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November 2033 - Anne Smith, James Smith, and Robert Stanton are 33; Meg Stanton is 10; George Smith is 9; John Smith, Tom Smith, and Libby Stanton are 5; Jamie Smith, Jodie Stanton, and Sadie Stanton are 2; Alex Smith is four months.

Anne is on maternity leave for the fall semester after giving birth to Alex, the Smiths' fifth child.

Along with an infant son, they also have a toddler daughter named Jamie. She's a very happy, sweet little girl.

George is in the fourth grade, and John and Tom are in kindergarten.

George and Tom both love art. George has an easel and drawing table in his room, and he and Tom spend a lot of time playing in his room.

John isn't an artist like his brothers. He recently started playing chess, and he and his mother try to play every day.

Now that John and Tom are in kindergarten, the house is a lot quieter and calmer during the day. All of the boys love going to school and getting to play with their friends.

James took some time off after Alex was born, but now he's back at work. He gets up early every morning to help get the kids fed and off to school.

It's nice to have a few hours of relative quiet every day, but when the boys get home from school things go back to their normal hectic state. James doesn't get home until dinner time, so Anne has to help the kids with their homework.

Now that Robert and Jenny are divorced, Anne and James try to help him out by inviting him and the girls over for dinner. He has his hands full with four daughters, and he's still getting used to doing all of the cooking and cleaning.

The kids are pretty good at entertaining themselves. Meg is a year older than George, and Libby is the same age as John and Tom, and they all get along pretty well.

The Stantons also have twin daughters, Jodie and Sadie, who are the same age as Jamie. But the three girls don't get along very well. Jodie and Sadie just play with each other, and Jamie ends up playing by herself or with the dog.

The kids like spending time together, and it gives Robert a chance to talk to Anne and James. Robert has been pretty overwhelmed and depressed since his marriage ended. "I loved Jenny so much. I really thought that was enough."

Anne hates Jenny for what she's done to Robert and her daughters, but she tries to be diplomatic. "Marriage is hard," Anne says. "So is parenthood."

Robert just shakes his head. "I can understand the divorce, but how could she just leave her daughters? Jenny calls every week, but Libby won't even talk to her. And Meg keeps asking why she can't live with her mother, and I don't know what to tell her. How can I tell her that her mother isn't fighting for custody?"

It breaks Anne's heart to see him going through this, to think about those sad little girls. "They have you," she reminds him. "You're a wonderful father. You guys will all be okay."