxed after several very busy days. Uncle Dave said he hadn't been that busy since they brought the last cooler of food and bits of furniture into the shelter and then sealed themselves in a year ago.

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After spending some time with The Grove residents, Shannon, Penny and Maisie treated themselves to a trip into town to find a few things for Henry. Claire had looked at his clothes, noted the size and that he would need the next largest size very soon. She also noted the presence of toddler underwear and the packet of diapers in his suitcase and surmised he was potty training but not quite there yet.

Since they'd met Shannon, Penny and Maisie had grown very fond of her and she of them. In a way, they stepped into an empty spot where her mother could have been if she hadn't been broken her daughter's heart, sold her grandson, lied, committed murder, betrayed her country and ended her life as a convicted felon.

They had a wonderful time buying things for Henry. The first thing they did was to splurge on a triple seater stroller. This way the toddlers and baby Mackie could all ride comfortably. When the new baby came along, Lia and Henry would own the current double, the one Tim purchased for Ty and Brynie 6 years ago, while Mackie and the baby would own the triple, with room for storage in the third seat.

Stashing that away in the trunk, they moved on to clothes, shoes, toys and books. Maisie reported that Don would give Henry his 'first birthday' book on his second birthday. That stalled them but they finally decided Henry should have some books of his own. He'd share them with Lia and eventually Mackie but it was only fair for him to have his own. After selecting four books they knew Lia didn't have, they moved on. They had a wonderful time with shirts, jeans, toddler sneakers, swimwear, cute tee shirts, pajamas and a new teddy bear they had embroidered with his name. It was similar to those owned by Lia, Brynie and Ty. Maisie grinned as she found a darling sunhat. "It's too cute; he's got to have it."

Penny giggled at the denim overalls she found and in they went to the cart. Shannon finally stopped them. "He has a birthday in 4 months and you know he'll have outgrown a lot of this by then!"

Maisie's eyes looked almost maniacal, "We can buy the next size up now and hold onto it."

Shannon shook her head. "Then we won't have any fun buying for his birthday. And he'll need winter things then too."

"All right, we'll wait."

Penny snorted, "Never thought I'd see the day someone would out-practical Maisie!"

That set the three of them off and they giggled and laughed all the way to the car. They wouldn't give Henry everything today; each child would have something and they'd find time to give Ellie and Tim the rest of Henry's new things. It took them nearly 30 minutes to decide what to present today and what to hold back. The stroller didn't count as that was for Tim and Ellie.

Back at the ranch, they drove straight to Tim and Ellie's new home, being careful to avoid the construction crews and their vehicles. When they walked in through the gate to the enclosed courtyard, they smiled at the beds of native plants, the 5 ft. tall shade trees the couple splurged on, the adobe benches and chairs, all with comfortable looking cushions, the pretty, tiled fountain and two abandoned coffee mugs.

Chuckling, Shannon picked up the mugs while Penny knocked on the front door. Tim answered, Henry in his arms. "Ah, our Nonny, Grammy and Penny! Welcome, come on in! Hey, what's all this?" He turned his head, "Honey, come look!"

Ellie arrived, her face lighting up when she saw the triple stroller. "Oooh, thank you so much! Why are you standing out there in the heat, come in!"

They entered, Ellie helping with the packages. The group moved into the playroom where they found the rest of the kids. Lia and Mackie squealed when they spotted their Nonny and great-grandmothers. Henry was set down but didn't quite know who these people were. The women were quiet around him and didn't push. When he saw that his brothers and sisters were fine with them, he relaxed. When told their names, he repeated each one and then giggled when they kissed him.

They all sat down for presents. The kids took turns, Ty, and Brynie opening their own little gifts, Daddy helping Lia and Henry while Mama opened Mackie's presents. Henry loved everything! When he opened his overalls, Lia clapped, telling him she had some too. He liked that.

The best thing was his teddy bear. When he opened it, his face lit up and he squealed, the first squeal they'd heard from him. Ty and Brynie got all of the bears and showed them to him. He giggled when Brynie arranged the others in a circle around him but he wasn't ready to put his bear in, he was busy hugging it. Finally, Mama showed him his name on the bear and he looked up, "Mine? For Henry?"

"Yes, sweetheart, just for you."

"No share?"

"Right, everyone has their own. This one is yours."

"Oooh, thanks!" He smiled again, a big wide happy smile. Lia frowned, wondering why her Mommy and Daddy and the Grands were crying. But Ty whispered that it was all right, they were happy that Henry was with them now.

