Bragger

Several years ago The Mister and I were given an entertainment center from some friends.

It was a beautiful oak piece that we enjoyed (and I used as in my office to hold fabric and craft supplies) but eventually I grew tired of its bulk.

(I'm not even ashamed to show this old pic of my office....y'all, sometimes life is just a mess.)

I asked if he would build me some smaller shelves so I could get rid of the entertainment center.

He graciously did so.

And then I painted them the prettiest color blue I could find.

However, he was sad to see all that wood go to waste so he took that oak shelving unit apart; painstakingly taking out hundreds of wood staples, and said he would figure out what to do with it someday.

Being the supportive and generous wife I told him he could ''do whatever he wanted with it, as long as he kept in his garage.''

Nice.

Little did I know that he would turn that entertainment center into this:

Our new shoe-holder that sits in the foyer. It opens into three different compartments - one for each of the kids and myself. He built a separate shoe box that sits near the back door for his shoes.

Isn't it amazing?

I don't know how in the world he got this to all fit together so tightly with all the detail and trim.

I'm proud of him.

Many years ago he said he had always wanted to work with wood. To make things for our home and to be part of some creative process. Of course he has always been busy bringing home the bacon, but back then our kiddos were young and it was harder to invest time in the creative side of our lives.

(For you with young children: there WILL be time for creativeness again, I promise!)

Its been so fun to see him build his skills as a wood-worker...to fulfill a longing for creativeness that he has always wanted to pursue.

He doesn't know it yet, but soon he'll be building a new coffee table for our family room.

This weekend I was showing him how I was using the old windowpanes from our house to cover the garden beds after turning the soil.

He casually said, "You know, you could make a small green house using those windows."

Of course, he and I both know that that 'you' really meant 'him.'

I'll be adding that to the list.