Project :: FarmHouse Table.

 It's done!
 

Since moving into our home last Fall, we knew that we would need a new dining room table.  Our IKEA table has been great...but, we bought it 9 years ago when it was just the two of us, and it was starting to feel small (okay, it was also starting to feel a little wobbly, and it bothered me that any of our 3 elder children could move the table without much effort).

 

I wanted something bigger.  Something heavier.  Something our children would always have fond memories of and eventually fight over when we die.

 

So, we priced tables online and at "furniture stores"...ouch.  Then we went to our favorite standby for furniture, the World Market.  We found nice, affordable tables (they were having a sale), but here we learned about Matt's expectations.  Anything with a softer wood was out of the question because it would scratch easily (we do have 4 kids), and the table we like the most and almost purchased eventually got vetoed because it had a wood veneer on the top.  I was OK with it because to me it looked like a beautiful table, but to Matt it was too much money to spend on such.

 

So, onto plan B...What do you do when you can't find something affordable of the quality you want?
 

You make it yourself!
 

My awesome husband Matt (whose wood working experience consists of  high school shop class) took over and signed up for a Community Ed class for wood working.  He also purchased some rough cut walnut from a local professional wood worker who was a friend of a friend. 
 

It took him a loooong time, working from January through July. The class was 9 weeks and he come home with the top put together minus the bread boards, and everything else planed, sanded, and measured and cut...but not put together.  So, he had to find time at home to work on it.  It was an hour here and an hour there working in the unfinished basement.  4 months later it was complete.
 

Here it is:

 

 

The design is simple, but I am very pleased with how it turned out.  Matt is fairly pleased as well, but being a perfectionist about his work, he still gets bothered by little flaws (that only he notices).

 

The photos don't do it justice, but you get the general idea of the character of the wood.

(and this will look so much better when we don't have our dirty old carpet anymore)



 

Here is a leg to show more of the deliciousness of the wood.  It's not stained, we really just wanted the natural beauty of the wood to shine.

 



 

This photo makes it look a little lighter than it is, but you can see the variations in the wood.



 

I'm sure Matt could write a manual about what to do/ what not to do.  This was his baby.  I however did not have much involvement in the workings, except through encouragement and sometimes keeping my mouth shut! 
 

Matt did look at some designs online, and then just made up his own plan(which is how Matt does most projects, all successfully so far).  He also got advice from the same woodworker he bought the wood from.  He was a great resource (His name is Matt Zimbelman, but they recently moved out of the area, so I can't even plug his business anymore).  Matt also knows the exact dimensions; I know that it comfortably seats 8.
 

  I don't know the exact cost anymore, but the class was around $120, and the wood and supplies were around $400.  So, it turned out not to be cheaper than a World Market table (on sale), but the quality of the wood is better and the literal blood, sweat, and tears that went into this table make it priceless!

Now for some chairs...

7.

Calling all Super Heroes!

We've had one more birthday in the house! 

It wasn't really planned, but somehow we were blessed with a Winter baby (Ella), a Spring baby (Evelyn), a Summer baby (Nathan), and a Fall baby (Addie).  So, 'tis the season to celebrate Nathan's birthday!

Nathan just turned the  big 7.  This fall he will be starting 2nd grade...yikes!

His original party theme was Avengers.  Upon going to Target, he changed it to Justice League, and then later that night decided it would be both Justice League and Avengers.  I believe his actual words that night were, "Mom, I hate to tell you this, but I've changed my mind..."  Oh well, this was a good chance for me to actually learn who was an Avenger or Justice League member...valuable information I'm sure!

 

We did a simple, yet multiple tiered cake featuring Justice League members.  When it comes to cake I do all the baking, designing, making of frosting, frosting the cake...and then it's midnight and I can't make the Superman symbol to save my life.  Thus enters Matt.  Matt's super power is doing anything he puts his mind to.  In this case it was making a Superman and a Batman symbol.  I did the Green Lantern.

 

 

For Nathan's birthday we've always grilled.  So simple and fun for hot July days.  This year we tried to do a little bit of a theme, but the food doesn't change much year to year (hamburgers, hot dogs, watermelon, chips, veggies, etc.).

 

These were a big hit with the kids:  Thor's hammers.

 



 

We also had a lot of "Super" foods! 

(mainly in the form of berries & carrots)

 

 

Here's the spread:



 

This is what you get when you ask a 7 year old to stand by his cake for a picture.  Super Hero pose of course.

