December 1

Yesterday, my mom and Ryan came over to watch the kids so Chris and I could go see a movie. Ryan forgot his sunglasses at our house. So today, Ryan and mom wanted to stop by after church to pick up the sunglasses. The only problem was that Mom's church ends earlier than our church, so Mom and Ryan had to kill some time while they waited for us to get home. They headed to the Goodwill near our house and hunted for treasures. When we finally met up with them, Mom mentioned that Goodwill had a piano for $50, and we should buy it.

She had no idea that Chris and I have always wanted to have a piano for our children, that the long-term plan for this house has always involved a piano, or that this time last year we were searching for a bargain piano. But her comment stirred something in me, and I hopped on Craigslist and found two contender pianos. Chris liked one of them, so we emailed the seller. I headed off to the grocery store, and by the time I was finished shopping, Chris had arranged to purchase and pick up a piano for us - for $25.

My sister Emily's boyfriend Billy has access to a truck, so Emily and her whole gang came over for dinner while the boys went out to hunt us down a piano. Lily fought her naps all day, and it came to a peak while Chris was gone. I finally got her to sleep while Emily and the kids watched a movie. The best part? Lily took a pacifier! I was so excited that I ran out to grab my camera.

See? Proof! She took a pacifier! Hooray!

And soon enough, the boys arrived with their quarry: our $25 Craigslist piano.

Apparently their trip was not without its mishaps: one of the piano's wheels was smashed as they wheeled it out to the truck, and it tipped over at one point. Turns out the thing weighed about 600 pounds!

Billy parked in the driveway at first, but then I got realistic and suggested that he back that truck through our front yard so that we didn't have to carry the piano that far.

After a few tense moments, the piano was in.

Caleb was thrilled.

He and Max couldn't wait to test out the new piano!

Everyone watched with great satisfaction as Max and Caleb played.

What fun!

Our manly men with their prize. It turns out that it was manufactured sometime between 1913 and 1918, and is solid mahogany. It has one sticky key, but otherwise works fine. Of course, we may learn otherwise once we've had it tuned, but all in all? Not bad for $25 and an evening's worth of work!

Confession: Billy did most of the work.

And then Max and Caleb went back to work.

Daisy waited patiently for her turn. Ryan's snuggles may have helped her wait a bit more patiently...

Finally! Daisy's turn! It's so fun to see how she experimented with how she could press the keys.

Ha!

I can't get enough of this!

Daisy definitely approved.

The kids were so good about waiting for their turns. While they waited, they played other instruments. It was an all-out dance party! They played guitar, drums, hand-clappers, and sang into the microphones. We had so much fun! (Yes, I took my turn at the microphone as my "band" played along.)

Maxie liked being the little drummer boy for Ryan.

So we now have a piano! The only problem is that, while Chris and I value musical skills, we have none of our own. I took three months of guitar lessons as a high schooler, and Chris took two semesters of basic piano in college, but really we know nothing. Going from having a piano in our front room to having children who play will be a big leap for us. So if any of you would like to provide piano lessons for our children, we will gladly accept them! 

In the meantime, hooray! Our $25 Craigslist piano is a dream fulfilled!