******!!!!!!SURPRISE!!!!!*******

The very end of my 8th grade year, I got a new waterbed and comforter set to go along with it.  It was a great way to start my high school years.  I remember the excitement and the feeling of maturity.  The water bed was a full size with drawers underneath and a shelf along the length.  Note, by the end of my junior year the mattress had way too many holes and was replaced with old couch cushions.  To be a teenager again.....

I wanted to do the same for her.  Before the trip came to be I was hoping to send her away for a weekend with one of her aunties or uncle so I could redecorate her room.  The blessing of South Korea was perfect!

The state of her bedroom pre-Korea was a bit unorganized.  No bed frame to speak of.  Her white baby dresser was in her closet.  Drawings (mostly by Aunt Imaunii) all over the walls.  A black bookshelf held her TV.  A black shelf mounted on the wall with knick knacks.  Pac-Man, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Wave, and random video game posters were plastered on the walls.  Chinese fans and glow in the dark stars over her window...sensory overload!  Her bathroom was cute.  A simple zebra patterned shower curtain with black/white towels and rugs.  She had mentioned being tired of it, she was wanting something more colorful.

The hope was to organize and girl-ify her room some.  Before she left we went shopping for a new comforter set.  She chose the reversible kind with hues of yellow, white, gray, and black-stripes on one side, flowers on the other.  While it spruced up the room some it wasn't enough.

The day after I returned from Chicago I began the painful task of removing all of the drawings and washing the walls.  Everything in the room came out!  Where did all this crap come from?????????  Me I suppose.

The original plan was to purchase a new bedroom set.  After talking to Grandpa Larry, he was kind enough to surrender the bedroom set that was in the spare room on Rimrock Drive-that of which belonged to Naysia's Nanna.  My mom and I spent a Saturday morning making 2 trips to Grandpa Larry's to pick up the furniture: a full size bed/frame, dresser and table.

Van Gogh's Starry Night was presented to her by Angela and Todd during her 'Going Away Party'.  Hokusai's The Great Wave poster was framed.  Cherry blossom room divider from the 17th Street Farmer's Market.  Baseboards were scrubbed, new curtains hung, old posters carefully rolled up and put away.  Japanese Cherry Blossom air fresheners plugged in, bathroom a wild array of colors......a room carefully put together-where she'll feel the love as she is surrounded by items from so many important people.

The night she came home it took about 2 hours before she finally opened the door to her room.  She was so surprised!!!!  With my mom and I in attendance she stood in the center, mouth gaped open, slowly spinning around she looked at everything that surrounded her.  And then it dawned on her where the furniture was from and she became solemn, she wishes-we both wish- Nanna was here to enjoy these most recent events.  Momma Marie would be so pleased with Naysia.

In the middle of the night she woke me up just to thank me for all that had been done for her.  Since then she has added several boy band posters to the open wall space.  She spreads herself across the bed, crosses her arms, and smiles sweetly.  Mission accomplished!