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the purpose it was intended for.
    Cooking on the fancy stove was a bit strange, but she quickly found her stride.  By the time she heard footsteps overhead, she was scooping the scrambled eggs into two bowls, and she quickly buttered the last of the toast.  She had found a jar of preserves in the cellar as well, and put them out with the rest of the meal.  She had just finished pouring milk for the children and coffee for herself and Albert when he reached the bottom of the stairs. 
    “I woke the children and told them to dress and come down,” he told her.  He stood awkwardly for a moment, watching her work.
    “Thank you.  I was just about to go up and wake everyone.”  He was wearing a pair of work pants and a button up flannel shirt.  She’d purchased some flannel and decided one of her first projects would be to make Clarence some flannel work shirts like Albert wore.  She could already see the hero worship forming in her son’s eyes, and she would do whatever she could to foster that and help it grow.  A boy needed a man to look up to, and Clarence had been fatherless for too long.
    The children rushed down the stairs one at a time.  She was surprised to see how excited Robert and Gertie were when they saw the scrambled eggs.  It was as if Christmas morning had come early.  “Eggs!” Gertie squealed.  “You made eggs!”
    Clara nodded slowly.  “Do you like eggs?”  She couldn’t tell if the child was upset that she was making eggs or happy about it.
    “Oh, yes!  I love eggs.”  She took her place at the table and immediately heaped a serving of eggs onto her plate before putting some on Robert’s plate for him.  She stared down at the eggs with a big smile while she waited impatiently for Albert to say the prayer. 
    Albert stared at his daughter with a half-smile on his face, shaking his head.  “Stop being silly and bow your head so we can pray.”
    “Thank God for the eggs, Papa.  Please!”
    Albert sighed, and Clara looked between the three of them.  She wasn’t going to ask now, but she knew she could get Gertie to tell her what was happening later.  She was a great deal more forthcoming than her father was.
    After they finished eating, both girls immediately went to the sink to work on the dishes, and Clara was thankful Albert had started that the night before.  It would be easy to always have the girls do the dishes now that he’d asked them to do them the first night.
    Albert and Clarence left, headed for the barn to do the milking and gather eggs before they left to do their fence mending for the day.  When they brought the eggs and milk in, she thanked them both.  Clarence’s chest was puffed up with pride that he was actually helping on a ranch even though he was doing the same work he’d done on their farm back home.
    As soon as they headed out, Clara started a huge pot of beans soaking.  She’d add a little bacon, and they’d have a filling meal of beans for lunch, and possibly for supper, because she was certain Albert had forgotten the chicken he’d promised her.
    While the girls washed the dishes, Clara swept the floor, and knew she’d need to mop it before they could go on with their day.  She hated to work in a dirty kitchen.  She sent the girls upstairs to make the beds while she scrubbed the floor, and then they mixed the dough for some fresh loaves of bread together. 
    Clara had always enjoyed working in the kitchen with Natalie, and it wasn’t until she worked with the much younger child, that she realized just how capable Natalie had become in the kitchen.  She was proud of her daughter and her abilities.
    Natalie went to get the cream while Clara and Gertie cleaned the butter churn.  Natalie came up with the cream and Clara set the two girls to work churching the butter, Natalie’s hands over Gertie’s, while she formed the bread dough into dinner rolls.  She thought everyone would enjoy having dinner rolls with their beans and fresh