Great Christmas Tree Tour: Lori DiAnni

Thank you, Cheryl, for inviting me to be a part of this tradition.  Although I’m not published, I enjoy reading and have found many authors I never knew before through Cheryl’s website and I thank her for that as well.

For years, my husband and I would take our two daughters out to choose a tree and cut it down until a few years ago when my husband’s knee gave out and he couldn’t trek through the tree farm to cut down the perfect tree.  So we purchased an artificial one which I love.  


Our tree is a hodge-podge of many ornaments, some handmade, some purchased and others given to us.  Each and every one of them holds sentimental value.  The oldest ornament is this Santa, which I made when I was 12 years old.  It’s made from a hollowed out egg, with a cotton ball beard, hand painted face and a knitted red piece from my baby brother’s hat.  It’s the part that goes under the chin and buttoned to the other side.  

Another very special ornament is the first ornament my husband and I bought as a newly married couple.  It’s very simple and was purchased at the mall which simple says  Our First Christmas 1984.  Next to that hangs my husband’s #8 fishing hook.  He loves fishing and it’s another tradition that he hangs the first ornament—his hook.


My tree has ornaments telling a story of my life and hobbies.  How much I love photography, hence the camera, and how much I love scrapbooking and paper crafting—note the butterfly and the vintage star.  There are other paper ornaments all over the tree made by friends.  I also LOVE Dunkin Donuts coffee so I had to hang a DD coffee cup as well.  


I have one other tree that I set out on my very small dining room table.  I affectionately call it my “Gingerbread Tree”, although it holds an assortment of faux candies and other goodies.  I just recently bought the Santa Baker to stand guard by the tree.  I certainly don’t need any elves stealing the goodies on the tree!  

I hope you enjoyed my tree.  Wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  May it be Blessed with good fortune.  

Lori DiAnni is a voracious reader of several genres, but her first love is historical romance.  She read her first romance at the age of 13 when her cousin gave her a stack of Victoria Holt books.  She was hooked.  Lori has been writing since she was nine, and her first story was about a fairy named “Zeee."  She’s currently re-writing a time-travel that was requested by an agent and is working on two more stories of love on the Oregon Trail.  She continues to write, has attended many writer’s conferences, but is not yet published.  The dream still burns though, and she’s inspired by so many authors.

Lori lives in southern Maine with her husband of 31 years, her daughter Jaclyn, their grandson/adopted son Zachary and a  pet hamster named Brownie.  When she’s not writing in her spare time, she works full-time in a group home assisting women with various disabilities, and she babysits her grandson, Cameron—the new love in her life.  

The Christmas Angel Tree with Tina Radcliffe & a Drawing

Since I moved to Arizona in 2013, I no longer put up a Christmas tree. No, I’m not a Grinch. It just somehow seems counterintuitive to cut a perfectly good tree to decorate when it’s seventy-degrees outside and nary a snowflake in sight. My children are all over the United States and Christmas is any day that we are together, and that is never Christmas day.


Instead, I’d like to share some very special trees that have meaning for me. Like you I have always been very familiar with the Angel Tree. This year, I discovered that I really don’t know as much as I should. 


Above is the Salvation Army Angel tree display at the Arrowhead Towne Center (Mall) in Glendale, Arizona. These pictures were taken by me early in the am, to avoid shoppers. 
  

"Angel Trees are decorated with numbered paper angel tags with the first name, age and gender of a child in need of presents. Contributors remove one or more tags from the tree and purchase appropriate gifts for the child or children described on the tags."
                                                                       - Salvation Army


What a wonderful way to put the meaning of Christmas back into the holiday. For those of you who are not familiar with the Salvation Army, this Christian organization reached out to assist THIRTY million people last year! Next time you see a Red Kettle volunteer, do say thank you, and maybe consider buying them a cup of hot cocoa to keep them warm outside in the cold as you enter that nice warm store to shop.

The above tree is Angel Tree Prison Fellowship that reaches out to children whose parents are in prison. Not only do they deliver presents but they deliver the Gospel.  This ministry has been around for thirty years and was started by a prisoner.

“Christmas is coming soon, and Angel Tree's goal is to reach children of prisoners who hope for a Christmas filled with joy. They yearn for their absent parent's love, and more than that, they need to know that Jesus Christ can fill the void in their hearts and is able to bring healing and restoration to their families destroyed by crime.”-Angel Tree Prison Fellowship.

Merry Christmas, where ever in the world you are. If you’re in the Glendale, Arizona area let me know and while I don’t have a Christmas tree to show off, I do have plenty of tangerines to share.  

