The Days of Christmas Book Giveaways Continue for a few more days! Have you left a comment for each day for your chance to win? I’ll be announcing winners for each of the days on December 19, so be sure to leave a comment. Remember, anyone can enter, but if you are a confirmed subscriber, you receive two entries! Today, tell us about your favorite Christmas tree for a chance to win the books below!
Today I have two more special guests: my friends Lyn Cote and Wendy Young. I’ve been blessed to be a guest on Lyn’s blog in the past. She will be giving away an ebook copy of her book La Belle Christiane. Wendy Young is offering an ebook copy of her mystery-suspense book Come the Shadows. While I haven’t yet read either book, they both look fantastic!
Below is the blurb for La Belle Christiane:
Can the beautiful daughter of a French courtesan find a love that will last a lifetime?
In the 1770’s, after her mother’s violent murder, Christiane Pelletier flees France. Daughter of a French courtesan to frontier wife to companion of Lady Washington, Christiane moves into the heart of the American rebel elite. But one man in her life can never be forgotten. Once he was her friend. Now he is her enemy. Will he become her destiny? Only God knows.
La Belle Christiane is available where books are sold and at http://www.amazon.com/Belle-Christiane-Patriots-Seekers-ebook/dp/B005Y0S0XK/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323278157&sr=1-1
And the blurb for Come the Shadows:
Officer Will Harmon lives a comfortable life in Campbell Creek, North Carolina, where there hasn’t been a murder in seventeen years. When bones are discovered in the old bread factory his life is disrupted but the body only the beginning. Challenges, threats, and surprising mysteries are coming and he will do whatever it takes to protect the life he loves…
Come the Shadows is available at http://www.amazon.com/Come-Shadows-Wendy-L-Young/dp/1463774494/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323277398&sr=1-1 The sequel Red Sky Warning was released on November 29th and is also available now, in paperback and everywhere eBooks are sold.
And now some favorite Christmas memories by Lyn and Wendy-
Christmas Memory by Lyn Cote
The two most special Christmases were #1, my son’s first Christmas when he was only 9 days old. My husband’s grandmother was in her 90’s. And during the gift-opening with his family, she held our little baby as if he were the most precious thing on earth. She called him her “little angel.”
Three years later special Christmas #2 came. I had another December baby, our daughter. I had not thought I would like having babies in the Christmas season. (And now I REALLY knew what it felt like to be like Mary-“great with child.) 🙂 However, night-time feedings were especially lovely when I lit the tree and played Christmas music softly. Two very special times in my life.”
Lyn loves to hear from her readers at
For the latest Christian Fiction Market Update
http://www.booksbylyncote.com/publishers.html
Christmas Memory by Wendy Young
The month between Thanksgiving and Christmas is my favorite time of year. With a huge, extended family it’s busy and full of laughter and baked goods (can never forget the baked goods). I have so many memories from this time each year but the one I most like to share is our yearly trek to get our Christmas tree.
I grew up in a split family, with divorced parents. While I was ‘at home’ with both only one house has remained constant throughout my life and that’s the log cabin my dad built and continues to live in to this day. It’s in the middle of open fields and bordered by thick woods on two sides.
Every year , we set aside a day to get our Christmas tree. This wasn’t a trip to a lot, or a store. This was – get the saw, get your gloves, and get moving. We would fan out into the woods and mark good trees we came across. We’d yell back and forth and spend hours traipsing around picking the best one. One year, there was snow on the ground and we had a snowball fight in the midst of our task. We were cold, and often tired, but it was always fun.
I loved being able to say we went out, found, and cut down our tree. Eventually the tradition passed, however. The log cabin in the middle of the fields still has a ‘real’ Christmas tree though it’s no longer cut down as a family. All of us have grown up and moved to our own homes but the memories live on and on the odd year I have returned and helped decorate the tree with the same ornaments that have been hung year after year.
Sometimes we love the changes that come with new Christmases and sometimes we don’t. Each year is unique but the same spirit lives on. The fun is in making new memories while continuing to cherish the old.
Wendy loves to connect with her readers at
http://wendylyoung.wordpress.com
http://www.facebook.com/wendylyoungwriter
http://www.twitter.com/wendyyoung
Penny Zeller 
My favorite Christmas tree is when the kids were little and they would make homemade ornaments and we would string popcorn and make chains out of colored paper. It really was a fantastic tree!! I still have the paper chains a little mashed but they are still with me.
