Changes

After several of the children (including "Maddie") in the Glory's Place after-school program suggest that Travis and Lauren should get married, the following day Travis proposes.  The two decide on an outdoor wedding in the gazebo (a place special to them both), which Miriam (who volunteers herself to be the wedding planner) loves, only to be mortified when they decide to hold the wedding on Wednesday, December 21 (an outdoor wedding on what is expected to be a cold day), don't want upscale dresses for the bridesmaids, desire to hold the reception at Glory's Place (so the children can participate) with the reception meal consisting of chicken wings and potato salad and candy for the children (they end up having a cake, which Gloria will purchase as a gift).

After several of the children (including "Maddie") in the Glory's Place after-school program suggest that Travis and Lauren should get married, the following day Travis proposes.  The two decide on an outdoor wedding in the gazebo (a place special to them both), which Miriam (who volunteers herself to be the wedding planner) loves, only to be mortified when they decide to hold the wedding on Wednesday, December 21 (an outdoor wedding on what is expected to be a cold day), don't want upscale dresses for the bridesmaids, desire to hold the reception at Glory's Place (so the children can participate) with the reception meal consisting of chicken wings and potato salad and candy for the children (they end up having a cake, which Gloria will purchase as a gift).

Maddie (full name, Madeleine Grace), age 7, has been in foster care since birth, when her parents abandoned her (a nurse actually gave Maddie her name).  Though eligible for [[adoption]] placement, she has been passed over repeatedly, due in part to her having a mild form of [[cerebral palsy]] (it only affects her right leg).  She loves her foster mother (Linda), who has raised her most of her life, but would really like to have a mom and dad for Christmas.  After her "success" with Travis' and Lauren's pending nuptials, she fancies herself as a "matchmaker", and sets her sights on her next match: getting her adult male friend Gabe "Mr. G" Rodriguez (a maintenance man at the elementary school, who was previously married but now divorced due to him being a "bad husband"; he is also Travis' cousin) paired up with her adult female friend Amy Denison (a new volunteer at Glory's Place); the two each separately give Maddie a "three-cord bracelet" that each owns but hasn't worn in years<ref>The bracelet is designed to symbolize the three parties in a successful marriage -- God, the husband, and the wife -- and is taken from Ecclesiastes 4:12 -- "A cord of three strands is not easily broken".</ref>.

Maddie (full name, Madeleine Grace), age 7, has been in foster care since birth, when her parents abandoned her at the hospital (a nurse actually gave Maddie her name).  Though eligible for [[adoption]] placement, she has been passed over repeatedly, due in part to her having a mild form of [[cerebral palsy]] (it only affects her right leg).  She loves her foster mother (Linda), who has raised her most of her life, but would really like to have a mom and dad for Christmas.  After her "success" with Travis' and Lauren's pending nuptials, she fancies herself as a "matchmaker", and sets her sights on her next match: getting her adult male friend Gabe "Mr. G" Rodriguez (a maintenance man at the elementary school, who was previously married but now divorced due to him being a "bad husband"; he is also Travis' cousin) paired up with her adult female friend Amy Denison (a new volunteer at Glory's Place); the two each separately give Maddie a "three-cord bracelet" that each owns but hasn't worn in years<ref>The bracelet is designed to symbolize the three parties in a successful marriage -- God, the husband, and the wife -- and is taken from Ecclesiastes 4:12 -- "A cord of three strands is not easily broken".</ref>.

However, when Maddie finally gets them to meet, she learns that Gabe and Amy are well-acquainted with each other: the two were married for four years before divorcing six years prior.  Gabe openly admits he caused the marriage to fail, due in part to his selfishness, anger, alcohol abuse, and failure to put God at the center of their marriage, but thought Amy had subsequently been engaged.  In the intervening years, Gabe has returned to faith in God, attended [[Alcoholics Anonymous]] meetings (and has achieved 5 1/2 years of sobriety) and is two semesters away from a degree in elementary education (previously having no interest in children).  The divorce also affected Amy, causing her to reclaim her faith in God; though not interested in reuniting with Gabe, she decides she wants to be a foster parent and is eventually approved<ref>The social worker, Patricia Anderson, had her story told in the book ''[[The Christmas Hope (book)|The Christmas Hope]]'' (though in that book her surname was shown as Addison).</ref>.

However, when Maddie finally gets them to meet, she learns that Gabe and Amy are well-acquainted with each other: the two were married for four years before divorcing six years prior.  Gabe openly admits he caused the marriage to fail, due in part to his selfishness, anger, alcohol abuse, and failure to put God at the center of their marriage, but thought Amy had subsequently been engaged.  In the intervening years, Gabe has returned to faith in God, attended [[Alcoholics Anonymous]] meetings (and has achieved 5 1/2 years of sobriety) and is two semesters away from a degree in elementary education (previously having no interest in children).  The divorce also affected Amy, causing her to reclaim her faith in God; though not interested in reuniting with Gabe, she decides she wants to be a foster parent and is eventually approved<ref>The social worker, Patricia Anderson, had her story told in the book ''[[The Christmas Hope (book)|The Christmas Hope]]'' (though in that book her surname was shown as Addison).</ref>.