Lest you think I am a total Grinch, I do have three copies of my January release from Love Inspired, Rocky Mountain Reunion to giveaway this holiday season. U.S. and Canada only as the ebook is has not yet been released!

ORDER SAFE IN THE FIREMAN'S ARMS

A Second Chance at Forever 

Nurse Anne Matson's structured life derails when a familiar patient enters her ER—the ex-husband she left ten years ago. Matthew Clark is the last person she expects to see in Paradise, Colorado, especially with a nine-year-old daughter. The single dad is running the town's biggest expansion project, but one thing stands in his way—Anne's Victorian home. When his daughter falls ill, and Anne volunteers to help with her care, Matt recognizes he's never stopped loving the spirited beauty. But how can he get her back when he plans to take all she has left…or can Anne see she has everything to gain—the family she's been denied?

Tina Radcliffe has been dreaming and scribbling for years. Originally from Western, N.Y., she left home for a tour of duty with the Army Security Agency stationed in Augsburg, Germany and ended up in Tulsa Oklahoma. While living in Tulsa she spent ten years as a Certified Oncology R.N. She is a former library cataloger who is happy to be back in libraries. 


A two-time RWA Golden Heart finalist and a 2014 ACFW Carol Award winner, Tina has won first place in over twenty RWA affiliated chapter contests. Tina currently resides in Arizona where she writes heartwarming romance. You can find her at www.tinaradcliffe.com

Great Christmas Tree Tour: Jennifer Slattery

I can’t help but wonder if our neighbors think we have the ba-humbugs. From the outside, it may look that way. A quick glance at our home’s interior might not squelch this idea. But our sparse decorations say nothing about our Christmas spirit. They may, however, say something about our priorities, and this year, elegantly hung lights aren’t high on our list. 


They weren’t high on our list last year, either. At least, they weren’t high on mine, though they did create quite a stir in our home.

It was a Sunday, probably late November, maybe early December. The weather was nasty, a combination between rain and ice. I was enjoying a relaxing morning, and, with my Pandora playing, was just about to jump in the shower to get ready for church when I heard a strange scraping and banging above my head. 

So I stood there, in the center of my bathroom, listening. I couldn’t figure out what in the world was causing that noise, so I called out to my husband. 

No answer. 

I called out to him again. Still no answer. So, donning a large sweatshirt and pants, I set out to find him.

I did, on top of our wet, icy, slick roof, loaded down with a coiled electric cord and mess of tangle lights. 

My heart quite literally stopped, then accelerated. I went berserk, yelling at him to come down but equally terrified at the thought of him stepping back onto the icy, wet, slippery, metal ladder. 

So this year he and my daughter are making a stand-up Grinch out of wood, and that’s where our lights will be—in Mr. Grinch’s hand. Because I’ve come to realize there are some things I value more than a beautifully lit house, and that’s a wonderfully whole husband!

As to our tree, that’s another story, equally long. But suffice it to say, we’re happy with our cute little four footer. On it, we’ve hung the hand-sewn ornament my mother-in-law gave us for our first Christmas, along with the matching ornament she made for our daughter the year she was born. We’ve also hung a glass ornament painted with multi-colored polka dots by our princess, who’s since launched from the nest. 







Beneath the tree, I have a beautiful silver ball given to me by a dear friend who valiantly fought brain cancer and is now dancing with the angels. She gave it to me her last Christmas here, and tucked inside is a note. The most significant sentence: I’ll be waiting for you. 

Praise God the best is yet to come, and isn’t that the true meaning of Christmas?

I could probably tell you of every ornament hanging on our tree—when we received it and who gave it. That’s the beauty of having a small tree; there’s only room to hang the treasures. There’s probably a life analogy in that statement. ;)   

What about you? What special Christmas decorations do you hang every year and what makes them so significant? Share your treasures and the stories behind them with us in the comments below. 

Jennifer Slattery writes soul-stirring fiction for New Hope Publishers, a publishing house passionate about bringing God’s healing grace and truth to the hopeless. She also writes for Crosswalk.com, Internet Café Devotions, and the group blog, Faith-filled Friends. When not writing, Jennifer loves going on mall dates with her adult daughter and coffee dates with her hilariously fun husband.

Visit with Jennifer online at JenniferSlatteryLivesOutLoud.com and connect with her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/JenSlatte

Intertwined


Abandoned by her husband for another woman, Tammy Kuhn, an organ procurement coordinator often finds herself in tense and bitter moments. After an altercation with a doctor, she is fighting to keep her job and her sanity when one late night she encounters her old flame Nick. She walks right into his moment of facing an unthinkable tragedy.

