Let's Bust a Recap : Father Christmas Trilogy

Today, we're doing three recaps in one because I just read this sweet Christmas trilogy by Robin Jones Gunn. (Although it doesn't have to stay a trilogy, I'm just sayin'.)

Finding Father Christmas, the first book in this little series, was published in 2007. In it, we meet Miranda who has decided to spend her Christmas trying to track down her biological father. The few meager clues she has about his identity from her mother's belongings lead her on a trip to the small town of Carlton Heath in England. In her search for her earthly father, Miranda meets her Heavenly Father and finally comes to terms with her past. 

Engaging Father Christmas was published the following year in 2008. In this one, we catch back up with Miranda as she navigates her life after learning the truth about her past and as she hopes and dreams for the future. Sidenote: Robin writes one of the most romantic Christmas proposal scenes I've ever read. *sigh*

Last year in 2016, these first two books got picked up by Hallmark for a made-for-TV Christmas movie. These are the first of Robin Jones Gunn's books to be adapted for the screen. When Finding Father Christmas (the movie) became the highest rated and most watched premier in the network's history, they obviously decided to do a sequel the following year with the same name of the book sequel. Engaging Father Christmas (the movie) then broke the record again for being the highest rated, most watched premier. I have not seen either of the Hallmark movies, but from what I understand, they differ from the books pretty significantly, the biggest changes probably being the setting (which was moved from England to Vermont) and the fact that Ian became a key character in the first movie whereas in the book, he was introduced briefly at the very end. 

I'm not sure if it was because of the movie deal or if the idea just didn't come until later, but Kissing Father Christmas was published last year in 2016 right before the first movie premiered on Hallmark. In Kissing Father Christmas, we meet Anna who has fallen in love with the small town and people of Carlton Heath after attending the wedding of her cousin Ian to his bride Miranda. 

These books were hardly on my radar until last year around the time the movie announcement was made. I knew that Robin Jones Gunn had written some Christmas stories, but I never really looked into reading them until she started promoting them on her blog before the movie premiered. At that point, I had read a lot more of her non-Christy Miller fiction and realized that I truly love all her writing. I finally caved this year and bought these for myself, and I don't regret it at all. After reading these, I think I'm only seven reads shy of her entire work (not including non-fiction). I have never been disappointed with any of her books. Her writing is feminine and beautiful and poetic and I love it all.

If you are a woman (these books just aren't really for boys—sorry not sorry) looking for something sweet to read, I can't recommend these books highly enough. 

Have you read anything by Robin Jones Gunn? Do you like her writing style? The 7 books of hers I have yet to read are all in the Sisterchicks series. I have a few of them, so you can bet 1 or 2 will make it on my 2018 book list! Any suggestions for which one I should read next? The only one I've read so far is Sisterchicks in Sombreros. 

Have a Happy Christmas!

Casual Fridays

Hello internet! I have been pretty inconsistent with the Casual Fridays around here lately, but hello. We call them Casual Fridays for a reason. (note the emphasis on "casual") I will now proceed to throw a bunch of semi-recent photos at you and call this a Photo-Prompted Post. May the force be ever in your favor. Or something. 

First of all, books and reading because #priorities. Since our last Casual Friday post, I've finished reading a biography of Thomas Jefferson (not my fav), Anne of Green Gables (ALWAYS my fav), and I've started in on some super-fun Christmas-y reads that I've been saving for the end of the year. I also posted my recap of Murder on the Orient Express which brings me to my next photo/topic....

As promised, I am telling you what I thought of the movie. And I have to say: thumbs down. Now, before you go accusing me of being a total book purist and Scrooge or whatever else, hear me out. I went into this really wanting to love the movie. I had high hopes because, as I told my husband before we went, the book reads practically like a screenplay already. Straightforward. No rabbit trails. Good character description and dialogue. Not hard, right? But once again, Hollywood royally screwed it up. To be fair, this is the only Agatha Christie novel I have ever read so I have no idea if they were drawing from any other stories of Poirot to create a character with more depth, but even if they were: unnecessary. Just my opinion. Hate me if you must. If you want Murder on the Orient Express, skip the movie. Read the book. 

On to happier things like girlfriends and pumpkin pie soda. Yes, you read that right, and yes, I really loved it. I know I'm a little crazy about all the pumpkin things, but even I was a little skeptical about pumpkin pie soda. However, it was fantastic, and I wish I was sipping on an icy cold bottle of it right now. (Thanks, Emily!) The week of Thanksgiving, I got to have these sweet friends over for a little mini-Camp Gilead reunion. We all became forever friends working as counselors the summer of '07, and I'm so thankful we got to snag this little pocket of time to catch up with each other. We're not waiting another 7 years to do this again, right girls??

