Photo Journal: Being Thankful

One of my propped photos, by Carla.

"In every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God."—Philippians 4:6

BLOG HOP: A Cup of Christmas Cheer featuring Snowed In by Carrie Fancett Pagels

Please welcome my dear friend, Carrie Fancett Pagels, who I have the joy of sharing pages with in A Cup of Christmas Cheer from Guideposts Books!

Some of the authors of A Cup of Christmas Cheer are hopping around from blog to blog to share with you about a variety of the stories that you'll find in this Christmas treasury which will surely become a keepsake to enjoy year after year. Carrie is one of the greatest cheerleader's I know so it is such a pleasure to reciprocate with this opportunity to tell you about her story story, Snowed In: A Northwoods Christmas.

Snowed In -  Set in the upper peninsula of Michigan, 19-year-old Eliza’s (name changed to Elsie by the publisher) three younger sisters show up at her second job, seemingly abandoned by their father, after their mother’s death. Her wounded WWII veteran sweetheart takes the girls to his ailing grandmother’s log cabin near the lumber camp where they’d grown up. Although Henry promises to return for Christmas eve, the roads are quickly closed off by a blizzard. Can he make it back for Christmas when his car won’t start and his snowshoe straps break? And will a tender love bloom to a promise?

Carla's Review of Snowed In -

Imagine yourself inside a snow globe filled with fluffy white flakes swirling around a log cabin with a smoke filled chimney. Add to it pine trees, home-baked food, a Grandmother's love, Christmas carols, and horse-drawn sleighs, that's how I imagined Carrie Fancett Pagels heart-warming tale in volume one of A Cup of Christmas Cheer.

What happens when a trio of adorable younger siblings are left in the care of a young woman at Christmastime? Elsie's sisters come to the diner where she works with no other place to go. Henry, home just a year from WWII and struggling to get his life back to normal. Elsie is smitten by Henry, but encumbered by the youngsters. She is willing to put her own feelings and goals aside to provide a home for them, but is unable to reside at her employer's apartments with the children. Concerned for their welfare, Henry generously agrees to help them find a temporary home and his grandmother's log cabin seems just the place. When a harsh snow storm comes in on Christmas Eve it may separate Elsie and Henry from spending Christmas together. Will he be able to get through in time for them to all discover the miracle of Christmas?

I'm fascinated with family histories, so I enjoyed reading about Carrie's grandparent's Ruby and William Henry in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and how they were "Snowed In" in the Northwoods one very special Christmas. This charming tale, that comes right from the author's heart and is a treasure to be enjoyed for years to come.

    

About Carrie Fancett Pagels (www.carriefancettpagels.com) is author of an Amazon top-rated Civil War novella Return to Shirley Plantation: A Civil War Romance. Carrie also contributed to God’s Provision in Tough Times, Lighthouse of the Carolinas (July, 2013). Her short story, Snowed In: A Northwoods Christmas, appears in Guidepost Books “A Cup of Christmas Cheer” (October, 2013). With a Ph.D. in School Psychology, Carrie served as a psychologist for twenty-five years. Carrie is the former ACFW Zone Mid-Atlantic Zone Director and Virginia/West Virginia Area Coordinator and continues to serve as co-hostess of the Tidewater Area Christian Writers group. Married for over 25 years to the love of her life, she resides in Virginia’s historic triangle. She has an 11-year-old son and a 24-year-old daughter.

Carrie has two popular group blogs: Overcoming with God (www.overcomingwithGod.com) and Colonial Quills (www.ColonialQuills.org).


GIVEAWAY:

Carrie will be giving this beautiful Snowy LOG CABIN Old World Christmas Ornament to one commenter (must leave email addy please). 






Continue on with the Blog Hop!
Stop by any time to learn about the stories and win prizes along the way. The hop will end with a grand prize at Colonial Quills on Friday, November 29th.Prize eligibility - please comment within one week of this post. Comment on all stops to for a chance at the grand prize

The grand prize (valued over $100) is a $70 tea set, $10 Amazon gift card, $10 Trader Joe's gift card, hot chocolate packets, and A Cup of Christmas Cheer from Guideposts Books!

BLOG HOP Schedule:

Friday, November 8th - visit Carla Olson Gade on Carrie Fancett Pagels' blog.
Saturday, November 9th - visit Ashley Clark is on Anita Mae Draper's blog.
Saturday, November 16th - visit Anita Mae Draper on Johnnie Alexander Donley's blog.
Sunday November 17th - visit Julie Carobini on Ashley Clark's blog.

Friday, November 22nd - visit Carrie Fancett Pagels  on Carla Olson Gade's blog.
Saturday, November 23rd - visit Johnnie Alexander Donley on Julie Carobini's blog.
Friday, November 29th - visit Colonial Quills Blog to announce Grand Prize winner.

Order A Cup of Christmas Cheer at Guidepost Books online Store and read a sample chapter from one of the stories!

Photo Journal: Colonial Gate

18th century gate in Glastonbury, Connecticut, by Carla.

A gate can keep things in, but they also keep things out. What are you protecting? Or keeping at bay?

Digging Deeper at Novel Pastimes: Historical Holidays

Please join me today at the historical fiction blog, Novel Pastimes for my new column, Digging Deeper. I'm sharing treasures unearthed while researching American and English history from the 17th to 19th centuries. Today I'm talking about Historical Holidays. Please meet me there!

Photo Journal: Life Story

I took this photo in the book section of an antique store in Maine.

Everyone has a story. There have been many chapters in my life that I never thought I'd get through. Sometimes I was afraid what would happen next, others were filled with delightful anticipation. I have often hoped for happy endings, but the pages in between are what seem to matter most. When I trust God to write His-story for my life I find that every page has meaning.

If your story had a title what would it be? Is it time to be retitled?

Blog Hop for A Cup of Christmas Cheer

For a chance to win this beautiful German "Brocade Star" beeswax Christmas ornament made from an antique mold, Hop on over with me to the Over Coming with God BLOG where Carrie Fancett Pagels is featuring my story, Upon a Christmas Tree Schooner, from the two volume set A Cup of Christmas Cheer.

Stop by any time to learn about the stories and win prizes along the way. The hop will end with a grand prize at Colonial Quills on Friday, November 29th. Prize eligibility - please comment within one week of this post. Comment on all stops to for a chance at the grand prize.

The grand prize (valued over $100) is a $70 tea set, $10 Amazon gift card, $10 Trader Joe's gift card, hot chocolate packets, and A Cup of Christmas Cheer from Guideposts Books!

BLOG HOP Schedule:

Friday, November 8th - visit Carla Olson Gade on Carrie Fancett Pagels' blog.
Saturday, November 9th - visit Ashley Clark is on Anita Mae Draper's blog.
Saturday, November 16th - visit Anita Mae Draper on Johnnie Alexander Donley's blog.
Sunday November 17th - visit Julie Carobini on Ashley Clark's blog.

Friday, November 22nd - visit Carrie Fancett Pagels  on Carla Olson Gade's blog.
Saturday, November 23rd - visit Johnnie Alexander Donley on Julie Carobini's blog.
Friday, November 29th - visit Colonial Quills Blog to announce Grand Prize winner.

Tea Party Celebration for Cup of Christmas Cheer

 
This week of celebrating the release of A Cup of Christmas Cheer from Guidepost Books featuring my short story "Upon a Christmas Tree Schooner" continues at Colonial Quills!