My Pen

On the first day of Old Fashioned Festival I was gathering all the things I might need. On my way out the door I thought to bring a pen so I just grabbed the first one I saw and threw it in my bag.

A couple hours later I got a phone call from Geary, "Hi! Um...have you seen a black pen? With a white end? And it's kind of thick?"

"Yeah, I have it right here."

"Oh good! It's my pen!"

"Oh...sorry. I'll bring it home with me tonight."

Of course I forgot to bring the pen home with me. "It's okay, I'll just stop by your booth and pick up tomorrow."

And he did. And then I was told about this sketch from Kids In the Hall. Enjoy!



Kids In The Hall - My Pen - Funny videos are here

Old Fashioned Festival 2009

Being a vendor at the Old Fashioned Festival was a great experience. I'm exhausted but wanted to show some pictures and let you all know how it went.

I shared a booth with Holly, from church, and her sister-in-law, Shelly. They call their business Dragonfly Designs and sell beautiful jewelry, handmade bags and cell phone holders, and adorable journals.

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Aunt Mary found the white necklace easels and mailed them to me from Idaho. The black ones are from Jo-Ann Fabrics.

I found some cool looking branches and set up them in a pot full of river rocks to make an interesting necklace holder. Lots people complimented the display.

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My wooden sign. It was originally made my Kristal from {grateful tulip} but it had some damage during shipping so Kristal sent me new letter cutouts to repair it. I messed it up so badly that I had to start over on the backside. I should have just sent it back to the master but...that's what I get for procrastinating. The U and the B are a little wonky but it's passable though, right?

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My new business cards. I updated my logo on etsy, too. I had these printed at LazerQuick and cut them out myself the night before the festival (did I mention that I procrastinated a little bit?) When I get low I'll order more (pre-cut!) cards from VistaPrint.

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It was hot, hot, hot. But sitting in the shade wasn't too bad. Plus, I got in some valuable "woman talk." Holly and Shelly and some of their (and my new) friends are a hoot! I was able to make some new pieces and get lots of great ideas on how to be a better vendor in the bazaar venue.

Here are some of the pieces that sold:

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All in all I had 11 sales including three custom-orders. I made $137 (net) and I feel great about it because I went into this not even knowing if I would sell one piece. It was very affirming to see people (strangers) liking my work. Several people took business cards and it's exciting knowing that my name is getting out there.

Shelly invited me to join her at some other craft bazaars and I'm going to seriously consider it. Armed with my new knowledge I think I might actually have a chance at growing my little business!

I could not have accomplished anything at Old Fashioned Festival without the help of the following people:

Geary, you were super-dad and my number one supporter. Thank you for taking such excellent care of me and our children. Thank you for bringing me food and water and for telling me that I looked beautiful when I felt like a sweaty, swollen-ankled mess. You elevated me with your words and actions and that was exactly what I needed. I love you.

My Festival Bridesmaids, Mary, Katy, and Jayme. These ladies have given me endless support and praise for my work. They have helped me by modeling, giving ideas and opinions, pricing, organizing, sign adjusting, lending personal items to make my booth prettier, and stopping by the booth multiple times to lend moral support. I love you girls and I'm so very thankful that you're on my team.

Holly and Shelly, thank you so much for inviting me to share your booth. I deeply enjoyed getting to know you both better and you have given me valuable ideas on how to improve my business. Plus, spending time with two sisters-in-the-Lord truly blessed my heart--and not the Southern way. ;) I'm very much looking forward to working with you again.

That's all folks! As I mentioned, it was super hot this weekend and my ankles are quite swollen. In the words of Shelly, I have cartoon feet! So I'm going to go put my feet up and veg in front of a movie!

8 years

Banadana Pants

My first attempt at making clothes was a huge success! I followed this tutorial for making pants out of bandanas. It was super easy and I'm excited to make more--these are the perfect summer time play pants. Noah wore his as pajamas last night and said they were the most comfy pants ever.

I used the traditional bandana pattern for Toby's pants.
I love how they are sort of hippyish sort of surfer.

They are truly long pants on Toby.

Noah chose bandanas with a flame pattern.

They fit more like board shorts on him.

For reference, Toby wears a 2T and Noah wears a 5/6. I can add more elastic to Toby's for when he gets bigger and Noah's could potentially fit for another couple years...assuming these pants don't wear out by then. I would suggest buying sturdier bandanas. I bought these at the dollar store and the edges got really stringy after washing them.

