Meet The Author -- Vicky Stees Ennis

Vicky Ennis was happy to join her two sisters in the venture of writing some of their early childhood memories.

Mrs. Ennis attended Bible College studying religious and church leadership. Throughout her life she has held positions of leadership within her church.

Vicky and husband, Cliff, still live in their hometown in northwestern Illinois, spending their winters in Alabama and Florida. They are the parents of four children and ten grandchildren. She enjoys staying home writing, doing needlework, and being around her family. You can contact her at sissykay47@yahoo.com.

Our Parents - George & Edith

This is one of many pictures we have of our parents from the 1950's. I think it shows the times very well. Our Dad was an interior/exterior painter all his life. He eventually started his own business and was successful at it for many years. He later turned the business over to one of our brothers and went to work painting for one of the hospitals in the area. That's where he was until he retired.

Our Mom was a stay-at-home mother for many years. I guess during our early years. She didn't go to work anywhere outside the home until my twin sister and I were in our second year of high school. She went to work at a local factory and worked until she retired sometime in her mid to late sixties.

They are the reason we wanted to write and share our childhood memories with everyone. We had good times growing up and shared our lives with their siblings and families. Our Dad came from a family of eight children and our Mom came from a family with nine children. So there were lots and lots of cousins for us to play with. We recently counted that we had 52 first cousins at one time. So we always had someone to play with if our siblings were busy. Family was very important to our parents. We spent time together learning as a family and that gave us the blueprint we took and developed our families from.

New Review of Kaleidoscope Memories!

"As I read Kaleidoscope Memories: Childhood Stories That Celebrate Family Life, I couldn't help but think that these authors were surely paying it backwards by collecting and sharing their childhood stories. So many people take life a day at a time never allowing the sweet memories of yesterday to come forward, linger a bit, and fill them up. Not so in this reading journey.

Author Cindy Oldham and her sibling co-authors, transport the reader to simpler times where innocents and child-like wonderment abound. Through many stories of school, pets, childhood fears, and other golden mements, the reader will be coaxed gently into relaxing and remembering their own youthfulness.

As I read the chapter, 'The Path To Lego Town', the simple analogy that life can be exciting as we make it and that the possibilities are limitless, was not wasted on this reader. Sometimes it takes seeing it, and living it through a child's eyes to bring this truth home again.

School days, drive-in movies, traditional home-cooked meals we all learned to hate (i.e. liver and onions) and stories like, 'Napping With Mama', will bring a sigh and a smile to any reader's face; and maybe even tug at the heartstrings for buried memories of their own. It was a nice journey; and pleasing. Truly it was about two of the most important things in the world - family...and love."
Reviewed by: Georgia Richardson, author, humorist
http://www.queenjawjaw.com/

Our Publisher

If you'd like to know more about our publisher - Tide Dancer Publications - click on the Facebook icon to the left and check out their FB page.

Then you can take some time and visit their website at http://www.tidedancer.com/. Read about their authors on the Authors page and read about the books Tide Dancer Publications has for your enjoyment. They are a new innovative company that provides 'personalized publishing for today's author.'

They work one-on-one with each new person helping them accomplish their goals and dreams for their writing careers. If you are interested in or need help writing or working on your manuscript, we have a writers group that is by invitation only, so leave an email requesting information and we'll get back to you to add you to the group.

Want Another Edition of KM?

The authors are penning the second book in the Kaleidoscope Memories Series. We are hoping that it will be completed this year and ready for publication next year. It is about a time when we lived in the rural countryside and attended a small two room school. There are stories about the happenings in the school and also about our family times at a house my Aunt used to call the "Long Branch" after the saloon in the TV show Gunsmoke.
It has lots of laughter, sweetness and family times in the stories. Keep checking back for more information on the next book.

