Favorite Christmas Memories - Part 1

Christmas is coming and that means sending out greetings to friends. I sent out my Merry Christmas newslettter last week. Of course I had a picture of the grandkids and of course, I threw out a new giveaway. Well, four chances to win. Last year I asked readers to tell me their favorite Christmas gift to make them eligible for a special drawing. That was such fun, I decided to do it again. Only this time it's a favorite Christmas memory.


The stories are pouring in. Beautiful stories that bring a tear and great memories of times when laughs were in order. I'm going to share some of those stories on here before Christmas - with the permission of the storytellers, of course. As one reader said when giving me permission to share her story with you, memories are for sharing.


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Some giveaway prizes

Some of you might not be on my newsletter e-mail list, so in case you'd like to join my Christmas giveaway fun, here's the info on what to do to get your name in the hat and what you might win. Send me an e-mail from my website or leave a comment here with a way to get in touch with you in case you win. If you want to join in the fun of sharing a favorite Christmas memory, please do. I'll draw one winner from those of you who do share a favorite story to win a lovely music box that plays "How Great Thou Art" along with your choice of one of my books. Then I always have one drawing for those who have never won anything in my giveaways. (Be sure to tell me that in your e-mail or comment to get your name in that special drawing.)The never won before winner will get Startling Joy, a book of Christmas stories and your choice of my books. The last two chances to win go to anybody who throws his or her name in the hat for the drawings. Those two winners will get one of my books and a copy of The Dog Next Door, a collection of dog stories. My story in the book is titled "A Gift of Love." That has to make a good Christmas giveaway.


So now on to the good part. Here's a story from C.E. about the "Santa beagle" to make you smile. 
 

"My most memorable Christmas was about 22 years ago. My two sons, one was 10 and the other one was 4. We had a dog named Beaner and when he was a puppy, we taught him how to open Christmas presents with his teeth and paws. He always thought the Santa Beagle was coming at Christmas for him. So one Christmas morning he snuck out into the living room before everyone was up. He must have thought the Santa Beagle had brought every gift for him. When we got up, all the presents had been opened by Beaner. My kids starting crying because they had no presents to open. Beaner had already taken care of that. It just goes to show that Beaner was part of the family and wanted to open presents as much as everyone else. Beaner went to heaven 3 years ago, but he left a sister (Schatzie) who is 6 years old and got to spend 2 years with Beaner and he taught her everything he knew about opening presents from the Santa Beagle. She continues the Christmas tradition. I miss Beaner so much but his memories will last a lifetime. Merry Christmas!"

Then here's one from Vi. that's a lot like one of my own fun Christmas memories. "When I was a kid, there was an older gentleman that would decorate his house (over the top) and dress as Santa for all the kids who used to love it and I was only 3 or 4 and still remember."

My similar memory is a time when we were getting ready to eat on Christmas Eve at my mother's house. We heard a knock on the door and lo and behold, when we opened it up, there was Santa straight from the North Pole. The kids were amazed. The adults knew it was a neighbor, but it was still fun. We laughed and laughed at the looks on the kids' faces"

And finally here's a story from P.C. that made me tear up and remember why every town has Angel trees to try to make sure all our children have a good Christmas.

"Hi, I wanted to share my favorite Christmas memory and that was years ago when I was 7. A social worker came to visit my foster brother and she always had this big warm smile on her face that mometarily made me forget all the problems that were going on . Well, on this day she had a big bag and she pulled a Christmas stocking out of it for each of us with our name printed on it. It was the most unexpected, beautiful present and one of the only ones that all of us got. I still have that stocking and every year I hang it and remember that social worker and how special she made every Christmas from that one and now 49 years later. Thank you for asking and have a Happy Holiday."


Thank you for sharing, P.C. And thank all of you for reading. May each of you have an over abundance of Christmas Spirit. More stories to come on Sunday. And don't forget to share your stories with us too.

Books at the Door

Books are arriving in the mail and by UPS. That's always fun. And it's just as much fun when I hear from family and friends that they  received my new book in the mail. Several people got gift copies of The Blessed yesterday in the mail. Other family members may get a surprise in the mail next week. It's fun to get nice surprises in the mail. Just a week or so ago I got the dog story book, The Dog Next Door complied by Callie Smith Grant that includes a story I wrote about one of my dogs. My nine-year-old granddaughter picked that book up last night while she was at my house and went straight out on the deck to lie on the swing and start reading. She loves horses and dogs.

So far I haven't received my box of author copies but I'm glad one of my fantastic editors at Baker sent out a copy of The Blessed to me as soon as the book was available. Actually holding a new book in my hands and enjoying that new book smell is part of my reward for months of work digging words out of my head. I have to confess it's pretty nice on the eyes to see that "by Ann H. Gabhart" on a book that lands on my doorstep.

A few years ago, I actually spotted one of my new books on a shelf in a store before I had a copy. And no, I didn't buy it. But I did pick it up and flip through the pages. Then I went home and called the publishers to hurry up the copies to me. 

Now with the book out there in some readers' hands, I'll have sit back and wait to see what people think. Will they like Lacey's story? Lacey was a good character I enjoyed getting to know. She has her own special voice that I hope readers will enjoy too. I'll also be planning some book launches. It's been such a hard spring and I've been trying to finish Shaker book 5, but that doesn't mean I can't celebrate a new book with my reading friends. Remember, I am giving away books, several of them, as soon as I do receive my author's copies, so if you haven't sent me an e-mail saying you want to throw your name in the hat for the giveaway, you still have time. You can check out the giveaway details on my Events and News page on my website, www.annhgabhart.com. Plus you can take a sneak peek at The Blessed.

Since we're talking about giveaways, it's time to announce the winner of Suzanne Woods Fisher's book, The Waiting. Drum roll please. ONorman is the winner. I numbered the comments and put all the numbers in a hat - well, actually a bowl - and drew out her number. I started to ask my mom to pick a number between one and whatever the end number was, but I decided that wasn't fair to the number one person. How many times have you ever picked the first or the last number when told to pick a number in a range of numbers? Nobody ever picks one. Or is that only true for me? Anyway, I drew out a number so this was random and fair.

Thanks for reading. And I hope you get good surprises everyday. A new book. An e-mail or letter from an old friend. Finding a ten dollar bill in your pocket that you'd forgotten about. Catching the biggest fish. A grandkid's sweet kiss. What is a good surprise for you?