I would like for you to meet The Marshall Family

Rushing in the door, running past everyone and everything she had but one thing on her mind.

It had begun to snow outside, and it would be only minutes before the ground would be covered with inches and inches of the white fluffy stuff.

It was her night to make dinner and she had just came into the little cabin from a day of reading in the hayloft. Her Ma and younger sister had spent the day making soap for the family. This morning when she had risen, her Mother gently reminded her of her duties for the day.

It was no secret in the Marshall household that Bea would rather spend her days reading and writing short stories than attending to the duties of helping with the day to day running of the house. Her parents realizing this tried to give her as much freedom as possible. Bea knew that lately she had been trying their patience more than usual. How had the time gotten away from her and she had not remembered to start the family's supper? Then with the snow coming down Pa and her bothers would be coming in from their chores earlier.

Past everyone she flew. Straight she went to the larder to see what vegetables were there. Grabbing onions, cabbage, carrots, and potatoes she would use them to make a vegetable stew. After peeling and washing the vegetables. She noticed her Ma and sister in the corner of the kitchen hurrying about to finish the soap making and put away the wash tub.

Bea often forgot how hard her Ma worked to care for her beloved family.

Bea was the oldest girl in a family of four older brothers and a baby sister. She watched as her Ma arose early ( 4 a.m. ) each morning to stoke the fire in the stove, and begin the family breakfast, before Pa, ( who had been up since 3 a.m. milking the cows came in to eat). There were biscuits to make and eggs to gather, and ham to fry. Then there was the scrambling of eggs and the making of strong black coffee to be done. Smelling the wonderful aroma of the foods cooking the others slowly began to rise Jeff the eldest of the four brothers scurried into his overalls and went out to gather wood to filled the wood box next to the stove. Then in the door came Pa with a steaming pail of milk. He set the bucket in the sink and went to give his wife a big hug and kiss. Bea could never remember a morning in all of her 17 years that her Pa had not begin his day by kissing their Ma.

Just as she begin to ponder on this, the door to the little cabin opened bring with it a Arctic blast of cold air and five men covered from head to toe in snow. They were shivering so hard they were getting snow everywhere. Paul her second brother stated that he was cold, tired and hungry. This awoken Bea to her task at hand and off she went to get supper on the table. Her Ma watching her out of the corner of her eye, was wondering what to expect next from her daydreaming daughter.