Before and After Countertops! I'm back in commission!

Before.....icky yucky yellow....notice the finish rubbing off....
Doesn't bring out the beauty in my floors either....

A little outdated!

Oh yeah, red mahogany stain.....a more distinguished and formal look. Click on each picture to enlarge it and see the detail better.

Now if only I could do something about those cheesy blue windmill tiles in my backsplash.....I guess that's another project someday!

The First Day of School 2008-2009!

Hurray for the first day of school! Austin begins the 6th grade, Luke starts 4th, and Vance is in 2nd! God bless our homeschool this year!

Summer is almost over....School is almost here!

We're finishing up the last week of summer freedom in the DeShong household. School starts this Monday! Every year at about this time, I find myself craving the routine once again, and leaving behind the lazy, lax, do anything whenever kinda days. I somehow just can't manage to eat well, exercise, read the Bible regularly, or anything else during the summer. Go figure! I am a "routine person" who craves and thrives on the predictable. Although, God has taught me to be able to cope with the unpredictability that life sometimes throws at you. OK, I am slowly learning that idea! Like an unexpected spill or a hurt child. I have learned that everything can stop for a while and be put on hold. And I have come to the conclusion that nothing is more important in my endeavors at home than truly training and loving my children. Giving them my full attention and devotion. Yes, the house needs to be cleaned and meals need to be made and laundry needs to be done. But those will get done, no matter what. Maybe not when I want them to be done, but they will get done. They always have. I pray I would devote myself first to my God whom I should love above all else in this world, and then secondly to my husband, my children, and my home. It is a privilege beyond measure to be a wife. To be a mother three times over. To be devoted complete to my homemaking endeavor. And for anyone thinking to themselves "How fulfilling could that be?" I would say....When your child kisses you and says they love you and thank you for all the hard work you do for them...it's all worth it. Even if I don't get the kiss and thanks (which most of the time I don't!), I know that God will reward me for obedience to His commands. It is His desire for me to do these things...and I want His desires as I submit my life to His loving and caring ways. Secondly, this life is not about my fulfillment. It is about glorifying God! It is about denying myself to follow him, as Jesus himself said.

So with that, the house has been purged of all its unnecessary junk, summer projects have been finished (well....almost.....), the lesson plans are in progress, the school room cleaned out, old books sold on Ebay (yippee!), and new supplies in the drawers. I pray my children would grow not only in the wisdom contained in their schoolbooks, but beyond that I pray they would grow in wisdom that leads to salvation. I pray I would be faithful to teach them the Bible both in word and by example, and that they would glean some new information despite all of my failures. I thank God for the freedom to homeschool, and that it has recently been declared LEGAL in the state of California. Praise God! School, here we come!

Summer Project #2- Refinish the Butcher Block Counters

Well, we're wrapping up summer around the DeShong household as we prepare for busier days ahead with school starting soon. I thought I would just dive head first into my next project- refinishing the oak butcher block counters in my kitchen.

When we first moved in to our house in 2000, the counters were water stained and unhappy. They said "refinish me, please!!!!" So we did. A little sanding and some coats of polyurethane (I love that stuff), and they were restored to all their original grandeur. By the way, I just love my counters. They are durable, easy to clean and look nice against my painted white cabinetry. Well, it's been 8 years since we refinished them, and they have begun to speak to me again. "Please refinish me again, I'm starting to get tired!" Since we put in our hardwood floors, which are darker wood tones, I knew that when we refinished the counters again, I would like to stain them darker. Well, lo and behold we have 2/3 of a can of stain left from the dining room table in which to stain my counters red mahogany, which will be lovely with my table and my floors. Did I mention I love my floors, too? Dave did a most professional and wonderful job on them, and they are just so beautiful indeed. More upkeep, but beautiful!

So we embarked on our countertop project yesterday. The last time we refinished them, it was just a matter of sanding what was left of the old clearcoat off. It was a cinch in a pinch. Not so yesterday. We sanded...and we sanded....and we sanded....until our hands were numb and we could sand no more. We stained. Uh-oh....Some spots didn't take the stain, because apparently we didn't sand enough????!!! Whatever?????!!!!! So back to sanding some more and restaining. This is taking a lot more elbow grease than the dining table did, since the table was a soft wood, and this is oak. But I know the hard work will pay off and they will eventually be beautiful! Pictures to come!

