When Jenn and I realized that we were being given a gift, and then the magnitude of the gift, we were speechless. It took a few hours for the reality of it to set in. Even now, many weeks later, as I consider the personal generosity of so many of my INGO friends, I am humbled. “Thank you” seems inadequate to convey the way Jenn and I feel. However, a sincere and deeply felt “thank you” is the best we can offer. 
After receiving your gift, Jenn and I had several conversations about how best to use it. We started out talking about possible travel ideas. Then, as December wore on, our thoughts took a dramatic shift due to a change at home and to the realization that there is something we could do that would make both of us very happy for a long time.
In December, our daughter moved out of our basement into her own apartment. This left us with a problem. Our daughter had three cats living with her. One in particular had repeatedly urinated in a few places in the basement. [We had already removed some carpet, chasing the odor problem. Now we had partial carpeting and had exposed some ugly concrete and tile floors.] But we didn’t have the finances to renovate the area.
During this same timeframe, Jenn was becoming increasingly frustrated by the lack of adequate storage for her many craft items and raw materials as well as too little general storage in the house. She also didn’t have nearly enough workspace for the actual crafting activity, and this increased her dissatisfaction and frustration.
It was at this point that we realized that using the INGO gift to remodel the basement would be the very best way to use this unexpected blessing. Yes, a vacation was temping, but this use will provide more satisfaction and lasting enjoyment for us.
Since after Christmas, we have been pulling up the rest of the carpet, sweeping, mopping, and planning this new space. We decided to take out two small closets to enlarge Jenn ‘s photography studio; so we’ve torn down drywall and demolished walls! (Now I need to find someone who is good at patching drywall.)
There will be a large room for Jenn’s crafting and our computers. With this space, she will have the room to do her craft work and have space for her tools without having to put one tool away to create a spot for the next one. She will have a larger studio with newly painted walls. The third room is being turned into a storage room to solve our house-wide storage issue. All these areas will be getting new carpet in a couple of weeks! The INGO gift along with some Christmas money will pay for the improvements.
The INGO gift isn’t just buying carpeting; it is providing a solution to three on-going problems we were having and had no money to solve. We will enjoy these changes on a daily basis!
One specific word of thanks we want to offer. Any good idea takes work to implement. Scutter01 and Spasmo provided the leadership and effort to bring this about. We want to thank them for the time and energy they gave to make this gift possible.
INGO has been the avenue through which we have made many wonderful friendships. It is our hope that we are able to continue to host many current and future INGO members at our property for years to come.
It is our prayer that God will bless each of you for the kindness you have shown to us!
Dave and Jenn Rice
(p.s. Jenn said she will be taking a few pictures along the way and sharing them with you so you can enjoy the changes with us!)
After receiving your gift, Jenn and I had several conversations about how best to use it. We started out talking about possible travel ideas. Then, as December wore on, our thoughts took a dramatic shift due to a change at home and to the realization that there is something we could do that would make both of us very happy for a long time.
In December, our daughter moved out of our basement into her own apartment. This left us with a problem. Our daughter had three cats living with her. One in particular had repeatedly urinated in a few places in the basement. [We had already removed some carpet, chasing the odor problem. Now we had partial carpeting and had exposed some ugly concrete and tile floors.] But we didn’t have the finances to renovate the area.
During this same timeframe, Jenn was becoming increasingly frustrated by the lack of adequate storage for her many craft items and raw materials as well as too little general storage in the house. She also didn’t have nearly enough workspace for the actual crafting activity, and this increased her dissatisfaction and frustration.
It was at this point that we realized that using the INGO gift to remodel the basement would be the very best way to use this unexpected blessing. Yes, a vacation was temping, but this use will provide more satisfaction and lasting enjoyment for us.
Since after Christmas, we have been pulling up the rest of the carpet, sweeping, mopping, and planning this new space. We decided to take out two small closets to enlarge Jenn ‘s photography studio; so we’ve torn down drywall and demolished walls! (Now I need to find someone who is good at patching drywall.)
There will be a large room for Jenn’s crafting and our computers. With this space, she will have the room to do her craft work and have space for her tools without having to put one tool away to create a spot for the next one. She will have a larger studio with newly painted walls. The third room is being turned into a storage room to solve our house-wide storage issue. All these areas will be getting new carpet in a couple of weeks! The INGO gift along with some Christmas money will pay for the improvements.
The INGO gift isn’t just buying carpeting; it is providing a solution to three on-going problems we were having and had no money to solve. We will enjoy these changes on a daily basis!
One specific word of thanks we want to offer. Any good idea takes work to implement. Scutter01 and Spasmo provided the leadership and effort to bring this about. We want to thank them for the time and energy they gave to make this gift possible.
INGO has been the avenue through which we have made many wonderful friendships. It is our hope that we are able to continue to host many current and future INGO members at our property for years to come.
It is our prayer that God will bless each of you for the kindness you have shown to us!
Dave and Jenn Rice
(p.s. Jenn said she will be taking a few pictures along the way and sharing them with you so you can enjoy the changes with us!)