Because they both have learned to find eternal purposes in every event and encounter, it doesn’t take long to discover that their lives are intertwined but the ICU is no place for romance….or is it? Could this be where life begins again?

ORDER INTERTWINED

Ann Lethbridge: It Happened One Christmas

I love Christmas. And I love Christmas lights for the tree. Over the years I have bought many many sets of lights for our tree. I especially can’t resist if they are unusual.

One year I bought lights imported from Italy that looked like miniature crystal chandeliers. They were a little iffy, not CSA (safety designation) approved, but they were sooo pretty. They didn’t last long, sadly, they were so delicate and the foil paper around the bulbs made everyone very nervous.

Last year I couldn’t believe my eyes when I spotted a box on a high shelf in the Christmas ornament booth at the Christmas market in downtown Toronto. Bubbling Christmas lights. 
Here they are in all their bubble-licious glory before the tree is dressed.  We will be decorating it fully when all the family is here over coming weekend.

When I was small, I fell in love with these lights on our neighbor’s tree, but they were far too expensive for our family at the time, so I would go next door and sit and watch them bubble. Now finally I had the chance to have a set of the lights I longed for as a child. They are called “retro” being very 50’s and 60’s. Christmas brings out the child in all of us, doesn’t it? Are there things you wanted as a child that you bought as an adult?

Another family tradition we cling to are Christmas Crackers, little foil colored tubes with a snap, motto, paper crowns of assorted colors, and trinket inside.  We sit around the table with crossed arms, holding one between each person and all pull at the same time.  Little bangs go off all around the table along with great hilarity. Needless to say, there is a lot of trinket trading. Everyone is required to wear their paper crown for the rest of the meal. This year my crackers have the theme of the twelve days of Christmas. Here they are in the drum all ready to go.

Do you too have Christmas or Holiday traditions you cling to despite the digital age?

I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year!

Award winning author Ann Lethbridge has always loved stories set in the Regency and loves that she can now write her own to entertain others.

This year I have a story in the Christmas Anthology, It Happened One Christmas.

THREE HEARTWARMING REGENCY TALES OF CHRISTMASES GONE BY!  

CHRISTMAS EVE PROPOSAL by Carla Kelly
Christmas gets more interesting when sailing master Ben Muir takes lodgings with Mandy Mathison! Because when her scandalous past is revealed, only he can save her future…

THE VISCOUNT'S CHRISTMAS KISS by Georgie Lee
Lily Rutherford is shocked to learn the man who snubbed her years before will be staying for Christmas. Can she forgive the viscount in time for a stolen kiss under the mistletoe?

WALLFLOWER, WIDOW…WIFE! by Ann Lethbridge
Penniless widow Cassandra Norton faces Christmas on the run with her two stepdaughters, until Adam Royston sweeps her off her feet and into his country estate!

ORDER IT HAPPENED ONE CHRISTMAS

SEEKERVILLE Drawing Winners Announced!

Seekerville always brings a party to the blog, don't they? Thank you!

Winner's for Seekerville's drawing:

Deanna Dick
CJ Lorenz
Connie
Debbie Clatterbuck


Ruthy will take good care of you!
Please contact Ruth Logan Herne directly at: loganherne@gmail.com

Michelle Styles Shares Her Tree on The Great Christmas Tree Tour 2015

This year’s Christmas tree is a Nordmann fir. My daughter and I picked it out with a little assistance from one of the workers. Apparently we were very easy to please. ( a short fat tree was required rather than a tall narrow one). That morning she had had one couple nearly come to blows over the tree and she is certain that several more couples from that morning will be divorcing soon. Another friend is dreading when her husband comes home from a business trip as the tree she bought is far taller than she had considered. She can’t even lift it.  What is it about choosing a  tree that causes such anxiety?

I love having a Christmas tree but  I never go with an exact tree in mind. I also don’t tend to go Christmas tree shopping with my husband. Sometimes he gets a tree, sometimes I do. However, I am the one in charge of decorating the tree. I love the decorating part as all the old ornaments come out and I am able to remember past Christmases and think about when various ornaments were acquired. For example the mice are from my first married Christmas, the little snow queen was given to me in high school by a friend whose sisters was dancing in the Nutcracker at the SF Ballet as snowflake, and my sister gave me the US angel ornament after 9/11. 

