Uncle Sam

I’m quite certain my son’s exact words were “I thought you were crazy when you brought that thing home!!”  “That Thing” he is referring to is ...

i suppose i can see why he was concerned for my sanity!  it does look ... shabby... and not so chic!!  but i saw the potential!!

but this blog isn't just about me bringing home a tattered rocking chair, it's about obedience.



i feel like with every story i have, there's a back story to share first... and of course, the story of this rocking chair is no different.

andrew and anna... a great young couple from our church, are missionaries in mexico.  as i shared in an earlier blog, i've never been overly interested in missions... but lately i'm overwhelmed with the desire to go on a trip to see them!  last year, to raise funds for their missions, andrew and anna held a chili dinner with raffle and silent auction.  it was a huge success!  this year, God placed it on my heart to buy a piece of furniture, give it a face lift, and donate it to the 2012 Andrew & Anna Silent Auction.  if you know me... this was alittle out of left field, but i totally knew it was what God wanted me to do.

now... to find this "piece of furniture"... i started checking out garage sales and watching craigslist... after a few weeks of looking, i was getting a bit discouraged.  i just wasn't finding "the piece" i was looking for. 

I remember saying “God, I know you will help me find the right piece for this auction”. 

Shortly after that, while checking the most recent posts on craigslist… there he was… paint chipping and flaking… looking all bedraggled… I knew he was the piece I was looking for! 

i have since read how cut-throat furniture sales can be on craigslist and buying this rocker was my first experience with that ferocity!  I contacted the seller, got all the info on the chair and made an appointment to come see it around 5:00… at which point he mentions he has someone coming at 6:00 to see it.  WHAT?  So I asked “what happens if I get there first?”  to which he answered “whoever gets here first gets it”.  Oh man!  What if someone else calls and beats me there?!  So I drop what I’m doing and head straight there!  Really, the chair was everything I’d hoped for!  He was sturdy, his wicker was in EXCELLENT condition, I saw crazy potential!

When I got him home (like how I’ve assigned a gender to this inanimate object? J ), I think my families’ reaction was mostly that of humoring me.  I told them my plan and then he sorta got… pushed to the side… much like many of my “projects”.   I can’t figure out where my son gets his A.D.D.!

Then my daughter sireana pulled him out one day… to the center of the garage… and rocked in him… and fell in love.  Sireana BEGGED me to keep the chair!  “just buy another piece of furniture for the auction!”  my husband knew how the family was falling in love with this chair too.  He even told me “if you love it, buy another piece or another chair for the auction”.  But something in my heart told me that was NOT OK WITH GOD!

Call me crazy… but I know God led me to this chair for a reason.  I’m considering this a lesson in obedience for me and my family.  We all know, if we really want that chair, we have to bid on it like everyone else at the auction!

Just as my daughter sireana fell in love with him, so did her daughter azria!  So while at a random garage sale, we picked up a beautiful wooden rocker for her!  When I asked what color I should paint it, sireana said “red” because I had since painted our rocker blue.  Hm… now that got my wheels spinning…  here I have the original chair painted blue… and a child’s chair to paint red… all I need is a white… “HONEY, BRING ME THAT OLD ROCKER OF OURS OUT OF THE BASEMENT!!!” 

meet BETTY!!!  this is what she looked like when mike hauled her up out of the basement!



she's all scratched up from my childhood dog.  she'd been forgotten... sitting in our family room.  my daughter lexi, lovingly gave her a coat of Old White from Annie Sloan... i distressed her alittle last night and can't wait to show everyone when she's done! 

oh... and i forgot...   Meet "Uncle Sam"!!



Sam got a facelift with Annie Sloan's Napoleonic Blue.

 he's so handsome now!

 i didn't distress him... i just wasn't feelin' it!  but i did give him a little dark wax here and there.

i promise, i will post the finished pics of betty... and before & after pics of "july" the child size chair.

ALL THREE will be auctioned at the Andrew & Anna Conrad Silent Auction on Sunday Sept. 9th at Faith Community Church in Elkhart IN.  If you need more information, let me know!