Happy Birthday Merry

Today is Merry Aeschelman's birthday (Chris' lovely mom). She is the most beautiful and sweet woman I know. And is a real hottie! Kim hopes to be just like her when she grows up. Merry, happy birthday to you. Wish we could be there to spend it with you. But in your honor, I will be making a cake tonight and celebrating you. Safe travels to Florida. Looking forward to seeing you down there soon.

Yes, Ron is a lucky man.

Chris and Merry on our Wedding Day in Salt Lake City.

Snow Days!

So far in the last two days we have gotten 11 inches of snow in Indianapolis, plus some rain & sleet to add to the fun. Kim has been working from home during this time as the road conditions are treacherous. There are some counties around Indiana without power and at level 3 storm warnings which means that only emergenecy vehicles can be on the road in those counties. Thinking about making a snow man, but... its still only 19 degrees out. Help us pray for warmer weather to come!

Not exactly the right time to be using the swimming pool.

Pictures of the side street next to our house. Not a lot of traffic!

It does look pretty, but don't let it deceive you. Its mighty cold.

Hope the weather is treating you better than its treating us. Miss you all.

Chicago Weekend

We were very lucky to get to spend the weekend in Chicago with Karli & Jodi this weekend. We had a fantastic time shopping, eating and just hanging out. While it appears sunny in many of these pictures below, don't let that deceive you. It was about 9 degrees Farenheit out. Thus all the hats and scarves you see. But we didn't let the cold weather deter us. Karli found some great clothes at bargain prices. And Jodi and I found some great deals as well. Poor Chris just got to carry the bags.

The Windy City from the River

Chris, Jodi & Karli (nice smile Chris!)

Water Tower on Michigan Ave

Chris, Jodi and Karli in front of the Oriental Theatre

Queens, NY

This weekend Kim got the opportunity to ride along with one of her truck drivers to a delivery in Queens, NY (on the island very near Manhattan). We delivered 3 truckloads of stretchers and had to return 3 truckloads of faulty stretchers to return to Indiana. We left on Friday morning at 6am (temperature = -4 degrees farenheit) and drove to Hershey, PA. The driver dropped me off at a hotel and then made his way to a truck stop (the drivers sleep in their trucks which are very nice by the way). Next morning we got up at 3:30am and headed into New York City so we could avoid the traffic. We worked all day unloading stretchers and reloading them (temperature = 9 degrees). Moving them from the trucks through the halls of the hospitals. No breaks, no lunch, no food... and we didn't get done until about 4pm. I thought I was going to either starve or freeze to death. Pushing 500 lb stretchers around all day was a workout even for me, especially without food. Saturday night we stopped in New Jersey to sleep for about 8 hrs, then got up early again (4:30 am) and departed for home. Crossing over the Poconos area we encountered about 12 inches of new snow and a lot of cars that had wrecked off the side of the road. We finally got back to Batesville, IN about 4pm. It was definitely a great experience. For all of you who think about cutting off a truck driver in the future.... I strongly encourage you to avoid it. It takes some work to slow those big trucks down.

Brrrr....

Rain ok, snow not so bad, negative temperatures... not so great. My car themometer read 1 degree this morning. Yes, thats 1 degree Farenheit. With wind chill, its negative. Kim's off to New York this weekend. Riding along with one of the truck drivers that works for her to deliver hospital beds to a hospital in Queens, NY. Chris will be heading to his sisters Jodi's to hang for the weekend. Should be a cold (but interesting) weekend. Someone please send heat!

Bathroom updates

Everyday seems to get a little closer, we can start to see the end product come together.  We still have about two more weeks as we are waiting on cabinets, tub and the coordination of drywall people, painters, tilers and electricians.  It will be nice to be back in our own bedroom and use our new bathroom.  The pictures below now start to show some design where everything before was demolition.  I think by the end of this week we will be painted and drywall will be done.  Next week will be tub, tile and electrical completion.

The Shower Floor

The Shower Wall

The Vanity wall

Bathroom floor

Winter Wonderland

Sounds like the weather has been crazy all over the U.S. It was a tough week in Indiana as well. Couldn't make it to work on Tuesday. I saw four wrecks on the highway over 10 miles and decided that it was more than I wanted to handle. The rest of the week was a little dicey, but the salt trucks were on overtime so that helped. The problem is that its all ice and freezing rain. I can handle snow, but this "wintery mix" as they call it is for the birds.

Chris starts physical therapy today to see if that will help his back. We are hoping this helps him avoid another surgery. Keep your fingers crossed for him. I'm looking forward to him being able to sit more than 30 minutes so we can fly places. It's been too long since we've been able to take mini vacations.

Our master bathroom remodel is still plugging along. Longer than we planned as they are still waiting for the cabinets to get in. Hopefully that will be done soon so we can move back into our master bedroom. Good thing we have nice guest bedrooms.

Hope everything is great for all of you.