Wow, I guess I should nail y'all to the wall more often! I've gotten more comments on yesterday's post than any other post to date! And it hasn't even been 24 hours yet. :) Thanks for responding. It really eases my mind to know who's out there in possession of all this classified information!

Okay, enough about you all. (Warning: This is the long, detailed story. I really don't know how to tell any other kind. Sorry if you're a short and sweet kinda reader. But, if you're avaricious for details like me, you've hit the jackpot!) So, after we got really excited about building Pea's dresser, we figured I ought to keep looking for the real-life version of my mental ideal (don't get me wrong, we like Norm's plan and all, but it wasn't quite what I had envisioned). So, I spent Saturday morning checking out ALL the used furniture (and stuff) stores within a reasonable drive to see which ones would be worth a weekly trip. I prayed as I drove around town asking God to guide me to the right piece at the right price. After 2-3 hours of searching, I wound up at a warehouse full of consignments and estate sale left-overs. I found a beauty--a little small for what I was thinking but feminine and lovely--for $425. I called Aaron and he came to look at it. After his detailed inspection, he wasn't $425-impressed (it kinda takes a big impression to make us pay very much money).

But, then he spotted the dresser two spots over. Now, this was really my ideal. I mean pretty much exactly the picture in my head. But, the first thing I looked at was the $750 price tag (oh, and everything was 50% off--that's the discounted price). I knew A would never go for that, so I just passed it by. But, then he started looking. I warned him off, showing him the price tag, while at the same time letting it "slip" that this was my ideal come to life. He gave it an even more thorough investigation and, behold, he was impressed! Okay, for my aesthetics to meet his quality standards in the same bit of most things is rare as anyone getting a opportunity to witness my "dancing." So, this was a fairly monumental (and promising) moment. After some good hemming and hawing, we put a 24-hour hold on it (except it was more than 24 hours because that was Saturday and they were closed Sunday) and we went on with our tremendously busy weekend with a plan to look at the books and see if we could squeeze anything out of the budget when we're supposed to be saving for our impending travel.

Like I said, it was a tremendously full weekend, so we didn't get to sit down with Quicken until last night. $11. Yes, $11. That's what's left over in our checking account at the moment. Now, we're expecting some reimbursements and payments, but our bottom line is $11. Short by a mere $784 (that's the with-tax figure). Aaron figured out that we could squeeze that out if we were frugal in everything else and counted our eggs before they're hatched (something that goes against every fiber of my stalwart-financial-manager-of-a-husband's being). Again, a promising moment.

So, we could eke out the money, but should we? We prayed together about it and then went about our stuff. Our pillow talk last night necessarily required bringing it up. Clear as mud. No direction either way. Aaron: "I asked God to give you a dream about it." Me: "Huh? Why? Why not ask for a dream yourself?" A: "I never remember mine. Besides, I want him to tell you, not me." Hmmph. A: "Call me when you get up tomorrow and we can talk about it."

So I did. No dream--for either of us. But, I felt no reservations and thought we were being given the "go ahead." Aaron, on the other hand, felt no reservations (or anything) and thought we better not do it. I swallowed hard. I swallowed hard again. Pride is horse pill. But, I'd rather forgo the dresser than cause division with the man I love and admire most on this earth. "Okay."

So, I was out running my errands wanting to get the painful relinquishment of the hope of the dresser done and over with. Unfortunately, the store didn't open until noon. I planned on returning as soon as Punk was up from his nap. (Oh dear! I forgot a little detail! We had put $25 down for the hold and I needed to get that back.) Not long after we got home from our morning errands and were eating lunch, A called again. "Did you go to the furniture store yet?" "No, they don't open until noon today." "Well, I've been giving it more thought. It seems really important to you. So, I think you should offer $500 today and if they take it, great. Otherwise, you can buy it full price on Friday (pay day)." "What? Really? So, no matter what, we are getting this dresser?" "Yes. Are you happy?" "Yes! And relieved! I wasn't looking forward to mourning the death of that hope!"

Punk got up from his nap and I hustled him into the car and take off for the store. When I arrived, I told the first employee that I met that I had a firm $500 limit. She said she wasn't the one to make those decisions and asked her co-worker if "she" was around. "Yeah, and she's in a really foul manner." Oh great. Not a good omen. Apparently she broke a rib. I'd be cranky too. It is Monday after all. "She" finally came and was very pleasant. I explained my position very briefly and said I absolutely cannot spend more than $500. She said, "Oh, that's fine. Wah, wah, wah, wah (read that like Charlie Brown's teacher--some explanation about it being from an estate and having been at the store for more than a year and donating it all to St. Michael's anyway). Will you be taking it home today?" ABSOLUTELY!!! Unbelievable! I was really stunned at how EASY that was! When I called Aaron later, I told him I nearly peed my pants. My friend Tami affirmed me that this was classic submission at work and that she's not surprised at all!

So, the moment you've all been waiting for: PHOTOS! Here it is in Pea's room!

We even have a key that fits the locks on each drawer. And look at the claw feet and original casters!

Look how solid and substantial this fiddehead is! We think that's the original leaded glass.

We're not really sure if it's cherry or mahogany. It also has various secondary woods, but it's all very solid. The interior of the top two drawers is beautiful birds' eye maple (the rest of the drawers are regular maple). There's a paper tag on the back that says it's from Michigan and a burned stamp from a Boise company inside the top drawer. It's just beautiful and perfect and I LOVE it! Yay! Thanks for the awesome blessing, Father!

(PS--the new plan is to have Aaron make her a hope chest! I always wanted one when I was a little girl. I'm still a hopeless romantic, have you noticed?!)