2020 - Christmas Beauty of the Day #16 - Valley Forge Ornament

2020 - Christmas Beauty of the Day #16 - Valley Forge Ornament

Kerry and I love to travel. We have had the opportunity to set our footprints in all fifty states, and a few countries, as well.

When we traveled with our children, we often visited American history sites, and also LDS Church historical sites. We would stop, perhaps feasting on snacks or lunch, and Kerry would begin to tell them of events that took place on the very ground they were standing on. Some of those would be:

Antietam Battlefield

Gettysburg

Boston Harbor

Kirtland, Ohio

Nauvoo, Illinois

The North Platte River

Emigration Canyon in Utah

Jamestown and Williamsburg, Virginia

Sharon, Vermont

Palmyra, New York

Bunker Hill

And, Valley Forge

The latter is where this beautiful little ornament was bought just a few years ago.

After Kerry would tell them the history of the area, then it was my turn to tell them of their ancestors who also stood in that very spot. By doing this, we hoped it would help them to make a connection when they studied the subject in school.

We hoped.

Now, we send post cards to all of the grandchildren when we visit these places. With son Jordan's children, I will write something like, "One of your grandfathers fought in the battle that took place here. Have your dad tell you about him!"

Son: Mom. Why do you do that?

Me: Because I can.

In the case of this Valley Forge trip, I later learned that two ancestors were there during that fateful winter. By looking on the Valley Forge site, I learned they had actually been housed in cabins pretty much next to each other.

And, we had parked right in front of those cabins.

You know they had to know each other.

#ChristmasBeautyoftheDay

#LighttheWorld