Today we have another special guest with us : ) On her blog she invites us to "Come hang out with me as I share adventures from my chaotic life as a mom of three, pastor's wife, writer and small business owner." Though she may not be as loud as some of the other Seekers *cough Ruthy and Mary cough* she still has a kind, powerful way with words. With three books under her belt and many more to come, let's welcome Missy Tippens to the Christmas blogfest!!!
H: Missy, thank you so much for coming today! I know you must be busy, aren't we all? I don't know if you knew that Her Unlikey Family was one of my first Love Inspired books I ever read! Guess we know why I got hooked ; ) Let's kick this interview off by seeing if you are a big celebrator of Christmas?
M: Yes. We decorate (although that’s more a big deal for the kids than it is for me), and I love figuring out what gifts to buy. I admit, the actual shopping part can be stressful, but online shopping helps with that. I also love Christmas Eve. And we have family traditions like the reading of The Night Before Christmas and also the Christmas story from the Bible. Oh, and cookies for Santa! We do it all. :)
H: You're so festive, but I agree I think you covered all the bases : ) What is your favorite part(s) of the Christmas season?
M: I absolutely love the Christmas Eve service at church.
It’s a candlelight service. My favorite part is at the end, where the flame is passed from person to person. I get a great view from the choir loft, and I love seeing the congregation just glowing as they sing Silent Night!
H: Oh man, that sounds awesome Missy! Maybe that looks a little like it *wink* We do a candlelight service too and sing Silent Night. I think it's quite common, but it's a wonderful part of the service! What are some of your traditions? (i.e. food, gift giving, family traditions, etc)?
M: When I was a child, we had a Christmas Eve tradition of eating at Pizza Hut for dinner and then going to the midnight candlelight service at church. Then we would go home and get to choose one gift to open. But don’t tell my kids that! We don’t open any gifts early in my household. :) Nowadays, my family has a tradition of eating biscuits and sausage gravy for breakfast.
Then I cook a roast for dinner. (No more turkey for us! We’re done with that at Thanksgiving.) We stay in our p.j.’s most of the day and enjoy family time.
H: Pizza Hut, eh? That sounds pretty good right now...lol!! As I said before, we open our one gift (pjs) on Christmas Eve, but we already know what it's going to be haha. So it doesn't completely count, right ; ) And oh we fall victim to the turkey! We only have it twice a year as a big feast like this and those are the two times. Do you have a favorite Christmas themed book/recommendation? Movie?
M: One of my favorite movies to watch each year is Elf. So cute! And of course, It’s a Wonderful Life. Oh, and, um, can I mention my Christmas book, A Forever Christmas? :)
H: ELF!! Yes, it's a wonderful movie. Definitely one of my sister's favorites, but we all love it. Don't worry I was going to make sure and mention your books at the end, but you did such a lovely job incorporating it now!! If you had to pick one “symbol” of Christmas (i.e. ornaments, the tree, the lights, the nativity set, etc.), what would you pick as your favorite?
M: I love the tree. I love to sit up at night after everyone else is in bed and enjoy the lit Christmas lights. So peaceful and a great time to reflect on the real meaning of Christmas. A time to think back over the past year as I approach the new year.
H: Same here, Missy, I totally agree...it's so peaceful to just watch the lights and....well think. What did you ask Santa for this year? *wink*
M: Would you believe I haven’t thought of anything yet?! I’ve been so busy making sure I order all the kids’ gifts in time that I haven’t even given it a moment’s thought. I guess I better decide soon!
H: Spoken like a true mom, Missy. Putting her kids before herself : )
These are some bests. Just fill them in with your favorite/the best.
Christmas present as a child? A diamond ring that was my grandmother’s. She gave it to me for Christmas when I was a teenager instead of making me wait to inherit it. I still wear it every day!
Favorite Christmas? I can’t really pick one! I’ve had so many memorable ones. I look back at old photos from when I was a child and can practically remember them all (the year of the big doll house and the Chatty Cathy doll, the year the cat knocked over the tree, the year my cousin knocked over the tree
Christmas song? Breath of Heaven as well as various traditional carols.
