Bücher von Barbara Briggs Ward

Those who've spent time with the elderly Amish woman realize the wisdom in her words.One could say Catherine's kitchen is her office. Baking cookies is her form of therapy.Christmas wreaths, nailed to the porch of the Amish home, attract the eye of photographer Claire Ryan. Knocking on the door, she plans on asking permission to take some photos and then be on her way. But once inside, sitting in the warmth of that home with paper angels on strings and pine boughs decorating the mantel, Claire relaxes, eventually telling Catherine why she's about given up on finding love and no longer bothers with Christmas.Soon they're in the kitchen getting ready to make cookies. When Catherine brings out a wooden box holding old tin cookie cutters, Claire notices one is missing.The cookie cutter is found weeks later -- and it has nothing to do with making cookies.

It''s been an emotional journey for Steve having lost Abbey after thirty-some years of being happily married. With the passing of time, he thinks about moving on yet hesitates. While encouraged by those around him, Steve seeks a sign, a whisper, something mere words cannot express.With two families coming together in celebration of a double wedding on Christmas Eve at the old farmhouse surrounded by woods and pastures and a majestic barn full of reindeer, the magic of the season demonstrates yet again anything can happen. Sleighs pulled deep into the woods by mighty horses bring loved ones to yet another place full of wonder and surprise as a gift wrapped inside a worn-out trunk full of special things left to a granddaughter by a grandmother she''d never know proves invaluable.What sounds like violins -- like harps being played and a chorus singing from somewhere amidst the pine and birch trees offer reassurance as snow angels lie in wait and eternal love spreads its wings, reaching beyond the mountain tops.Christmas wrapped in new beginnings by old traditions makes a most astonishing season-unforgettable.