My Woodworking Dream

When I was a kid, I was amazed by my mother's many talents. She was a teacher, had taken dancing, fencing (the fighting kind, not the building kind), had made a cool bookcase and a baby cradle BY HERSELF, and was a wealth of knowledge. She always had an answer for everything - unless it was something we wanted to do, in which case she would most often say, "Ask your father." And she had lots of kids. 8 to be exact. (I know cuz I was there)

It must be noted here that I am a little bit like my mother.

I remember ALWAYS wanting to be a mom when I grew up. (But I wanted more like 97 children, not 8) I wanted to be a nurse. Or a doctor. Or a carpenter. Or an artist or a missionary. AND I wanted to run an orphanage. I had decided all this by about the time I was 5 years old. What I didn't know is that I could (and would) be ALL those things.


I am a Mother to 2 beautiful, biological children.

I have been Mother to 4 beautiful foster children.

My children and my friends and neighbors are my mission field.

I've given medications, cleaned and bandaged woulds, cleaned up bodily fluids, pulled out splinters, tended to fevers and colds and rashes.

I am a teacher. (I know that one wasn't on my list, but I'm enjoying it!)

I am an artist and thrive with creativity.

But what about carpentry? I have dreamed and dreamed of adding this to my repertoire, but to date it hasn't happened.......until this week!

I discovered (thanks to my dear husband) a GOLD MINE in my own backyard! In the form of........an old shed. Actually 2 old sheds. He hauled them down with his truck (cuz he's cool like that...wink)  and I have spent the last few days dismantling and de-nailing all the boards and shingles that I want to use for my projects. There's some pretty cool stuff out there! More weathered, distressed wood than I could use in a lifetime! I am ecstatic. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And of course we discovered all this on our first day of school, so bookwork went out the window on Day 1 and we had the kids out there learning about wood :)  in the great outdoors. The weather has been perfect and it's been a perfect family activity to start off our school year.

Coolest First Day of School Ever.

They were eager to help!

Jasna wanted to help with everything :)

Working with my kids is so fun!

Logan worked really hard!

Jasna surprised me with her nail-pulling capability! She just grabbed a hammer and jumped right in! (has to be the yellow one, though)

Daisy liked being with us while we worked :) And we liked being with her :) She rewarded us with lots of smiles!