Julie – I love your comment! We have made those little paper chains out of colored paper too and when I was a little girl, my mom helped us to string popcorn. It took forever, but the end result was beautiful!
My favorite Christmas tree was in 1982 just after my son had been born. Adding the “Baby’s first Christmas” ornaments, gave the tree a fullness I had never experienced. I knew from then on, Christmas would have an extra special meaning and for me, the gift of seeing this magical time of the year through the eyes of my child.
It is nice to see you here, Brenda! What an exciting time to celebrate that “Baby’s First Christmas.” Those ornaments are among the first my girls dig out of the decoration bin to hang on our tree. I agree, this is such a special time to spend with our children.
My favorite Christmas Tree was when I was about 13 years old. We didn’t have very much money while I was growing up. I remember we had to wait until Dad’s last paycheck just before Christmas to see if, after paying all the bills, there would be any left over money for a tree. Joy, joy, joy, there was. Unfortunately the cut trees had all been picked over and we brought home this lopsided, bare branched tree. I mean even once decorated it looked pathetic. You know, that was our best tree ever!
Lopsided “Charlie Brown” trees sometimes make the best memories! I loved your comment, Judy!
My favorite Christmas tree has been this year. It was decorated by all 4 of my children. They put up hand made ornaments, ornaments that have been given to us, as well as bought ornaments. I loved seeing the joy in all my childrens’ faces as they decorated together. 🙂
What a fun time, Joy! I know your children will treasure that memory too for years to come. I love how each ornament has a special meaning and brings back treasured memories.
We always had one of those cheap plastic trees, but we loved decorating it with the ornaments we had.
LOL, Missy! I know exactly what type of plastic trees you’re speaking of 🙂 Thank you for stopping by. It’s always nice to see you!
My favorite Christmas tree is the first one my husband & I got as a new family. It’s white and beautiful. We bought purple & silver decorations and as our daughter gets older we slowly add to our handmade decoration collection. The only change I’d make is I wish it were a prelit tree.
My favorite tree is the one that kept falling over because our new cat wanted to climb it all the time. It got to be comical after awhile!
Oh, Cindy! My very first cat did that. My mother finally stuck a cup hook in the wall and tied the tree to it!
My favorite Christmas tree is the one we did when boys were small and several special items on the tree, a neighbor had given my first son when he was a baby a small Santa and we put it on tree every year in his growing up years.
Thanks for sharing your books, I love to read books by Penny Zeller.
Merry Christmas!
Paula O
When I was growing up I lived with my grandparents. They had a silver tree!!! While that tree will always have a special place in my memory, my favorite tree is the one we have now. One Thanksgiving day, on my birthday, I ventured out to Garden Ridge by myself and found a wonderful full 7′ tree on sale. That was about 10 years ago and it is still in great shape and so beautiful. I have a beautiful angel on the top and lots of different types of angels on the tree with other special ornaments. Each ones is from a Bible study gift exchange or one of the kids baby’s first Christmas, or maybe a special ornament I found one year. I try to add an ornament a year if I find one I just love.
When our two sons were very young, we always put a small
Christmas tree in their bedroom. It would be placed between their
two beds. They would do all the decorating of their tree with
handmade ornaments and ornaments given to them by us and
their grandparents! One year, they want a lit tree topper, so their
maternal grandparents got them a lovely star for the top of
their tree!
Thanks, Cindi
Thank you so much Lyn and Wendy for being my guests today! It’s an honor to have you here. Your books look fantastic and I can’t wait to see who wins! Have a Merry Christmas!
BTW, if you’re in the mood, would you drop by my website-blog and give your opinion on possible covers for a book I’m bringing out again? http://bit.ly/gRCEBN
my favourite christmas tree was from my first apartment…tall and skinny w/ home made cross stitched ornaments…special because it was it was ‘mine’
My favorite Christmas tree was the one we got when I was 10. My Mom always tried to do her best with me, my sister and two brothers and as a single parent,it wasn’t an easy job by any stretch. That year, we had moved into a small apartment and didn’t have many extras. Heat and a full fridge were a luxury, but she never told us we were poor. She was a member of a local CB club, which adopted us as a family in need. They brought us a tree small enough to fit on our tv, but it looked beauiful to us. We had decorations from years before and made some new ones. We sat huddled together and talked about the lights and how thankful we were. The club also gave us a few gifts and I still have the jewelry box from that year as a reminder of how a small act of kindness can mean so much.
