Day 2 of 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways (with Alena Pitts)
*Give Away has Ended*
It’s Day 2 of 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways! If you’re just joining in, be sure to start at Day 1 here.
Today is a bittersweet day in our series. One of my guests in this series in 2017 was Wynter Pitts, author and founder of For Girls Like You, a resource ministry for tween girls and their parents. Sadly, Wynter passed away suddenly in July of 2018 leaving behind a husband and four daughters. Her passing was an unexpected shock that left many family and friends devastated. However, Wynter’s husband Jonathan has determined to trust God despite this tragedy and today, I get to introduce you to their oldest daughter Alena. A budding actress and singer, you may recognize her from her role in the movie The War Room. I have asked her to share one of her favorite memories of her mom during the holidays.
Here’s Alena…
I’ll never forget the holidays with my mom over the years. We were alike in so many ways and one of the things that made us most similar was our love for sleeping. It’s pretty embarrassing to share the amount of time we would spend taking naps together over Christmas break but for both of us it was super refreshing. She was an introvert and so am I. She enjoyed being around people during the holidays but she would need time to refuel just like I do. You could always count on one of us to be hidden somewhere alone, or both of us together, buried underneath a warm fuzzy blanket. I imagine her in heaven under a fuzzy blanket even now, enjoying her rest with the Lord. In honor of her, I’ll be taking plenty of naps this holiday season. And I’ll take some moments alone too, so I can refresh my soul. Hope these resources might help you do the same as you take some time to replenish your soul over the holidays. ~ Alena
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Day 2 Giveaway
Alena is giving away two of her mom’s books: Emptied: Experiencing the Fullness of a Poured-Out Marriage, co-authored with Alena’s father Jonathan, and I Am Yours: Prayers for God’s Girl.
Giveaway rules are listed below. Enjoy!
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Alena Pitts is a 15-year-old actress, author and vocalist. The Kendrick Brothers’ WAR ROOM marked Alena’s professional acting debut and launched Alena headfirst into the spotlight at the age of eleven. Shortly after, Alena started on a new journey and co-authored a three-book fictional series aptly titled, Lena In The Spotlight (Zonderkids, 2017). The books are written with her mother, Wynter Pitts, author and founder of For Girls Like You Magazine. Though having experienced unbelievable success, Alena’s journey has not come without loss. She tragically and unexpectedly lost her mother on July 24th 2018 at the age of fourteen. Though heartbroken, she is not without hope and is using Wynter’s passing from death to life as an opportunity to share the hope and love of God in Jesus through her voice and her writing. Alena is the oldest of four sisters, Kaitlyn (12) and twins Camryn and Olivia (10). She and her family reside in Franklin, TN. She enjoys all things music and competitive volleyball. Connect with Alena here.
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12 Days of Christmas Giveaways Rules
- U.S. Addresses only please.
- You can comment on all 12 days (once per person) up until midnight Pacific time, Sunday, December 22. Each day will be linked below for easy reference.
- One daily winner will be chosen from each day’s comments.
- To enter to win the Grand Prize (worth over $150 and includes a $75 Amazon gift card, and two admission tickets (with meet-and-greet) to a concert with award-winning country music artist, Granger Smith, comment on, and share, all 12 posts. You can use the share buttons below or repost and share on Instagram (my fave!) and tag me @karenehman.
- All winners (including Grand Prize) will be announced here on the blog on Monday, December 23, and contacted via email. Please allow 4-6 weeks to receive your prizes.
- If you’re not already subscribed, click HERE and you’ll receive an email notification each day of our series, plus my Bless Don’t Stress devotional.
DAY 2 GIVEAWAY QUESTION:
Do you have a favorite holiday memory of your time with your mom, or another loved one, growing up? What is it?
Let us know in the comments and you’ll be entered in today’s giveaway. Remember, if you want to enter to win the grand prize, you must comment on and share all twelve days.
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Day 1 with Candace Cameron Bure
I grew up in Arizona with lots of desert landscape but we would go north to Flagstaff every year and cut a real tree in the woods. I love having a fresh cut real Christmas tree.
My mom passed away a little over a year ago, and I miss her terribly. I remember that we used to decorate the tree together while listening to The Messiah sung bu the Huddersfield Choir. Then we’d bake cookies for hours and just talk.
My favorite memory from Christmas is the smell of fresh cinnamon rolls coming out of the oven. Every Christmas morning, my mom would make cinnamon rolls as our Jesus birthday cake. After singing happy birthday Jesus, we would dig in to the gooey warm rolls!
I was raised by a single mom that worked restaurant hours, so she was usually working until very late on Christmas Eve. a couple days before Christmas, she would ask me if I wanted to open a Christmas present. I didn’t know we were poor, and mother was always able to find the perfect gift just for me. Looking back, I realize she was using that time to spend quality time with me. Just us. No interruptions. That was the best present of all!