Cheap, easy, and fun! I'm so glad I tried this!

At Granny's House

This is what Toby and I did when mom and dad were in Washington D.C. You just have to click the arrow and you can see my pictures.

We had the best time and I didn't want to leave. Thank you Granny, Unky Jared, and Granpdude for taking care of us and playing with us and letting us do so much cool stuff.

Your friend,

Noah

D.C. in Two Days

We had a great time in D.C. It was so nice to explore a new city as a couple and not have to worry about our kids. Geary was an excellent tour guide and I deeply appreciated his planning and budgeting. Warning: this post is loooong. But I want to document our memories here so I'm not skimping on the details. If you just want the short version you can scroll down to see the pictures and simply read the captions in italics.

On Wednesday we drove up to my mom's house to drop off Noah and Tobin. We stayed for a delicious dinner prepared by my brother and then my dad drove us to the airport so we could catch our red-eye flight to D.C. Earlier in the day we had purchased two disposable cameras. We gave one to Noah and kept one for ourselves--that way we could see what the boys did and they could see what we did.

At the Sea-tac airport

Before every flight I had to fight off this fear of a plane crash. I've never been afraid of flying before but I think being pregnant and away from my kids really affected my thoughts and emotions on this trip. Geary was patient and comforting though. And obviously we made it there and back in one piece.

Crazy Castle at the Dallas Fort Worth Airport

We had a two hour layover in Dallas so we got some breakfast and explored the airport a bit. We found this crazy castle tunnel in there and the only reason I can think to why I took a picture of it is that it was 5 am. Around this time I started craving hot popcorn. Popcorn in a bag wouldn't do--it had to be fresh. We searched the airport but eventually left empty handed.

The White House

Day 1: We landed in D.C. about 11am, ate lunch (still didn't find any hot popcorn) and took a taxi to our hotel where they graciously allowed us an early check in. After showers and a quick nap we walked down Pennsylvania Ave to the White House. The President was in Russia or I'm sure he would have invited us in for tea.

After the White House we split up. Geary headed for our congressman's office to get gallery passes to a session of Congress. He also visited the Library of Congress. I opted to explore the area around our hotel and we decided to meet at the National Archives later.

I was very excited to see a Filene's Basement. For some reason I had in my head that it was the thrift store to end all thrift stores. Imagine my disappointment when I saw that it's nothing more than a Ross Dress for Less. So I used their bathroom and then hightailed it over to the Smithsonian Museum of American History.

From Disney's Dumbo the Flying Elephant Ride

Here's one of the original elephants from Disney's Dumbo ride. Yeah...I had the camera. And no plan on how to use it to make sure we didn't run out of film.

The Ruby Slippers

And Dorothy's Ruby Slippers! There's no place like home! Useless trivia: In the book her slippers are silver but when they made the movie the slippers became red to provide greater contrast against the yellow brick road.

I also saw Julia Child's Kitchen and a cool display on Book Illustrations that really appealed to the graphic designer in me.

After this I strolled through the Sculpture garden (where I recognized two sculptures from when they were on display at Seattle's sculpture garden) to meet Geary at the National Archives. The line to see our nation's precious documents was out the door and around the block! So we decided to walk back to the Museum of Natural History and eat dinner first.

While we were there we took the opportunity to quickly hop upstairs and see the Hope Diamond.

The Hope Diamond

I think the movie, The Great Muppet Caper had me expecting something similar in size to "The Baseball Diamond." I was surprised to see that the Hope Diamond wasn't as big as a baseball. But it sure drew a big crowd. We clicked some fast pictures and then headed down to the museum's cafeteria for some really expensive macaroni and cheese. And no hot popcorn.

Cool griffins on top of the National Archives

After dinner the line at the National Archives only had about 25 people in it so we joined the line and admired all the amazing architecture from the buildings around us. We both really liked these griffins. It was so crazy to see these ornate old brick and stone buildings surrounded by, and sometimes connected to, massive modern structures of steel and glass. And somehow, it worked! Nothing seemed out of place.

Geary pointed out all the buildings that are pictured on our money. It was so cool to see them in real life and to know that "In God we Trust" is emblazoned over those buildings in reality, too. We noticed all kinds of lions and eagles and scepters in the architecture and agreed that God has made his mark over our country. And we also noticed serpents...

