Changes

*Lastly, when John is starting to doubt, Ed Grassle (from a nearby church) comes to visit him.  Ed also likes to dabble in woodworking.  Ed offers his family's assistance in whatever John and Joan need during this time.

*Lastly, when John is starting to doubt, Ed Grassle (from a nearby church) comes to visit him.  Ed also likes to dabble in woodworking.  Ed offers his family's assistance in whatever John and Joan need during this time.

The newer sequence takes place in 2012 and features the continuing story of Lauren Mabrey<ref>Formerly known as Lauren Gabriel before her marriage to Travis Mabrey, her story is told in the previous two books.  In ''[[The Christmas Town (book)|The Christmas Town]]'', after a night of aimless driving to escape her unhappy and unfulfilled life -- due in large part to being abandoned by her parents, and raised in the foster care system -- discovers Grandon by "accident" (literally, as she witnesses a hit-and-run accident) and upon returning to identify the driver, she continued to return there to volunteer for an upcoming fundraiser and ultimately finds the "family" she never had growing up; though she would have a bad experience and abandon the people for a time, Travis comes to see her at work and talks her into returning (offering to take her on an actual date in the process, which she accepts).  In ''[[The Christmas Star (book)|The Christmas Star]]'' shows her having moved to Grandon, continuing to volunteer, and her engagement and marriage to Travis.</ref>.  Having lived in Grandon for around a year and a half and married to Travis for six months, she continues to volunteer at Glory's Place where she meets a new volunteer, Andrea King (a middle-aged woman with one child in college and the other a high-school senior, who now has more time to volunteer).  Lauren has been ill for several days, which she blames on "supermarket sushi"; Andrea suspects another cause which turns out to be correct: Lauren is pregnant (and later learns that her due date is between the date for the annual Glory's Place fundraiser and her Christmas season anniversary).

The newer sequence takes place in 2012 and features the continuing story of Lauren Mabrey<ref>Formerly known as Lauren Gabriel before her marriage to Travis Mabrey, her story is told in the previous two books.  In ''[[The Christmas Town (book)|The Christmas Town]]'', after a night of aimless driving to escape her unhappy and unfulfilled life -- due in large part to being abandoned by her parents, and raised in the foster care system -- discovers Grandon by "accident" (literally, as she witnesses a hit-and-run accident) and upon returning to identify the driver, she continued to return there to volunteer for an upcoming fundraiser and ultimately finds the "family" she never had growing up; though she would have a bad experience and abandon the people for a time, Travis comes to see her at work and talks her into returning (offering to take her on an actual date in the process, which she accepts).  In ''[[The Christmas Star (book)|The Christmas Star]]'' Lauren is shown as having moved to Grandon, continuing to volunteer, and her engagement and marriage to Travis.</ref>.  Having lived in Grandon for around a year and a half and married to Travis for six months, she continues to volunteer at Glory's Place where she meets a new volunteer, Andrea King (a middle-aged woman with one child in college and the other a high-school senior, who now has more time to volunteer).  Lauren has been ill for several days, which she blames on "supermarket sushi"; Andrea suspects another cause which turns out to be correct: Lauren is pregnant (and later learns that her due date is between the date for the annual Glory's Place fundraiser and her Christmas season anniversary).

The news of Lauren's pregnancy spurs her friends at Glory's Place to redecorate and furnish her and Travis' house for the arriving baby.  Miriam is able to negotiate a good price on a round black walnut kitchen table (which Larry, the store owner, purchased at a garage sale and refinished).  Travis notices that the table has a drawer, when he opens it he finds a stack of handwritten recipe cards (Larry bought the table years prior so he does not know who the prior owner was; thus they can't return them).  The discovery spurs something within Lauren: having never had any real family meals with her neglecting (and ultimately abandoning) parents, and very few while in foster care, she wants to begin cooking and having real family meals.  She uses Andrea as a sounding board for her ideas (Andrea tells her that she isn't stupid for thinking about it, and her family would always have breakfast and dinner together, even if the time had to be changed due to children's activities).

The news of Lauren's pregnancy spurs her friends at Glory's Place to redecorate and furnish her and Travis' house for the arriving baby.  Miriam is able to negotiate a good price on a round black walnut kitchen table (which Larry, the store owner, purchased at a garage sale and refinished).  Travis notices that the table has a drawer, when he opens it he finds a stack of handwritten recipe cards (Larry bought the table years prior so he does not know who the prior owner was; thus they can't return them).  The discovery spurs something within Lauren: having never had any real family meals with her neglecting (and ultimately abandoning) parents, and very few while in foster care, she wants to begin cooking and having real family meals.  She uses Andrea as a sounding board for her ideas (Andrea tells her that she isn't stupid for thinking about it, and her family would always have breakfast and dinner together, even if the time had to be changed due to children's activities).