 

 

I can't believe how grown-up looking Nathan is getting.  I look at him and it makes me want to stop time for a little bit...can't he just stay little!  At the same time I am amazed at the person he is becoming.  Nathan is kind, brilliant, and still ever so passionate.  I'm so excited to see what God has in store for him!

 



 

 

Lunch time!  It was extra special this year because the Klein cousins made it!

 

The kids were put to task in the morning to decorate.  Well done.

 

Following lunch we of course sang and then devoured the cake.

 



 

Then present time!

Nathan really loves to receive gifts, like any time anywhere.  So, his birthday is especially exciting.  He talks for months about what he wants for his birthday.  He had a few Lego requests this year.  Here he is with a Lone Ranger set from Grammy (Matt's mom).  He also got some "cool" clothes (like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles t-shirt), a disc golf set, Darth Vader slippers, Target $, Star Wars water bottle, and other things I'm forgetting about.

 

We love you Nathan, our first born.  You are still our baby boy, and yet we see you ever-changing before our eyes.  You often say and do things that simply amaze us-we know you are special, and God has great things planned for you.  We are thankful for the privilege we have to call you our son!



Evelyn Jane Lucille

Another milestone birthday in the house!  Today marks the 3 month anniversary of Evelyn's first birthday and also her Daddy's 33rd birthday...cause for celebration right?

 

Here are some highlights of the big day!

 

I could probably say this for every child's birthday, "Oh, I can't believe_______is already ________years old!  But it still holds true!  I can't believe my baby is 1 year old!

 

Here she is the morning of of party day!

 

 

The theme:  Rainbow!

How did I ever decide on such an amazing theme you wonder?  Well, it went down like this:  We went to Target and they had a bunch of rainbow party accessories and I said "Let's do a rainbow party.",  and the kids said something along the lines of "Yes, what a great idea...". 

I know, the creativity in this house is mind-blowing!

Here's the rainbow cake:

 



 

Before mentioned rainbow accessories:

 

 

Eat your rainbow:

 

 

Fun times!

 

 

Cake and candle time!

 

 

Evelyn had been denied any and all sweets the entire first year of her life.  But, by the way she responded to them and wanted them when they were around, I knew she was going to be all about the cake.

She did not disappoint.  Evelyn  loves cake! 

 

She didn't have to be showed what to do or encouraged along, but sat there happily and contently eating away at her cake.

 

 

She at the whole thing... even the scoop of ice-cream!

When she was finished she picked up the plate and started to lick it.

 

 

It's worth saying again, Evelyn loves cake!

She is also our only child who required a bath at her first birthday party.

 

 

Moving along to present time!

She was not as into this, but not to worry because she had a lot of help!

 



The traditional first birthday gift from my parents is a riding toy.  Papa did not disappoint.  We now have a truck, rocket car, giraffe, and a pink scooter.  (confession: we actually sold the giraffe to Once Upon a Child, it was my personal fave but the one the children voted to get rid of.  We still do have 3 riding toys in the house however).
 



 

 

We love you Evelyn Jane Lucille! 

 I can't imagine our family without you in it.  It' been an emotional year as I experience many "last firsts" as a mother, and many firsts without my own mother, but we have been richly blessed by God, and I pray I never take it for granted. 

 

Ella Grace.

So, last time I blogged it was about our April snow.  If I wanted to give a weather update now, it would be about hot and muggy July.  Oops, I guess the blog fell by the wayside, though not for lack of things going on.  We have been occupied by birthdays (3 out of 6 of us with another next week), finishing up school, summer activities, removing wall paper, and putting up paint. 

My reasons for beginning this blog was to archive our lives as a resource for myself, (and maybe it can be a blessing to someone else as well). So, time to carry on...

 

Since it's a milestone event, I'll share some events from Ella's 5th  birthday...and next post I'll catch up on Evie's first.  (The 3rd birthday in our family was my own, which this year I decided to ignore so no post necessary :)

 

Here is sweet Ella Grace!

 

 

Big 5 year old!

 

Since she could talk, or maybe since she has had a little sister, Ella has been our peace-maker. Ella is our gentle, thoughtful, sweet little girl.  Don't get me wrong she can wine with the best of them, but if there is someone else who wants a toy, a piece of candy, the last piece of pizza (you get the idea), Ella will give up what she has so the other person will be happy.  It is amazing to see how God has blessed her and works through her.

 



 

Ella loves to sing and dance, though never for a crowd, would love to do gymnastics, and has consistently stated for the past year that she would like to be a dentist when she grows up.  Overall, she is our laid back, goofy girl.

