Some of the very best presents are made with your own two hands. Mark and I enjoy DIY projects -- we find items that are well used and loved, and transform them into something new to us. One of our recent projects was giving new life to a Power Wheel.

We found a black Ford F150 Power Wheel at an online yardsale for $20 and saw the potential for hours and hours of fun for Emma. Despite needing a new battery, and some cosmetic wear and tear, the truck was in perfect working order. 

To start, I gave the truck a bath with good old fashioned soap and water. Then, Mark took it apart one screw at a time.

We decided not to paint the inside of the car or the seats, so I taped these up with painters tape and trash bags.

A few minutes later after shaking up cans of spray paint, we geared up in goggles, masks, and gloves and began transforming the truck into Emma's purple dream car.

We are thrilled with how the makeover came out and Emma loves her car!

We had a great time working together on this DIY project and surprising Emma with it on Christmas morning. When she saw the car in front of the Christmas tree, she climbed right in and we had to quickly get the car outside so that she could go for a drive (and save our walls and floors from certain destruction).

Little did we realize that Emma's feet couldn't reach the gas pedal to drive the car. The first few times Emma drove the car were done with Mark or I pushing the pedal while running along with the car and helping steer it from a collision course. Just in the last week Emma has been able to reach the gas pedal on her own, however, she still needs help steering the car so that she doesn't run over the plants in our yard -- or one of us.  

We hope that with the new coats of paint and battery Emma can enjoy this unique Power Wheel for years to come.