Makeover, Part 3

Finally - it is just about done!  We are just waiting on curtains we ordered, and then I have to make that all-important bedspread decision - To Buy or Not To Buy - but the rest of it is done and it is beautiful.  Getting the carpet installed turned out to be much more of a hassle than it should have been, but as my good friend Gertrude says, we're not going to major in the minors (you'll have to imagine the German accent) - and concentrate instead on the fact that it is done, and that it looks great.

Here is the room

and the windows

And the best thing you can do with an empty room is plunk a cute baby down in the middle of it and then take a picture really fast before she starts to crawl away...

When we get the curtains and make that important bedspread decision I might post a few last pictures.  In the meantime, I'm still putting pictures back on the walls, and I am seriously enjoying being back in our own bed.

Oh, and the guest room and hallway are looking much better too, now that all our stuff has been removed from there and you can see the floors again.

Indiana University

In 1978, I became a student at Indiana University, in Bloomington, Indiana.  The way I ended up there was kind of random, and before I went, I barely even knew where Indiana was (you just don't learn much US geography when you live in Europe).  At first I was very homesick and I had all kinds of adjustments to make, as well as  experiencing unexpected culture shock.

However, by the time I'd been there about a semester I loved it - my classes, the people I was meeting, Inter Varsity meetings.  And in the fall of 1979, I met Terry and began dating him the following spring.  That was a very good thing that came out of my years in Bloomington.

I'm not sure, though, if I ever appreciated enough, while I was there, what a beautiful college campus Indiana University is.  Last weekend, Terry and I went back for a visit.  It has been at least ten years (probably more) since we were there.  We drove down in a (for them unseasonable) snowstorm, which made for potentially treacherous travel, but it also made everything look so pretty...

This is the view from our bedroom.  We stayed in the Biddle Hotel, which is part of the Student Union...

This was taken during our walk across campus.

Lindley Hall, where the Linguistics Department is housed:

We had dinner at our favorite restaurant, The Trojan Horse.  It's amazing to me that it's still there!  And no one makes a Gyros that is as good as theirs.  I've looked.

  

We also did some driving in Brown County and checked out the State Park there as a possible location for a future Extended Family vacation spot.  It is so beautiful!  If you ever had the impression that Indiana is a boring state, you need to visit this area.

We visited with friends near Indianapolis, enjoying good food and conversation and church with them on Sunday.  I love friendships that have endured for a long time because even when you don't see each other often, it feels like you just pick up where you left off last time!

Oh, and I found a couple of great Depression Glass items and a book.  Successful weekend!!

Makeover, Part 2

Progress on our bedroom project is slow, but it is happening.  We've finished painting all the woodwork in the bedroom and have almost finished inside the closet.  I have completed most of the wallpaper in the room, and we have had an electrician come to put in two more outlets (there were only 2).  Some time in the next few days, I expect to receive a phone call from the nice carpet-installation people, and we will make an appointment for them to put in our lovely new carpet.


In 2001, Terry and I went on a Mediterranean cruise to celebrate out 20th anniversary.  We went to as many ancient sites as we possibly could, and at one of them, we saw the ruins of a Roman villa.  Many mosaic floors were still in fairly good condition and some of them were quite intricate and beautiful.  Our favorite had some writing in it which said, "This house is not built of wood and stone but on Jesus Christ".  It was amazing to stand there and think that the people who lived there so many years ago were fellow-believers!


Some time after we were there, we were re-wallpapering a room in our house.  We had, on occasion, when removing wallpaper, found things written on the walls, usually notes about lengths of walls or locations of studs.  Remembering the Roman villa, we decided to write something more significant, and we wrote a similar statement plus a Scripture verse on the wall of that room before putting up the wallpaper.


I did the same thing in our bedroom.  It's hard to read in the picture, but it's some verses from Psalm 16, which is one of my very favorite psalms.

"I will bless the Lord who has counseled me;

Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night.

I have set the Lord continually before me;

Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices;

My flesh also will dwell securely.

For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol;

Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.

You will make known to me the path of life;

In Your presence is fullness of joy;

In Your right hand there are pleasures forever."

Psalm 16:7-11

One Year Old

Yesterday, the most precious little girl I know turned one.  Here she was, 366 days ago, when we first saw her in the NICU.

And this was taken last summer... 

and this...

We don't really enjoy her that much, can you tell?

Yesterday:

And:

Years ago, when my siblings and I started having children, my Dad told me that he was surprised by two things about being an Opa: how much fun it was, and how much he loved them.  I have thought about that often during the past year, and he is so right.  Having a grandchild is amazing on so many levels.  It is pure fun, of course, for a Baby Junkie like me to, once again, have an infant around who "belongs" to us.  It is gratifying to see her get to know and recognize us, and want to be with us.  It is wonderful to have another little person around to play with all those great toys we have, and to introduce to all the excellent books in our house.  It is cool to live in such a great "Grandparents' House" and actually have a grandchild!


But the thing that I have thought about quite a bit this year is the concept of Legacy.  It has come up often in the ministry with which I'm involved, and it has come to my mind as I've seen our family expand into another generation.  When I saw pictures of three and four generations of Jongkind women, I was struck by the blessing that it is to see, with your own eyes, the succeeding generations of your family.  I've thought a lot about what a privilege it is for me to be involved in Abigail's life; to be an influence and a role model to her, and I've thought about what kind of influence and role model I want to be, and what I want her to learn from me.  I thank God that I am able to be a part of her growing-up years and I pray that I'll use the years wisely.


Finally - this photo blesses my socks off.  As much as I love being a grandmother to this adorable child, I LOVE thinking about my parents being her great-grandparents.  They have enjoyed her so much, the times they have seen her.

Happy Birthday, Abigail!