When we travel and stay with friends and family, we have time to do things I would like to do more often at home – like go on walks.  Few other house responsibilities call and, without their regular schedule of activities and toys, I have to ensure the children have things to occupy their minds.

In Germany last month we wandered the paths everyday.  How could we not?  The scenery was breathtaking, the wild fruit was plentiful and there were so many little treasures to gather along the way.  One afternoon we brought those treasures home and had a blast glueing them together into figurines.  I wielded the glue gun and each of the girls told me where to put the glue so they could assemble the figure from their imagination.  Much hilarity ensued.  When we were done and the figures had dried, the girls played with them until they fell apart, back into the pieces they had originally been – a simple acorn, leaf, twig or flower.  For this activity, the joy was completely in the process.