Winners at the County Fair!

What a fun week this has been celebrating the county fair! Thank you all so much for your comments and contest entries--your participation made this a great week all around!

The first winner I'll announce is the givewaway winner for Made to Order Family. And the winner is . . .

Bluerose!

I used Random.Org's List Randomizer to pick the winner. Congratulations, Bluerose! Be looking for my e-mail!

Now, for The County Fair Contest winners. Yes, winners (plural)! Both official entries were so good that I want to give them both something for their heart-warming scenes.

The prize package goes to Michelle, for her scene at the Ferris wheel! Michelle will be receiving Love Finds You in Romeo, Colorado, A Name of Her Own, a bag of kettle corn, a purple stuffed monkey, and a personalized bookmark from Ashley! Congratulations!

And Ariel will be receiving my copy of Love's Long Journey by Janette Oke! (If you already have this book, let me know, Ariel, and I'll send you a different one!)

Thank you both for your great entries, and I hope it's alright if I share them again below so everyone can enjoy them! And thank you, also, to all of you who left such kind and encouraging comments. They were much appreciated!

Here's Michelle's scene:

She stared up at the ferris wheel. Never in a million years, had she believed she'd be here again. Back in her hometown, at the county fair. The city, and all of its problems and worries, seemed a million miles away. But there she was, back in Justice, and who was standing next to her? Her high school sweetheart.

“Penny for your thoughts?” She heard a soft voice say in her ear. She glanced up, meeting the blue eyes of Donovan Carter. They'd been inseperable in high school. The cowboy and the valedictorian. They had been a bit of an odd couple.

Rachel laughed softly. “Are you certain they are worth that much?”

“I would say your thoughts are worth considerably more than a penny, Rachel.”

She blushed, looking down, perhaps feeling just a little embarrassed. But this was Donovan, who had always cheered her on, no matter what. The one person who had helped her believe anything was possible. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed that. How much she'd missed him in the last fifteen years.

“Being back here, it seems very strange.” She said softly. “Honestly, I'm not certain I ever imagined I would be back.”

He looked straight into her eyes. “Fifteen years ago, you left to chase your dreams. I don't believe there was a person, in this town, who wasn't proud of you when you won that scholarship to Yale. But it is very good to have you home.”

She took his hand, as they stepped onto the platform. “It's good to be home.” She said softly. As they set down in the car, she couldn't help but wonder what, if anything, would happen when they reached the top.


And here's Ariel's scene:

Yeesha walked alone and lost through the hustle and bustle of the booths and barns of her county fair. She didn’t come alone; she came with her best friend Lily and her best friend’s boyfriend Curtis. Those two did everything together, and not having a boyfriend or anyone that liked her made Yeesha lonely. She had slipped away while they weren’t looking and began exploring on her own.

Unfortunately for her, Yeesha had never been to the county fair before and didn’t know her way around the grounds. She passed tons of people, all laughing and smiling and having a great time, while she just wanted to leave. Suddenly she heard her name.

“Yeesha!”

She expected it to be Lily calling her back, so she turned slowly. To her surprise, it was David! David and Yeesha had a small history: He had asked her to her senior prom, and at the time it was obvious they both liked each other. However, nothing had happened beyond that. Seeing him now brought a flood of thoughts and emotions back, and Yeesha stood there shocked as he ran up.

“Yeesha! I haven’t seen you in a while. What are you doing here, and all alone?”

She smiled slightly and explained the whole situation. As they walked, they caught up on everything that had happened in each other’s lives. After a while Yeesha realized she still had feelings for David. Was it possible he still had feelings for her?

Eventually they found themselves in the pig barn. Yeesha wrinkled her nose.

“Yuck, they don’t smell so great!”

David smiled. “They are very smart though! You should pet one!”

“Pet one?! Why on earth would I want to do that?” Yeesha cried.

“What are you chicken? “ David teased.

Pouting, Yeesha gave in. “Oh, alright.” Gingerly she reached through the bars and patted one curious pig on his nose. Surprised, the pig pushed her back and she fell right into David’s arms!

As she looked up at him, it was as if the rest of the world had melted away. Right there, she knew he felt the same way. As he leaned to give her a kiss, the pig snorted rather loudly and rammed the bars. Laughing, David picked her up and gave her a real kiss.

“I really missed you, Yeesha.”

Smiling, Yeesha realized she was glad to have come to the fair. While it started terribly, it had ended with her dreams realized by the help of a very noisy pig. Who would have thought?


Please be sure and leave some encouraging comments for these ladies! Great job, Michelle and Ariel! (And thank you to my parents for looking over both of the scenes, too!)

Have a wonderful weekend ya'll, and be sure to tune in next week for the "End of Summer Bash," starring some of your favorite authors! Can't wait to see you there!