Jolene Navarro here. Good evening from my front porch in the Texas Hill Country.
Texas sunset, Jolene Navarro
My small town roots run deep, so writing about families in this part of Texas comes naturally for me. It’s what I know and love.
Of the things, I love most? The holiday season.
Christmas on the ranch, Jolene Navarro
Our big expanded family gathers at a Hill Country cabin on the Frio River for Thanksgiving. The following month is full of celebration centered around faith, friends, and family.
Family Thanksgiving with Jolene Navarro
A few years ago my sisters and I started a new tradition for Thanksgiving. We rented a cabin by the Frio River in the tiny Texas Hill Country town of Leakey, Texas.
My mother’s family, (we lost her eleven years ago)including her mother, join us. We bounce between 30 to 40 people on Thursday. In a world that moves fast and people spend more time looking down at a screen than into the face of real people, personal connections with extended family give us roots and a healthier life. As humans, the need for relationships with others and nature is built into our DNA. To me, Thanksgiving is not about the food…it’s the people and getting away from the rush of daily life.
One of my favorite scenes is the huge extended Thanksgiving gathering that happens in the barn, so everyone can sit at the table, as one family.
Family Thanksgiving with Jolene Navarro
Family Thanksgiving with Jolene Navarro
You see this in all of my books, but especially my holiday stories. My eighth Love Inspired book is my third Christmas one: Lone Star Christmas.
You see the thread of family and the traditions that form bonds in my stories. The kind of bonds that carry us through the hard times. I love bringing the isolated loner that feels like an outsider, into the mix. Someone that needs family even if they don’t know that is the hole in their heart.
Christmas on the ranch, Jolene Navarro
My sisters and a few of our kids – Jolene Navarro
The holidays can be a time of love and joy but they can also be hard when the expectation doesn’t measure up or family has disappointed you. In Lone Star Christmas – Max has no family and after the death of his estranged father, he is trying to connect with brothers he doesn’t know.
Jackie, his high school sweetheart, comes from a close family. It a bit of a Romeo & Juliet story with a happy Christmas ending.
Here’s a review from
Lone Star Christmas by Jolene Navarro Review by Hopebybook.com
Lone Star Christmas Jolene Navarro
Family and love are what makes the holidays so special for me.
I like to think that comes across in the stories I write. Do you have a favorite holiday? I’ve just started a new story that will be out next Christmas. If you give me your thoughts on the following questions I’ll put your name in a giveaway that includes my latest book and a Christmas ornament.
When you pick up a Christmas book to read, what makes it reflect the holidays for you?
What is your favorite part of the Holiday?
Jolene’s life, much like her stories, is filled with faith, family, and all of life's wonderful messiness. She knows that, as much as the world changes, people stay the same. Good and evil. Vow-keepers and heart breakers. Jolene married a vow-keeper who showed her that holding hands and dancing in the rain never gets old. She loves creating stories of love and faith in her much loved Texas.
Hi Jolene, thanks for sharing your photos and a glimpse of your family time together. I love Christmas, though we are not particularly traditional about spending it with family all the time. Most years we are with family, but every odd year or so we head off on our own- this year happens to be one of those. The boys have asked if we can go hiking, so off we will go. We always maintain some traditions- Christmas stockings, Christmas cake and custard and starting the day with the Christmas story from Luke. Christmas is about time with family and friend, so a Christmas story that has those elements in it is great.
Blessings:)
Good morning, Jolene! Thank you so much for sharing your holiday traditions and photos! I so miss my family gatherings for the holidays! Everyone is spread so far apart, we never get to have these times anymore ?.
My favorite part of reading a Christmas story in when it is centered on the reason for the season!! And if course, being with loved ones!
All the lights up right after thanksgiving.
When I pick up a Christmas book it needs to feel like Christmas. That can be expressed through holiday traditions, decorations, festivals, special time with family and friends, snow or even through music such as Christmas songs. If a Christmas book doesn’t have at least one or two of those things it doesn’t feel like a Christmas book to me.
I forgot to add how much I enjoyed reading your post about your family tradition at Thanksgiving. Thanks for posting the pics and sharing.
