Many years ago when the kids were young and so was I, we lived in Nebraska. Our place sat up on a hill overlooking the Republican River Valley. It was a scenic and rural location where we often saw wildlife in the corn stubble across the road which lay between us and the river.
We were on the great Central Flyway which is annually traversed by millions of geese and Sandhill Cranes on their migration to warmer climates. The geese attract Bald Eagles which we used to count whenever we drove along Interstate 80 which parallels the Platte River. We even had one in our yard one morning.
One of the things I miss about that place was the shop building. It had a fabulous metal shop building that we enjoyed greatly. I had a few woodworking tools and we set up an area in which we would build things. It was great for the kids to learn some of the basics of using the tools and of creating things.
One Christmas we made wooden cutout Christmas ornaments. We also made a small Christmas Village out of old fence pickets. I did the cutting, the kids did the wood burning and painting. Each year some of those items still find their way onto our Christmas tree.
It seems that most of us become fixated on finding the perfect gift for someone. If we can't decide what to buy, we get them a gift card so they can choose for themselves. We spend far too much time and money on such things. It is difficult to recall those gifts.
But, the handmade items that are kept from year-to-year are special. They find more than a place in our home, they find a place in our heart.
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