Times were hard. I (Annie) was now free from prison, but I was dirt poor and raising my three daughters alone, as their dad was still in prison and would be for many years. Living in a trailer in Beulah, Wyoming, under mammoth cottonwood trees alongside the Red Water River in winter was brutal. Frigid temperatures had frozen the water pipes under the trailer, so every drop had to be carried in from a well deep in the woods. I could barely keep the lights on and food on the table, and Christmas was coming—I wondered how I could provide even one gift for my precious little girls.
Yet, even as I wondered, I couldn't help but feel the peace and joy of Jesus' birth as I baked cookies and sang Christmas carols in our little home.