Hiking, what a great way to spend Christmas. We were talking about taking a family trip next year for Christmas. Snow would be fun since we live in Texas.
It does get harder. Now that my and my sisters kids are older they don’t all always make it. I have some cousins I haven’t seen in years, but we have wonderful memories. The spiritual reminder of why we celebrate Christmas is so important.
Thanks for stopping by Kim. We do to. In Lone Star Christmas they decorate Thanksgiving night. Lol. I don’t know if I’ve done that before. This year my kids are coming in the Saturday before Thanksgiving since they can’t all be there Thursday, so we will be decorating before Thanksiving. That’s a new one for me.
Thank you, Kimberly. I agree these are what makes a Christmas story special. Currently I’m writing my fifth Christmas story (4th for Love inspired)and I want to make sure it’s different while still being strongly rooted in Christmas. It can be a challange, but I’m enjoying.
Lol, no worries. Da nada
I enjoy both Thanksgiving and Christmas family gatherings. However, Christmas can have more tension involved as some of the family wants to emphasize Santa and some want to emphasize Christ. Most of my family lives around the Houston area, so this is where we gather. And those rare years we get snow are pretty fun!
A book about Christmas definitely needs to talk about the lights, gifts, food, family gatherings, etc
I love Thanksgiving, but Christmas is probably my favorite holiday. I love it when the family gets together. I love reading Christmas books because they are usually “feel good” books and make me happy.
My favorite part is all of the traditions, from decorating the tree with all of the familiar ornaments to the meal we always have on Christmas Eve and many others. Thinking about several of the Christmas books I’ve read, a common theme seems to be that the family is either brought together or drawn closer by preparing for and celebrating Christmas. I like when characters have family traditions that are included in the story because that is a big part of my holiday memories.
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts Dee. I think you’re right about Thanksgiving being a little easier with less tension. And YES to lights. I love it when they put lights on the cover too.
Thank you fir visiting, Susan. I think we all need a more “feel good” these days.
Thank you for your insight, Jessica. Being in Texas, tamales are a must have for Christmas Eve. I think I’m going to start collecting traditions from other families.
Thank you for the beautiful pictures it just feels so homey when looking at your pictures I love reading a good Christmas book and feeling as if I am right there ! I love The Christmas time because of First the reason for the season is Christ birth and second is getting to spend time with all my children and their families and enjoying each others company God Bless and Merry Christmas to You and Your Family!
Thank you for stopping by Sarah. One of my favorite things we do now is my Grandmother reads the story Christ’s birth Christmas Eve before we open the gifts.
Loved the pictures! I would love to do that someday with my family. The holidays are complete when we all are together as a family. I don’t look for anything specific in my Christmas books – just a good holiday story!
Family spells Christmas for me and it isn’t necessarily a family with mom, dad and 2 1/2 children. We can experience family in our church, our work, our community. A book that shows any of these relationships and shares the true Christmas story is what I enjoy reading at this time of year. Thanks for your giveaway.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thank you for sharing your family. It looks like a lot of fun. It was only my parents and grandparents growing up so I’ve never been to a big family celebration.
I love Christmas! Decorating the tree I guess is my favorite because then I can sit and read by it at night.
I like stories where the hero and heroine surprise each other with a gift for Christmas that they saw was needed.
Susan, thank you so much for stopping by and allowing me to show you the pictures. Do you see something over and over again that is overdone in holiday stories?
Thanks so true. The family we make can be just as important if not more so. Happy Thanksgiving!
Lights on the Christmas tree is one of my favorite things about Christmas. Seeing something in someone that no one else sees is indeed very special. Thank you, Linda
Thank you so much for sharing your holiday traditions and photos! Being with my family on Christmas. I like Christmas books because they make me feel good gets me in the spirit.
Thank you Tracy. It’s so much fun getting to share photos.
I love reading stories that reflect God’s love at Christmas.
Thank you, Lucy. It’s the whole reason for the celebration, isn’t?
That sounds like a really fun gathering, Jolene. You always make me miss our Hill Country branch of the family. We’re planning a trip there in the spring.
If your close to Boerne, give me a shout.
Love Christmas books and I love when they celebrate Christ’s birth!
It’s the reason we celebrate, right?