Melton Snow A Happy Heart Christmas

By Claudia Stewart Farrell

Melton Snow: A Happy Heart Christmas is a tribute to the sweet days of youth where vivid imaginations and a zest for life meet up in grand adventures.
In the first book of the Melton Snow trilogy, meet the Snow kids, Elijah, Glory and the younger twins Aaron and Ava, and of course, Melton-the won’t melt snowman. Join in the winter time fun as the kids delight in their most unique snowman chum from jolly old England.
Laugh as Mom tries to figure out just want kind of mischief the kids are getting into as they keep a special secret. Learn how the kids
figure out how to save their snowy friend while keeping down suspicion from the watchful eye of Mom and Dad. Celebrate the Christmas season and learn the stories behind the stories of our favorite holiday traditions and the true reason we rejoice.

Author—Claudia Stewart Farrell is a versatile writer presenting a fun fictional Christmas story with previous work in the non-fiction-memoir category. All works by this author are Christian based stories whether fiction or non-fiction.

Melton Snow: A Happy Heart Christmas is by design a fun read while teaching Christian principles and beliefs. It is a clever story of a middle class family living a high adventure through the imaginations of delightful children.
The humor and wit of the dialogue will keep the children laughing and adults amused. It carries fun loving action coupled with a strong message of goodness, responsibility, devotion
to family, sharing and an awareness of a good God.
It will attract a buying audience of parents and grandparents seeking good literature for young readers. It is an excellent alternative to ghosts and goblins, vampires, witches and warlocks so prominent in the library of adolescent options. This story demonstrates the structure of family life and the freedom found in a safe loving environment. It is a
story of childhood adventure both real and imagined with a fun mixture of fact and fiction.

Age level: This story will be enjoyed by children approximately 7 to 13 years of age. The younger child can easily follow the story line when read aloud to them while an older child will enjoy the goings-on,problem solving and humor introduced through the circumstances and dialogue.

Tags: Children’s Christmas, snowman, imaginary, adolescent literature, Christian literature, children’s fiction, family, faith based stories.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Claudia Stewart Farrell
• Release date: Nov 21, 2011
• ISBN: 9781452413983

Claudia Stewart Farrell

Sometimes your life takes a turn in a totally different direction. That is what happened to me. For years I worked as a customer service telephone rep for a health insurance company. I enjoyed helping people. Most were under health and financial pressures, and I was glad to be able to offer encouraging words and to attempt to resolve their issues easily; hoping to help make their day a little brighter. But I will admit after many years, I grew weary. One day sitting at my desk and feeling pretty burned out, I said a prayer, "Lord, when I no longer need to work here, I would like to do something fun. Well, little did I know what my loving God thought would be fun for me and what He had planned. I always knew I could express myself better in writing than orally but I never had the desire or a plan to write books. If you would like to know the whole story of how God worked in my life to change my direction and make me "an author" read "The Foreword" in I Thought You Had a Bigger Dream at www.readtheirstory.com. From that experience, my horizons widened. I was asked to write the story of the Cole family. better known as The Voices of Glory, (5th place winners of America's Got Talent in 2009) which is now a work in progress. Also, on the schedule, is the memoir of Tina Panos, the wife of an international evangelist, who went around the world herself sharing the Good News. So now I have come full circle, back to a little project I started for our grandchildren so they would understand the true meaning of Christmas. Our big God had his own big ideas and took my teaching outside our home and put it on the world-wide-web in the form of Melton Snow A Happy Heart Christmas. All I can say is, I was open to serving the Lord through serving a friend, and God has blessed me mightily, above all I could ask or think. I am so pleased to be able to honor God through telling the stories of His children and how He did BIG things in their lives. My husband, Ron and I live in Branson, Missouri, where we operate a business and serve as laborers for Christ through our local church. John 15:8-11 defines my assignment and my reward; that God may be glorified and that my joy be full. Primary Artwork provided by Bill Ferguson. See www.billferguson.net

Book preview

Melton Snow

A Happy Heart Christmas

By Claudia Stewart Farrell

Copyright 2011 Claudia Stewart Farrell

Smashwords Edition

I trust in your love. My heart is happy because you saved me.

Psalms 13:5 (NCV)

Smashwords Edition License Notes:

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

First electronic edition, November 2011

Copyright © 2011 Claudia Stewart Farrell

Cover art reproduced by permission of artist, Bill Ferguson

Melton Snow created by artist, Karen Stewart Casper especially for the Melton Snow series.

Happy Heart song, Copyright by Deanna Duggar Words and Music, Centre of Praise Publishing, BMI

All rights reserved.

No part of this e-book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher.

All inquiries should be sent to [e-mail]

Acknowledgements

Thank you to my sister Karen for working with me on the creation of Melton Snow, the won’t melt snowman and to my nephew Dan Van Langen for the excellent graphics and art work.

