handmade bounty had taken over her home like an overgrown jungle.  I could spend hours just wandering the small, overgrown paths that had taken over her house.  If I went this way I might run into Mount Barbie doll or I might catch sight of Jewel Mountain in the distance.

I remember from my childhood that my grandma would always share her handmade gifts with everyone.  She would meticulously spend hour upon hour sewing and knitting.  I would watch in quiet amazement as her fragile fingers knitted as fast as a sewing machine.  My dolls were the best dressed in the neighborhood.  I still wonder how she could make such tiny clothes with precise perfection.

As I got older and outgrew those childhood favorites, she would continue to sew and knit.  She would spend the entire year faithfully knitting and sewing doll clothes and when she had stockpiled enough to make many little girls happy, she would make a “Barbie Case.”  “Barbie Cases” were crafted from plastic canvas and yarn.  The cases would be multi- colored with two distinct compartments; one would hold Barbie, and the other side would have some of the clothes she had handmade. 
Of course, all Barbies need shoes and accessories that match, so she would fill a travel soap bar container with all the necessities and carefully place that at the bottom of the case.

Every year, as her gift to the community, she would take her handmade gifts to Deveroux Children’s Home.  I could only imagine the expressions on the faces of all those lost little girls when my grandma showed up with her box of goodies.  I am sure that they bubbled over with excitement – as I once did.

My grandma had a plan for all the gifts that lined her paths.  Her passion in life was to give to all.  She was Santa to many people.  I have learned that the most important things in life are not what you have, but what you offer.  What you offer does not have to be material, instead something with meaning and purpose.