Vote for this Week’s ‘Charmed Christmas’ $250 James Avery Artisan Jewelry Winner
We've been asking you to submit your favorite Christmas memories and heartwarming Christmas stories to spread the warmth and joy of the holidays with a a 'Charmed Christmas' with James Avery Artisan Jewelry and KVKI and you've delivered!
We've listed each of this week's $50 'Charmed Christmas' winners below. Now, it's your turn to vote on your favorite, because they'll receive an additional $250 James Avery Artisan Jewelry gift card! Voting will close for this round on Monday, December 11, 2017 at 9:00am.
- 1
Tiffaney Reardon
One of my fondest memories is a Christmas dinner we had with my grandmother before she passed away. She was making gravy and I was poking fun at her because I told her she was going to need so much more than what she had made. She assured me she would have enough. When it came time for dinner and we got our serving of gravy, she put a slotted spoon in the gravy for us to use. It lasted with some to spare. I know that sounds like a silly memory, but she is gone now and every holiday we have that same slotted spoon in our gravy to have her there in spirit. We all get a good laugh watching everyone get their helping.
- 2
Lisa May
One of my earliest Christmas memories. My mother married my stepfather and we were stationed in North Dakota, a small apartment, 2nd floor. Christmas morning we awoke to see big footprints on in the snowy balcony that only came one way, into the apartment as to prove Santa jumped off the roof onto the balcony to deliver to us! Complete with wet footprint all the way to the tree. It took many years for me to visualize my new stepfather climbing the balcony railings on Christmas Eve in the freezing cold and making these "Santa footprints" for us. It worked, he snowed us!
- 3
Amberle Hill
My husband has never been one to be a great gift giver and I have been okay with that. I'm much more a giver than a receiver. I love seeing the looks on faces when they open a gift whether they wanted it, or it was a complete surprise. That makes my Christmas wonderful. We have never woken up at our own house on Christmas. One of my gifts to my in laws is to see the look on their faces when we are all together at their house and they see the excitement on the kids’ faces when they wake up Christmas morning. It is so heart felt and allows for so many memories to be made.
Several years ago, I told my husband that I really wanted a James Avery bracelet. I did not tell him the charms I would like to have had. He picked three out that I will forever remember getting. I explained to him that a James Avery bracelet is a gift that you can get and just keep giving with.
Because of the oil field, my husband lost his job early 2015. I was blown away. I was lost. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. I had two birthdays I was already preparing, one for a 10-year-old and one for a 1 year old. I didn’t know when he would get a job, how he would make money, or how I was going to pay bills.
He worked odd end jobs to help pay the bills for nearly two years. Last Christmas I knew I wasn't asking for much from my husband and I hardly ever do. I’m a school teacher and we have two kids. I have also been attending school to receive my master’s degree. The bills were piling up and I have been adding to the student loans. I was not concerned about receiving gifts. I wanted prayers. I wanted God to help my husband find a job. I wanted God to help our family through this situation. Our marriage was suffering. I continued to do what I knew I could do. I took care of the house, the family, work, school, and participated in Awanas at church. I stayed busy with many activities that keep me focused on doing what I needed to do and not on stressing out about my husband getting a job. God would take care of us and God would lead my husband in the direction that he needed to go. I knew God was putting me through a situation that I would later discover why.
I prayed. I had faith. I believed He would provide. He would take care of us. And He did. We weren’t as bad off as I knew others had been.
Christmas 2016 our pastor at church sent out Christmas cards with an ornament of Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus with the word “believe”. My faith never died. This was a sign from God that He wanted me to believe that our lives, our situation would get better. Things would turn around.
I wasn’t expecting anything from my husband for Christmas. When I opened a little gift with the charm from James Avery that said “believe”, I knew the next year would be different. I do not believe I have ever cried on Christmas morning and I tired not to that morning. I love every charm I receive. Each one has a memory or reason behind it. My “believe” charm means so much more to me than any other that I currently have on my bracelet.
Last Christmas will always remind me to believe in God. He will always be here for me. - 4
Shannon Nyswaner
Each year my Papaw would encourage me to search for a singing Christmas bird in his tree. After arriving at his house I would barely be out of my coat and Papaw would be telling me stories of this bird. He'd get me all excited and tell me "Sis! THIS year I know you'll find him". I spent years circling that tree trying to put my eyes on his singing Christmas bird. It started when I was four or five and continued each year until I was twelve. That's when the large family home my Granny and Papaw had become too much to take care of. They sold the house and moved to a smaller place. From then on everyone gathered at our house, my Mom & Dads. I assumed that the singing Christmas bird stayed with the tree and/or my Granny & Papaws old house. I always wondered but it wasn't until last year that I finally asked about that bird. For 25 years it hadn't been heard or spoken of. Two years ago Papaw was diagnosed with dementia. He has his good days and not so good days, but when I asked about that singing Christmas bird he remembered every year that I'd searched for it and how he encouraged me and got tickled over me hunting it. He still had that "bird", which is a charm ornament ball that plugs into the strand of lights and blends right in. It's now been passed to me so every year I can relive mine, and my Papaw's favorite Christmas memory and make those same memories with my children. Oh how moved I was to hear that beloved Christmas charm still worked after all these years and had been safely nested away. It's realistic intermittent chirping, coupled with my Papaws stories and unwavering motive for me to find that Christmas bird every year instilled the spirit of believing for me. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it isn't there. There's more meaning behind that "Christmas bird" than anyone will ever realize. Merry Christmas!!!!
- 5
Melaney Wall
After dealing with infertility, we became pregnant with our son. He was due in mid January. However, after complications, I had him by emergency c- section in late October. He spent 7 weeks in the NICU. Our son was able to come home December 18, 2002, one week before Christmas. Best Christmas present ever.