More of Summer

Well, it's been quite the summer! July can be summed up in one word: family. It was a delight to have Jamie and the girls for the month while Clint began his doctoral program at Asbury Seminary. We packed a lot in, including several road trips to KY, MI, and PA.

Welcoming Jamie and the girls in Chicago.

Lots of time with the grands! Aren't they sweet?

Great Grandma's house, downtown Indy, County Fair in PA, 10K Run in MI, Auntie Julie, cousin time!

The farm / Hiking at Box Car Rocks / Wading in the creek

Second Cousins

My wonderful Dad and Mom! Looking at old photos with Evee.

Love my Dad!

Thankful for the blessing of family. Life has continued on with a trip to Germany for the annual Europe conference and a few vacation days in Budapest with my man of 35 years as of August 12. Love being married to such an amazing husband! 

Summer Fun in Indy

I must say, after living in Budapest, Hungary, it was an adjustment to move back to the mid-west. I've been gradually adapting to our new culture and community. But now that summer is here–and I absolutely love summer anywhere–Indy is becoming more and more endearing to me. It's a delightful city with so many bonuses.

I love this city for all the following reasons:

• Cultural Trail - 8 miles of trail that connects five Indy cultural districts for those who want to bike it, take a leisurely walk, or run.
• Biking -  I can ride my bike to practically every significant place in the city. And, those significant places are:

• The White River State Park
• The Canal District
• The Zoo
• Mass Ave
• Indy Reads Books - an amazing non-profit book store on Mass Ave
• Central Library
• City Market
• City Circle

• Children's Museum is amazing - best in the nation
• Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) with its 100 acres of woodlands and trails

I think more than anything, I have enjoyed riding my bike around the city. The Cultural Trail makes the city so biker friendly.

Summer pictures so far, with grandchildren included!

Love my Fairdale bike!

Enjoying the Canal District with Miles, Leo, and Stella (of course Josh and Joni, too)

Swinging at IMA with Joni and Miles

Loved having Joni and Miles for a visit the week of 4th of July!

More IMA fun!

Dennis & I enjoyed watching fireworks spouting off the Regions Bank Building this year. Didn't have to fight traffic, just a short walk from our place gave us this incredible spot.

Dennis and I took a day at McCormick Creek State Park for some much needed recovery time. Hiking - one of our favorite pastimes. Indiana has great state parks! And, as always, our Keens proved to be great hiking shoes for crossing creeks and jumping stones.

TODAY we get to pick up Jamie, Evee, and Iris in Chicago!!!! Something our whole family has been anticipating for months!! Definitely pictures of their month-long visit to come!

It's about time!

Well, it is about time! Except for a 3-month period a couple years ago when I intentionally took a blog break, this is the longest I have gone without a blog post over the six years I've been blogging. I've been back from Africa for two months now and life has been full-on since then connecting with kids and grand-kids and a FLAME class (my final one!), and getting to know our new community.

LATEST TRAVELS: Dennis returned to Africa, connecting with our 160 Sierra Leone pastors and the National Superintendent during their National Church Conference. He even had the opportunity to meet the President of Sierra Leone. From Africa, he flew to Vienna, Austria, where I met up with him to spend a few short days with Dave, Dina, and Emma Horne. It was so great to spend time together in their new home and city. From there, the four of us, flew to Birmingham, England, for the weekend of the British Isles District Conference. It was a blessing to reconnect with friends and acquaintances, as well as to be encouraged by the good things that are happening in the BI District.

A joy to be with Dave, Dina and Emma (who is taking the picture:)

DOWNTOWN INDY: I love where we live! Give me a year and a half, and I'll have the lay of the city figured out. They say (whoever "they" is) that it takes 18 months to settle in to a new place. Today I took advantage of a beautiful summer day by riding my bike on the Cultural Trail. You know how much we loved Budapest? Well, when we moved to the city, I was so surprised to find that Indy has a City Market! It looks like a mini of the Grand Market in Budapest. What a gift that was to me! It's not the Danube, but Indy has the White River, as well as monuments, local coffee shops, and friendly people. Not to mention the Children's Museum (top museum in the country!), the Indy zoo, and a great central library.

 Clockwise: White River, Cultural Trail street crossing, Cultural Trail, City Market, & Calvin Fletcher Coffee Co.

OUR NEW HOME: When I sent out our latest newsletter, a few people thought the brick school building was our home. No, we are one of 18 condo units in the school building. We're enjoying living in this historical place. Below you'll see a few pictures of our home.

So happy to have this brick wall for the art piece we bought in Sarajevo, Bosnia!

Lots of daylight with these huge windows.

A small kitchen, but very practical. I created a "window" above my sink with some greenery and birds. The hummingbird on the blue jar reminds me of our Margot.

My Grandma's Lane Cedar chest with her jewelry box, a young photo of her, and a Norman Rockwell plate she gave me years ago. It's entitled "A Young Girl's Dream." The plate is a picture of a young girl sitting on what is probably a train station bench, with a suitcase by her, and a box of tissues on her lap. Grandma told me that the girl reminded her of me, as I left my home in PA to follow my dreams.

Well, a few more pictures of family time, and I'll end this post.

A trip to Grand Haven called for a walk on the pier. Miles loves jumping the rocks.

Birthday #4 for Miles (Stella watching in the background)

Leo

Well, that about sums up the past couple months.

ANTICIPATION! We're looking forward to having Jamie, Evee, and Iris in a few weeks for the month of July! We can't wait! A year and a half is way too long to not see family, especially growing grandchildren.