Henry watched as the other kids kissed his new grandmother and great-grandmothers in thanks and then with a determined look, toddled over to the ladies, following his siblings' example.

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On Wednesday, Tim and Ellie took Henry to the CPS office in town while Nonny and Poppy stayed with the other kids. When everyone was home again and after naps, they were all going swimming.

Henry watched out the window as they drove to town. When they saw some of the Ortiz alpacas through a break in the brush, he said, "Apacka!"

They told him yes, it was an alpaca, impressed with his knowledge. Of course, for all they knew, the orphanage was near an alpaca ranch. They passed a dairy farm before turning onto the freeway and Henry was puzzled, "What that?"

"Cows. They sound like this, moo, moo." Having grown up on a ranch, Ellie's cow sound was very realistic and Tim chuckled as he drove.

Looking surprised, Henry smiled at the strange noises Mama made.

Maybe he'd never seen a cow. Mackie had a book, passed down from Lia, with different animals and the sounds they made. They'd show it to Henry.

When they reached the building with CPS, they parked and unfolding the stroller they'd borrowed from Arin DiNozzo, put Henry in and off they went. His eyes got very big and a little scared when the elevator started moving but Daddy squatted down next to him, holding his hand, speaking calmly to him. "It's ok, sweetie. This is an elevator; it's taking us up to the top of the building!"

By the time Henry thought about that, they'd arrived at their floor. He giggled as the doors whooshed open.

The appointment didn't take long as Ms. Clark was familiar with the Gibbses and had all the paperwork prepared. The first item of business, however, was a cheek swab for Henry. When he saw the Q-tip, he said, "What that?"

Daddy told him and then said, "This is what Ms. Clark is going to do." He opened his own mouth, took a quick swab of his cheek and then pulled it out. Henry was still frowning so Mama did it too, only she giggled as it tickled.

Henry thought it might be okay and opened his mouth to let Ms. Clark do her thing. It didn't hurt like a shot but it didn't taste good either. He started to fuss and then the lady held out a juice box. Now to Henry, juice boxes were a big treat, one that only happened maybe once in a lifetime. His lifetime, anyway. His eyes lit up and he looked at Daddy and Mama. "Mine?"

"Yes, sweet boy, all yours."

"Thanks!"

He held that juice box with both hands, drinking the delicious juice, forgetting all about the bad taste of the Q-tip.

While he was enjoying his apple juice, his parents and Ms. Clark discussed the cheek swab.

"It'll take a week to get the results."

Tim nodded, "Are you…will you request that all possible relatives show on the report?"

"You mean like distant cousins?"

Tim nodded, shrugging at the same time, "Not too distant. Children, grandchildren of great-grandparents and any of their siblings?"

"We don't usually. We go as far as great-grandparents and any of their siblings. We don't always look for the offspring and descendants of those siblings. Would you prefer we make the search wider?"

Ellie nodded, "Yes, please. Will doing the run wide-open take longer or cost more?"

"It will only take longer to print the results but we're talking minutes, not days. I suppose it might cost more to print if there are many blood relatives that show up. I believe they usually do the run wide-open anyway; they just narrow the results to what we request before printing. Our experience shows us that going beyond great-grandparents doesn't bring results."

Tim rolled his shoulders, "When you get the results and see his parents' names, will you contact them?"

"We'll send them a series of three written communications, registered letters that have to be signed for. If the letters are signed for by the parent but there's no answer then we mark Henry's file as 'no response', which in foster or adoption terms means the same as saying the relative is refusing the child. Same thing if the letter is refused outright."

Ellie explained, "Lia's parents and only other relative were killed in a car crash; we knew there wasn't anyone else in the U.S. and there was no response from anyone in Chile, her parents' native country. Her adoption went through in about 6 months. Ty and Brynie were already in Tim's custody, we weren't changing primary custody, more or less adding me as their mother and it went through in a matter of weeks. So we're clueless about this kind of adoption."

Ms. Clark looked surprised, "I had no idea Ty and Brynie weren't yours!"

Ellie beamed, "Thank you."

"In Henry's case, we'll be looking at a longer timeframe. We'll have to track down his birth parents and send the letters. If they were still underage, we'd have to contact the grandparents who might decide to keep him. Considering what the couple did, taking their child to a foreign country when he was so young and then abandoning him without anyone making inquiries - it is possible the grandparents are unaware of the child's existence."

