Three years after leaving her family and the Amish community in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, Annie Weaver returns home to care for her father, who's been injured in a buggy accident.
During her time in the city, she became a licensed nurse. None of her Amish friends and family know of her new skills, but that doesn't stop her from using them to give her father the best care she's capable of providing. Contrary to the uncomplimentary opinion of Samuel Yoder, the insufferable Amish farmer who provides medical care to the community, she actually knows what she's doing.
Coming home fulfills something deep inside Annie. She's where she belongs, and has no plans to leave again. As she settles back into the lifestyle she was born to, she prays that God will find a way for her to use her medical training in the community. In the meantime, she waits expectantly for Christmas, eager to experience again the simple, Amish way of celebrating the holiday.
Samuel is not an old man, but the loss of his wife and baby eight years ago stole his youth and his passion for life. Annie Weaver's return to Mifflin County makes him feel again. It takes no time at all for him to recognize her obvious talent in the medical field, and not much longer to realize she's stolen his heart. But familial obligations and the difference in his and Annie's ages give him pause about acting on his feelings.
On the morning of the Simple Amish Christmas Annie has yearned for, they'll both make the most important decision of their lives. Will Annie be willing to use her training to help her people in a new and unexpected way? And will Samuel release the pain of his past to let a new love into his heart?
A Simple Amish Christmas is a sweet, heart-touching romance that provides all the warm, fuzzy feelings one expects in a Christmas story. It's well-written, with realistic, life-sized characters that make one hope this isn't the last Mifflin County novel. Many of the secondary characters are easily strong enough to carry their own story. The storyline flows well, and the unexpected touches of humor show a side of the Amish that many people don't expect. Great writing, great storytelling, great book!