My Brand New Gleaming Dining Room Table!

With a little red mahogany stain, some paint, and new chair pad covers fashioned from some suede pillows stashed in my closet, my set looks brand new! I'm so thrilled with the results. Who woulda thought that I could have done this for so little money. Thanks to my handy and helpful husband, whom I am kissing over and over again for helping me with this, I now have a beautiful set in my dining room. Woohoo!!!!

Making Cajun Meat Loaf with Dad

Last night my Dad came over for dinner and made us his famous "Cajun Meat Loaf". All I can say is YUM!!!! And YUMMMM again. My Dad is a great cook, and last night I got to be the sous chef! We had a lovely evening eating dinner and relaxing. The boys played a little basketball, and the weather outside was wonderful. And I get to have leftover meatloaf for lunch. I can't wait.

Our dining room table...

We have had our lovely pine dining room table since 1999, I believe. It's a great sized table, but it's condition-not so great. It's taken years of abuse from forks, hot wheels, and numerous art projects, among other things. Let's just say it wasn't looking too hot. It was sad, tired, and ugly. I have appealed to Dave over the last couple of years for a new table, but Dave just felt a new one would sustain the same abuse. Guess I can't argue with that. So I had every intention to one day refinish the table. These good intentions had been mounting up for months, until last week I just couldn't take another day. Does that ever happen to you? I have been looking at the dumb thing for years, yet in my mind, I just couldn't handle another day. Not even another minute. I had a plan that would cost under $50. Since refinishing our chairs and the legs of the table would be a hideous task to say the least, with all their detail work, I decided painting them would be the solution. And I would stain the table top darker. So for a gallon of paint and a can of stain, I was ready to embark on my latest obsession-I mean project.

Footnote about the above statement: "I" was about to embark on this project really means Dave and I, as he has very well learned. But he was so happy and sweet to oblige at my asking to help. He's so sweet and understanding!

So we began by sanding the table top itself, and after several hours, it came out beautiful! I was so surprised how much of the damage sanded out. Pine is a very soft wood, yet I was still happily surprised! I hand painted the base and legs of the table. Dave extended the table length buy moving the legs further apart with the help of about $5 worth of wood. Now my table will seat 10! Yippee! Last night we put on the stain, and this morning I applied the first coat of polyurethane. Dave painted all the chairs last night with his power sprayer. I am so thankful I did not have to paint those chairs by hand. That would have taken forever! Today we will finish the last coats of poly, and by Wednesday it will be back in my house, making this Mommy very, very happy. Did I mention that the same $6 can of stain will also refinish my oak butcher block countertops in the kitchen (that's next week's project). What a deal. Pictures to come when it's all finished.

With all that to say, who needs to buy a new dining set? Sometimes you just have to be creative with what you have. And after putting in a bit of elbow grease, I see now that my table can be practically brand new looking as the reward for our sweat! I am so thrilled.

Dave is on the loose again....

This is the new device that Dad built. This is the device that entertained the boys that Dad built. This is the device that entertained the boys on a hot summer day that Dad built. This is one of many devices that have entertained the boys that Dad built. OK, are you getting irritated with that? I am.

Well, Dave is on the loose again....he was just itching to make this water

bottle cannon that he saw online made out a few pieces of PVC and a couple of other parts of which I have no clue what they are or what they do. Let me preface this by saying that several months ago, he was dying to build a pneumatic tennis ball shooter (or apple shooter, stuffed animal shooter, potato shooter, or whatever floats your boat shooter). The kids had SO much fun with that thing. I am not kidding when I say it can shoot a tennis ball over 200 ft. in the air. Hilarious.

Well, back to the water bottle cannon, all it takes is a little pump of air with the tire pump or air compressor, a bottle filled with water, and well, some clothes that you're willing to get wet. Oh, and a neighbor who doesn't get mad when several water bottles come crashing into her backyard, virtually out of nowhere. It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a......water bottle! I tell you, God knew what He was doing when he gave Dave three boys. I have to say, he is a great boy dad. He just loves making these concoctions for them to enjoy. I'm convinced he is living vicariously through them, as well. Dave really just wants to be a big kid with them and have fun.