When's the Last Time You Used a Crayon?

Every year we get the kids wooden ornaments to color.  Some years we've had Grandma & Grandpa Sinnaeve with us, but this year we had Grandma & Grandpa Oesterle with us.  We had to cajol Grandpa to come color and he said, "Do you know the last time I held a crayon?"

Time does not diminish his skill though, he is still a good artist and we enjoyed our time huddled around the table.

 Ben was the first one done, you can call him "Speedy".

Nate was still hard at work at the end,  but his finished product was beautiful.

 Part of what makes the time together so enjoyable, is hearing the stories Grandma & Grandpa tell about their childhood.  We heard about what chores they had as a kid growing up on farms, one from a big family and one from a small family.  The differences between their mothers and they work they would do.  Hearing of raising, selling, killing chickens and trying to imagine Grandma as a little girl deathly afraid of chickens.   Imagining Grandma plucking chicken feathers all day long on butchering day.  We all sat around the table caught in the spell of Grandma & Grandpa's lives.  Someday my children will have a collection of ornaments and, most of all, memories to share with their children.