This year’s big change are the strings of chilli pepper lights. Many years ago a neighbour had a fire due to faulty Christmas tree lights, so we change the lights every 3 years. My daughter wanted tasteful Victorian lanterns but when I saw the chilli peppers, I knew we had to have those. My husband agreed. The kachina dolls which belonged to my father also have their sled and skis at the ready – so there is a distinct South Western US flavour to this little corner of Northumberland. I got the sled and skis a few years ago intending to put them on the tree but they were the right size for the kachina dolls and so they now go there. 

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

"We have the summer, Alwynn. It will have to be enough." 

Washed up alone on the Northumbrian shore, Valdar Nerison is a stranger in a foreign land. He has unfinished business in Raumerike, but first, he owes his rescuer, the beautiful Lady Alwynn, a life debt. 

Alwynn is wary of Valdar's promise to protect her—after all, she has known only betrayal at the hands of men. But as summer's end approaches, Valdar must choose whether to return home and fight for his honor or to stay and fight for Alwynn's heart… 


"Maintains the myth while adding sexual tension, nonstop action and spice" —RT Book Reviews on The Viking's Captive Princess

ORDER SUMMER OF THE VIKING

Harper St.George Joins the Great Christmas Tree Tour!

Hi all! I’d like to thank Cheryl for having me on her wonderful blog. I’ve been enjoying looking at all the Christmas trees other people have put up this year. In our house we usually try to get our tree up the weekend after Thanksgiving between football games. This year we fell a weekend behind because someone (okay, me!) had a big deadline.

Like many of you, we always like to add a few ornaments to represent things that have happened in our family over the past year. It’s a great way to reminisce over years past as we decorate the tree. I thought I’d share with you, first our completed tree, and a few of the ornaments we added this year. 


The zebra striped ornament: My six-year-old daughter picked this out on our trip to Busch Gardens. I’d like to say it’s because she loves zebras, which she does, but it’s mainly because, at six, she’s already a fashionista (I have no idea where she gets it-my clothes barely match on any given day) and loves anything zebra print. She even bought herself a zebra print dress! Needless to say, we will always remember this year as the year of the zebra print.

The peacock: We moved to our current home in Florida earlier this year and wanted to pick out an ornament that would represent that. We looked and looked and had a lot of trouble getting our opinionated six-year-old and three-year-old to agree on anything. The one ornament they agreed on? The peacock. How does it represent Florida you ask? Its feathers remind them of the color of the water. You don’t ask many questions once you get your kids to agree, so now we have our Florida ornament—the peacock.

The Starbucks cup: When we moved I was forced to leave my beloved writing group behind. We met every Saturday morning at Starbucks no matter the weather. I miss them terribly. I picked up this Starbucks ornament and sent them each one as well, so we all share the memento. 


Well, that’s all of our ornaments for the year. I wish you all a very merry Christmas and prosperous new year. Please share some of your own special ornaments in the comments below. 

One Night With the Viking

"You don't understand what you do to me." 

His whole life, Gunnar has felt unworthy of love. Then one unforgettable night, his childhood sweetheart Kadlin offers herself to him. Knowing he will never truly deserve her, he leaves the next morning… The memories will have to last a lifetime.

 

Kadlin was devastated when Gunnar left. Now, two years later, he returns, wounded from his battles across the sea. And Kadlin must decide whether to trust him again, and tell him about the true consequence of their one night together!

ORDER ONE NIGHT WITH THE VIKING

Harper St. George was raised in the rural backwoods of Alabama and along the tranquil coast of northwest Florida. It was a setting filled with stories of the old days that instilled in her a love of history, romance, and adventure. By high school, she had discovered the historical romance novel which combined all of those elements into one perfect package. She has been hooked ever since. 

She lives in Atlanta, GA with her family. Look for her contemporary short story in the upcoming inaugural Romance Writers of America anthology. She would love to hear from you. Please visit her website at www.harperstgeorge.com.

Great Christmas Tree Tour: Cindy Best

We downsized our home years ago, but I still love Christmas decorating. Here is my small tree with many "bear ornaments" (I collect bears of all sorts). And of course there are sparkling glass ornaments as well. They reflect the twinkling lights so well and make me happy!

Great Christmas Tree Tour: Tanya Hanson

Thanks and big holiday hugs and smooches to Cher for letting me spend the day here!

I think I’m like most of you...my Christmas tree is such a huge part of life I think about it all year long. And, uh, I admit to moving decorations around to more optimal positions even after Christmas.