The year our oldest daughter was born was my favorite tree. We had a pretty tiny place, and so the tree was one of those that’s like 3 or 4 foot. We had to put it on a table to even see it. My daughter had been born in July 3 months early, so by December when she was six months but looking like 3, we had a true miracle baby. That year, we put one decoration on our tree, a tiny angel sitting on a cloud. I still have that angel and she always gets a very special place on our tree every year.
My first favorite tree was the live rooted tree my husband and I picked out at a tree farm our first Christmas together to replant. Sadly our poor soil was not right for it to survive.
Merry CHRISTmas,
Charlotte
charlovesmark at gmail dot com
My son was born on Dec 1st so his first Christmas was very special for our family. He would look toward the tree and look like he was watching the lights flicker on and off.
Actually one of my favorite trees was when I was still in school. We had picked out this beautiful big, full tree. Dad brought it in and put it in the “bucket of sand” we used as a stand….and it wouldn’t stay up…it had to be tied to hooks on the wall! But it was a beautiful tree!
I love all these Favorite Christmas Tree memories. So many special moments 🙂
My favorite Christmas tree is an eclectic tree that shows many years of ornaments.
Thanks for the chance to win this.
agent_beckster(at)yahoo(dot)com
Every year we go cut a real Christmas tree down in the mountains. And each year, they seem to get prettier and prettier! We string popcorn and cranberries to put on it, along with lights, ornaments, and tinsel. Merry Christmas!
My favorite Christmas tree was the one the we went to the country cut it down..brought it home and decorated it with lights, homemade decorations such as colored constuction paper chains which were multi-colored, and a angel on top..we were so proud of that tree..it started to get dry too quick…even though we watered it every day…such wonderful memories…well always cherish those times…..babyruthmac16@yahoo.com
My fave Christmas tree is the one I have this year. We’ve gone through some really, really tough times (I’ve moved 57times in my 58 yrs. being a PK and then marrying a pastor), so when I was working we lived in a nice big house and I bought a 9 1/2 ft. lighted tree. Got to use it twice, but then we moved and I gave it away. So, it’s this year and I don’t have a tree. A lady in my church said she had a white naked Christmas tree I could borrow. Having no idea what she mean, we picked it up, put it up and decorated it and I love it. My decorations really show up on the tree. God is so good in providing our needs.
These books look very intriguing by their jackets, and hopefully, I’ll be a winner! Thanks, Penny for the opportunity to win free books and for introducing us to these. http://coffee24tea.blogspot.com teelayoung at hotmail dot com
My favorite Christmas tree was a ceramic, green tree, about 2-1/2 feet tall that my mother made in her senior citizens’ ceramic class. It had tiny lights all over it and when you turned on the switch one tall light bulb came on inside the tree and its light shone through all the colorful tiny light bulbs. Mother always wrote her name and date on the bottom of what she made. I have since passed it on to my grown son. We all still think it’s a great conversation piece and a wonderful Christmas tree.
I don’t have a favorite Christmas tree. I just really enjoyed the smell of the live trees.
My favorite tree is this years with all the kids helping decorate.
My favorite tree was a tree my dad found in the woods one summer, just the limbs of a tree. He nailed a piece of wood to the bottom and I had my Charlie Brown tree. The ornaments I put on it was all of the one my son had made in school and at church.
That year started many years of me having a Charlie Brown tree, sometimes just a tree with limbs and no leaves, sometimes a pine tree that really looked charlie brown that my dad would get.
My brothers always teased me about daddy looking for my Christmas tree in the summer, because he cut firewood and sold it, so he was in the woods a lot. I will always cherish those memories of going with him to get that tree every year for all of those years because he is no longer with us.
Even his last Christmas he was very sick, he had cancer, but he still had to take me driving around in the woods to find my tree. I think that last year was the most special Christmas I’ve ever had.
Opps….I forgot to sign it…..
Blessings
ibjoy1953{at]yahoo[dot]com
Great books! Look very interesting! Thanks for a wonderful Christmas Giveaway!
MomBlogger
lovez2read(at)comcast(dot)net
My Grandmother always would buy the “Charlie Brown” type of Christmas trees that no one else would want to buy.
My favorite Christmas tree was a little pine tree my boys found out in our field and cut down themselves. It wasn’t the prettiest tree we ever had but it meant a lot to them because they found it themselves. margie at mijares dot net