Special thanks is given to Mr. Bill Ferguson, for the generous offer to use the Monroe County Courthouse at Christmas painting as the cover for this book allowing me to drop Melton Snow into the scene.

Thank you, to my daughter Amy, to my sisters, Margaret and Debby, for your contributions to the Melton Snow story in reviewing, researching and advising when I was in need of help.

Thanks to Julie Van Sickle, my British friend for being my ever ready reference for phrases and slang used in your native England; I thank you for helping add such a fun dimension to the story.

Thanks to Paula Carroll for the professional book review and solid spiritual advice in the development of the story. You are much appreciated.

The list would be incomplete without thanking Penny Robichaux-Koontz for the example and advice to push through. Your friendship is invaluable and I look forward to working on more writing projects together.

Last and most importantly, I give a huge thank you to my husband, Ron, for walking this out with me, for encouraging me, for prophesying over me and the success of this simple message. You truly raised me up and kept me on track when I grew weary. I thank you, love.

Dedication

This work of love is dedicated to our grandchildren,

Tanner

Dakota

Hunter

Calei

Hannah

And

Gracelynn

And to all the children and grandchildren of the world,

may you find a happy heart through the love of Jesus.

CONTENTS

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

CHAPTER 1

The third floor windows of Chamberlain Manor displayed a view of the gardens, lawn and the pasture lands beyond. It shared borders with the quaint little town of Stow on the Wold. Lady Eliza Montgomery’s small hand rested on her young daughter’s shoulder in an attempt to settle the child. The snowman that Abbie and her brother Selbeigh had worked so hard on just yesterday was being dismantled by flakes and by chunks as the fierce wind tore at it layer by layer, bit by bit.

He was a special snowman, Mummy. Selby said so, Abigail whimpered.

In a few days when it is warmer, you can build another snowman. Maybe you should build it in the courtyard next time where the high walls will protect it from the wind, advised her mother, gently.

We will, Mummy. It makes me sad to see our snowman blowing away," Abbie said, shaking her head unhappily.

Alright then, Lady Abigail, it’s time to dress for dinner, she instructed, stroking her daughter’s flaxen hair. She was a tall child for only six, fair-complected with blue eyes so large and bright they mirrored onlookers.

They stood a minute longer looking across the snow drifted fields and hedgerows to the bell tower of St. Edwards church on the high distant hill. The Cotswold’s had been home to generations of Montgomery’s, still they never tired of this stirring view of their estate.

Run along to your chambers now so you won’t be tardy, smiled Lady Montgomery, her gaze returning to the snowy wonderland.

* * *

On the other side of the world, Mrs. Snow smiled contentedly, Look outside, Ava. Seven year old Ava sat on the floor surrounded by beads of every color, shape and size making bracelets for each of her friends. Ava was small for her age with long, straight brown hair, rounded cheeks, a turned up nose and almond shaped brown eyes. Those eyes had to come from Grandma. Her eyes also had an oriental shape yet she had no known Asian blood. That look was a mystery yet a fun curiosity as no one else in the family looked quite the same as the two of them. Ava bounced up, landing on the sofa that sat beneath the wide living room window. Wow, look how big the flakes are, she exclaimed.

Her older sister, Glory, glanced out the window and smiled at the beautiful sight as the large flakes fell quickly to the ground. She was snuggled into the oversized winged back chair, opposite the picture window, her favorite place to sit. Glory was almost twelve with softly curled strawberry blond hair that surrounded a slender face, deep blue eyes, and a pretty nose dappled with a few freckles. Glory was the pensive one of the family. She usually had her nose in a book or was journaling something that had happened, drawing a picture or composing a rhyme. She picked up her journal to make a note.

Can we go outside, Mom, Ava quizzed with excitement. Go find your brothers, they will want to go, too, was her answer. Ava chased off to search for Aaron and Elijah. She found them in the garage with Dad. Elijah, tall for twelve and three quarters, as he liked to say, was holding a piece of wood while his dad sawed it. Anytime there was work to be done in the garage, Elijah was there to help. He was a quick learner, having a fascination with anything mechanical or any construction project. He was lean, but strong with dark brown, wavy hair and dark eyes like his father. Their noses looked like they were cut from the same mold, pronounced but pleasing.

Aaron, Ava’s twin, was a half head taller than her. He had the same brown hair as Ava, but rather than being straight was an unruly shock of curls and waves. Everyone always said they got mixed up in the womb, the boy having the curly hair and the girl, straight. Aaron was always ready for a new adventure so he liked to hang out with his dad and brother. Not that he had the same interest as Elijah but always wanted to be in the middle of whatever was happening.

Hey, guys. Did you know it was snowing, Ava announced proudly, knowing her brothers had not yet seen out the high garage windows.