Ethan and Ehlana:
Congratulations, Josiah and Christina Palmer – it’s a girl!
Mariah Victoria Palmer earned the top news story of the day; though most of our friends and neighbors don’t know why her birth is such a big deal.
We do, and that’s also why we – and Mom – didn’t get much sleep last night thanks to the wake-up call shortly after we got to sleep to let us know that we were needed to help with Mariah’s birth. Yes, Mariah is a Magi, but more than that; she’s the first Magi Master to be ‘home grown’ since Marianne Palmer died in 1707 – or the second, if you include Michael’s ‘promotion’ after marrying Cassie! We were at the clinic by twelve-thirty; Christina and Josiah were there already; and we needed to jump in to help right away because Mariah was nearly overwhelming the shielding that her father, Uncle Adam, Aunt Deborah, and Josiah had set up to protect her. I took the lead on the shields while getting help from everyone that could help us; Mom and Ehlana helped Uncle Adam and Aunt Deborah; and it was amazing to be a part of such an important moment for so many of our favorite people. Quite a few members of the Palmer and Johnson clans joined us over the next few hours, so we had lots of help – and needed it; since Mariah is likely a near-match in Magi power to Michael. She finally, officially joined us at four-oh-five this morning, and while it will be a few years before it becomes obvious to everyone; she is going to look a lot like her Aunt Abby. She’s already a stunningly-beautiful baby; and Mom is going to need to work with her to tone down because even non-Magi would notice without the shielding that will continue until she can learn to hide it. Our help didn’t end for another couple of hours, so we only had time to come home; get cleaned up; share some group fatigue healing; and then get started on our usual morning routing while leaving the continuing care for Mariah up to her family and Magi friends.
***RESTRICTED REPORT***
We need to add a bit of news for Mariah that won’t be revealed even to most Magi. Ehlana and I nudged Mariah prenatally so that she could reach her Magi Master potential. While that might be a controversial act, Ehlana understood how to make that happen; and we both sensed that we were supposed to do it; so we’re confident that we did the right thing – though we don’t know why it was meant to happen now – or with Mariah specifically. Mom will have more on this with the archive journal she has for Mariah’s training; so that’s all we’ll have for this little footnote.
***END OF RESTRICTED REPORT***
Tai Chi by the river was chilly; we went with a hot breakfast because we needed the calories to make up for all of the Magi power usage overnight; and then we headed for school while Mom went back to the clinic to work with Mariah for a while and offer her support to Josiah and Christina. Compared to our adventures at the clinic, our morning was uneventful, but today was also the Christmas pageant; so our afternoon was very busy. While we weren’t one of the ‘special’ acts today, we still had our class song; and we loved the entire show – including the song that Naomi and her classmates performed. There were more skits this year; and the comedic moments seemed to be a highlight of the afternoon with most of the kids, teens, and adults. We won’t mention each performance, but what was really important was that we were able to share the afternoon of Christmassy fun with our community again – another sign that life is returning to normal for all of us – at least here at home.
The pageant went long, so we didn’t get out of the school until a bit after four o’clock. Mom took us with her to the clinic; and we stayed to help out through until Josiah and Christina took Mariah home by a bit after six o’clock. That didn’t leave us with much time for dinner before game night, so we went to the Inn and enjoyed a quick meal there – along with some bonus entertainment thanks to sharing that meal with Jacob and Miranda.
The Christmas-themed gaming that followed was awesome! Nobody was surprised when Miranda and Mom won the senior title tonight, but Ehlana and Aiden definitely got some attention for winning the junior title. Naomi and I were third tonight, but we were happier for Ehlana and Aiden; so we had a really good evening too. We didn’t get out of the Inn until after ten, so we collected Silkie on the way to walking Naomi and Aiden to their homes while Mom stayed and got started on some chores. We weren’t gone for long; and I’ll only mention that Ehlana and I each shared goodnight kisses with Aiden and Naomi respectively because there were witnesses – which had everything to do with why Naomi put a bit of extra effort into our hug and kisses! ;^)
After we got home with Silkie, Mom had us help out with some chores; there was some family business work that we all needed to get done; and then Mom needed to visit the Palmers one last time to help Mariah with settling in and getting some sleep. While she was gone, we had a music practice; followed that up with bath or Jacuzzi time; and we’ve been watching Christmas videos and having an extra-long twin chat that has kept us up too-late. Our last school day before the break will be all fun and no work, though, and another round of healing is an option if needed; so we don’t really mind staying up late when there has been so much happening and more to look forward to now that our Christmas break is basically here.
That is all we have for tonight for here at home, but should mention that Michael and Tim headed out with the team today for their bowl game on Saturday. Cassie went with them, and will be helping out with some exams that will be multi-tasked around the football events. Rowen will join them tomorrow night after her exams are finished – she only has one left to write tomorrow morning. We’ll have more on the football story over the weekend, but while we’re happy for the opportunity that Michael and Tim are getting this year; we are going to really miss Cassie and Michael this weekend.
Okay, that’s enough for tonight – and it is past-time that we should be sleeping; so here are our Christmas music picks for you to enjoy while we get back to the real world and some quality nap time.
It’s Not Christmas Without You – Katherine McPhee
Let the Light In – Peter Hollens, Mat and Savanna Shaw
This is Ethan and Ehlana Proctor; live from the hidden home of the Magi of the Light – and May the Magi Force be with you!
