Hey there, Reader, After that Christmas Home Tour, Ethel Sue could not get those sweet little gingerbread houses out of her mind. The candy-striped ribbon, the tiny gingerbread people, the cozy little village on the kitchen counter… it all felt like someone had taken Christmas cheer, rolled it in cinnamon sugar, and set it right there for everybody to enjoy. Some might say she got a little carried away. I prefer to say she found a fun new way to share her sparkles of joy with the world! She...
5 days ago • 1 min read
Well, hey there, friend! Okay, okay… maybe I’m asking for myself. 😁🫶 Ethel Sue here. 👋 The Christmas Home Tour just happened, and let me tell you, the houses were just lovely. One had a gingerbread theme. You would’ve loved it! Little gingerbread people in the tree, candy-striped ribbon, and a whole gingerbread village across the kitchen counter. Another house had turquoise ornaments and gold sparkle. I told Glory I was only looking, but by then I was already planning. You see, we’re painting...
12 days ago • 1 min read
Hey there, Reader, Thelma stopped by the other afternoon after she’d finished delivering Meals on Wheels around town. I poured us each a cup of tea, and before long we got to talking about Pastor Mark’s message on the shepherds in Luke 2. “Isn’t it something,” Thelma said, “that of all the people God could’ve told about Jesus being born, He chose a bunch of shepherds?” “Reminds me of David,” I told her. Remember when Samuel came to Jesse’s house looking for the next king? Jesse brought out...
19 days ago • 1 min read
Hey there, Reader, I’m so excited to share that it’s time to snuggle up in your favorite Christmas throw and head back to Willow Creek. The Christmas Favor is here! This story was such a joy to write, and I can’t wait for you to meet Caleb and Vanessa. Vanessa Brooks makes beautiful spaces for a living. But three weeks before Christmas, during her busiest season, her best friend calls in a favor. Now she’s standing in Caleb Walker’s old farmhouse, figuring out how to get it ready for the...
24 days ago • 1 min read
Well hello again, Reader! Remember last week when I told you the Henderson house had to pull out of the Willow Creek Christmas Home Tour? And that Sarah had already found another house to take its place? Well… It’s my old farmhouse. The one I sold when I moved to Meadow Ridge last year. The one with the creaky floors, the crooked porch rail, and enough “character” that five of the windows refuse to open on a nice cool morning. 🙄 And apparently, they’ve brought in a big-time decorator from...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Well hello there, Reader, The Willow Creek Christmas Home Tour is just a few weeks away, and if you’ve never been, let me tell you… this is not one of those “walk past a house and admire a wreath” situations. No ma’am. Every year, Sarah and Kevin Shoreman of Shoreman Realty pull the whole thing together with the kind of grace that makes the rest of us suspect they’ve got a secret team of elves working out of the back office. Families all over town open their homes for the evening, decked to...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Hello, dear one. I've been thinking about closed doors, lately. Not the kind we choose to close ourselves. The ones we were quite certain were supposed to stay open, but then there they are… closed. Maybe a plan we thought would work out, a relationship we thought would look different, a or maybe a season we weren't ready to leave. I've had a few of those in my life, and if I'm being truthful, I haven't always handled them particularly well. 💁♀️ I've stood in front of a closed door asking God...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Hey there, Reader, So, what do you do while your spouse is trying to process a secret that was kept for 15 years? You go shopping for yarn and then maybe, begrudgingly, grab coffee with someone who might be a friend... if you were the friendly type. 😅 And if you're going to get coffee and stay a minute, you might as well grab a slice of Lisa's pumpkin bread to share. :) If you're reading book 7, When the Fences Come Down, you'll know that things between Jo and Donald have gotten a little...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Hey there, Reader, What would you do if you'd kept a secret from everyone you loved for nearly fifteen years? And then one morning… Ethel Sue figured it out. 😅 Last week, we left her sitting at the dining room table with her purple folder, two bowls of peach cobbler, and the person she believed was behind the Whispering Fence. And Ethel Sue had questions. Naturally, she'd made a list, two in fact, but in the end she was winging it mostly. 😂 Here's a little peek at some of what she wanted to...
2 months ago • 1 min read
Hey there, Reader After an entire season of mysteries, Ethel Sue may have finally solved the one that's been bothering her the longest. Who is behind the Whispering Fence? 👀 When Ethel Sue found her latest clue, she went straight for the purple folder in the hallway. 🧡The pumpkin seeds. 🤠The boot heel. 🧶News only shared at Knitting Nook and with the Garden Club... All those little moments she'd been collecting for months suddenly started lining up. And in twenty-three minutes, the person...
2 months ago • 1 min read