The life and times of a family entertainment center

There she is, our first real piece of furniture in our first home.  I was so excited to have such a lovely piece to display our family photos and trinkets.  It actually stood in our family room bare for a good month because I wanted it to look perfect and didn't know where to start, lol.  See how everything on it is placed just so?  I dusted & polished it faithfully every Saturday morning during T's nap.  And the most surprising thing is during the 7 years we lived in that house, it never moved from that spot.  And anyone who ever visited us knows that everything else moved.....a lot.

And here she is again, another little boy in the house and she is still holding strong.  Proudly displaying even more beloved photos. We had to add the child lock to protect the stereo and dvd player and change out the glass in the doors for plexi, but she's still beautiful, right? 

                                                                                                                                                                                                         

 It was about this time that the drawers began to be filled with diaps & wipes, blocks, cars and coloring books.    

And as our family grew, so did the duties of our trusty (and a little dusty) friend.  The toys and puzzles have outgrown the drawers and are encroaching onto the shelves, and they look even better than the well placed photos and chachskis don't they?

We have so many wonderful memories of babies and littles around that workhorse of an entertainment center.  All three learned to pull up and cruise along her sturdy shelves.  They

learned to take out and put away toys, to close drawers softly and not pinch little fingers.  And not to smear yogurt all over her...okay...um, that one took a while.   

When we moved, the ole girl was assigned full time toy storage duty in our garage/playroom.  What a trooper!

Now those doors are off completely and her shelves are happily housing all sorts of fun family toys.  She has earned quite a few dents and dings and now only gets dusted on a monthly basis and hasn't seen polish in quite a while, but she never complained and took her new lot in life with dignity and grace.

As we grow into our new home, the family van decides it would like the use of it's garage and that once again means change for our girl.  What was once one has become three.

Out on our lanai, we took out a shelf to fit the tv and cable box.  Her drawers still hold toys and books.

In our bedroom, dutifully holding yet another tv, dvd and cable box, the main hub and wireless router, and books that have overflowed our side tables.

                                           

And finally, a little piece of her restored to her former glory, proudly displaying cherished photos in our family room.  

I look forward to many, many more years with you my friend.  Who knows what your next assignment might be, but one thing is for sure, you will perform it lovingly.  Thank-you.