Ryan and Elna move to their Apartment

Who would have thought that 5 people and ALL their belongings would fit in our apartment?! I t has been so much fun to have Ryan and Elna stay with us, and I have gotten to know them really well over the last four days since we came back from Frazier Park! Little Calista and I have already formed a close bond, and man is she cute!

The Pot Plant and the Rules

Say no more...

Christmas Decorating

I really enjoy this time of year, despite a lot of negative feedback from some Christian circles. It is a time to remember the birth of our Lord, to get together with family and give each other gifts to show them our love and appreciation for them over the year gone by. LA becomes very festive here, many people decking out their homes with lights for the benefit of everyone else, and carols get played to the general public that are filled with the Gospel Story. It is truly a unique time of year!

Lunch with the Riccardi's, and Important Lessons on Gas Ovens

Mike and Janna Riccardi are a new seminary couple who live just down the street from us and have started attending the same Cornerstone Bible Study, so naturally we have been getting to spend some time with them! We had them over the one Sunday between Church services for a pizza lunch that I don't think I'll ever forget!!! So I learned a major difference between the Gas oven and the Electric one! Where the electric one has a warming drawer to keep the first pizza warm while the other one is cooking, the gas one has what they call a broiler (fancy name for a grill... who knew!) which makes pizza's black after a few minutes!

Painting our Apartment

What do you do when you are given a $50 gift voucher for Home depot, Your house has been packed up for bugsprayers and the weekend is here? Well, that's easy! You go paint shopping!!!

The house is ready to be prepped!
Masking tape? Check!

The Bug Ordeal...

These are the little guys that we have been struggling with... They don't get much bigger than this, but try as we have, we haven't been able to get rid of them... It hasn't always been this way...


A few weeks ago, our neighbors moved out from the apartment right next to ours. We are assuming that they left a bit of a mess behind, and while the place lay empty... they began to plot... and build their forces...

It's Fall!!!

I was so excited to go and spend my birthday money on fall decorations for our apartment! Since I am starting late, there are tons of sales on at Jo-anne's, Target and Walmart. There are also such fun things given away each Wednesday night at Sem Wives at Grace Church, so now my apartment is kitted out! This is what I came up with!

New additions to the apartment!

This evening was "work on home projects" night at the Zekveld home. There are not many more pleasing things for a wife than to see projects get done, so tonight was the best!!! look what we were up to...

I had stained the wood for a new frame in preparation for the work party...

I was recovering the new dining room chairs that I got with fabric that matches the colour of our dinner plate set...

My most handsome husband was putting together a frame for our bathroom mirror...

And these were a romantic addition to our bedroom entrance!

The lanterns from my wedding were hung in the passage to hide an unattractive light fitting.

All in all we had a great time! Three cheers for the team!

Look at our apartment now!

Leave me at home every day and it's only a matter of time until I put my stamp on my space! After a trip to the best store in the world - IKEA; and some good deals off Craigslist, my home is starting to look really smart! Thanks so much to everyone's wedding gifts that have made this possible! The Lord has provided in abundance for us and we are so thankful for everything we have been given...

"The eyes of all wait for thee; And thou givest them their food in due season. Thou openest thy hand, And satisfiest the desire of every living thing." Ps 145 v15-16

"Making it work"

Although the complex itself was nothing to get excited about, the moment I walked through our door, Apartment #12 was home. It was love at first sight as I looked around, exploring my new playground, where my life with Andrew would begin to unfold and be shaped. I was just overwhelmed with how perfect it was for our needs. It was a one bedroom apartment with a large living area, and cozy bedroom overlooking the street from the second floor of the building. The walls and cupboards were freshly painted, the carpet brand new, as well as the sink and counter tops. I was amazed that it was in such an amazing condition!

There was a small problem though! It was completely empty, other than a few kitchen things that a good friend had brought in for us. So we brought up our luggage, and then went to bring all of Andrew's things from his old apartment, conveniently a few houses down from where we were now! Andrew had been given a fridge before he left to South Africa, which was the first thing to arrive via dolly to the apartment. Next was a large quantity of the best literature available to a seminary student, a bag of clothes, a desk, an office chair and two bookshelves. This was the extent of our furniture. Naturally, our first stop was to find a bed - an air mattress was a good temporary measure, so we bought one, along with a sheet and duvet, and some pillows and cases. With takeaways for dinner, we set up what little we had so that Andrew would be able to at least study, since he had Seminary class to go to in the morning. So while Andrew did homework for his classes, I unpacked books and clothes, and started making lists of all the things we were to keep a look out for.

Andrew's Seminary wall! All geared up to go for the last part of the semester...

Our miniature Kitchen, very compact, but perfect for the two of us.

The front of our Living Room with entrance door from the Courtyard to the left, and our only window on this side of the house!

The view from the corner of our Living Room with Kitchen on the left, passage straight ahead, and Andrew's seminary wall to the right where the entrance door is also.

The passage with Bedroom though to the left, and Bathroom straight ahead

Our cute little Bathroom, with the vanity on the right edge of the picture

The Bathroom vanity is in the passage, and the Bathroom is to the left, and Living Room to the right

View from the corner of our Bedroom towards the passage, and our huge closets!

Our Bedroom

Over the next few weeks we slowly began to build a home for ourselves, starting with the necessities, like a couch, which we picked up from the side of the street, and some more bedding. A family also gave us a few items of furniture which was a huge help! Anything we couldn't use we passed on or sold on Craig's-List, a very cool website for LA which you can buy or sell anything on... It has been such a joy to have a place that we can call our home. A place to relax and rest, to enjoy and fellowship in. It's more than just our apartment, it's the beginning of the 'nesting' dream I have had since I was a little girl! But there's much more still to be done, I'll keep you posted on the additions!