Monday, January 26, 2009

A belated--but very special--Christmas gift

As I mentioned in my previous post, Shane and the boys and I took an impromptu trip to Chicago last week. Shane and his brothers decided at Thanksgiving that, for Christmas, they would get a corner cabinet thingy for Lynette, who has been looking for one for months and has never found one she liked. Roger and Jason would provide the funds, and Shane would provide the labor *grin* for the cabinet.



So, Shane spent several days designing, building, and finishing this cabinet for his mom. He is certainly not a cabinet maker, but he really went to town on this one, putting special curves and finishes on it--and adding his Mom's favorite thing--hearts--into the design. The corner was too tight to do one solid cabinet (and still be able to fit Lynette's microwave properly) so Shane built an upper and a lower cabinet instead of just one unit.


Shane's brother, Jason, who lives in Minnesota (and we don't see all that often) was in town for business last Thursday--so, it seemed like a great opportunity to head up, install his Mom's cabinet (that she knew nothing about, by the way), and see his brothers all at once.



We got there about 1 o'clock, and Shane began the installation: (The microwave cart that you can see in the background
to the left is what used to be in that corner)


Lynette walked in to find her boys and most of their families in her living room!
She had no idea, and was very surprised and very happy!
And then she walked into the kitchen....and spotted the cabinet.
This was her reaction:


Yes, there were tears involved....

And a look at her boys, as if to say,
"You guys did this?"


A hug to the builder :-)



And, basically, for the remainder of the evening,
you could find her doing this--just staring up at it!

It really was fun to see our family, and a great surprise for Lynette. She is a wonderful person and a great mother-in-law, and was very deserving of something nice for Christmas. Thanks to big Roger (Shane's dad) for helping us pull this off--we couldn't have done it without you!



16 comments:

Kara said...

That is one really cool cabinet! Shane can come down here and help Cory build something cool for me anytime! Glad you guys had a fun trip!

Nancy said...

That's really special! So glad you guys were able to do the trip. Shane not a cabinet maker?? Maybe he could pick up a new line of work... :)

Julie said...

That's awesome! What a great gift and surprise. Shane did a great job.

Amanda said...

It's an absolutely beautiful cabinet!! I love her reaction! :D

Kathy said...

Soooo Great! What a fantastic job! What a great gift.

Just wait until your boys start making things for mom...what an awesome thought!

Julie said...

What a wonderful surprise!! And it looks like Shane did a great job on the cabinet.

Shelly said...

aw, so sweet--what a fun family surprise!

Anonymous said...

Im telling you....Shane should apply to be a carpenter on Trading Spaces LoL That is amazing!

Anonymous said...

What a fantastic surprise! It really turned out well.

Karie said...

It looks so good. Shane thank you, thank you for doing this for her. I didn't know she was going to walk in and find it, how cool. Let us know how much and we will be sending a check. Love you guys.

Amanda Hoyt said...

Wow, that cabinet is awesome!!
Thanks for sharing.
Hugs and prayers,
Amanda

Anonymous said...

What a special surprise. I was absolutely surprised by everyone being there at the house when we got home.Anytime we can be together as a family I love it. (You were missed Karie, Reese, and Callen). Then to walk out to the kitchen and find that beautiful cabinet that you had made was more than I could have ever have imagined. What a special Christmas present.It was worth the wait. You will STILL find me standing there staring in awe. I took pictures and have shown it to many people. I love it!!!! A BIG thank you to all three of my boys for a beautiful Christmas present. Thank you for taking the time to find just the right present to get me. I will cherish it. I love you all, MOM :)

The Boe's ~ said...

That is priceless. Love Lynette's face--thanks for capturing it for us all who weren't there =)
Shane----YOU ARE AWESOMELY TALENTED--did you know we are finishing our basement here in the next year....hint hint (we do live close to family so you'd all have a place to live--ha!)

Anonymous said...

What's all this Shane talk? I mean I paid for some of it...well I will have paid for some of it when I mail you a check.
-Jay

Anonymous said...

What's all this Shane talk? I mean I paid for some of it...well I will have paid for some of it when I mail you a check.
-Jay

Lost My Mind said...

AWESOME job!!! Great work!!!