Inside the National Archives we headed directly to the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. And then I hit my wall. All my energy was just gone. I didn't have it in me to fight the crowds of people or to wait my turn to see those national papers so I left Geary in the gallery and found a bench to sit on in the hallway. And I'm glad I did.

I got to observe the coolest security guard lady ever. She was guarding the door and also trying to keep her eye on a rowdy bunch of teenagers. After I had been sitting there for a moment she corralled all the kids onto one bench and told the loudest kid to help her guard the door. He shut right up and took his new guard duty very seriously. I was impressed. Then she started quizzing the kids on the Bill of Rights. They got so into it and I could tell she would be one of their favorite memories from visiting the Archives.

Geary finished seeing all that he wanted to see and we paid a crazy taxi driver to take us back to the hotel. Our hotel (The Washington Marriott on 22nd) had Bath and Body Works Ginger Orange shampoo, conditioner, and lotion, and a waterfall shower head. It all felt like pure luxury. We snuggled down under the plush down comforter and watched three episodes of What Not to Wear. It was bliss.


Day 2: The next morning Geary got up early to visit Congress. I slept in and then walked to Trader Joes to pick up some things for lunch and breakfast the next day. Plus some snacks. We didn't want to pay for anymore $20 mac 'n' cheese meals. When Geary got back we ate lunch and headed out to see more D.C.

We took a taxi to the Air and Space Museum to see a hunk of moon rock. We looked everywhere but couldn't find it. Finally we asked a docent and he directed us to the main hall where we saw a pillar that said, "Moon rock". There was a small plexiglass window with a little black arrow pointing to our right. We looked right and saw nothing. We looked at the little arrow again and observed a tiny sign which read, "Touch a piece of moon rock." And then we realized the tiny black arrow was the moon rock! It had been touched by millions of people and was worn down smooth with a greasy surface from all the finger oils. It was pretty disappointing but later we went upstairs and actually saw bigger chunks of moon rock.

Hot popcorn!

Look what we found once we left the Air and Space Museum! Hot Popcorn! Though I'm sure you're much more interested in looking at my 21+ weeks pregnant belly.

The Star Spangled Banner

And then Geary wanted to go back to the Museum of American History to see The Star Spangled Banner. It was a very moving display. We got to see the actual flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write our National Anthem. And the flag is huge! And the words to the song are even huger--especially the last verse:

O thus be it ever when freemen shall stand

Between their lov’d home and the war’s desolation!

Blest with vict’ry and peace may the heav’n rescued land

Praise the power that hath made and preserv’d us a nation!

Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,

And this be our motto - “In God is our trust,”

And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave

O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

After seeing that grand old flag we split up again. I noticed the line to the First Ladies exhibit was quite a bit shorter and Geary wanted to see the America on the Move exhibit.

George Washington Sculpture

While I waited in line for the First Ladies I snapped this picture of the George Washington Sculpture. A teenage girl behind me said, "I doubt George was that buff." Her mother retorted, "Of course he was! How else would he be strong enough to chop down a cherry tree?"

The First Ladies gallery was beautiful. I saw some of their inaugural ball gowns, china patterns and other personal belongings. One of my favorites was Nancy Reagan's chicken footed silver service. Along the walls were pictures of all the first ladies from Martha Washington to Michelle Obama. Another favorite was the collection of campaign pins proclaiming So and So for First Lady!

We also walked through the Within These Walls exhibit where we read the story of five different families who lived in this one house over the years. Part of house had been reconstructed in the gallery and it was neat to see how it changed throughout time. I think we were especially interested because our own house was built in 1890.

The Capitol Building

After the Museums we continued our explorations. It was crazy to see a famous landmark in every direction we turned. Here's the Capitol Building. You can't tell in the picture but the bottom half of the building is actually yellow!

I believe we were trying to get a shot of us in front of the Capitol Building but we kind of missed the building. I'm thankful that this picture doesn't show the sweat dripping off my face and hair--it was so hot! Although I do think God provided a special blessing for us because it was only 88 degrees instead of D.C.'s usual 96!

Turn the other direction and there is the Washington Monument. We could see this obelisk from nearly any point in the city. And guess what? It's bottom half is yellow, too! This is because it was being constructed before the Civil War and during the war construction had to stop (for almost 25 years!). After the war the new bricks weren't the same color as the old ones because they came from a different quarry. The color difference isn't that noticeable but I do appreciate that we have a little mark drawing a line between two periods of our nation's history.