Tim had another issue. "The initial report the orphanage gave Jay Whitman stated that there was another child, Henry's twin."

"Yes, I saw that. If her DNA has been registered, she'll show up on the results."

"Does the run look at international databases?"

"Not unless we ask. Do you have reason to believe the twin was taken elsewhere?"

"Anecdotal only, nothing evidential. Jay said someone at the orphanage told him the baby girl had been adopted or at least taken by someone traveling through Bacia. She told Jay that another one of the nuns knew more but she'd already left for Brazil and Jay didn't have time to investigate."

"Good grief, these poor children! Thank you for telling me this, I'll do some research into that. I have contact information for the sisters. If this bears out, I'll speak to our attorneys about even notifying these parents. They've certainly proven themselves unfit parents. In my opinion that is, we'll have to see about legally.

"And yes, we'll have the tech look at the international databases. The EU has one, thankfully, and most other countries feed their data to various organizations. Some are reluctant to share, though. I believe the International Red Cross has the most entries."

Ellie nodded. "We hope and pray that we'll be able to adopt Henry. We already love him. My husband says he's an 'old soul'. He's very bright and inquisitive with a strong vocabulary and understands even more. This child has been loved, even if he had to share with other children. Actually, that will do him well in our large family!"

On the way home, they stopped at the store for a few groceries, watching Henry's expressions as he rolled along in the grocery cart. Evidently, he'd never been in a large grocery store before. Or perhaps any grocery store.

As they were pulling into the driveway, Tim exclaimed, "The envelope!"

Ellie nodded, "I just remembered too. Let's have lunch, put the babies down for naps and then we can look at it."

The two of them sat down at their kitchen table with cold beverages and the manila envelope once their little ones were napping. Opening it, Tim emptied the contents onto the table.

Ellie picked up the first piece of paper in surprise, "Certificate of Live Birth, oh, it's a copy of Henry's birth certificate!"

The certificate named Tiffany Brinker as the mother and Neil Lorenz as the father. Henry (no middle name) Lorenz was born October 20th, 2018 at 3:45 AM in a hospital in Chicago, IL. Tiffany was 17 at the time, her place of birth listed as Helena, Montana and her occupation was student. Neil was 18, his place of birth listed as Seattle, Washington, his occupation was also student.

They set that aside to give a copy to Ms. Clark and picked up the next paper. That was also a copy of a certificate of live birth, also known as a birth certificate. It was for Christina (no middle name) Lorenz, born October 20th, 2018 at 3:50 AM, in the same hospital. This was Henry's twin.

After taking photos of both certificates, Tim stapled them together, putting them back on the table.

The next item was in a long, legal sized envelope. Tim opened it, carefully pulling out the notepaper, which he read aloud to Ellie. A letter from one of the nuns who raised Henry, it detailed his life from the day he arrived to the night they took him to the Embassy. The writer included Henry's likes, dislikes, and some personal observations about him. The Gibbses were thrilled to have this. Not only would it help them be better parents to the little boy, it also confirmed their belief that he'd been loved and nurtured.

In the letter, the author said that Sister Bernice Matthews was the one who met the birth parents. When she met them, Sister Matthews was told they had adoptive families lined up for both infants. Sister Matthews did meet the adoptive parents of Henry's twin Christina.

Three days after Christina's departure with her new parents, a local hospital contacted the orphanage to ask if they would take Henry. He'd been a patient there for a day and a half and would be discharged the following day. They told a story that, the author wrote, broke the hearts of the medical professionals as well as the sisters.

A man walking by a deserted shack heard the weak cry of a baby and investigating, found a tiny infant. That was Henry, who was dehydrated, hungry, filthy, terrified and in need of medical attention after what the doctors later estimated was at least 30 hours with no food, liquid or diaper change. Calling for an ambulance, the man removed the baby's filthy clothing, gave him some water and then wrapped the infant in his shirt, holding him next to his heart, warming and cuddling him, speaking softly until help arrived.

Tim and Ellie stopped reading, both blinded by tears and anger. After they calmed, they quietly checked on their new little one, each gently kissing his head.

Returning to the letter, they found the author included their new address in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with a note that all of the sisters would be there; their order had a large orphanage there.

When they finished, Tim scanned the letter and birth certificates, attaching them to an e-mail to Ms. Clark. They hoped the DNA results would include Christina's information. They wanted to establish communications between Christina's family and theirs so the twins would know each other as they grew up. They also found photos of Henry taken as he matured from infant to toddler and copies of his medical records.

