AND THE WINNER IS . . . TETEWA!! Please email me at ljodamron@gmail.com so I can mail your books out! If I don't hear anything by Saturday, I'll draw a new name. Thanks so much to everyone for sharing your Christmas memories - I can't tell you how much I enjoyed them! I truly think this has been my favorite contest because of your great comments!
Kay Stockham has a new release - a heartwarming Christmas story, A CHRISTMAS TO REMEMBER.
I’ve written a review below, following which are the details of a contest for two of Kay’s books. I have from Kay an autographed copy of her previous release, HIS PERFECT WIFE, and I’m chipping in a copy of A CHRISTMAS TO REMEMBER for one lucky winner!
My review:
When Beau Buchanan wakes to find himself in a military hospital, the severe pain of his injuries and the inability to recall the explosion that put him there are seriously troubling, but it’s the not knowing his own identity that causes him the most distress. Once he has healed sufficiently, he goes home and begins the trying task of getting back into the workforce as an electrician with his father’s company. An attractive woman doing landscaping in the same housing project catches his eye and as soon as she recognizes him, she tears into him, obviously very upset to see him. Of course, he doesn’t recognize her and is determined to find out what happened between them to cause the pain in her eyes. Beau keeps pushing until he finds that her name is Marley Pierce and that they had a brief past together, one that ended with her pregnant and him skipping out on her. He is shocked to think that he could act so abominably towards her. As he begins to experience glimpses of his past in brief flashbacks, he is more confused than ever when they just don’t seem to fit with the man he has become.
Marley is shocked to see Beau Buchanan working across the street. He broke her young heart years before, ditching her and leaving her alone and pregnant. Marley’s pregnancy was a major source of painful gossip in their small town, contributing to her mother’s breakdown, and no one in her family could forgive Beau for the destruction his actions caused within their family. The more time Marley spends with this very different Beau, the more she begins to question her feelings for him as well as her relationship with her family, especially her mother.
Kay Stockham never fails to deliver an emotion-packed story with characters whose lives and backgrounds are realistic and slightly flawed. A CHRISTMAS TO REMEMBER is no exception, proving that things and people aren’t always what they seem. Marley and Beau had troubles in their past, but new discoveries and revelations could open their future to unexpectedly brightness, but only if they are willing to open their hearts. This book belongs on every holiday shopping list!
Now for the contest! Everyone who leaves a brief comment about a favorite Christmas memory will be entered in this contest. As I often do, I’ll put your name in the drawing twice if you send a friend over and they mention your name. I’ll draw a winner on Wednesday evening, so you have plenty of time to give your friends a shout!
Thanks for stopping!
Laurie
24 comments:
my memory is of arriving home and heading for the living room to see the Christmas tree; I would get down on my hands and knees and snoop- seeing which present was for who and who had whose name. I loved that time no matter what time of evening it was. It was always interesting to see how Mom had decorated the real tree. She had a knack for it.
My brother and I always open presents at midnight on Christmas Eve.
Laurie one of my very favorite Christmas was when my daughter wasa about three. We tricked her by making Santa foot prints with powder. For a gift she got a broom with a dust pan, she cleaned up his mess. LOL
Please DO NOT include me in the drawing. I have both of these wonderful books.
Since she was about seven, my sister opened every present under the tree and rewrapped it. She knew what everybody was getting about two weeks before Christmas. My mom found out she did this about three years ago - my sister was 30. So, for 27 years she had gotten away with it. :) Still drives my mom nuts to think about it. lol
I have both books - A Christmas to Remember was a great story and I look forward to Kay's next book.
hugs to Laurie and thanks to Judy to sending me over. She always sends me links so I can find stuff.
Chris S.
oops - bad math - for 23 years my sister got away with this. 30 minus 7 is 23.
:) Chris S.
My best one is I was like 13 I think and my mom and my best friends mom got us NKOTB tickets (I know! LOL they were hug then LOL) And they but them in a giant box and as we unwrapped each layer there was a different things from Sarah an my fave member. T shirts, Pillowcases, Key chains etc then we got to the thin layer envelope an it was a coupon book to Macdonald's we were like huh?? And as I lifted mine out of the envelope the ticket feel out! We about peed! It was for the New years eve concert we were so excited LOL what's cool is I STILL have the video my dad took of the whole thing LOL
I have been giving this some thought, and I have to say my favorite Christmas memory isn't one specific event. It is the family gatherings with all the aunts, uncles, and cousins coming by the house. Now that the aunts and uncles have passed on and the cousins have moved far away, I realize how special those times were.