Geary with the Washington Monument in the palm of his hand.

We told Noah that Geary was able to pick up the Washington Monument. I think he believed us for about two seconds before sputtering, "You're tricking me! It's an octopus illusion!"

From Newberg to D.C.

After the museums we were getting hot and tired and grumpy. We decided to visit the memorials closer to evening time. In the meantime we would cool off at the National Aquarium. On the way there we noticed this sign for the Herbert Hoover building. Hoover lived in Newberg when he was a boy so of course we had to document this merging of hometown and national history.

The Flag Fish

The National Aquarium was so national that it actually had a fish which looked like an American Flag! We also saw alligators, turtles, tiny poison dart frogs, electric eels, sharks, and other less national looking fish. It was a nice break in a nicely air-conditioned place.

After the aquarium we bought some hot dogs from a street vendor and ate them on the lawns surrounding the Washington Monument. From there we made our way through the World War II Memorial. It was beautiful! And then we saw the Vietnam Memorial which I really wanted to see because of an episode of Reading Rainbow that I had seen as a kid. Later, when I became an adult I watched a documentary about the artist who designed the Vietnam Memorial and that really cemented my desire to see and touch it. It did not disappoint.

The Lincoln Memorial

Finally, we made it to the Lincoln Memorial. We saw the spot where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. made his "I Have a Dream" speech. We stepped over people sitting on the steps and overheard a little boy ask, "Who's grandpa is at the top of these stairs?" The ceiling inside the Lincoln Memorial is gorgeous. I read Lincoln's second inagural speech which moved me much more than the Gettysburg Address. And then I wished that I had taken the time to walk through the Lincoln exhibit at the American History Museum.

We took a taxi back to the hotel and once again snuggled under the plush down comforter. Our legs and backs were tired but our minds and hearts were full. We had good taste of D.C. and we decided that when each of our boys turns 12 they will be given the opportunity to visit D.C. with Geary. And someday I'll go back, too. But not in July!

Saturday morning we hung out in the hotel taking our time with breakfast and packing. We checked out and took our final taxi to the airport. We had another stop in Dallas which was supposed to be just 15 minutes to make our connection. We ended up being ground delayed in the plane on a 120 degree tarmac with brake problems. The pilot said the brakes were too hot. And then one of the air conditioners broke!

I prayed and prayed that we would make it home safely. Two hours later we were on our way and once in the air I started crying--partly from relief, partly from exhaustion, partly as a release of anxiety, and mostly because I knew I hadn't been thankful for this trip when Geary planned it but now I am so, so grateful that he invited me and that I went. We are so incredibly blessed to live in this country and I don't want to take my freedoms for granted anymore.

We landed in Seattle around 10pm and it was cold and rainy. Home! We ate hot pizza for dinner and took a shuttle to a hotel that my mom generously paid for so that we could have some recovery time before picking up the boys. We slept soundly but on Sunday morning I wanted nothing else but to see my little boys. It was a joyous reunion indeed and maybe tomorrow we'll share the pictures that Noah took.

Thanks for reading all of this! I hope you're inspired to visit Washington D.C. yourself someday!

It's just not working out...you have two legs.

On our way home from Seattle today we listened to a CD that a couple songs in a row about the church being one body.

Jeana: How come we never talk about how the church is supposed to act using the tribes of Israel as an example? I mean we talk about families, and bodies, and trees but never the 12 tribes.

Geary: Nope. I've never heard it.

Jeana: I mean, I don't think there is a great metaphor or that it's a biblical illustration necessarily, but it's kind of a good example to follow. I mean, all the tribes are related but they each have their own roles and their own parts of the land. And they don't say stupid things like, "Well, we can't hang out because you're Gadite and we're Simeonite." They're just...brothers. They are most importantly children of Israel. So churches should be like that. We should be saying, "That's my brother, Joe Presbyterian." And most importantly being the family of Christians...the Kingdom...the Home. You know?

Geary (nodding): I love you.

Jeana: Thank you. I love you, too.

Geary: And that just proves that I could only marry a one-legged nobleman.

Jeana: What? A one-legged nobleman??

Geary (laughing): No! I said it just proves I could only marry a Multnomah woman!

Another Cosmic Moment

Remember that cosmic moment three years ago?

Well how about this one? When I post this it will be 12:34:56 7/8/09. OooooOOOOoooh!

