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
Every Christmas Eve we would go to my Grandmas house and have our family Christmas. The morning of Christmas day, I would wake up look at my presents and call my Grandma. She was like a sec on and Mom to me and we lost her in April of 2018. Christmas hasn’t been the same, but I am thankful that I have those memories.
Meery Christmas!
One of my favorite memories was having a day to celebrate our “extended family gift exchange” and my grandma. This was on a separate day usually following Christmas Day which was always more about celebrating and honoring our “Gram”!!!
Diana
My mom is an amazing baker so baking cookies for everyone was really something we enjoyed doing together.
My favorite memory of Christmas is always attending Midnight Mass to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. It is always so magically to see the baby Jesus being placed in the manager but especially meaningful to be experiencing it with my family. It is “all calm” before the hustle and bustle of Christmas.
My favorite memory of the holidays with mom was the last year she was with us. We went to the orchards and picked a TON of apples, then to the fabric store and bought the makings for pot holders. We took an entire day making apple sauce and pot holders to give to everyone for Christmas. The kids and I had such a wonderful day with her then sat and watched our all time favorite Christmas movie, “White Christmas”!!
My mom passed away on 12/16/2009. As I think of the last 10 years and that Christmas following her death I remember that the one thing I had asked her for was a pair of socks. I was 42 so I didn’t “need” anything but she asked and I wanted to give her an idea. My socks had been wearing out so that was a logical thing to ask for. When she passed I mentioned that to my friend, Polly. 9 days later, on Christmas day I opened Polly’s gift and at the bottom of the bag were socks. I couldn’t even take them out of the bag and was trying so hard not to bawl!! :) Polly continues to give me socks every Christmas and it is the most special gift I get.
My favorite memories are those with my husband’s family at Christmas. My sweet MIL loved Christmas and having her entire family at her house on Christmas Eve. We lost her right before Easter in 2018 and I treasure all the memories I have of her.
My mom passed away at the end of November, 8 years ago, and my favorite Christmas memory with her is simple and sweet – her laughter. She always found humor in something, and while I don’t remember her laughing all year through with regularity, Christmas always seemed to bring things that made her laugh. I definitely miss her more this time of year.
My favorite memory with my mom during the Christmas season was her love of making candy. We made all kinds and shared with everyone! There was one bar cookie she made, orange slice bars, that was always the first thing made. We all knew that when the orange slice bars were served, Christmas was in full swing.
I loved going Christmas caroling with my dad and the church choir.
My favorite holiday memory was going to Christmas Eve with our family. We would run and play with our cousins. It was always a fun time and we made lots of great memories!!
Thank you for sharing your heart ?? Naps will be celebrated all December along with you.
Special memories were Christmas with my grandparents who are no longer with us. My grandma cooked the best holiday meals and my grandpa was the sweetest.
I always loved making cutout iced sugar cookies with my Mom and family every Christmas. We were not a close knit family so I cherish the few things we did that were tradition. Merry Christmas ?
At my Grandparents Christmas, we had a scavenger hunt to find clues for where our gift was. So much fun with the cousins!
My mom has always loved to bake, so of course the Christmas holiday season was filled with the wonderful aroma of fresh bread and cookies of all types. I fondly remember helping her in the kitchen as we planned and prepared the seasons creations.
My favorite holiday memory was when i was around 5 and we had just finished decorating the tree. It was dark by then and we turned all the lights off and plugged the tree lights in. It was so beautiful. We just sat there for a while admiring the lights. Mom said, “You know that Jesus is the light of the world and he shines just as brightly as those Christmas tree lights.
I love making chocolate fudge with my mom! Even though she would make me some without nuts, I loved chopping the pecans for the big dish of fudge.
I love taking my son with my mom every year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving to see Santa. We’ve done it all 4 years :-)
Fixing up all her trees…so much fun.
My favorite holiday memory is our family going to my Grandma and Grandpa’s on Christmas Eve! We actually still do this, but now at my parents because our family has grown so large, we cannot fit into their little house! Also, while growing up, our parents tried to get us a gift that we weren’t expecting! I remember one year they had made “tickets” and they were for us to head to the beach the day after Christmas!
Growing up, my mother always had a German Stollen for Christmas breakfast (courtesy of her family’s heritage). Before we could \go see the gifts under the tree, we all had to eat a piece of stollen. Unfortunately, none of us liked it. It was TORTURE trying to eat it. I don’t know why she made us eat it, maybe she liked seeing us squirm !! :) We all laugh about it now. The funny thing is, I tried to do it with my kids too….but they wouldn’t have it. They hated it also! (Now, I have them eat a little breakfast before gifts, just not stollen!) The ironic thing, is that now I LIKE stollen!!
My favorite holiday memory is actually for new years. As a child I would spend the night at my grandparents we would sleep on the hide-a-bed in the living room. But the magical part was my grandparents never opened their front door other than Halloween and on New Year’s at whatever time they told us was midnight (I know now Grandma didn’t really let us stay up) she would open the front door and let us ring bells and yell Happy New Year. My Grandma and Grandpa are now gone but I have those bells and I New Year’s I ring them with my grandsons.
My mom was a joyful woman, who taught me to look at nature and find examples of beauty no matter the weather. At Christmas in our area, snow was rare, but one year there was a big storm. My mom improvised sleds our of plastic tarps, trash can kids, etc and sent us down our backyard hill. There was ice on our pond and we skated on our slipperiest shoes. Hot chocolate followed and we were all red-nosed and laughing often that day. Sadly, she passed away a couple of years later and I’ve missed her ever since. But I can still hear her wonderful giggles and laughter, recall the light in her eyes and her warm hugs.
I mean opening presents with us.