Debbie Macomber's A Mrs. Miracle Christmas

Married Seattleites Laurel and Will McCullough have had a difficult last few years. Long wanting to have a child, they have a mountain of debt from unsuccessful fertility treatments. Those debts led to them moving in with Laurel's grandparents, Helen and Robert Atwater - affectionately called Nana and Pop - who have always taken care of Laurel in the absence of her father, Michael, who started his own second family after Laurel's mother passed away when Laurel was a child. Laurel and Will then decided to foster a child, Jonathan, who they were in the process of adopting, when his birth mother changed her mind and retained custody, Laurel who has never recovered from that heartbreak especially as people close to them have or are starting families of their own. In the approach to Christmas, the situation in their household is made more difficult in Pop's recent passing, leaving once feisty Nana losing her joy of life, which may have been a factor in her recent fall and she spraining her wrist. Despite not having the financial capability to do so, Laurel and Will decide to take the advice to hire a caregiver for Nana for the Christmas season if only to get them over the busy time, which would give Nana some company during the day while they are at work. Despite the agency informing Laurel that there are no caregivers available immediately, who shows up on their doorstep without previous notice is Gloria Merkel, a glass half full type woman even if the proverbial glass is less than half full. Gloria admits in a past situation she was referred to as Mrs. Miracle in the mispronunciation of her name. Gloria coming onto the scene does not sit well with Nana, who wants no one fussing over her. But in Gloria knowing what they all want or more importantly need even before they know it themselves, Nana comes to the realization of who Gloria is before anyone else, proverbially a true Mrs. Miracle. It is in that vein of Nana once again opening herself up to life that she bonds with Gloria in focusing on the more challenging task of bringing Laurel back to life in placing their joint energies on her and Will's future in wanting to be parents, adoptive, foster or otherwise. Written by Huggo