The Chongs like a bargain (pt 2)

So, here's the table all completed.  The latches underneath was a pain in the rear.  I guess the table is made of some pretty hard wood.  I'm guessing oak.  I pre-drilled the holes but every time I get close to tightening it the screw top would shear off the screw.  It was one of those frustrating moments.  I returned the brand that you see in the previous post.  The hardware was actually for a window.  I saw it used on another pedestal table and thought I would give it a try.  I opted to use a latch that is typically used on trunks.  The screws that came with that latch also broke off too.  I had to use some screws that I had in my tool box.  

This is the table with the leaf.  

... and here is the table without the leaf.  Looks nice if I do say so myself.  

The Chongs like a bargain.

So, here's the other reason we took out trip out to Vegreville.  Suj was eyeing a pedestal tables on Kijiji.  We took a look at one in Sherwood Park.  They were asking for $200 for the tables and chairs.  I think we were going to offer $150 but they didn't bite.  It was gone after the weekend. 

She found another one but this one was only...$10.  Yes, that's right.  It didn't have chairs but come on it's only $10.  It was advertised with some burns on the table top.  I kept on emailing the seller to make sure that we were not going to make a wasted trip.  So, that's when we decided to take an hour trip outside of Edmonton. 

Here's what we found.

This is after stripping the varnish, scraping, and sanding.  It was a dark stain and the burns disappeared after the sanding. 

Here's the table after being primed. 

A little spray paint.

Some hardware... and voila!

Spring Break

The girls have been home. Suj and I still have work but thankfully we have flexible jobs to get away from time to time. The girls have loved being home, staying up late, and waking up late too. We have been watching lots of movies, both rentals and at the theater. We saw Blind Side the other night together. The girls rented Ella Enchanted and Alvin the Chipmunk the Squeakel. We also got to see How to Train a Dragon and Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

So, we don't get to get away like some get to do. But, hopefully we still get time to spend with our girls and to see how much they are growing. Here's a picture of Pb and Cj at our local Red Brick Pizza. We were planning on riding our bikes but the girls had just switched bikes. Pb got Suj's bike and Cj got Pb's old bike. They were both still a little wobbly so we decided to drive. It was a nice time to sit and chat. Like they say, "They grow so fast."

Another family adventure

We set out for Vegreville on Wednesday. We had 2 missions. The first was to check out a pedestal table that Suj has been eyeing. It was listed on Kijiji for $10. It was priced low because it had some burn marks. I am planning on refinishing it so it was a steal compared to the $155 - $300 we saw posted for tables we liked. The second mission that Suj threw in was to see the world's largest easter egg. We accomplished both missions.

Pumpkin makers

Here's our little pumpkin carvers. So, we started this tradition last year. There's nothing like hands on crafts that bring a family together. It's nice to see them stepping away from the TV and putting away their DS's to gather around the table, talk, and pull out some pumpkin guts.

I think the girls were anticipating making the pumpkins because of our experience from last year. Every time we went to the grocery store they would see the pumpkins and ask if we were going to carve pumpkins again. I guess I have to finish what I started. Well, the tradition has now been passed onto their little cousins. Saturday, they were planning on coming over so I asked to see if they would be interested in joining us in this new tradition. They were excited, really excited. Well, our Saturday afternoon plans started growing, from prayer meeting, attending a special service at a local church, and helping one of our church members move. OK, the kids project had to be put on hold. They were obviously disappointed but they knew that we would do it eventually. Don, (bro-in-law) said that his boys woke up asking when we would carve the pumpkins. Oh, boy! I created a frenzy. Of course it would have to wait because of our church service and lunch. So, long story short we got to carve our pumpkins this afternoon.

It was a fun project, as expected. It's always neat to see our kids creativity. It's also neat to see all of their different personalities expressed on these cute little pumpkin heads.

Ok, so the question that came up is, "is this a pagan ritual that we are encouraging our children to participate in?" I guess it could be. I'm sure this is how Christmas (trees, Santa, exchanging gifts) and Easter (chocolates, Easter Bunny, and bonnets) got started. But, as a pastor, I am comfortable that this was simply a craft and a fun family activity. I pray that our children will not grow up to pass this onto their children to "celebrate" on the level of their faith and practice. I pray that our children will love Jesus and the hope that we have in faith to practice Christmas and Easter to celebrate the true meaning of these events. I also pray that our children will be able to discern the traditions of Thanksgiving and Halloween as holidays that are part of our culture.

Back in the office

reading at my favorite Starbucks

To Banff and Back

We (Suj and I) got back from Banff last night. We, or should I say Suj, had to attend a conference for people who are involved in children and family ministries. We had Suj's sister watch our kids and take them to school. I came along to drive her on the 4+ hour drive.

It was pretty nice (for me). I got to relax on my normal day of rest (Mon). And Tues, I was able to go to Starbucks and read like I would normally do when I'm home.

Just getting back to the blogging thing... (if you're happening to be reading this).

Little Girl #2 is growing up!!

Here is our rosied cheeked little girl the night after she lost one of her front teeth. She's growing up! I think I posted a blog about that some time last year. So, every little milestone is reminding me that she is growing up to be a little lady.
All these changes are making harder for this dad to accept that the girls in his life are growing up. Here's a picture after she got her ears pierced for the first time. Phoebe had gotten her ears pierced at the age of 6. Both of them had made their own decision when they felt that they wanted to get them. I believe Su Jin and I decided that they would be old enough to make that decision around that age. Phoebe knew pretty confidently that she wanted to get them. So, she sat down and got her ears pierced without a tear. Chloe took a little more time to decide if she wanted to get it. I was a little surprised b/c this little girl will look at the needles going into her arms. Even when she had to get her blood drawn into a tube, she was curious and was watching it fill the tube. Chloe reminded me that Phoebe had gotten her ears pierced during Christmas time. She just wanted to wait until Su Jin came back from Korea. So, after Su Jin came back she was still not sure if she wanted to get it. It took some convincing that it would not hurt that she decided to get them. It was kind of a special moment b/c it happened on a Kim ladies night out. Chloe's aunt (Suj's sister) joined the Chong women and went out for an evening. The special event went without a hitch just like Phoebe's, not even a flinch.

So if that's not enough, just a little over a week she pulls out the other fronth tooth. Chloe doesn't really like going to bed. She'll be in her room but we know that she is getting out of bed. We can hear her foot steps. But on that night she was in bed and playing with her other tooth. She comes into our bedroom (about an hour and a half after we had sent her to bed) and announces that she pulled out her 2nd tooth (still bloody).

I don't know what it is with me these past few days - midlife, nostalgic father, or that I am just outright nuts, but I've been wanting to have more children!! I've shared these thoughts with Suj but she just gives me the "can't you see that I am tired and you must be nuts" look. I think it would be great to have another little girl in our family. Gotta think about it some more.