I can't not share this one. How cute are these three? This is a snapshot of my everyday, and I love it so much. These guys are best buddies, and I love watching them all entertain each other. Definitely makes my job easier. 

And the sweetest ballerina had her first recital. Remember how it was the biggest deal on my calendar? Well, we missed it. Because apparently, 3:00 means 2:50 and "recitals" these days only consist of one three-minute song. Oy. It's totally fine. We made her do her dance for us in the parking lot with the phone cranked up as loud as it would go, and it was the most adorable thing you ever did see. 

Speaking of phones, I am definitely living that flip phone life again (aka: my best life). My little iPhone 4 died a long, drawn out death, and, while that was a fun 2 and 1/2 year experiment, I can't say I'm sad it's over. You wouldn't believe how difficult it is to find a phone that doesn't have a touch screen these days. My little no-contract phone company (shout out to straighttalk!) only had ONE option. Good riddance, Smart phone.

My BFF Danette and I had a little matinee movie and lunch date last weekend, and it couldn't have been more perfect. If any of you are looking for a GOOD movie to see (unlike that Murder on the Orient Express trainwreck—oh yes, pun intended) you should definitely go see Wonder starring Owen Wilson and Julia Roberts. But don't go without tissues because, unless you are the actual Grinch, you will absolutely need them. LOVED it, and I always love spending time with this girl.

My amazing, hard-working man built me this beautiful fire pit this week. Y'all, I know everyone is getting snow and everything but it's cold in Florida. I mean, 55 degrees in the middle of the day? I can't. Anyway, not only did my husband build this fire pit with his bare hands, he tore an eyesore of a fig tree out of the ground and put the fire pit where the tree had been. He's my hero, and I love him. And I especially love sitting by a blazing fire with him, trying to find shooting stars during a meteor shower. Merry Christmas to me.

Our church's Christmas concert was this past Sunday, and I have to say, even though I was singing in the choir and not sitting in the audience enjoying it, I was so blessed to be there. Our choir director chose beautiful music and Scripture passages, and he worked hard with us and the orchestra to make everything excellent. And it came together. If you missed it, you missed out.

Don't miss out again. If you want to take some time out of the crazy that is December to quiet your soul and focus on Christmas, this is the service you want to come to. And you are welcome.

I'm going to wrap this post up with a little Link Love because why not?

- The Death of Reading is Threatening the Soul : Yes. Yes, it is.

- Sick People : Just stay home, y'all.

- Free Hugs : Because we just need a little of this in our lives sometimes.

- Arch-Nemeses : Because today's the day! Even though I probably won't get around to seeing it for a few more weeks.

- Food of Life : It's Christmas, y'all. You just eat whatever you want, okay? No judgment here.

P.S. I just wanted to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who donated to Compassion for my birthday. With your generosity, we raised more than enough money for 15 water filters. That's so awesome. Thank you. 

A Tuesday Confession

This will be my longest confession to date.

It's actually a double-confession of sorts.

Part I : one of my favorite parts of Christmas is getting Christmas cards in the mail.

There's something so magical and spectacular about opening your mailbox and seeing a stack of personal cards instead of credit card applications and coupons to Pet Supermarket.

Since we've been married, I have never thrown away a single Christmas card we've received.

I am the extreme opposite of a packrat, and I absolutely detest clutter. 

But there is a special drawer in my house just for Christmas cards. 

I love them.

Part II : I always keep one of our own Christmas cards each year.
They're pretty, they cost money, and they're a fun little recap of our year together.
And even though I have obsessively affectionately kept every Christmas card we've ever received, I realize that the average person probably does not have the same affinity for Christmas cards that I do, and they probably don't treasure our Christmas card for the rest of their lives.
And I don't expect them to.
Well, not entirely anyway.

Is this the craziest confession I've made yet?
Can we still be friends, and more importantly, will you still send me a Christmas card now that you know this about me?
Is there anyone else out there who keeps their own Christmas cards? I cannot possibly be the only person on this planet who does that, right?

Casual Fridays

This past weekend, I got to check another major item off my Bucket List. I saw the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall in NYC. 

You guys. I have been wanting to see the Rockettes since the very first time I watched the movie Annie when I was a little girl. And I got to go to the Christmas Spectacular! Let me tell you: it lives up to its name. It was everything I always wanted it to be, spectacular in every way. The Rockettes were fabulous, and the entire show was wonderful. 

Not only did I get to see the Rockettes, I got to spend the night at The Plaza! This quick trip was a Christmas present from my Mom, and it was such a blast.

