A Bunch of Bunk

Over the last few weeks, we've been working on getting the boys bunk beds. First, we sold Joshua's old furniture to make room in their bedroom. That happened Wednesday, February 1. We had already seen this set of bunk beds, but we took that week to continue shopping. I called every local used furniture store I could find or think of to see if they had bunk beds in stock. They all said no. Then we drove around to new furniture stores, which either out-priced (by far!) this set or weren't nearly the quality that we were hoping to have. We didn't want to see Joshua high in the air in something that wobbled or looked unsafe.

So, Saturday, February 4, we decided to take the plunge and buy this set. Thanks to the kindness of strangers, we got it loaded onto our cart (God bless them!) and we got the very last dresser in stock - the display model that had a discounted price and was already assembled (a bonus since Joshua's dresser had already been purchased and we had his clothes in boxes!). I could not believe how HEAVY these boxes were. They are very solid wood! We were barely able to squeeze everything into our minivan with the seats taken out and folded down. After moving them into the garage, Shawn took the opportunity to clean the inside of my ride - thanks so much, babe!

On Saturday, February 11, I signed the boys & me up for "Boogie Woogie Books" at the Manheim Township Public Library. The theme for this week was Valentine's Day, and since they've enjoyed the activities before, I thought it would be fun AND give us an excuse to get out of the house so Daddy could put the bunk beds together. Unfortunately, the event wasn't as fun as it was before. There was a new gal reading it, and she seemed SO nervous. Then, even though my boys were sitting there nicely in the circle, two children came in late and plopped themselves down right in front of them. Caleb couldn't see and lost interest. Joshua still sat there patiently, but I was a little disappointed their mom didn't tell them that their behavior was rude. The books that the girl chose were cute (my favorite being "Puppy Love,") but she would put them down low and my boys could no longer see. You could tell this was her first time reading books to a larger audience. She only sang one song, and I decided to skip the craft time because Caleb was antsy by that point and I didn't really blame him. The craft did look cute, though, so I hope to maybe make it another time with the boys.

Shawn was doing well working on their room when we returned, but we noticed that Joshua's headboard had a big scratch in it. I called the store, and they offered to replace the piece. Mom came along with me to get it, but they didn't have the "brand new" one in the box ready for us when we got there. They offered me the one off the display, and after I spoke with the manager, he also gave us $100 back on what we paid. So, we got one in better shape and money for our inconvenience. That was well worth it to me! And Mom was sweet and bought Caleb the matching quilt to Joshua's bedroom set so when we had the beds all together, everything matched.

Shawn noted how well everything was made. You can tell that these are extremely high quality in how they are put together. The dresser is VERY nice, with drawers sliding nicely and deep enough for all his clothes. The bunk beds are solid and even the slats are grooved in nicely. The drawer underneath can be used as a trundle for another mattress or for storage.

We showed the boys their new beds that night, and they were excited. We explained the "rules" to Joshua & Caleb: no socks on the ladder, no Caleb on the ladder or on the upper bunk, no standing on either one (no hitting your head!), no leaning over the side, no jumping off, and no climbing down without yelling for us first so we can watch him. We may ease up on that last one, but for now I appreciate hearing that he's going onto the ladder. I've been called over several times in the middle of the night or wee hours of the morning for him to go potty, but I'd rather that than him groggily miss a step and fall. How we pray for our kids safety!

This past weekend, Shawn helped put back the letters on the wall for the boys. I love their names in the same sports theme. So cute!

So far the boys have done well with their new bedroom set. Please pray that they continue to be safe! This has opened up their room quite a bit, and this set is much nicer for their everyday needs. We honestly debated about putting them in our office instead to have two single beds that are identical (this set would also do well as two singles) but for now we've decided that they would rather have a bigger play space and less room to sleep. Please pray for our wisdom, God's grace and protection. It makes us both nervous to have our little Bean so high as he sleeps! But, he's been responsible so far, and the rails should help protect him.