Last year I got my mom tickets to see The Phantom of the Opera for her and her husband. He didn't want to go so she took me with her. I loved watching her face as she watched the play unfold. She really enjoyed it and we had a great time. I'm hoping to get her tickets this year to The Lion King.
I always loved setting the tree up with our family--we'd play the Christmas albums (LPs, of course) of Andrews sisters and Andy Williams while we took turns hanging ornaments. And a single funny-now memory is the year my brother was a toddler--he ran through the house until he knocked the entire tree over! Thankfully no one was hurt, but we did have three strands of permanently tangled Christmas lights after that... :)
I am loving your comments! Some make me smile, some have me laughing, and Barb V's made me teary - I miss our holidays with the entire family too :(
I have two Christmas memories, one funny and one touching - I'll share the funny one now and the other one tomorrow. Several years ago our Christmas tree stand had issues and we were unable to fix it back correctly so the tree would fit solidly (artificial tree) - the tree always leaned a tad. One year the girls and I went to see The Nutcracker by BalletMet in Columbus and when we got home I thought the tree was leaning more than when we left. Sure enough, about 15 minutes later, the damn thing fell over. It made me so mad - I had battled it for days, tightening and adjusting as much as I could; it seemed like every time I turned around I was fiddling with it. I went to the basement and brought boxes and tubs upstairs and packed up everything but the lights and the pole. The pole stood straight without any branches, etc. on it - I wrapped the lights around the pole and stuck a big blob of lights on the very top of it and that was our tree for the next two weeks until Christmas. We even have pictures of our "tree" that year - it still makes us laugh.
Thanks for sharing your stories!
We always opened presents on Christmas morning. It was fun to get up really early and rip into the presents and find out what treasures our stockings held.
My favorite Christmas memory is when I was 4 and Santa came into my bedroom and woke me up so I could open my presents while he was there! I can't remember any of the gifts just him in my room. lol Many years later I found out 'Santa' was played by our neighbor who had no children of his own.
I somehow missed His Perfect Wife when it was out (must have been living under a rock that month) and would love to read the new one!!!
My favorite Christmas memory was playing Santa for the first time for my nephews...by that I mean, after they went to sleep, I got to help put together toys and set up things under the Christmas tree. It was full of frustrating moments (loud toys that kept going off, pieces that wouldn't fit together, etc.), but it was worth it the next morning when I saw the smiles on the faces of the boys.
Another one was when I was a kid and I cried to put go ahead and put our tree up early (because putting the tree up meant Christmas would be here faster...or at least that is what my child's mind thought). Well, my parents had planned on buying a new tree, but I didn't want to wait. My mom gave in and put up the old, fake tree from the attic even thought it was missing a few branches...okay, more than a few. My bro and sis made fun of it and called it the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree (and yes, now that I think about it, it did kind of resemble that tree from the cartoon), but I thought it was beautiful at the time. We still laugh about that tree today and make jokes about it...it's probably still in my parents' attic...LOL
Oops that should have said, "His Perfect Woman"...sorry.
I don't have one particular Christmas moment. On Christmas Eve night we play Christmas Bingo, unwrap one present apiece, and watch It's A Wonderful Life. Presents are opened the next morning. I love watching everyone open their presents, so I'm usally the last to open mine.
My favourite Christmas memories are actually those as a mom... don't get me wrong we had wonderful Christmas's when I was young, but I never really appreciated the warmth, the beauty, the specialness of the season until my kids came along. Seeing their bright and excited faces as they tore through their stockings Christmas morning. And the tradition that evolved over the years as I would hand out a gift to everyone and we would open them in turn, starting the process with our youngest opening her gift first and so on up the line. Each new gift 'session' the first open-er would move up one in age and so we'd go again.
