Lindsay's Palace

Posted by Mike


About this time ago last year I began work on a sizable project. The arrival of my first child warranted something very special. After some consideration, I decided that I would build a crib. Growing up, I spent countless hours in the shop with my Grandfather and learned a great deal about woodworking. I figured this project would be a great opportunity to get back in the shop and build something very special with Grandpa. Last July, the crib was nothing but a pile of boards and a bit of ambition. Unfortunately, I fell a bit behind schedule and this was something that I refused to cut corners on. I was about 85% done and then came Christmas, New Years, and the birth of my daughter. For the first 2 months after Lindsay was born, I was a little side-tracked and will admit that the crib didn't even cross my mind. Needless to say, I remained very busy throughout the spring and summer, but managed to make it to the shop about every other week or so. This past Sunday we put on the final coat of polyurethane and the crib finally arrived home on Monday. That night Grandpa and I sat down to enjoy a celebratory beer and reminisce about the project. Building the crib was a very nice challenge, and when you have a great mentor, woodworking also offers a great deal of fun and relaxation. Overall, it was great to spend time in the shop with my Grandpa, especially on such a special project, one that I hope will be passed on down through the generations.

Daddy's Little Girl

Posted by Mike

Little Miss Lindsay has been home since Tuesday morning this week with a little cold. It was the first time we had to go get her from the day-care because she was sick. I have to admit, that I got a little rattled at first when they called and said she had a temp of 102.2. So, I took her to the Med Express and spent the rest of the day at home with her. She was clearly not herself. In most cases, this would have been the ideal scenario, because Grandma Jan and Papa Bob typically baby-sit on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Luck would have it that Grandma had jury duty this week and Papa was out of town. In the end it worked out pretty nice, as I ended up being able to spend the afternoon with her today as well. She was feeling much better today, so we decided to visit Grandpa at the John Deere dealer. I just couldn't resist tossing on her Cabela's hat. It says "I Hunt For Hugs" on it and matched her onesie perfectly. Yep......she was definitely Daddy's little girl today. When we got to the store, Grandpa was waiting on a customer, so I sat Lindsay up on the counter to wait. After a few minutes, the farmer looked over at Lindsay and said "Hi there. You sure are a little cutie." Leave it to my little critter to smile back and then let out a nice big belch. Talk about a proud Dad. =) Later I tried to explain to her that just because she was wearing camo, didn't mean that she shouldn't have manners. All-in-all, it was wonderful to spend my afternoon with Lindsay. Days like these are just priceless!