Table for Ten, Please

When Danny returned home we quickly realized we were in need of a bigger table.  Before he left both the little boys were in highchairs and Benaiah was still a newborn.  Now, all the big boys sit at the table and Benaiah will soon be eating solids right along beside them.  We currently have a four person table with one side backed up to the wall in our kitchen.  That's right - three sides of a table being shared by five people.  That might work in a pinch with five adults, but who wants to rub elbows with a toddler covered in mashed potatoes?  Not me. 

So, Danny and I started looking around.  Tables are expensive and I wanted a BIG table.  Big tables come with big price tags.  I have also decided that most tables are designed by brainless individuals.  Who wants wicker on the table top?  (Can you imagine picking the peas out of that?)  Who wants table legs that will take hours to dust?  Who wants a bar right in front of your legs?  Not this girl.  I also didn't want cloth chairs to scrub after each meal.  I finally decided we needed to build our own.  I found some plans I liked.  Okay, I never really looked at the plans - just the pictures.  And Danny put the plans I liked together into a table design just for us.  A ten-seater table with plenty of room for potato-y elbows. 

Danny really took off on this project.  I was imagining I would get to sit at my table in a few months.  Nope.  My amazing man has it ready to eat on already!  Here is the play by play!

My favorite part (and coincidentally Danny's least favorite) was sanding.  Talk about a way to release some tension.  Unfortunately I didn't always remember to raise the garage door :/

And some stain . . . ta da!

Some polyurethane and ready to move in!

Now, to start on the benches and chairs!  :D

On a side note: Jesus was a carpenter before power tools - imagine the hard work and patience!  Many lessons to learn from woodworking . . . hmmm . . . something to think about.