An Early Christmas Gift

This weekend YaYa and YoYo (Wes' mom and step-dad, we've renamed them this because the girls couldn't say Grammy and Grampy and this was easier~ lol) and G.G. and Great-Grandpa Bergman came up to visit. YaYa's birthday was on Thursday and so we were so glad to see her! Also, G.G. and Great Grandpa had never seen our new house and so we were excited to show them that, as well.

Wes' grandpa is an amazing craftsman. He built the house that they live in, 3 of his 4 daughter's houses, the Fort Loramie high school, the church doors at St. Michaels in Fort Loramie, and countless pieces of furniture in his families' houses. He had a contracting company for years and now does special order furniture for people. As a wedding gift he made us the most beautiful desk from a walnut tree. I saw the tree beforehand.....it literally still had bark on it! In fact, he made one for each of his grandkids. It has handcarved legs and a corian top. The details are exquisite! It is my favorite piece of furniture in our house. It has such sentimental value for us and it is absolutely gorgeous. I hate that we put anything on it because nothing seems nice enough. It also sits against a wall which bums me out because the back is just as beautiful.He has also made us a beautiful DVD case with glass doors and a bookshelf that is in Wes' classroom. All of our pieces have metal plates that say "Made by Paul Bergman" on them but I couldn't get a picture of them because the flash just washed it out.Yesterday they brought us a toy box for the girls made from oak. It is exactly what we needed and it is even more beautiful than we could have ever bought in a store. The lid even has slow close hinges so no fingers will get pinched. G.G. said she ordered name plates that say "Made by Great-Grandpa Bergman 12-25-10" that she will get to us to put on the toy box. They thought it would be easier for us if they brought it to us instead of us trying to get home at Christmas. This gift just brings tears to my eyes because I know that it was made with such love and it will be something that we will cherish forever! Thank you so much, G.G. and Great-Grandpa! We absolutely LOVE it!