Monday, December 17, 2012

Great Christmas Tree Tour: Charlene Sands & Drawing




Merry Holidays to all!!   The lights are on, the decorations are up awaiting Santa’s arrival.  We are ready for the holiday! I feel especially blessed his holiday season to have new two additions to our family.  Little Everley Frances was born in 2011 and little Kyra Nicole arrived on the scene last June.   Their arrival has surely brightened our life with joy and laughter.  
 
Traditions are a “must” at our house.   My hubby is one to Never put up a tree until December rolls around.   It was his hard and fast rule.  Funny, how his rule instantly changed when those two little sweet-faced pumpkins arrived. Now, I think our tree was the first in the neighborhood to go up, the day after Thanksgiving.  Lights too and more than we’ve ever had before.  I don’t know who’s happier, the kiddies or us. 
 
My daughter and I usually do what we call our mother/daughter “something Christmasy”.  Usually we attend a church play or a small theatre musical.  This year we are seeing A Tigglemeister Christmas, a musical for all ages. 

We spend evenings baking and this year we’ll cook up my mother’s “S” cookie recipe, which will now  change to “E” for Everley and “K” for Kyra cookies.  We make homemade cannoli and throw together peppermint bark too.

We have two trees, one for our formal living room where Santa keeps his presents and where we open gifts.  And the silver tinsel tree sparkles up our family/TV room with joy in the place where we spend most of our time. 
 
What are your holiday traditions?   One commenter today will win a copy of my January release, the first in the Rich, Rugged Rancher series – SUNSET SURRENDER. 

LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS TO BE ENTERED IN THE DRAWING

Wishing you a joyful season!
Charlene Sands 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You don't belong here, Sophia."
 Sophia Montrose is no stranger to Sunset Ranch. Not after the scorching kiss Logan Slade once shared with the alluring Spanish beauty in high school. Now she's back—to claim a share of his family's Nevada spread. Logan wants to hate her. After all, she's a Montrose.

Sophia hasn't forgotten that stolen moment with Logan—even if it was part of a cruel bet. Fifteen years later, she's staring into the rugged cowboy's cold black eyes…and determined to stand her ground. But will she lose her footing in the quicksand of their unquenchable love-hate passion?

27 comments:

  1. Beautiful family and Christmas memories. I know we all want to hold our families closer today.

    Peace, Julie

    ReplyDelete
  2. Charlene, I was immediately struck by how your family is growing. Those little girls will be best buddies as cousins growing up.

    Funny how your husband's perspective has changed. Children really do add sparkle to Christmas.

    Merry Christmas, my friend!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Charlene, we share the same name and the same love for western romance.
    charraddon@pobox.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Liz - Thank you! And happy holidays to you!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Pam - You're so right, the family is growing. It happened fast, after years of waiting. I hope the girls will be close too. They already respond to each other. Merry Christmas to you and yours!! Love ya!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Charlene .. Yes, we do share the same name and spelling. I have a friend who spells it Charleene. Are you on Twitter? There's a CHARLENE profile for all the Charlenes. Happy Holidays!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Julie - You are so right. I don't know anyone who isn't sick and greatly affected by the tragedy. My friend's grandkids all "Went" to that school, but have moved onto junior high, the community will never be the same So for right now, it's a time to embrace the ones we love for sure. Happy Holidays!

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a beautiful family. I am sure we will all hug our families a little tighter this Christmas.

    Our Christmas tradidtions have changed over the years as families grow and move away but I am hoping to have them all together this year.

    lorenc@huntel.net

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wishing you a happy Christmas with your beautiful family, Charlene. What sweet babies!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Lilsis
    I hope you get your family together this season too. Happy Holidays!!
    Charlene

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi Elizabeth... Happy Holidays to you too! Yes, they are sweet little girls, making our holidays bright!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I loved the trees and your beautiful family, Charlene. Our Christmas tradition is to always go to the candlelight service at our church after eating dinner out on Christmas eve. Both kids are usually home from across the country by then, and we all look forward to our tradition.
    Merry Christmas hugs coming your way.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi Lynne - Thanks and Merry Christmas to you and your family too. Oh, we used to do midnight mass on Christmas Eve, but now, I'm in bed before that!! Enjoy the service!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Those little girls are super-cute! How wonderful to have a new generation to share in the holiday traditions. The tradition we look forward to the most is watching our little guy tear into the presents EARLY Christmas morning. At this stage, it hardly matters what gifts he receives ... he's all about the unwrapping.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Great looking family, Charlene! Your holidays are going to be really fun.

    One of our family traditions is to have hot potato salad with our Christmas dinner. The recipe comes from my Dad's side of the family.

    Another family tradition (when my daughter was young) was to let her open one present on Christmas Eve. It was always new pajamas so she'd look cute in Christmas morning photos.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi Samanthe - Oh wow, I remember those days. The kids would wake us up WAY early. Treasure those moments. Happy Holidays, Sam!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hi Kathy...Oh I love your holiday tradition of letting your daughter open her gift of PJ's early! How fun, nothing like a new set to keep her cozy and warm. Happy Holidays!!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I love your trees, and the family picture is wonderful. Little ones make the holidays so special.

    Stockings are a huge part of our family tradition. My mom made them and when she passed away I took over the job as each new family member arrived. I even made them for my in-laws. We line them up on the couch on Christmas Eve because they're stuffed so full they'd never be able to hang. Any overflow from the stocking gets heaped around it on the couch. LOL

    Marcy
    bmndshuler(at)hotmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  19. Charlene, what a gorgeous family photo!

    Given I live in Australia (actually, Queensland, which is a northern state), our traditions often centre around staying cool. There will be swims in the pool (the beach is too crowded on Christmas day), lots of iceblocks and cool food.

    But there will also be brightly wrapped presents, and Christmas carols playing and lots of family cheer. :)

    ReplyDelete
  20. The babies are so, so cute! Too many traditions to count. Our family definitely loves 'em too.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hi Marcy- Thanks for sharing your family traditons!! Oh wow, I have a great image of those overstuffed stockings!!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hi Maria.. Thanks, I think the babies are cuties too! Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas. See you in the New Year!!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hi Rachel...Oh, a warm Christmas for you! I love learning about holiday traditons from around the world. Thanks for sharing..hope you do stay cool We live in mild California, as you know, but it does get cold here, and we've been having rain. No white Christmas for us, unless we travel north to the mountains! Merry Christmas!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Thank you for being my extra special guest, Charlene. Much love to you at Christmas and always. I'm so happy for you and those darling little grandbabies. I know how excited you were for their arrivals.

    xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  25. Thanks so much Cher! It's always fun to be a part of your Christmas Tree tour!! Yay!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Gorgeous family picture, Charlene! Those granddaughters of yours are darling! Happy Holidays!

    ReplyDelete