They stopped to scan the photos into their family album and Ellie quickly merged them with the other kids' photos. There were photos of Sue and Deeny with Ty and Brynie when they were newborns and during their babyhood. Those were followed by their first photos with Tim and Jethro, more of the four in New Mexico, then at their parents' wedding. Lia had photos as a newborn with her birth parents, at her baptism with them and then her first photo with her new family, Mackie's birth photo with his parents, his baptism and others. Family photos included those of the four children taken at Ruidoso, in the future they hoped those would include Henry.

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Watching her husband closely after reading the letter, Ellie sent a text to her father-in-law before she went to bed that night. She knew that if Tim had trouble with what they'd learned today, he'd need Jethro. She thought that was because Tim had a father when he was young and had Nate while he was homeless. But as motherly as Mrs. Ferguson had been and as much as Ms. Lu had helped, he'd never experienced maternal love as a young boy or at least did not remember experiencing maternal love. Thus, when he had problems he couldn't handle himself or with Ellie's help, he turned to his father.

Tim had nightmares that night and when he woke a third time covered in sweat, he slipped out to sleep in the guest bedroom. But sleep eluded him and when the darkness was just beginning to cede to the dawn, he called his father.

Jethro was in the kitchen pouring his first mug of coffee when his cell buzzed with a call from Tim. Frowning, he looked at the time as he answered the phone, glad for the warning from Ellie.

"Tim, everything all right?"

"Kids and Ellie are, I'm…I need you, Dad. Can we meet in the shelter? Neither Pete nor Bill are there."

"Of course, son, I'll be there in a couple of minutes."

They disconnected, Jethro wrote a quick note to Shannon, poured coffee into a travel mug for Tim before walking downstairs to the basement and into the shelter. He heard the main door open and Tim came in, tired and upset.

Putting the coffees down, Jethro wrapped his son in his arms. "Tell me."

"Henry…one of the nuns wrote us a letter with information about him. One of the things she told us was that someone abandoned him. He was three months old and by himself for at least 30 hours."

Heartbroken and angry, Jethro maneuvered his son to one of the few couches left in the shelter. When Tim could talk again, he told him the story. By the time he finished, he was crying and Jethro understood the tears were not only for Henry but were also a reaction to what Tim had been through as an infant and child. The hatred his grandmother had toward him, being torn from his mother, sold, and then later abandoned.

Tim managed to tell his father that he'd had nightmares all night and finally gave up trying to sleep, afraid of what would be waiting for him. He let himself lean into his father even more, feeling the warmth and comfort. He knew he was loved, had known for a long time now but sometimes the horrors of his childhood made their presence known. This wasn't the first time they threatened to overwhelm him and all the therapy in the world couldn't banish them; could only help him deal with them. And it did, in his everyday life he lived in the present with his wife, children, parents, siblings and the rest of his family. As he'd told Abby, he was the happiest he'd ever been. But not always and when things were this bad, when something hit him unexpectedly and as hard as the story of Henry's abandonment had, Dad was the only one who could provide the comfort he needed and help him regain his balance.

Jethro held on, giving his child love and support. When he felt Tim relax into sleep, he sat back, still holding him. If he could sleep for a few hours without any nightmares, then he'd be all right. His son could handle nearly anything in daylight but the monsters of his past seemed to grab him when he tried to sleep. And in this case, Jethro knew it was also anger toward whoever abandoned Henry.

Later, as Tim started to wake, he took stock and realized he felt much better after a couple of hours of sleep in addition to the love and support of his father. When he opened his eyes, he smiled at Dad.

"Thanks, Daddy. I'm feeling much better. Guess it hit me hard."

His head still resting on his dad's chest, he could feel the rumble as he spoke. "Wasn't just the letter, son, although I can see why what happened to Henry would hit you hard, remind you of your horrors. I think the Bacia evacuation also dredged up your emotions about our own evacuation, all the fear and anger. And finding little Henry alone on the jet, that was rough. Even though there were plenty of people around, there was no one for him. And having Ziva appear out of nowhere was a shock to all of us and as we've discussed, brought up some bad memories as well as the good."

Tim nodded, "You're right. I get a little…panicky is the best term, when I can't sleep for the nightmares. If I could learn to deal with them, I could handle all of this."

