Stories that Matter
Celebrate
My Favorite Christmas Gift!
| 39 Comments
What To Do After Launch Day!
| 3 Comments
10 Stages of Book Birth – An Exposé
| 4 Comments
Happy Mother’s Day!
| 2 Comments
And So We Choose This Thing
| 6 Comments
All Good Things
A Different Perspective
| 7 Comments
Some Reflections . . .
| 2 Comments
A Christmas Giveaway!
Where Is Your Identity?
| 17 Comments
I hope you’ve all been enjoying this fun giveaway, and enjoyed learning about all our favorite Christmassy things! Today, as we wrap up our twelve days, it’s my turn. And I’m delighted to tell you about my favorite Christmas gift! Actually, I have two, but they kind of tie together, as you’ll see.…
read more...
So Where Hope Begins is now out in the big wide world. Godspeed, my lovely. And yesterday was a little nuts. The nerves. The onslaught of notifications. The well wishes and fun comments, and feedback. All wonderful and totally mind blowing, not to mention a tad overwhelming. Oh and did I mention a Facebook LIVE…
read more...
Happy Mother’s Day to all the amazing Moms I know and love. Those with us and those who have gone before us. This day is hard for some of us, I know. I miss my Mom too. But I’m grateful for the memories. Grateful for the legacy she left us. And grateful that I got…
read more...
Thirty one years. Today. I stood before him in a long white gown that cost more than my father wanted to spend, but he bought it for me anyway, because it was the one and he was ‘the one’ and my Dad would have bought me the moon if I said I wanted it. I stood…
read more...
Welcome to another Throwback Thursday Post! We’re talking about my California anniversary trip that inspired me to write The Memory of You! If you’re just jumping on here, you can read last week’s post here. Today we’re going to to talk about perspective. Meaning, how we view things, the world, our families, friends, co-workers. Sometimes…
read more...
I should be working out right now, but it’s way more comfortable on the couch. 🙂 And I have some stuff to say. Thing is, I’m not quite sure how. My mind swirls with thoughts that some days make sense and some days . . . well. So I just keep quiet. You know? I…
read more...
I’m thrilled to be participating in the 12 Authors of Christmas Giveaway, going on all this week!! We have a bunch of amazing authors here, so don’t miss out, and please tell your friends! Now who doesn’t want CASH AND BOOKS at Christmas??? I don’t know about you, but I sure wouldn’t mind! 🙂 Here’s…
read more...
I’ve just returned from a few days in Nashville, where I attended the American Christian Fiction Writers annual conference. I was trying to figure out dates in my head and I think this must be at least the eighth conference I’ve attended, and still, I’ll be honest, it’s the best of times and it’s the…
read more...My Favorite Christmas Gift!
I hope you’ve all been enjoying this fun giveaway, and enjoyed learning about all our favorite Christmassy things! Today, as we wrap up our twelve days, it’s my turn. And I’m delighted to tell you about my favorite Christmas gift! Actually, I have two, but they kind of tie together, as you’ll see.
I didn’t see it coming. My husband and I had been married for a few years. He was about to enter his pediatrics residency, and I was finishing up my degree at The University of Toronto. Of course we’d talked about kids. But one day, down the road, when life wasn’t so hectic. Maybe when we were a bit older. And we had money.
But then a strange thing started to happen. I began to get melancholy. A niggling thought started poking me, and wouldn’t quit. All of a sudden, without warning, I really wanted a baby. Of course I ignored this minor interruption to our lives, because it was silly. I knew we weren’t ready financially, and our small one bedroom apartment in downtown Toronto barely had room for the cat. We lived in student housing for goodness sake! We couldn’t bring a baby into that! Well, except, lots of people did. Babies were everywhere. I couldn’t go anywhere without seeing one. And that annoying feeling wasn’t going away. So I cautiously broached the subject with my husband. And was kindly but very firmly shut down. For all the obvious reasons.
I have a few flaws. One being that I’ve never taken well to being told no.
But if I recall, I was pretty good. (That’s probably a stretch). I’d bring it up every once in a while. I enjoyed watching my friend’s little boy, and we babysat for our niece and nephew quite often. But the answer was still, ‘not yet’. And somewhere along the way, even as I pushed back tears when I walked past a baby store (yes, it was that intense), I resigned myself to the fact that I would just have to wait. If I could have told my young self a few things . . . ha!
Months went by, and we didn’t talk about it much. Or maybe we did, I can’t recall. But life went on. And soon it was Christmas. My parents were flying in, and we went north, to spend a beautiful snowy Christmas with my in-laws. On Christmas morning, the family gathered around the Christmas tree to open our gifts. And that’s when my husband presented me with a small box. Jewelry, I thought. He’s good at picking just the right thing. So I opened the box with a grin, flipped the lid, and didn’t see anything. Then I looked again. And there in the box, instead of a ring or necklace, was a business card. Upon closer inspection, my eyes landed on one word. Obstetrician.
Everyone else in the room might have been a little confused. Especially when I burst into tears. And I had to explain that no, I wasn’t pregnant. But I knew what that card meant. It meant that 1989 would be a good year to begin expanding our family.
And it was.
Coincidentally, this little cherub, our Christmas baby, is 29 years old today.
Happy Birthday, Sarah! You were our greatest Christmas gift!!
So! In addition to our featured prizes, I’m delighted to offer TWO WINNERS a copy of Where Hope Beings, along with any two of my other published books, winner’s choice! If you’re not familiar with my writing yet, check out my books HERE!
Enter to win here! This draw will close on Christmas Eve. (US ADDRESSES ONLY PLEASE!).
And don’t forget to enter our big giveaway if you haven’t already done so!
Enter by midnight on 12/21/18 USA Eastern time! Winners will be drawn on 12/22/18 and posted on Catherine West’s site.
Draw open to US addresses ONLY, with apologies to our international readers.
Major Prizes:
1st: All 12 Print Novels
2nd: $50 Amazon gift card and $20 Starbucks Gift Card
3rd: $50 Amazon gift card