Elizabeth Laurier-Beaumont, Chp. 7, Gen. 1, 1708

~April 1708~
Dear Diary:

     Time has gone by quickly.  I gave birth to a healthy baby boy (yes, a boy!) and in Claude's honor, we decided to name him Jean-Claude.   He is a very handsome young man.  

     I just cannot believe how my dream of a house full of children has come true.  I still want to live to see them off to adults, but I know that is unlikely.  

     I hear the pitter patters of little feet everyday.  It makes me warm and glowing inside.  I never would have imagined my life to turn out this way!  What once was a fantasy is now a reality.  I could not ask for more.  I think Claude feels the same about it.

     With love,
              Elizabeth
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     Hettie had become a beautiful little toddler.  Although she did not have longer hair like Emilie and Felicity, she did have a layer of fuzz!

     Mabeline was a bit different.  She was completely bald.  But, as Elizabeth noticed, she was the only child to have inherited Elizabeth's green eyes. 

     Mabeline was often cranky, however.
     "Shh, Mabeline, it's okay," Elizabeth would whisper.
     "No! No!" Mabeline would shriek. 
     Elizabeth sighed.  "You are an ornery girl, huh?"  Hettie was not at all very loud, and she had Claude's color of eyes, so it was definitely clear that the twins were not identical! 
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January 1709

     Elizabeth began to feel different.  Her feet started feeling cold at night in the summer.  She felt sore from time to time.  She didn't feel as energetic.  Elizabeth noticed Claude had new wrinkles that were not there before.  Elizabeth even noticed wrinkles on herself.

      She knew that she was getting old.  In a way, this made her happy.  She had 'done' something with her life.  She had brought five darling children into the world.  She could now watch them grow up and settle down in her own life.  
     In a way, it also made her sad.  She loved living with her husband and children.  Someday (and yes, in Elizabeth's mind, it would be too soon) she would have to leave it all behind.  But she vowed to always watch over her family.  She would be an angel and she would try to protect them because she loved them so much.
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    Emilie was becoming prettier everyday.  She made new friends with the neighbors and would constantly come home with new stories about something her friends had done.

     "Mama!  There's this boy living across the street and he put a frog in my hair!  Oh!  I wanted to show him!  So I ran as fast as I could to catch him, but he was fast, too. But I did eventually and I told him that he was mean."
     Elizabeth laughed.  "Then what happened, Sweetie?"
     "Well," Emilie continued, "he laughed at me!"

     "He said, 'Oh, you think I'm mean? Oh, no! Now what am I going to do?'" Emilie shook her head.

     "Then he made a silly face at me!  Mama, can you believe that?  Then he laughed at me again."

     "Then he made fun of me and ran away!"  Emilie said, out of breath.  "He was so rude." 
     Elizabeth smiled.  "What was his name?"
     "Bernard DeCuir." Emilie said right away.
     "Emilie, I think he must like you!"  
Emilie giggled and turned red.
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     Felicity had finally learned to walk.  She was wobbling all over the place.  She loved to stop and smell the flowers, and Elizabeth loved watching her every move.  She was a lovely little thing!

     After Felicity learned to walk, Elizabeth found herself staring at a sweet little girl...

      ...who loved making funny faces with her sister.  Felicity seemed like a tomboy type of girl.  She was obsessed with anything Claude did and simply adored him.
     Elizabeth noticed that since the Bernard DeCuir incident, Emilie really liked making funny faces!

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 Dear Diary:


     As 1709 becomes a year of the past, I am enjoying life even more with my children.  They are becoming quite close with each other and to Claude and I.  We truly love them with all our hearts and we  would do anything for them.  I truly don't know what else to say about them.  I know that they will grow up to be great people.

    With love,
            Elizabeth
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*The Antique Legacy*

Elizabeth Laurier-Beaumont