Jake is hard at work building a deck for my Mother's Day gift.

Last week I told you about how my sons, Clayton and Jake, built a deck for my father while being supervised by him.  Construction 101 must have been a great class.  It really inspired Jake to do another building project.

Jake decided to build me something for Mother’s Day.  Unbeknownst to me, he asked my husband, Lane, if he could use some old wood a friend gave us last month.  Lane gave his permission and Jake went straight to work completely by himself.

Lane loaned him a hand saw, a hammer, and some nails.  Jake decided to build me a portable deck platform to go wherever I wanted it to go.  He worked for two straight days using all his spare time to build this present for me.

Jake revealed to me one evening when he came in red-faced and sweaty that he was building me a present.  Honestly, I did not know what to expect at all, but especially not in craftmanship or quality.  After all, Jake is only seven.

When I first saw it, I was speechless, which does not happen very often.  Jake was beaming!  I was shocked.  Jake did such a good job!  He made something special for me out of old boards and some nails.  It was not only sturdy and stable and useful, but it looked really nice too.

I am so impressed with Jake.  He then showed me the small cuts on his hand where a board scratched him and a splinter penetrated his skin.  I know how hot it was while he worked to build my special gift.  Jake’s present was truly a gift from his heart with his blood, sweat, and fortunately no tears on his part.  On the other hand, my eyes were quite moist.

I decided to put the deck by our above-ground swimming pool.  The steps to climb in the pool sit now on the deck.  Kyla was inspired to build something for me to go with the deck.  Lane helped her construct a bench to go on the deck.  It is very sturdy and stable.  It sits at just the right height.  Kyla now know how to toenail a board.

My children honored me by their homemade gifts for Mother’s Day.  I am impressed at their skills and what they have learned from my father and husband.  I cannot wait to see how their abilities and knowledge grow from this point in construction.

Tags: craftsmanship, homemade gifts, Homeschooling, Mother's day gift

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 13th, 2009 at 7:14 am and is filed under Homeschooling, Homesteading. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.