Place to spend Christmas day? At home in p.j.’s!
Christmas food? Standing rib roast and mashed potatoes with gravy.
Thanks so much for having me, Hannah! I hope your first finals go well and that you enjoy a wonderful Christmas break with your family!!
Thank YOU so much, Missy. It's been really fun hearing more about your past Christmases and now with your kids. Oh and Missy hearing your cat story inspired me to put this little picture show together for you to remember the good ol' times *grin*
LOL!! This is what I can imagine happening, Missy : D
Anyway, everyone please check out Missy's wesite and pop in to say hi on her blog, Life with Missy. She loves to hear from readers : ) Also please be sure to check out her books, especially A Forever Christmas as this IS the season!! It is crazy good and you will not be disappointed!!
And now, you can guess what's coming next people! Hmmmm what will it be today?? It's the Mystery Song of the Day!! Hint: Okay this isn't an easy one either! I guess think...drums and pipes? Please someone, if you get this, tell me and I will find a prze for you!! Because that's not a great hint and it's not the most well known Christmas song ; )
Have a great weekend, but just so you know we will be having a post tomorrow! So if you have time to pop by on the weekend, we'd love to have you : )
Hannah
I had a Chatty Cathy doll way back when--sweet memories! I've only been lurking at Seekerville for a few months so I don't know all the Seekers well. It was fun to read about Missy, but I'm left with some questions--like what's the story of the "then-boyfriend" who didn't propose when you expected? That sounds like it should be in a book, Missy! And what's your home business? Sometimes I love the idea of working from home . . . I just won A Forever Christmas and am so looking forward to reading it! And I visited your blog and noticed you asked for cookie recipes. (I sent one to you in the comments section of that post, just in case you still need one.) . . . Enjoyed your Mystery Song of the Day, Hannah. (I didn't guess ahead of time.) I guess he's a special favorite of yours? Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteHannah, I loved the song. Yes, I do know that one but didn't know your man, Archuleta, did it. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for having me today, Hannah!! I don't know how you've had time to do all this with it being the end of the semester! But you're doing a great job.
Renee Ann, thanks for stopping by! I got your address from Margaret and the book should go out in the mail tomorrow morning. I hope you enjoy it!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sending the cookie recipe! I'll go print it now!
As for my business...I sell Mary Kay cosmetics very part-time. Mostly just re-orders. I've been doing it for about 6 years but don't do parties any more. I do just enough business to pay for all my own products plus a little profit. :)
Renee Ann, I missed answering your question. :)
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I had been dating for nearly a year and had talked some about marriage. I had gotten my hopes up that he would propose. I found out later that he actually told his parents that he planned to, but that he wanted to wait. He didn't want to propose on a holiday like Christmas or Valentine's Day when I might expect it. He wanted to surprise me. So he ended up proposing on the anniversary of our first date. He proposed in the spot we first met--by the water fountain at the youth center at church! :)
Oh, but that Christmas when I opened that gift, I had never been so disappointed! Especially since it was in a little jewelry box. Sounds crazy to be disappointed over beautiful sapphire earrings, doesn't it? LOL
I'm reading A Forever Christmas for a Christmas reading challenge! Hopefully I'll get to it next week.
ReplyDeleteHannah I love the kitty pics so far (crossing my fingers) our kitty, Oreo doesn't seem to be too interested in the tree so hopefully nothing like that will happen.
Missy you really can't go wrong with mashed potatoes. If I weren't so obssessed with pie I'd say they were my favorite holiday food! LOL
XOXO~ Renee
Love the cat/tree pics. Oh how funny.
ReplyDeleteand LOVE the food pics. Missy, oh Missy - a woman after my own heart.
GO SOUTHERN Preachers' wives/writers.
We should form a club.
Grits, Gravy, and writing with a Southern Flare :-)
Renee, I'm glad you're reading it for the challenge! Thank you! And yes, mashed potatoes are one of my fav foods. Just give me any starch and I'm happy. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, Pepper, I love our new tag line!!! :) I'm envisioning a book tour all over the south. LOL
ReplyDelete