After learning about the sisters, Chris & I took some time to focus on making our house work for a family of seven. We decorated our bedroom, bought new furniture for the den, broke down the boys’ bunk beds to give them their own bedroom spaces, & decided to go bigger in the kitchen – we needed a table that would comfortably seat all of us.
All of the tables I liked were simple with straight lines, yet they all ran at least $500. I emailed a few pictures to my grandfather (a former engineer & virtual know-it-all), asking him how hard he thought it would be to build one ourselves. Papa took things into his own hands. This 84 year-old man, after whom we named our son, built us a dining room table. He brought it down this weekend, when he & my Nina came to visit from Asheville, NC.
It’s somewhere between six & seven feet long, made of cedar & steel.
My brother & dad helped bring it and set it up.
Papa placed a dedication plaque on the underside of the table.
The sisters’ names are to be announced…
Chris is building a bench for one side, and chairs will go on the other.
Of course, highchairs will be sprinkled in for the next several years!
This is how we decided to set it up in our dining space.
But the table fun didn’t stop there. On Monday morning, Papa showed up on our doorstep around 8am. He & Chris went to the hardware store and had this to show for it, several hours later…
Side note: notice Papa’s trailer, on the right side of the photo? It’s actually the front axle from his dad’s 1930’s Model-T Ford. Amazing!
We have a picnic table! There’s even a hole in the middle for an umbrella. It’s perfect for our back patio! Just in time for spring, too. We’ve already enjoyed several meals at it.
Glorious. And just for memory’s sake, the schematics to the project are forever in plain view in our den.
THANKS FOR THE LEGACY,
KENNETH AMES MAULTSBY, SR.
17 Comments
That is super special.
This really did bring tears to my eyes. You two are bringing those girls into one of the most loving families I’ve ever seen.
Two beautiful tables, how sweet and wonderful. Of him!
what a beautiful gift to leave to your children. those two tables, and all the love involved in their creation, are something really special. and the tables are so very beautiful!
Awwww that plaque is so beautiful and the table itself is amazing. So awesome and so loving. Lucky little ladies coming to sit at those awesome tables in the future :)
This made me want to cry. God bless all sweet, sweet grandfathers and the role they play in our lives. How special, and I know this is something your family will cherish for decades. I loved this post.
You’re making me cry over here! How beautiful to be able to share your sweet family with your grandparents. The table is gorgeous!
like everyone else, this made me cry. you have been blessed with such a wonderful family
That’s beautiful! I love meaningful pieces of furniture. My dad has a large table that his grandfather built and they fed their family on. Just realized a weird similarity,they were a family of 8, and my grandfather was one of a set of twins (boy/girl)! I love all the marks on that old table and thinking about how long my family has sat at it!
Ohhh God Bless You. I just looked through your belly pics from the last post. I can’t imagine.
My best friend has twins – 4 years old, boy & girl…she carried them to 37 weeks (I think) and they were both OVER 7 POUNDS! She’s 5’2″.
Hoping your girls come soon and make a healthy, happy entrance into the world!!
Ohhh God Bless You. I just looked through your belly pics from the last post. I can’t imagine.
My best friend has twins – 4 years old, boy & girl…she carried them to 37 weeks (I think) and they were both OVER 7 POUNDS! She’s 5’2″.
Hoping your girls come soon and make a healthy, happy entrance into the world!!
That table is so pretty!
A plasniegly rational answer. Good to hear from you.
What a beautiful table!
This is my first visit to your blog and this post brought back some beautiful memories of my grandfather, like yours he was always so resourceful with building and providing for his family until well in to his 80’s <3
Wow, just stubbled upon your blog and wanted to say: what a beautiful dining table!! Gorgeous! My grandfather (Poppy) was the same ‘jack of all trades,” but unfortunatlye he is no longer with us to help build tables for me. :-) You are lucky to have him. Grandpas are the best.
I just found your blog and I’m so glad I did! Your grandpa building a table for your family is so sweet and the plaque made me cry. Crying at work on a thursday, totally normally.