CHRISTMAS MEMORIES -- by Vicky

Christmas was a happy time for our family. We always spent Christmas Eve at home. Mom would put the turkey in the oven to begin its slow cook overnight. While Dad played board games with us, Mom made the pies. Soon the smell of roasting turkey made its way throughout the house.
"Would anyone like a snack of homemade fudge and a bowl of popcorn?" Mom asked as she started handing out our treats. A little while later we went to bed with the excitement of Santa coming to our house and leaving presents for us.
"One year, after we'd all gone to bed, Gwen thought she'd get the twins to go to sleep early.
"Vic, watch this. Let's trick the twins into thinking Santa's on the roof." She had found some jingle bells and began shaking them under the blankets. After a minute or so Jenny sat up in her bed.
"What's that noice?" she asked. "Cinny, do you hear that?"
"Yes, it sounds like jingle bells." They both looked towards our bed. "Sissy, do you hear that?" The bells had stopped ringing as Gwen put her hand over her mouth so as not to laugh aloud. A few seconds later she said,
"I heard it, what do you think it is?"
"Sounds like jingle bells, huh Nin?" Cindy said.
"Who do you know that has jingle bells and would be outside?" Gwen asked the twins as she started the bells again.
"Oh, there it is again," Jen said turning towards Cindy. "Maybe it's Santa and the reindeer."
We could tell these two little six year olds were getting pretty excited about this. I leaned over and whispered into Gwen's ear,
"You'd better end this before Mom and Dad hear the bells."
"Okay," she whispered back. "Cin and Jen, you know if it's Santa, you'd better get to sleep fast because he won't come here and leave toys if you're awake."
"You mean we won't get any presents?" Jen asked.
"That's right, now go to sleep," Gwen told them. I never saw the twins move so fast. They lay down in the bed, pulled the blankets up and closed their eyes. We never heard another peep out of them. Gwen turned to me chuckling, "That was fun." I agreed. We talked quietly for awhile then fell asleep.
We woke up early and began getting dressed so we could go find our gifts. The one fast rule on Christmas morning was no opening presents in our pj's. Gwen and I would get up and dressed, then help Jen and Cin, the youngest of the bunch, get ready. Our big brother, Gabe, would get dressed then try to wake Kel. He was never an early riser and Christmas morning was a hard time for him. It took some coaxing from Gabe to get Kel ready.
"Come on, Kel, you have to get up, it's Christmas morning. Everyone's ready to go downstairs."
"Leave me alone, I'm tired," Kel said.
"Put on your jeans and shirt. Then you'll be ready, too," Gabe told him. Finally, after much encouragement Kell was dressed. We lined up by ages. Cindy went first, followed by Jen, then me and Kel, finally Gwen and Gabe.
The lights from the Christmas tree spread a warm, special glow around the living room and once we saw it, all the turmoil that had gone on upstairs was forgotten. The camera started flashing from Mom and Dad's bedroom as they caught us unaware. Our parents had been listening to the discussions upstairs and waiting for us to appear.
"Merry Christmas, kids, " they called out as the flash went off. We'd all smile for the picture then gather around the tree. Santa's gifts were sitting unwrapped, so those were discovered first. The oldest child usually handed out the gifts. It was fun to sit and watch everyone open their presents and see how they liked them. Happiness and love were felt throughout the house.
Our main meal on Christmas was at noon. After eating, everyone agreed they were all stuffed from the turkey, dressing, baked corn, cranberry sauce and pies. Then we'd spend the afternoon playing with our new toys and other gifts.
About supper time we'd go to one of Mom's sister's house for the big family gathering. Everyone would bring some of their Christmas food to share. The adults would sit around the table chatting, whilde the children would be in the living room playing. When the evening was almost over, all of us would gather in the living room. Mom and her sisters would play their musical instruments and the entire family would sing Christmas carols until we were tired and ready to go home.
The day closed with our families enjoying each other and the good feelings Christmas had brought. Those were special times and memories that still make my Christmases warm and touch my heart.

Thanksgiving Day!

Sitting here on this Thanksgiving Day, I remember those precious days spent with my siblings and parents as a child.
The day was usually spent at home with mom making the turkey/dressing and all the trimings. Dad would usually sit with us and watch Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade while the turkey sent its smell throughout the home. The pumpkin pies would add their scent and we'd all find ourselves so hungry that it seemed like the meal took forever before it was done.
The dinner consisted of turkey and dressing, potatoes, baked corn, cranberry sauce, gravy, rolls, sweet potatoes or yams, and green beans. Normally we'd have to wait awhile after dinner before we had dessert which usually consisted of Lemon Meringue, Cherry, and Pumpkin Pie. It was a treat if we had ice cream on the pie, but either way, we enjoyed our dessert when the time was right.
Depending on the weather, we either had some time to be outside playing in the snow if there was any, or stayed inside playing board or card games with our parents. The day moved on and we had leftovers for our supper. The day ended with either television or finishing our games.
We didn't usually go anywhere on that day but occasionally some of our cousins came to visit and spend the evening. Those were nice times that we all enjoyed as it was the prelude to the Christmas season and the excitement was high in anticipation.
It's nice to remember!