We have a small house, but I have 15 bins of Christmas decorations. I love nativity sets so I have about 20 that I place everywhere in our house. Occasionally I try to count them after all the decorations are done, but I always miss one or two – I might have 25. We cut our tree each year at a local tree farm. It is an event. Each year one of us gets the final say and we 'argue' all the way through and then talk about what a great choice my husband, our son, or I made. It takes two days to decorate and two to de-decorate. It's a big job and seems bigger now that we usually head to Florida for three months in early January . . . meaning we have all the packing to do as well as shut down the house. I really enjoy the lights of Christmas whether it's turning off all the house lights except the Christmas lights in order to soak in the ambiance or driving through town and enjoying the 'big' lights.
Christmas Eve is the 5PM service at church, then dinner followed by opening the stocking gifts . . . and maybe a Christmas movie. Christmas morning is my homemade almond Kringle, reading the Christmas story from the Bible and opening all the gifts under the tree. The dog has learned that gifts are good things and gets totally excited, so I must have a few for her. Merry Christmas all!!
judithducharme.com, @PackerJudy Facebook: Judy DuCharme
Judy DuCharme, Author of Christmas Ivy, Run With the Wind,
Blood Moon Redemption, Society of the L.A.M.B., The Cheesehead Devotional
Kickoff Edition, and The Cheesehead Devotional Hall of Fame Edition.
Christmas Ivy won First Place Short Story at the 2016
Florida Christian Writers Conference and was a Winner in the 2018
National Indie Excellence Awards.
Blurb:
How can one visit alleviate the trials of the
past few years? How can one quilt reveal truths never before realized?
It had to be a dream…
Her grandparents passed away a few years
earlier, but here in the family kitchen on the dawn of Christmas morning, they
greet her with the same love and sage advice she grew up with. Their presence
captivates reality and brings Ivy to complete confusion.
Could this strange visit truly be the provision
for which Ivy longed?
Excerpts
from Christmas Ivy
1. The
sizzle of bacon cooking brought Ivy to an upright position out of sound sleep.
The smoky flavor tantalized her nostrils as the fog in her mind slowly lifted.
Her hands flew to her face. It’s Christmas! The words rose within her, not with
joy, but with panic. How could she have slept so late!? Mama will have my head. I should be making breakfast. But wait. It’s
Christmas! Mama must have let me sleep.
A wonderful gift, to sleep past dawn. Ivy heard a gentle snoring and looked to
see the cat curled next to her legs.
2.
She did not have to inspect the bed to see if James was up. He was not. One leg
and one arm dangled off the side, almost touching the floor. His unruly hair
was unruly still and his head like a mop. Ivy giggled as she imagined turning
him upside down and cleaning the floor with his independently curly locks.
James kept life happy in the Rushton family. Mama called it incorrigible at
times. Still, Ivy knew Mama appreciated his light heartedness. Besides, he
worked so hard to help out now that Dad was gone so much. When all the tragedy
descended upon the family, James, just two years younger than she, determined
to keep the family on track. He led prayer at the table when everyone else just
sat in a daze. He even tried to get everyone to sing which usually ended in a
laughing fit, as singing voices were nowhere to be found in this family.
James never lost his faith. Only me, Lord.
I’m the one who is still a mess.
3.
“But it’s Christmas morning. Why is no one awake? Even the cat won’t get up.”
“This is your time, Ivy, your Christmas gift.”
Grandad’s voice was strong. It wrapped around her as strongly as his arms often
did.
Blurb:
Linney Merritt loves her life in the Florida scrub where she
assists her Pa in raising and taking cattle to market. The new cowman, Cyrus
John, appreciates the chance to start over. Marrying holds no interest for
either, but they can’t help but be drawn to each other. And then, just before
Christmas, they find themselves fighting together to save the life of a calf,
all while discovering the One who can remove fears and provide forgiveness.
Life changed for the world in a stable one Christmas. Could
it also begin for Linney and Cy in this stable?
Excerpts from Run With the Wind
1. Nellie
moaned, and Linney pulled. The emerging calf licked her face. “We better hurry,
Pa. He just done licked me. Don’t want him thinkin’ I’m his mama.”
“You’ll
make a good one someday.”
“That
ain’t happenin’. Why would anyone want to go through this?”
Pa
looked around Nellie’s bulk. His eyes found Linney’s. “For the likes of you,
girl. It’s worth it.”
2. Her
eyes shifted to the rider. He appeared to be a few years older’n her. She
caught her breath. What was that? His square shoulders and square jaw made him
much wider than most Crackers. But there was something else. It made her feel
jittery. She must have overeaten, or that new calf licked her too much. Her
stomach didn’t normally flop around like a snake hit by a cowman’s whip.
3. A
rock buried in a shrub derailed the wagon. The abrupt stop shrugged Linney from
her seat atop the wagon. The wind roared above her holler for help, and she
wondered if Cy even heard her. Landing on her arm, she cried out in pain.
Thunder rumbled too close while her completely sodden clothes held her like a
web. Her attempt to stand was met with a small gulley of water created by the
torrential nature of the storm. She slid backward down the hill, already a
slippery mass of mud, all the while futilely grasping at the shrubs and smaller
trees. Get up, Linney, you’re a survivor. You cannot lose control.
Judy's bio:
Judy is from Northern Door County, Wisconsin. She and her family
moved to Door County from the Detroit area in 1984. She taught fifth grade at
Gibraltar Elementary School for 22 years with an emphasis in science, retiring
in 2012. She's had six books published since her retirement. Her passion is to
write that others may be strong in the Lord. She also loves to hike, jet-ski,
watch the Packers, and love on her new grandson. She and her husband are active
in their church and community.
Judy's awards: Best New Writer 2013, Write to Publish Conference
for The Cheesehead Devotional Kickoff Edition; First Place Short Story
at 2016 Florida Christian Writers Conference, and 2018 National Indie
Excellence Award Winner for Christmas Ivy; one of 12 winners of the 2014
Guideposts Magazine Workshop Contest; Second Place Nonfiction in 2018 Serious
Writer Awards, Third Place Nonfiction 2018 Wright Medal Awards, and 2018
National Indie Excellence Awards Finalist for The Cheesehead Devotional Hall
of Fame Edition. Judy has also received two other awards for books not yet
published. Judy has also authored the novella Run With the Wind and the
novel Society of the L.A.M.B.
Judy's latest book, Blood Moon Redemption, is a gripping
page-turner published by Ambassador International. It has received great
reviews and won Honorable Mention in Mystery/Suspense at the 2018 Florida
Christian Writers Conference.