We flew into New York early Sunday morning (we left home at 4 AM...not my greatest time of day), caught a cab into the city, and checked into The Plaza which is probably the most beautiful, decadent hotel I've ever stayed in. After we dropped our stuff off and discovered the heated floors in our bathroom (what?!), we took off into the city to ooh and aah over the Christmas windows at Bloomingdale's, Tiffany & Co., Bergdorf Goodman, Barneys, and lots of others. We went up in Trump Tower and had coffee, and eventually headed back to The Plaza to get warmed up and ready for the show. The show was awesome (as I already mentioned), and afterward, we went to Rockefeller Center to check out more Christmas decorations. And yes, we were those obnoxious, selfie-stick usin' tourists you've all heard about.

The next morning, we had breakfast in our room (I can't even start to talk about this. So much yum.), and then packed up to check out and head back out into the city for more Christmastime fun. The plan was to go ice skating in Central Park, but as soon as we stepped outside, we realized that was not going to happen. It. Was. Freezing. We opted for a pedicab ride around Central Park instead. Even though we couldn't feel our hands or feet by the end of it, it was so much fun. Our pedicab driver regaled us with all kinds of questionable anecdotes about the different monuments and architecture we encountered. He seemed more confident of his movie and celebrity trivia than the historical facts he was giving us, but he was hilarious and kept us laughing the entire time.

According to "Jon" (our driver), this is the fountain where the theme from Friends was shot. He was dedicated to getting a picture of us jumping in front of it. After probably about a million attempts, I think this was the only one where all our feet are off the ground at the same time. #laughsfordays

After our pedicab ride through subzero temps, we decided to spend the rest of our time inside The Plaza, eating super-thin NY pizza and browsing all the adorable shops. After an hour or two of thawing out and soaking it all in, it was time to grab our bags and hail another cab back to the airport.

I couldn't have asked for a better two days or two better women to spend them with. My mom and my mommy-in-law are two of my best friends, and I absolutely loved sharing this experience with them. Until next time, New York!

 ~January 3 & 4, 2016~

Have you checked any big-ticket items off your Bucket List lately? 

Merry Christmas, Y'all!

Love, the Hancocks

Merry Christmas to Us!

Oh yes. Yes we did. Let me introduce you to the newest member of our little brood. Because apparently, one bundle of crazy just wasn't enough for us.

We've dubbed him Major. Although at this point, he doesn't seem to understand that he ranks lower than Colonel. He's a Labradoodle and just about the sweetest thing ever. P.S. Don't let the photos deceive you, he's only about half the size of Colonel.

We picked him up from the airport Sunday night, and immediately realized he fears nothing. When we picked Colonel up, he had to be physically removed from his crate. When we opened this little guy's crate up, he was ready to explore everything. 

We love him. And after a few hours of seriously questioning everything he knew to be true about his world, Colonel loved him, too.

And even though I have doubted the sanity of bringing a new, un-trained, stinky little puppy into our home only about a billion times since Sunday night and have already been bemoaning the return to perpetually dirty floors and unpleasant odors, I have to admit, it's awesome that Colonel has a little playmate. They wear each other out and keep each other company which is exactly what we wanted.

Our first few attempts at a family picture. Oh boy.

All in all, I think we'll keep him.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Casual Fridays

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, and I have discovered the PhotoGrid app. Aren't you lucky?

I have been a busy little worker elf this week decking all our halls and turning our little home sweet home into a Christmas Wonderland. Don't you just love this time of year?

Here are a few of my favorite ornaments. Cody and I like to assemble and decorate our Christmas tree while watching White Christmas, my favorite Christmas movie. We started this tradition our first year of marriage, and it makes getting all the decorations down and dusting them off something to look forward to. Despite all the rockin' around the Christmas tree, I have managed to make a little bit of progress in TR this week. Slow and steady wins the race, right?

And since this is a blog about books, I decided to share a few of my all-time favorite Christmas books with you. Which I also like to decorate with. You can not go wrong with any of these. Starting from the top left:

The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado

The Gift of the Magi adapted by Penelope J. Stokes

The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski

God Gave Us Christmas by Lisa Tawn Bergren

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss

The Candymaker's Gift by David & Helen Haidle

The Candle in the Window by Grace Johnson

Alabaster's Song by Max Lucado

Anyway, the cards have been mailed, the halls have been decked, the weather is even cooling off a little, and I'm almost done with the shopping already. Time to slow down and remember why we we're celebrating.

"And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. 

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 

And the angel said unto them, 'Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.' 

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.'"

Luke 2:7-14 (KJV)

Have yourself a merry little Christmas.

What are some of your Christmas traditions? Do you have a favorite Christmas book or song or ornament?