District of Columbia

Once upon a time Geary came home from work and Jeana met him at the door. They shared a sweet kiss and Geary squeezed Jeana in his arms and said, "You know what? Someday I want to go to Washington D.C. with you. Just you, no kids."

Jeana blushed, "Really? That would fun. I've never been there before."

"Not even in 8th grade?"

"Not even in 8th grade. I would really love to visit New York City."

"Yeah, that would be fun, too."

"Anyway, can you keep Toby out of my hair while I finish dinner?"

Geary came inside and entertained his two sons and Jeana didn't think another thought about Washington D.C.

One Week Later

Geary: I booked our flight!

Jeana: What flight?

Geary: To Washington D.C., remember?

Jeana: What?!

Six Weeks Later

Geary and Jeana are driving up to Seattle today to drop the boys off with Jeana's parents. Then they will take a red-eye flight out of Seattle to Washington D.C. where they will spend 2 days sightseeing and just being together as a couple. Geary has grand plans for visiting the Library of Congress and Jeana thinks she can only stand about 10 minutes of that so she has made her own grand plans to visit as much of the Smithsonian as possible, especially the part with Dorothy's Ruby Slippers. Pray that they have a safe flight and that Geary doesn't exceed the weight limit with all the books he will probably try to bring home.

See you Sunday!

McIndependence

We like to pray with our boys before bed every night. Noah usually asks one of us to pray first and then he'll recite his standard prayer, "Dear Jesus, please help me and Toby and Mommy and Daddy have a great sleep tonight and no bad dreams. And please help us have a great day tomorrow and a fun day, too. In Jesus' name, Amen."

We pray with Tobin by having him repeat phrases. On July 4th Geary prayed with Toby...

Geary: Dear Jesus...
Toby: Dear Jesus...
Geary: Help me..
Toby: Help me..
Geary: sleep well...
Toby: seep well...
Geary: And God help...
Toby: God help...
Geary: America!
Toby: Big Mac!

Shop Update

I got most of my new jewelry listed in my etsy shop today. Go check it out and add me to your favorites if you have an etsy account!

Terrible Twos

A new milestone to record on the blog!

Uh-oh! Someone got in trouble today!
Noah is glad it's not him because he remembers having to sit on...

...The Naughty Mat. We haven't seen it for a few years but now that a certain two year old has been wreaking havoc it's time to bring it out again.

Poor Toby! He had to serve his first two minute time-out on the Naughty Mat. When the timer went off he and Mommy talked about why it's not okay to take books off the bookshelf and throw them. Toby said, "Sorry, Mama," and Mommy said, "I forgive you, Toby. Let's hug!" And the naughty mat was rolled up and put away. No more sad faces to see on mats or mommies!

New Jewelry Designs

I attempted to take pictures of my latest jewelry designs today. I am getting better but I am still a pretty lousy photographer. Thankfully a friend of a friend is going to help me out by taking pictures for me to post on etsy. And I'm going to keep trying to figure this whole lighting thing out on my little wimpy camera.

But enough of my whining. Here's what you really want to see:

Hopefully my photographer will be available to help me soon because I really want to get these on etsy. But, in the meantime if you see something you love and can't live without let me know!

My Three Sons

I wanted a girl. My heart aches even typing those words. I wanted the dresses and the ruffles and the mother-daughter shopping. At the ultrasound the baby kept its legs tightly crossed. No matter how much the tech shook my belly or had me walk around it would just not change position. Stubborn little creature! And so we were forced into being surprised. But I knew in my heart that it was a boy. When they placed Noah James in my arms with his chubby swollen face, my heart exploded with love and all my desires for a little girl flew out the window. Here was my son!

As he grew he continued to be a stubborn little creature. And he was all boy. Fire-trucks and airplanes and bugs and sound effects! And I loved it. I loved the boyness of it all.

And then came Tobin. From the start, when I cried to you all that I was newly pregnant and begged for your prayers for a healthy baby, I was sure he would be a girl. Everything felt so different. So it must be a girl, right? I even called him she in my early posts about all his developmental milestones. But then the ultrasound technician announced, "It's a boy!" I think my jaw dropped, "Really?"
"Yes, are you okay?"
"Oh, yes...I was just so sure it was girl."

