A Kitchen Table

You know the saying, You don't know what you've got until it's gone? Well, a very, very, very, very long time ago 3 months and 3 weeks ago, we gutted our kitchen, for the oh so amazing transformation from the 1980's "contemporary tract home" look to 21st century chic ummmm.....to something nicer! In doing so, we had to remove the table from the kitchen and for a while, it found a new home in the boys bedroom upstairs. This provided a place for the kids to eat their meals, but was too tight a squeeze for Paul and me. *sigh* We ate at t.v. trays in another room. Then the summer arrived, and the table was disassembled and stashed in the attic to make room for the floor to be turned into a giant bed....you know, so all those visiting kids would have some place to sleep. That has made for a big fat mess an interesting dining experience at our house! Let. me. just. tell. you.

I finally broke down....on Father's Day. My kitchen is not complete yet, but I had to have a table. And chairs. We had invited the in-laws for a Father's Day dinner, and I just couldn't see Frank and Marie Glen and Dianne sitting on the floor with their plates in their laps! Ahem. Can you?

Part of our Un-Extreme Makeover was to buy a new kitchen table to go with the new kitchen. Nothing expensive. I had two prerequisites....it had to BIG and it had to have lots of sturdy chairs. We found one that fit the bill at a local "massed produced stuff" store. You know what I'm talking about. I don't care if my furniture has a history............can it seat 10 and will the chairs still be functional in 10 years???? That's what I care about!

Five boxes. Three hours of labor. One power drill. Tada! Table. And chairs. And just for good measure, a bench!

Easily sat eight last night with room for more!

Yes, Paul had to put it together, and I know I should be ashamed for making him pick up a drill on Father's Day. But hey, it would have taken longer with a screw driver....

We put three kids on one side and could have put at least one more, maybe two small ones!

So, there is no trim in this kitchen yet. Not around the doors or the floors.

Some of the switches and outlets have been.....ummmm, switched. Others haven't.

The back splash? Most of it is still in the box. One piece is leaning against the wall. So, I can love it even if it isn't in place yet.

Ooooo, I love it!


And, that darned, so called "laundry room" still doesn't have doors.....or floor for that matter (interesting story there-ahem).

Notice anything else? No grout. Haven't gotten around to that yet. *sigh* But, we will. Soon. Maybe.



But, WE'VE GOT A TABLE dad gonnit!


And, we shared our first family dinner around it with Meme and Papa. It was very lovely!

Paul and I were both raised having dinner around a table and we know it's a good thing! We just almost forgot what it was like after so long! Weeks and weeks of sitting in front of the t.v. can eat at your brain I think. So, tonight there will be no Jon and Kate with our baked ziti. Hannah Montana is not coming to dinner. Those Jonas boys can go eat in their bus. It will just be Parker and Noah, Claire and Isabel......and me. Sadly, Paul will not enjoy our 2nd-family-dinner-in-the-new-kitchen. But, he'll be here for the next!

Happy Father's Day!

To the Dad that trained my husband....

~Glen Stroud~

And the one that taught me what to look for.

~Parker Shaw~

And to the most amazing man alive,

my wonderful husband and the the father of our 5 children!

~Paul Gour~

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

to these three wonderful men

and to all the father's out there.

God Bless You!

I Missed It

Again. I missed the Wednesday Prayer Meetin' again. Oh, I have plenty of excuses for why I haven't been on here updating everyday.....you know, it's summer. Beach. Pool. Swim team. Kids. Groceries. Laundry. So, now it's Friday....but, I pray everyday and I bet most of you do too. So, please go here and read this and pray for Landon. Because Landon really needs us.....

Beach Bums

We have had rain nearly everyday for what seems to me to be the last month. Thankfully, even when it pours and storms at my house West Ashley, the beaches around here are sunny and clear. Thankfully. Because, we really are beach bums. We have enjoyed time at both Isle of Palms and Folly Beach recently.

As I write this, we are bracing for yet another possible severe storm over our house....and we have a swim meet tonight! So, I will get Claire up from her nap, and begin the chore of prepping for that. Even though it may get stormed out.....I can't say rained out, because they swim in the rain, just not the lightning. I will not take my camera and risk having it soaked. I am the sort of lame-brain that would forget I have it in my hand when it starts raining and let it get ruined. So, you can enjoy these pictures from our lazy beach days. I use the word lazy loosely. As if you can be lazy while taking 7 kids to the beach! Puh-leeeeze! It's a work-out just getting the van packed to go for a few hours....never mind keeping up with all the kids! But, do enjoy the pictures!

What Husband?

What husband would allow this "Cousin Invasion" that happens at our house every summer? What husband would actually enjoy having a house full of children that don't belong to him? What husband would look forward to this every year and claim that he misses them when they are gone at the end of the summer? What husband, indeed?

Obviously, he's brainwashed, right? Certifiable? I personally think that after the first few years he took an "if you can't beat um, join um" attitude! They were coming whether he liked it or not and he knew he didn't stand a chance of fighting it. Now, he not only enjoys getting his tail whipped at Apples to Apples joins us for game night and occasionally for chick flicks, but he plans some things he can do with them too!

'Cause what teenage girl doesn't need to know how to handle a gun? Right????

This is just scary.

Of course, the boys had a turn too!

Okay, so maybe she's a good shot and she even looks like she had fun.