I remember always going to AL to spend Christmas with the grandparents. Having Christmas morning with our family was so wonderful!
Baking day was always a special time with my mom. Still to this day, we get together to make our family cut-out cookies. The recipe has been handed down for a couple generations. My adult children still enjoy this tradition.
I remember my Mama making sure all the decorations and tree was just perfect!
One of my fondest memories of Christmas with my dad is going shopping with him and my 2 siblings on the day Christmas Eve. We would shop for my mom only and it was fun. We would also make fruit salad with my dad that day to have with Christmas morning breakfast, a tradition that he did with his dad too.
Yes I sure do. My mom, my sister in law, Stephanie, and I went midnight shopping one night during the Christmas season. We were at a Walmart. Simple shopping. Back then, this Walmart had a snack bar. We bought popcorn and a soda and wandered the store late at night without kids. A rare sweet treat for both Steph and I. We laughed until we cried at silly things, eating popcorn with extremely buttery fingers. Stephanie passed away in 2013. My mom is still with me praise God, but that is a memory I will treasure always.
Treasure the memories. Hold tight to those. The holidays are hard, but over time peace comes and I can now remember those times with smiles I stead of tears.
Prayers for you sweet girl and your family.
My greatAunt Flora, she neve had much money, but we loved coming to her house she had the well outside that us kids had to go get a drink of water from, and a true out house, but no matter how old she was or we were she got us all something, it would be small travel size lotion,sanitizer or something and we didn’t care it was like christmas morning, waiting on her to call our name and tear into that small little gift to see what we got
That sis so beautiful! ??
Last year, my parents came to visit us in Western North Carolina. They were calling for a dusting of snow and it ended up snowing 12 inches. Haha. They were snowed in for several days. We had the best time with them playing in the snow and cooking, watching movies, playing games, etc. It was so delightful.
Making peanut butter blossoms with chocolate kisses and other Christmas cutout sugar cookies with my mom. I still have the cookie cutters and love to pull them out and recapture those sweet memories with my mom!
On Christmas morning my beautiful sister and me will help our mothers cook Christmas breakfast. We would have a good time in the kitchen. Since my mother passed away in August 23 ,2009. Christmas breakfast hasn’t been the same. Christmas been very sad for me. I put on this big fake smile. Because I don’t want no one to see that I’m hurting.
Growing up we notoriously set up our Christmas trees late, like some years only 2 days before Christmas! Despite that, I so enjoyed the process of pulling out our bins of beautiful fragile ornaments mixed with an onslot of special homemade ones from each of us kids.
Christmas Eve candle light service singing Silent Night has always been my favorite.
My memory with my Mom was always baking Christmas cookies. I now do that with my kids. We homeschool and we take one day to make up lots of yummy Christmas cookies and candies to share with family and neighbors. Memories in the kitchen are so fun!
My fondest memory with my mom during this time would be helping her and her team pack brown bags of goodies (an apple, orange, candies/chocolates, a small toy, etc) on Christmas eve and then distribute it to all the kids at church the same night. It wassuch a joy to learn how to share and give growing up.
My parents owned a small business…every year my dad put on a big Christmas party that went all day. My mom cooked and baked for days getting ready for it. My parents have both passed, so the memories are all I have.
I always loved baking with my Mom. She was a phenomenal baker. She made the most,perfect pies, crusts to die for and homemade bread. I have not been able to master her homemade bread, but I will keep trying.
I’m so sorry for your loss! I lost my husband of 24 years in January of this year and I’m struggling every day still and even more so now with the holidays. I would love to read your books! God Bless you and your family during this difficult time !???
My mom and I used to make peanut nut clusters at Christmas ! Unfortunately I loved them so much they very seldom made to until Christmas !
Making cookies every Christmas Eve with my mom and sister!
My birthday is December 27 and my mom always went the extra mile to make sure my birthday was not overlooked in the busyness of Christmas. I always had a party, special gifts, and felt special. Now my husband makes sure I feel special.
My favorite holiday memory: all the time we had off from school each year, I was able to do fun holiday activities with my mom like baking our own cookies and decorating them ourselves, going ice skating, going to see Santa, wrapping presents together, going to see the Rockettes, and much more holiday magic!
One Christmas my “Amma” and I made the three kings using drink bottles as the base. They were very ornate with beautiful crowns. Such a special memory!
I lost my mom in Decembet many years ago. That starts my December with sadness. However, I decided my kids would live Dexember. They are adults now, but we still set aside one day to make Christmas cookies. We look for new recipes to try each year and we make many old favorites. We then decorate plates or containers and share them with as many neighbors as possible. Sometimes we deliver them to friends we have made or send a box of cookies to loved ones far away. No worry about diets or nutrition on cookie day!