And the greatest of these is Love
Page 130
It was time to go home. Elsa's mother was already in Hope Valley and staying at their house waiting for Elsa and William to arrive with their darling little twin girls.
Will was glad to know that his mother-in-law, Ingrid Johannson, would be staying and helping Elsa. He was not sure how she would adapt to having not only one baby, but two!
Elsa was a bit overjoyed and a bit overwhelmed. She had tried to nurse the two while in the hospital and had to deal with the soreness while waiting for her milk to come in, but she was determined to breastfeed. Her mother had told her that it would be worth it in the long run for the babies to nurse as long as possible. Both Dr. Faith and Violet agreed that the mother's milk also supplied antibodies to help the girls fight off any infections that might come their way.
When Elsa walked, it still hurt a bit. She was tender, but grateful she didn't require a c-section. As she came into her house, it felt good to be back home! Her mama was there to greet her and immediately helped Will with the girls. They had fallen asleep in the automobile on the ride home. Right now, they were little angels and Grandma was just delighted as can be!
"What smells so good, Mama?" Elsa asked.
"Kottbullar" for your first day home, your favorite!" Ingrid smiled warmly. "Look at these precious little ones! Such beauties they are!"
Will smiled down at the one he was holding, then looked over at Elsa, "Sweetheart, what are we to name them?"
Elsa replied, "Well, I have several names, so you tell me what you like best. I thought about Greta, Julia, Rebecka, and Kristina!"
"All of them," Will answered beaming at his daughters.
Elsa looked over at her Mama, "Don't you think Grandmother would like one named after her?"
Ingrid looked up and smiled, "She would indeed. I like her name, Greta, so that's a start. Will, do you have a relative you would like remembered with our other daughter," she asked.
Will looked startled, "I never gave it much thought until now, but you mentioned Julia. Now, that would take care of both grandmothers," he smiled at the little one in his lap. "There you go my tiny angel, Julia!"
"Ya!" Ingrid nodded, "Now, you need a good Christian name for the middle name."
"Rebecka is a Christian name, Julia Rebecka. How does that sound?"
Will nodded his approval, "What was the other name you mentioned?"
"Kristina."
"Then it will be Greta Kristina," Will said emphatically, "for our other daughter!"
"Very good! Kristina means follower of God and Rebecca is a name representing beauty in the Bible!I love those choices!" Ingrid was very pleased.
Will had given Elsa a loving glance, "I missed you here with me, Elsa. Now, I can relax and enjoy all my ladies home with me!"
"You'll do no such thing, William! That's what Elsa will do, we'll let your wife relax and recuperates, while you and I will take care of her and the house."
Elsa giggled watching Will nodding at her mother's instruction, "This will be very interesting to see," she laughed.
It didn't take long for the word to spread that Elsa was home with her daughters. Luckily, Dr. Faith and Violet held the crowd at bay or the ladies would all be charging over there. So, at the next bible study they shared their concerns.
"Please, ladies, let Elsa relax so she can heal and so her milk flows. Besides, the girls are a bit underweight and they need to get stronger before they're out and about," Dr. Faith cautioned. "I'll ask Dr. Carson to take a photograph of them and you'll be able to see them until they get a bit bigger."
Violet added, "I know you all want to see the precious little ones but they need some privacy right now. Perhaps you'll see Ingrid, Elsa's mother, come into town for food and what-not. You can talk with her how things are going and I'm sure she'll let you know when they're ready for company."
"Oh, but we need to make more booties and sweaters," Joyce announced.
"Yes, and another quilt. Oh my, we better get busy!" Christine looked around, "who's going to help me?"
"Might as well have a combined baby shower for Clara and Christy too!" Jackie suggested.
"Don't you think they have enough from their first babies?" Liz asked.
"A mother can never have enough diapers!" Mary suggested.
Violet was busy with mothers who had babies ready to join Hope Valley. Clara was ready any day now and so was Christy. Both of them were getting weekly checkups now. Luckily, Fiona told Christy not to worry about working at Nichols and Dimes, but instead get as much rest as possible. Fiona was looking for help in town, but there wasn't anyone familiar with cutting and styling hair. However, Dianna Starr recommended her hairdresser, Laura, in Benson Hills, so Fiona asked her to help work one day a week. It was all Laura could spare.
Rick had been saving money to build Christy, Timi Anne, and their new baby their own home. He had hoped to have it built before the baby arrived, but with all the construction going on around town, he never had a minute to start nor were there any supplies to be had.
Clara was no longer helping wait tables at Minnie's Cafe because she too just couldn't stand on her feet for very long either. The two ladies commiserated together while their little ones enjoyed a play date.
"Are you going to have enough room with only two bedrooms, Clara? Christy asked.
"Well, we'll have to make it do. Of course the baby will be sleeping in the cradle next to our bed, and if we have another boy, the two will share a bedroom," Clara answered while rubbing her tummy.
"And if it's a girl, then what?" Christy teased.
"I guess they'll share the bedroom too," Clara laughed, "What about you?"
"Same here. I'm lucky though in a way that we aren't moving to a new house even though Rick was disappointed. I'm spoiled having Grandpa and Grandma O'Neill right there, plus my folks are close by."
Clara sighed, "Yes, you are! I'd give anything to have my family close by. As it is, our son, Michael hasn't met any of relatives. So, I must say I really enjoy having your parents as our adopted family. Michael is too little to know the difference all he knows is love."
"And that's what counts, Faith, Hope, and Love, and we love you!" Christy looked over at her best friend.
Clara smiled, "And the greatest of these is Love!"
The End to this story...
to be continued in "So lucky to be loving you!"