The Christmas Cradle by Charlotte Hubbard

The Christmas Cradle by Charlotte Hubbard

Author:Charlotte Hubbard [Hubbard, Charlotte]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2015-08-03T04:00:00+00:00


Chapter Sixteen

Miriam glanced across her kitchen and smiled. Lena was frosting cut-out sugar cookies at the table while Isaiah dozed in the wooden cradle on the floor beside her. The first week of December had already slipped past them, and Miriam was in the mood for baking stars, angels, bells, and other Christmas shapes—and then she was taking them to the Sweet Seasons. She craved Naomi’s company and wanted to get a feel for how Josiah and Savilla were doing at the café.

Truth be told, even with Lena and little Isaiah around, it got awfully quiet at home. And Bishop Tom couldn’t say anything against her baking here and then selling the goodies at the restaurant—especially because she’d decided the money from selling them would go toward the Witmers’ new home.

“What do you think of this camel?” Lena asked as she held it up.

“That fancy blanket you’ve put on his hump is something I’d never have thought of!” Miriam replied. “You have a talent for makin’ these cookies look special, Lena. Folks are gonna snap these up.”

The girl’s face turned a pretty shade of pink. “I’ve always loved making Christmas cookies,” she murmured. “It’s so nice of you to let us have the money they’ll earn, Miriam.”

Miriam cut out more shapes from her dough. “It’s a simple thing, makin’ cookies, but we might be surprised at how much income they’ll generate for ya. Mighty oaks from little acorns grow—and can ya go open the door for Rachel and Amelia?”

As Lena rose from the table and her array of colored frostings and sprinkles, Miriam placed another sheet of cookies in the oven. It felt odd to have the doors locked—to make family members and friends wait outside. But after Josiah had recounted the details of his phone call to Hiram, they were taking the banned bishop’s threats very seriously.

“And how’re my girls this morning?” Miriam called out as her daughter entered the kitchen. “As ya can see, Lena and I have been busy bees today.”

Rachel gazed at the trays of decorated cookies. “You used the same cutters when we were kids, Mamma, but these cookies look really cute! Not that you haven’t always made the best cookies I ever put in my mouth.”

Miriam chuckled as she wiped her floury hands. “I kept the decoratin’ simple back then because you girls and your dat gobbled them up so quick,” she replied. “But we’ll be sellin’ these. What brings you and the wee one over this morning? Amelia, you’re growin’ like a weed, honey-bug!” she declared as she lifted her granddaughter from her basket.

“Teacher Alberta has asked if Micah, Amelia, and I would be the holy family for the live Nativity scene this year,” Rachel replied. “They still have so few kids in school that puttin’ on the usual Christmas Eve program won’t work too well.”

“It was a wonderful-gut pageant last year,” Miriam recalled fondly. “Lena, we had hundreds of folks stoppin’ by to visit our outdoor manger scene. Ben set everything up



Download



Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.