Dad gave him a little shake, "Timothy, you need to let yourself lean on people. And I can say that now because I've learned to do that. Mostly. And yes, it would be great if you could control your brain even while you're asleep. I know when you're awake enough you apply all the techniques we've both learned but I don't know how you'd train your unconscious mind to react differently."

Tim gave him a little grin as he sat up, "There are all kinds of experts…"

His father ruffled his hair, "I'm sure there are, Elf Lord. Tell you what, you go first and let me know how it works out!"

He stopped Tim from getting up, "Hang on. You sure you're okay? Two hours sleep and you're ready to go? Monsters banished?"

"I'm about 60% but it's Saturday and we don't have to go anywhere or do anything. No birthday parties, games or anything else."

"Grocery shopping."

Tim gave him a tired smile, "I did it last weekend; Ellie's turn."

"Household chores?"

"You can help if you'd like but Ty and Brynie still like to help. Brynie likes to dust and Ty likes to sweep, they both like to make sure all the little 'specks' disappear and Ty helps me vacuum, he loves chasing after what little hair Neo sheds. It'll be nice when Lia and Henry are old enough to help a little. The bathrooms..."

"Never mind."

Tim chuckled, "I was going to say they're not too bad these days with the sprays and gadgets they make to help. And remember we had the new toilets installed - the ones that self-clean. They do a good job. I had the older kids convinced they needed to scrub the bathtub before they got out but now they take showers so that doesn't work. Although if they remember, they will squeegee the shower walls and door."

"Laundry?"

"Household on Saturday after we clean and clothes on Sunday. Ellie and I swap every week, this week I'm doing the clothes. Those are the main chores."

His father nodded, "Ok, you're all right. You can go."

Tim looked at him, "Because I know what chores need to be done?"

"Yep. You're back in the present."

"Huh, you're right." Then he laughed, "You don't need to look so smug about it!"

Dad grabbed him in a bear hug and ruffled his hair, grabbed the coffee mugs and headed for the door. "Love you always!"

"Back at ya!"

With a smile and now feeling 80% better, Tim went home.

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Once the farm animal owners felt the llamas, alpacas, sheep and goats were attuned to their new surroundings, they told Jethro the children could visit, although not all at once. The owners would be present and the children would be supervised by a family adult, no matter how old the child.

They took the kids in two groups. The older kids, Matt Crane, Ainsley, Callum, the two older Palmer children, Hannah Hubbard and the two older Gibbs' kids, met the animals first. Dave, Breena, Claire and Jethro accompanied the group one morning before the sheep, goats and their guard llamas had been turned out to pasture and they had a great time learning more about the animals, what treats they liked to eat, who to pet and where. Three of the sheep were lambs, born that spring and they were amenable to the children petting them and feeding them slices of apples.

The littles each had an adult when they visited. Ricky was so excited by the sheep he wanted to climb into the pen with them and had to be restrained by Aunt Maggie, who'd taken the morning off to see the animals. Arin talked to his sheep – the lambs – and giggled at the sounds they made. Lia wasn't shy either but didn't try anything after Ricky's failed attempt. Mackie just stared. When Nonny squatted so he could see the animals face to face, he squealed, scaring away some of the sheep although the lambs seemed to recognize a fellow baby.

From his vantage point in his grandfather's arms, when Henry saw the animals, he bounced and chortled, asking to see the 'apakas'. Obviously, he knew alpacas and today he spent some time with them, petting the one the owner said was used to children. When he looked at Poppy and said, "Lambies please?" Jethro thought he'd give him the moon; this little boy had his heart. Still in the safety of his Poppy's arms, Henry petted the lambs but didn't want to feed them. Instead, he watched the others feed sliced apples to the sheep and goats.

When one little goat, a kid, had a hard time getting through the herd to the yummy treats, Henry tugged on Poppy's shirt, "Baby needs apples!" He whispered 'thanks' when Poppy moved them to better reach the kid. He giggled when the little animal tried to nudge Poppy through the paddock fence and asked for 'Down'. On the ground, he and the tiny goat reached an agreement. Henry would scratch and pat his head and neck while baby goat would eat more apple slices and try to head butt Henry's hand.

Wanting to share the fun, he called out for Lia, Ricky, Arin and Mackie, now in Aunt Maggie's arms. They hurried over to meet 'his' baby goat. Lia and Ricky joined Henry in petting the kid and two of the lambs who'd wisely followed the treat givers. The little goat finally bleated and wandered away. The children each petted the alpaca one more time and then waved goodbye to the animals.