My parents used to make Christmas so magical. I don’t know how. With six kids, I think they must have taken out a loan every year to make sure we had plenty of presents. Momma and Daddy never failed us.
I lived in Florida until I was nine. Christmas wasn’t cold and it dang sure wasn’t white, but it was, in my mind, simply spectacular. I remember the glow of the Christmas tree lights twinkling warmly in the first dim rays of dawn. And all around the living room, presents, some wrapped some straight from Santa’s factory, glistened with promise in the pristine silence!
Momma baked back then like a woman possessed. She covered every horizontal surface with sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, divinity, pralines, and fudge. The calorie count was obscene!
Oh, how I remember the squeals and laughter of my three brothers and two sisters as we charged from our rooms, and the cacophony of tearing, ripping paper that exploded over the morning like a thunderstorm. To this day, my favorite, most revered gift is a little peddle car ““ a red Volkswagon Beetle convertible. And there was a teddy bear I adored so much that even though he tore and dropped stuffing like a pooping goose, I kept pulling him out of trash, much to my mother’s dismay.
In 1974 we moved from Florida to the mountains of Western North Carolina. Now THAT is the place to have Christmas. Our first one was cold AND white. By this time, all of my siblings except for my sister Susan, had left home. For the first several months in North Carolina our house was under construction. In the interim, we lived in my grandfather’s tiny, one-bedroom trailer. Quarters were tight, to say the least. My parents slept on a pull-out sofa. My sister slept on the couch, and I literally slept on the floor in the corner, between the couches. That year I got a Barbie Doll townhouse. The thing nearly blocked the entire doorway from the kitchen to the hallway, but we all tolerated the crowded conditions.
That was the smallest Christmas I ever had, in terms of material items. Yet I remember it as being the richest. We were together, warm, safe, and healthy. And it was snowing outside.
Christmas doesn’t get much better than that.
Romance in the Rockies
The three-part saga of the sisters who come to the godlesss mining town of Defiance and prove to be the catalysts for dramatic, sometimes deadly, changes. Never give in. Never back down. Never lose faith.
A Lady in Defiance ““ http://amzn.to/2h83JeQHIS TOWN. HER GOD. LET THE BATTLE BEGIN.
Charles McIntyre owns everything and everyone in the lawless, godless mining town of Defiance. When three good, Christian sisters from his beloved South show up stranded, alone, and offering to open a “nice” hotel, he is intrigued enough to let them stay…especially since he sees feisty middle sister Naomi as a possible conquest. But Naomi, angry with God for widowing her, wants no part of Defiance or the saloon-owning, prostitute-keeping Mr. McIntyre. It would seem however, that God has gone to elaborate lengths to bring them together. The question is, “Why?” Does God really have a plan for each and every life?
Charles McIntyre owns everything and everyone in the lawless, godless mining town of Defiance. When three good, Christian sisters from his beloved South show up stranded, alone, and offering to open a “nice” hotel, he is intrigued enough to let them stay…especially since he sees feisty middle sister Naomi as a possible conquest. But Naomi, angry with God for widowing her, wants no part of Defiance or the saloon-owning, prostitute-keeping Mr. McIntyre. It would seem however, that God has gone to elaborate lengths to bring them together. The question is, “Why?” Does God really have a plan for each and every life?
Hearts in Defiance ““ http://amzn.to/2hSzM3m
MEN MAKE MISTAKES. GOD WILL FORGIVE THEM. WILL THEIR WOMEN?
Charles McIntyre built the lawless, godless mining town of Defiance practically with his bare hands “¦ and without any remorse for the lives he destroyed along the way. Then a glimpse of true love, both earthly and heavenly, changed him. The question is, how much? Naomi Miller is a beautiful, decent woman. She says she loves McIntyre, that God does, too, and the past is behind them now. But McIntyre struggles to believe he’s worth saving “¦ worth loving. Unfortunately, the temptations in Defiance only reinforce his doubts.
Billy Page abandoned Hannah Frink when he discovered she was going to have his baby “¦ and now he can’t live with himself. Or without her. Determined to prove his love, he leaves his family and fortune behind and journeys to Defiance. Will Hannah take Billy back or give him what he deserves for the betrayal?
Charles McIntyre built the lawless, godless mining town of Defiance practically with his bare hands “¦ and without any remorse for the lives he destroyed along the way. Then a glimpse of true love, both earthly and heavenly, changed him. The question is, how much? Naomi Miller is a beautiful, decent woman. She says she loves McIntyre, that God does, too, and the past is behind them now. But McIntyre struggles to believe he’s worth saving “¦ worth loving. Unfortunately, the temptations in Defiance only reinforce his doubts.
Billy Page abandoned Hannah Frink when he discovered she was going to have his baby “¦ and now he can’t live with himself. Or without her. Determined to prove his love, he leaves his family and fortune behind and journeys to Defiance. Will Hannah take Billy back or give him what he deserves for the betrayal?
A Promise in Defiance ““ http://amzn.to/2h8158HChoices have consequences. Even for the Redeemed.
When Charles McIntyre founded Defiance, he was more than happy to rule in hell rather than serve in heaven. But things have changed. Now, he has faith, a new wife…and a ten-year-old half-breed son. Logan Tillane carries a Bible in his hand, wears a gun on his hip, and fights for lost souls any way he can. Newly arrived in Defiance, though, he has trouble telling saints from sinners. When scandalous madam Delilah Goodnight flings open the doors to the raunchy Crystal Chandelier Saloon, these two good men will come face-to-face with their personal demons.
A Promise in Defiance is an old-fashioned Western reminiscent of Unforgiven and Pale Rider! Gritty and rich with drama, this is the closing chapter to the bestselling Wild West saga of love and faith in a godless frontier town.
A Promise in Defiance is an old-fashioned Western reminiscent of Unforgiven and Pale Rider! Gritty and rich with drama, this is the closing chapter to the bestselling Wild West saga of love and faith in a godless frontier town.
CONTEST ALERT!!
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Thanks for invitin’ in me to the party!
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