This year, I got nailed with a super-bad cold right after Thanksgiving. (It was not flu, it was not. I got the shot!). Prime decorating time once I’d cleaned up after a weekend-sleepover of kids and grandangels. But this year, being a little off my feet,  the feat took more than two days. In between fits of sneezing, coughing, nose-blowing,  shopping online, and sleeping. I like to take my time. I treasure the tree, because I get to relive the story of my life.

As newlyweds a zillion years ago (actually 1974), Hubs and I selected red gingham as our Christmas theme. This pretty little bird is one decoration that never flew the coop.

A few years later, our son’s first birthday featured  a firefighter theme in honor of his daddy. This little house remains of the little tableau upon the birthday cake that, then, had a real toy fire truck and frosting firemen fighting frosting flames.

That little guy when he was three made this bread-dough candy cane in preschool. Anybody else have still-extant dough ornaments?

These eons later, we now have two darling grandsons, thanks one each to our son and daughter. Each year, Hubs gets a photo ornament of him with the little guys.

Yep, we’re homebodies a lot of the time, but we do like to get around. London happens to be one of my favorite places on earth. In fact, I promised the nine-year old a trip there when he’s eleven. Hmmmm.

And Hawaii happens to be my favorite place on earth!  Of course, having our besties (Hubs’ sis and her husband ) move there for work two years ago gets us there a few times each year.

Truth is, it was on a visit to their home that I got the idea for The Christmas Room, my last year’s contribution to The Twelve Brides of Christmas series  ((I was Four Calling Birds) which is now part of a three-novella book, available both print and e-book.

You just might like my tale of Rooney Lind, an American cowboy from Lake Tahoe sailing the seas to 1891 Oahu to fulfill his cousin’s deathbed request to find a missing woman. And Martita Akala, who just may be what Ronney’s been looking for his whole life long...

Wishing you and yours  Mele Kalikimaka.
~Tanya
www.tanyahanson.com

Order from amazon:

The Christmas Room

The Brides of Christmas Volume 2

Great Christmas Tree Tour: MK Meredith and a DRAWING!

Hello and Merry Christmas!

Thank you Cheryl for allowing me to be part of your Christmas tree hop!
Cheryl has been a dear friend and an amazing mentor to me for years now. I'm blessed to have such a friend.

This time of year can be both beautiful and lonely. My wish is for it to be beautiful for all of you. I consider myself to be very fortunate with two beautiful kiddos and my husband to celebrate with. We put our Christmas tree up the weekend after Thanksgiving every year while drinking egg nog and listening to Christmas music. 
I love making memories with my family.

It is a hodgepodge of home made and bought ornaments from my childhood, my husbands, friends, and the kids. Some day I'll sort them all out and start the kid's own collections. Then maybe I'll have a fancy blue and silver tree or maybe red and gold, or maybe themed with Santa Clause or Snowmen. So many choices! But for now seeing so many memories adorning the tree makes my eyes and heart very happy.

We lost our star a couple years back, and the house we are renting right now doesn't allow for the space to place one up there, so when we move next year, we'll be searching for ceilings so I can have my tree topper! I can't wait. I hope to find the perfect one. If you have any suggestions, let me know in the comments below!

I'm very excited about an early Christmas present.
I have a brand new book releasing on December 14th and as timing sometimes works out the HEA happens on Christmas eve. I just love that! 

If you love emotion-packed and steamy romances...

Malibu Secrets

Addi Decker is on the verge of losing the Malibu home she inherited from her great-aunt, and she’s completely failing to prove to her family she can make it as a writer. If she doesn’t want to give up her dream and go back to the soul-sucking job she just left, Addi has to swallow her dislike of Hollywood and rent the house out to the sexy-as-hell film producer. Oh, and hide that she’s living in the attic. Addi is far more tempting than Roque Gallagher would like, because he’s never been able to handle work and a relationship. And he has a feeling there’s something she’s hiding…

Order from Amazon

I'm giving away a digital copy of Malibu Secrets!

There are many ways to increase your chances of winning. 

I love to connect, so I hope to talk to you soon!

I wish you all a blessed and Merry Christmas!

Hugs, loves, and peanut butter!

MK Meredith

CLICK HERE TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY: Giveaway | Rafflecopter :)

MK Meredith writes single title contemporary romance promising an emotional ride on heated sheets. She believes the best route to success is to never stop learning.

Her lifelong love affair with peanut butter continues. Only two things come close in the battle for her affections: gorgeous heels and maybe Gerard Butler…or was it David Gandy? Who is she kidding? Her true loves are her husband and two children who have survived her SEA's (spontaneous explosions of affection) and live to tell the tale. The Meredith's live in the D.C. area with their two large fur babies...until the next adventure calls.