📚💛 The Words That Stayed

Hey, y’all! 💕 I’m so glad you’re here.

If you’re new, welcome to my front porch. 🏡✨

I write stories that are easy to share—with grandmothers, daughters, and the women friends in between. Sweet, swoony, closed-door romances with heartfelt emotion, small-town roots, and happy endings you can count on.

Stories meant to be passed down. ☕💛

🤗 You’re in the right place.

😂 LAUGHTER

Growing up, we said a prayer before every meal.

We joined hands and said:

God is great.
God is good.
Let us thank Him for our food.
Amen.

Only... when I was little, I was convinced it was “lettuce thank Him.” 🥬😄

I remember wondering why we were thanking God for iceberg lettuce.

Of all the vegetables... why lettuce? 😂

Just me?

🌱 LIFE

Families have funny sayings.

Little phrases that become part of everyday life.

You don’t think much about them when you’re growing up.

Until one day you realize they’ve been quietly living in your heart all along. 💛

Suddenly, you’re saying it to your own kids or grandkids.

And the tradition continues.

At my mother’s funeral, my nieces shared something that made us all smile.

Every night when my momma tucked them into bed, she would say:

Good night,
sleep tight,
wake up bright,
do what’s right,
with all your might,
good night,
I love you,
sweet dreams. 🌙✨

Didn’t matter if they were little.

Or teenagers.

Or grown adults stopping by for a visit.

Those were the words she always said before turning out the light.

It’s been a few weeks since my mother’s passing.

Every now and then, as I crawl into bed...

I still find myself whispering those words into the darkness.

💛 LOVE

A bedtime rhyme.

A dinner prayer.

A favorite poem.

A wave from the front porch.

Funny, isn’t it?

None of them seem especially important at the time.

Until years later...

...when you realize they’ve become part of your family legacy, a part of who you are.

Maybe that’s one reason traditions find their way into so many of my stories.

Whether it’s Storybrook... 🏡📚

Or Sweetheart, Texas... 🤠💛

I love writing about the little things families pass down—wedding letters, love notes, legends.

Because sometimes those are the things that stay with us the longest.

If you need to go tuck somebody into bed, you can borrow my momma’s saying. But if you wanna hang out and share family sayings or traditions, I’ll pass the sweet tea—extra ice because it’s hot outside.

With Love, Life, and Laughter (not always in that order),

Leanna 💛

☕ From the Front Porch Swing

This week, I shared words that have stayed with me since childhood. They reminded me of another family tradition I’ve never forgotten—a final wave from the front porch before the cars pulled away. 👋💛

👉 The Final Wave

💬 What Our Friends Are Saying...

I realize it’s a little early for Christmas, but I’ve been listening to holiday songs while I work on a book coming out next year. So I’m already in the mood. And with it so hot outside, well, it feels cooler inside.

This one was too good not to share…💕

🪑 Come Sit a Spell...

Looking for a few feel-good stories before summer slips away? ☀️📚

🏡💕 Stories that feel like home.

Until next time, y’all... 💛

Cherish the words, the traditions, and the people who first spoke them into your life. You never know which ones you’ll still be carrying years from now. 🏡✨

Come on over!

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