It's goodbye again.

 After packing up the van with all of Landon's worldly possessions we said goodbye to Leanne and headed down the road to Grand Rapids, MI, to bring Landon to Calvin College.

We made a stop in Eau Claire, WI, to have lunch with my brother, Dave, at Heckler's.  Can't believe we ate at a cheese head place.

Took a break in Wisconsin Dells.  We went for a stroll down the walk by the river and of course had some cheese curds and Swiss chocolate.  Of course.

After spending a night in Madison and then doing some shopping near Chicago we finally arrived in Grand Rapids.  We tried an Italian restaurant that evening called Pietro's- it was quite good.

 

Next morning it was off to Calvin.

Getting moved in... Landon's roommate didn't arrive until a couple days later so we didn't get to meet him :(  But the two of them have a great suite, usually shared by four people, so they have one room for their beds and clothes and one room for their desks and living space and a good sized bathroom in between.

He's all set.

We were wowed by the huge campus, nice facilities with everything you can imagine, very friendly staff, good food, and absolutely beautiful grounds.  We met a couple of the philosophy professors and toured the classrooms and lounge in the philosophy department, which is what Landon is studying.

Bill and I attended a service in the chapel with a massive pipe organ.  I shed all my tears during this service so I wouldn't have to be a blubbering mess when we said goodbye. 

The last part of parent/first-year/transfer student orientation day was a big picnic on the commons lawn.  It was a LOT of people!  Calvin has I think approximately 3,800 students.

Okay, so I was a little sad.  We won't see him until Christmas.  Wah!  But after almost a year and half of working towards this we know he is in the right place.  And if he doesn't absolutely love it he is crazy.



FREEEEEEEEEEDOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!

I think that is what our kids are yelling lately, at least to themselves.   But for me it's more like SAAAAAAAADNEEEEEEESS!  Letting go of your kids is one of those thistles in life that ya gotta do but gosh it is painful, mixed in with exciting, and a roller coaster of emotions for this momma.

Last week Leanne passed her driver's test. 
Here she is-- one happy girl! one nervous momma.

Right after she passed her test we went to the airport to say goodbye to Landon who flew to Florida. without his momma. to visit his new girlfriend. !?



And then I drove Landon's car and followed Leanne in the van as she took her first solo drive. by herself. without her momma.  About half way home I burst into tears and bawled.  It hit me hard~ my kids don't need me anymore : '(  Sob, sob.  I pulled myself together before we got home.

Then today we helped Brian move into the West Hall at Oak Hills Christian College.  It was just 29 years ago that I moved into the East Hall there and 26 years ago that Bill moved into West Hall.  It still looks the same!

I made sure he had a photo of us so he doesn't forget his family :).

Here he is with his new roommate- himself.  For now he has his own room.  Good thing because with his keyboard, guitar, banjo, accordian and organ there won't be room for anyone else.

I didn't even blubber or sniffle or cry when we said goodbye, I was so proud of myself.!  Nevermind that he's only about eight miles away from home.  I miss him already.  Sob, sob.  Next week we bring Landon to college in Michigan, oof dah, how much can one momma take?  I won't think about that. yet.

Little Church on the Prairie

Because I was alone and could stop whenever and wherever I wanted on my trip through North Dakota, I turned down a few country roads to look at the old country churches which I LOVE.  They are such a rich part of our heritage and sadly they are disappearing along with the old barns.



As I stopped at each one, I couldn't help but notice the lawns were all mowed and I also couldn't help but think of all the history and memories in each church, all of life's major events~ baptisms, Sunday School lessons, confirmation, weddings, anniversaries, festivals, and funerals, etc. that have taken place there.  The millions of prayers and songs of worship lifted up within those walls.  The faith and hope of many strengthened and renewed each Sunday.

The doors that welcome.

The bell that calls to worship.

My favorite part of the old country church is the steeple and the bell. The steeples drew me across the prairie as they did our pioneer ancestors. They didn't have GPS or google, they just scanned the horizon for the steeple.

Of course, the church that holds the fondest memories and sentiment for me is the one below that I grew up attending~ Zion Lutheran Church, built in 1915 by my Grandfather, Einar Roness, and my Great Grandfather, Michael Glasoe, and others.

To my delight the door was unlocked so I was able to go inside.  They still have services here occasionally.  I was paid $10 a Sunday to play piano when I was in high school and thought that was pretty sweet.  Our family sat about four rows up from the back on the left side.  We took up a whole pew and more sometimes.

 The beautiful stained glass window in the front of the church of Jesus praying in the garden.

I took some time to visit my Mom's grave.

 Thanks for visiting these old churches with me~ maybe next time you are on a road trip you will notice a steeple here or there and will feel it drawing you as well.  Perhaps?



Little Hotel on the Prairie

While back home we had to check out the progress of my sister and brother-in-law's project of restoring the old Traveller's Hotel in Noonan.  They have made some progress since the last time we saw it in December, including replacing most of the windows.  Here's just a few shots:

These rounded windows on the side of the building will be next to replace.

The tin ceilings will be awesome once they are repaired and painted.

This chair was originally in the lobby of the hotel and was recently donated back to them.

One of the guest rooms, the doors and trim will all be the original.

My Dad coming up the cool old staircase from the lobby up to the guest rooms.

The ceiling and trim in the lobby are black.

When taking up the old floors they discovered this layer of insulation- buffalo hair between sheets of paper!!

One the front of the building the bricks are a little soft and many people have carved their names in them over the years.  I don't remember doing it but I found my name plain as day! 

In two spots even, there's only one LKZ so it had to be me, and right underneath was my boyfriend's name.(!)

Restoring this place is still a massive project but they are making great progress and I admire them for taking it on.  We decided the next time we are together for a reunion (hopefully next summer) we will meet again back home and it will be a work weekend!