 

Sadly Ella's birthday fell the same week that my mom passed away.  Everyone was still in a state of shock, and it was difficult to get out of bed let alone plan a birthday party.  But, we didn't want her to feel forgotten, so the day of her birthday, Mar 13, we celebrated with dinner at McDonalds and cupcakes.

 

 

We waited a week and celebrated again with a pizza and pool party at a local hotel.  It honestly was what Ella requested and it meant I didn't have to cook, clean my house, or plan activities.

 

Ella's chosen theme was princesses! 

 The guess list included uncles, aunties, cousins, Papa, and Grandpa and Grandpa Thompson.

 



So cliche' but it's hard to believe our baby girl is 5!

(Ella's trademark since birth has been her dimple on her left cheek, you can see it a little in this picture...still makes my heart melt.)

 

It was a crazy time, keeping everyone corralled.  For me personally the party was a little emotional, but Ella had a blast.  I remember Matt and I were trying to serve cake and ice cream and kids were running around (were were just in the lobby).  Matt looked at me and said, "Why is no one helping us?"  My first thought was because Mom's not here.  Mom is the one who takes charge, finds what needs to be done, and does it.

 



 

But, all in all it was a successful party, and I think Ella will remember the fun stuff.

 

We're so thankful to God for our  Ella Grace. We love you baby girl!

Bring on the snow.

It's a lovely winter we are having this spring...

Following lots of ice, the snow hit us.  Different areas of Sioux Falls got between 7 and 12 inches of snow.  We are thankful though.   We have had power throughout, which about 40,00+ other people cannot say. It's a little crazy...I read a portion an article today that turkey vultures are falling out of they sky.  They are literally freezing and falling out of the sky, poor little guys.

But, enough of that.  We have ourselves a little mess. 

We are not alone, it is region-wide.  Matt took most of the afternoon off today to start hacking up branches.

 

 

Uff-da!

(I should mention that he is working in the rain/snow mix with ice falling around him)

 

 

Here is our front tree.

 

 

Our little bird bath birdies got covered up.

 

Here's another look down the street.

They have cancelled school for the 3rd day in a row.  Tomorrow it is because of falling ice dangers.  It is falling down in shards...so now playing outside today!

 



 

Yesterday day I was aware of our tree smashing the neighbor's chain link fence.  Apparently the branch that fell on our fence did some damage as well...It even hit on the post.  Tree branches covered in ice are HEAVY!

This is a different section.  Broken plank, not as big of deal.

Spring Storm 2013 :: Ice, Ice, Baby!

We are having a bit of winter spring storm here in SD.  Not your typical blizzard, just lots and lots of sleet...which in turn means lots and lots of ice.

 

If it's not moving (and I'm sure maybe if it is), it's covered in about an inch of ice.

 

Here is a photo of a tree in our backyard on Tuesday afternoon.  I called Matt at work and told him we had a large branch down.  No alarm though, the kids thought it was kind of exciting and it was only one branch.

 

Then another fell down, so I took a photo of the backyard.  I didn't want to go outside, but you can kind of see the branch on the right side of the photo.

 

 

Unfortunately, this is our tree on Wednesday morning.  It had 4 main branches, all of which have now fallen.

 

 

The tree that had only lost the smaller branch also had a similar fate, though maybe not quite as bad.

 

However it is near the neighbor's chain-link fence, which did not survive.

 

 

Our privacy fence had some damage also.  It's not obvious in the photo, but I wasn't brave enough to get closer.  As I was taking these photos on Wednesday morning I could hear shovels scraping, chainsaws roaring, sirens blaring, and tree branches crashing to the ground.  Under the tree was not the place to be!

 

This is our front tree earlier on Wednesday morning.  This one cased Matt the most grief on Tuesday night because of the menacing branch hanging over the house (much to Matt's dismay, I was actually singing "Another One Bites the Dust" while listening to all the branches breaking off and fall).    Thankfully, though much of the end of the branch fell off, the main branch stayed intact.

 



 

Here is the tree Wednesday afternoon. 

 

 

A few more branches fell down, and (after a trip to ACE Hardware) Matt was able to cut down much of the branch hanging over the house.  We are thinking we will probably lose this entire tree, as well as the two in the backyard (there was a third in the backyard that looks okay).

We thought it was such a good idea to be in an established neighborhood with beautiful mature trees.

Ha!

 

Here's a quick shot down the street.  It actually looks pretty good now because the branches were cleared.  But you can see how low the trees are hanging.

 



And just in case you didn't get it...

 



 

 We got ice, baby.