Sierra glanced at her watch as her tea steeped. 0700 - time to make sure the children were up and about. As the thought crossed her mind, Sierra heard the door to one of the bathrooms close and the shower start up. Good - her sixteen year old twins, Cadence and Caisson, were up and starting their morning ablutions as scheduled. Sierra walked down the hall and stuck her head into the boys' room. Her thirteen year old triplets, Benning, Campbell, and Knox, were rustling around making their beds, while ten year old Ranger was still zonked out on his bed. She couldn't help but chuckle at the blanket he had kicked onto the floor yet again - she always said Ranger was a living, walking furnace.
"Ranger - it's 0700! Teeth, toilet, clothes!" Sierra called as she headed back to the kitchen. She pulled a package of nitrate-free turkey bacon from the fridge
and moved her favorite cast iron skillet onto the still-warm heating element she had used for the kettle earlier. The baking muffins hadn't made Ranger stir, but bacon sure would!
As the smell of cooking turkey bacon wafted through the house, Sierra indeed heard rustling from Ranger. He padded down the hallway, peered into the kitchen bleary-eyed, inhaled deeply, and headed to the boys' bathroom. Within minutes, Jordan and Ruger appeared in the dining room, waiting for the first layer of bacon to appear. The triplets wrestled their way into the kitchen, roughhousing their way to the counter, where they each grabbed some of the items to set the table. Ranger wandered in, plopping on the floor next to Ruger for a snuggle. Ruger sniffed him gently and looked to Jordan.
"Go ahead, Ruger," Jordan laughed. "You're off duty." Before Jordan could finish his last word, Ruger flopped onto Ranger's lap and rolled over for a belly rub. Considering the German shepherd outweighed lean Ranger by a good forty plus pounds, everyone laughed when he knocked Ranger over in the process. The two rolled around and played, but as Sierra passed the first platter of bacon to Knox to take to the table, bonding time ended. Ruger resumed his position next to Jordan's chair and waited; Ranger ran to the sink and washed his hands. Just as Jordan began passing plates of bacon and muffins around the table, the girls arrived at the table. Caisson, wet hair still wrapped in a towel, picked up the pitcher of orange juice and began filling small glasses with it as Cadence began filling everyone's reusable water bottles from the Big Berkey. Sierra picked up her mug, handcrafted by a local potter, and brought her tea to the table.
"Oh! I almost forgot the fruit!" Cadence blurted. She hurried to the refrigerator and pulled out a large bowl of fruit salad she had prepared the night before. Grabbing a large serving spoon, she brought the bowl to the table. The older boys jokingly argued about who got the fruit first, and who wanted more kiwi slices and who would get all the grapes. As they went back and forth, Ranger quietly slipped his hand in, grabbed the spoon, and ladled a small portion of grapes, sliced kiwi, strawberries, and bananas onto his plate. The girls laughed as he smirked.
Plates full, silence fell as they all looked to Jordan, who nodded, removed his hat, and said a brief blessing, pronouncing their gratitude for their blessings and asking that the food would strengthen and nourish their bodies. Before he began to eat, Jordan continued, "Eat hearty, kids - we've got some neighborhood news to discuss after breakfast."
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