I think we decided to do that the year following the one that we missed what each one got as they tore through the opening and then dropping the present to go through the next one. Mind, it takes us a long while, but it makes the whole morning definite family time followed by our traditional Christmas breakfast.
This year, our oldest daughter, and the director of the opening-line, won't be here as she lives far away. This will be the first Christmas that one of my children will be missing. Kids growing up and moving away ~ good and sad at the same time.
I was also going to say that I read Kay's MAN WITH A PAST awhile ago and was deeply touched. This Christmas story sounds absolutely wonderful.
One of my favorite Christmas memories was my 3 sisters and myself playing "secret elves" and doing the 12 Days of Christmas for my grandparents. Every night for the last 12 days and ending on Christmas Eve we would leave a little note and a small gift or treat for them. As we grew older and had families of our own we would have our children join in on the fun. My Grandparents have been gone for 6 years now. I miss them terribly.
It's fun when we are all together and we talk about the silly poems we would come up with and the times we were almost "caught". Grandpa and Grandpa knew it was us but they never let on.
I met my husband on Christmas in 2000. Bought A CHRISTMAS TO REMEMBER yesterday. Couldn't wait to get my hands on it.
Christy Hawkes sent me over. I hope she wins!
Melissa K.
One of my memorable Christmas memory is when my sister goes around the house and picks up severa random items. Then she wraps it with newspaper, and gives it to everyone. She was about 8 or so.
Your memories are all so great - thanks so much for taking the time to share them!
Susan, I'm thinking if any man tried this today he'd be labeled a perv, for sure!
I have lots of memories as a child, as a newlywed and especially as a mother, but one of my fondest doesn't include any of my family or even anyone I know. Once we sponsored a family for Christmas through our local People In Need. We were given the first names only and the ages of the family members and given a limit to spend on each of them. This family was a single father raising two small children, a boy and a girl. We had so much fun shopping for them and felt a heartwarming satisfaction when we delivered the shopping bags full of their gifts to the PIN office. We chose to remain anonymous in giving, but somehow the father obtained our name. Very early on Christmas morning I answered a call to a little voice that just said "Thank you" followed by another little voice saying the same thing - then the father got on and while trying very hard not to cry, said that he had fallen on very hard times and that our gifts were the only gifts his children would receive that year. By the time we finished talking, I was crying too. We all realized on that Christmas morning, more than ever before, that we are indeed very fortunate to have what we do, and I think my girls had a bigger appreciation for the gifts they received. We still talk about that morning on occasion, and I still get choked up every time I think about it.
I'll draw a name around 10 pm this evening (eastern) - good luck, everyone!
My favorite "memory" is actually a tradition.
Every year about a week before Christmas, me, my mom, my sister and my niece (sister's dd) get together and make "candy".
We each make our specialty and we make enough for each household. Fudge, peanut-butter balls, coconut balls, chocolate "candy", oatmeal clusters, chocolate covered pretzels...etc.
Cindy ~ gained several pounds just thinking about it all LOL
There are so many special moments that come with Christmas each year it’s hard to just pick one.
I love that each year my dad and I pick one night to go out and do our Christmas shopping for my Mom. We started it when I was 11 or 12 because I normally did all of my shopping with my Mom but then I couldn’t buy her present while I was with her now could I. So my Dad and I would go out shopping together one night and have dinner just the two of us which doesn’t happen very often maybe two or three times a year. This way I could get her present and my Dad didn’t have to shop alone. And each year we would make a deal he would buy my present for my Mom and I would wrap all of his presents for him :o)
We still go out each year together and I buy my Mom’s present myself now but I still wrap all of his presents for him.
I will try this again... I loved both books. Kay is a sweetheart too.
Last year was a special christmas. We were all at my sisters and it was a great family time.
Not a Christmas memory, but I will say there are still some honest people in our world.
Monday at Wal-Mart I bought A Christmas To Remember and an anthology with Mary Janice Davidson. When I got home I realized I didn't have the books, so I called the store and they said they hadn't been turned in (which was no surprise), but I could come back in with my receipt and they would let me go get the books off the shelf.
When I got there that night, the clerk told me she found my books. Whoever was in line behind me had turned them in!
Looking forward to reading this one.
Post a Comment