And it took me a minute to get over my confusion but I was truly excited for more mud puddles and trains and robots. Plus, I obviously made really cute boys. And so Tobin was born and my heart swelled larger. I didn't know I could love so much and I was surprised to find that I didn't have to share my love for Noah. A whole new love grew out of nowhere just for Tobin. And if anything, my love for Noah grew, too.


I began to see my sons as a privilege. A responsibility and gift that I was to steward. God had placed in my hands two future men and it was my job to raise them. Geary and I together had the amazing opportunity to grow our boys into men who would love God and respect women and be kind, just, strong knights.

But...I still wanted a girl. And no longer for the dresses and ribbons. I wanted to know God's heart for raising a princess. I didn't want just a doll to dress up. I wanted a daughter. I wanted to raise a woman who would love God, who would be kind and just and strong. And so I resolved to pray for one. Every day I asked God for a daughter. I asked you to ask him, too.

He blessed me with another pregnancy. People asked me if I wanted a girl and I said, "Yes!" unashamedly. They asked if I had any gut feelings about the baby's sex. But I didn't. How could I? I had been convinced Tobin was girl and he wasn't. I couldn't even trust my instincts. But I hoped. Oh, how I hoped. And I dreamed. I saw my beautiful daughter, all dark curly hair, and big blue eyes, and my nose...Please, God, let her have my nose.

Today, the ultrasound tech said, "You're having a boy!" right away. I was caught off guard and I have to admit, my heart broke a little because I had prayed...and hoped...and dreamed. And suddenly I was embarrassed by my brazen open desire for a girl. And I was ashamed of my broken heart--what kind of selfish person am I to not be happy about another son? And I just wanted the ultrasound to be over so that I could cry. So that I could release my disappointment in private.

I didn't want to tell anyone else. I wanted to shout, "It's a girl!" Because I had wanted a girl. I didn't want to have to say that I was sad and yet I didn't want to have to pretend to be excited. Because I am excited but there is something I have to deal with first. Oh, I know I will be completely excited. I know I will love being the queen of the house with all my men surrounding me. I know I will dive further into the realm of Thomas the Tank Engine and worms and Superman. But first...I need to grieve. I have to mourn the loss of my hope for a little girl. At least for now. Who knows what God has in the future for my family? You may think I'm selfish or that my feelings about this are horrible and wrong. And some parts of them probably are. But I know God understands. I have spent this tear filled day telling Him that I want to hold my hopes with flat palms but that I need His help prying my fists open. And even now my tears of mourning are becoming tears of joy for my newest son.

To my son, if you ever read this, you must know that I was never, ever, EVER disappointed about YOU. All my grief is over the IDEA of a girl. And I have ALWAYS wanted you, even before I knew you were going to be mine. I have loved you since before I knew of your existence. And as I watched you today, moving inside of me, I praised God for giving you to me. You are my different dream. A better one because you are going to come true. I love you. I love you. I love you.
Love, Mama

I am only confessing all of this because I think it's important to record the truth of this moment. And because maybe, just maybe, someone else has felt the same way and they need to know that it's okay to grieve. Giving up on one dream does not have any bearing on how much you love or want your baby. And even though everyone around you may give trite answers about God knowing best, please know that God also knows your heart. He knows your hopes and dreams. Even though he may have answered your prayers with something completely different than what you asked for, He still cares about and catches each one of your tears because they and you are precious to Him.

More Furniture Makeovers

Dresser #1

I forgot to take a true before picture, so here is what the dresser looked like after being sanded. We bought it for $10 at a garage sale down the street. It was in pretty good shape but it looked kind of beat up because of all the stickers and sticker residue left on it.

And here it is after some fresh paint. We used the original brass drawer pulls and it kind of reminds me of those cabinets on ships where the captains keep their maps. I love the little wavy line of the skirt underneath.

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Dresser #2

I am kicking myself for forgetting to take a before picture. This dresser was seriously UGLY. Think brown and orange peeling paint with the ugliest square wooden drawer pulls you can imagine. $5 at garage sale and after I loaded it into our car I heard the old owner tell his wife, "I can't believe someone paid for that piece of junk!"

But it cleaned up pretty well and I actually think it would make a pretty attractive sideboard or behind the couch type of table. The drawers are nice and deep and would be perfect for holding board games.

There was just one little flaw that we couldn't fix. This broken corner on the middle drawer. With the black paint you can really can't notice it until someone points it out. I really hope it sells because the money from the sale of these two dressers is what I plan to use to buy some new maternity clothes!