So very Thankful......

Dear Friends and Family,

I was super busy last Monday trying to get ahead at work for my 3 1/2 days off. Jimi took my car to get a front end alignment done, but turns out the front tires were showing metal on the inside. We are so glad we caught that. Jimi says it could have been bad for us on the road trip. Anyhow, we got two new tires for the front.

We headed out Tuesday afternoon for Nebraska, spent the evening and night with my sister and parents. We had an incredible time looking through old photo albums and recalling our childhood memories. A great way to begin the Thanksgiving Holiday.

We drove all day on Wednesday; except........ just twenty minutes after heading out, we got a flat tire and had to put two more tires on the car. But, at least now we were secure with four new tires. We also met up with the lady that bought Jimi's espresso machine on I-80 to hand it over. Then we drove all day arriving at Jeff and Karen's house around 10pm.

My parents had to go to Michigan to pick up my two nieces, so we (Jeff) invited them to swing a little North to eat a very thankful turkey dinner with us. They did and we also talked them in to staying the night rather than driving all night. It was a wonderful day bringing the two families together. We had a total of 14 people in Jeff's house. We ate and visited and played a lot of the Wii. Jimi and I were so thankful for all of it.

Present were:

Jeff and Karen (Jimi's brother and his wife)

Tracy, Tom, and Tommy Jr (Jimi's niece, her husband, and the baby)

Robert and Michelle (Jimi's nephew and fiance)

Kathy (Michelle's mother)

Mom and Dad

Marie (my sister)

Jacque Sue and Brittany (my niece and great niece)

Jimi and I

Mom, Dad, Marie, Jacque Sue, and Brittany left Friday morning. Karen, Tracy and I went shopping and got manicures and pedicures.

Saturday we went to Robert and Michelle's wedding. It was a beautiful wedding.

Jimi and I left early Sunday morning. I flew to McAllen from the Chicago airport and Jimi drove straight home, stopping briefly at his mother's grave in Peoria.

It was a whirl wind of a week. I have attached some pictures for you. As you may imagine, between Jeff, Jimi and I we took bunches. Unfortunately. the only one I have with me, are the ones Jeff took. My and Jimi's pictures are on our cameras at home.

That's all for now.

Love Everybody,

Lorie & Jimi

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

and

Congratulations to Robert and Michelle!!!

Introducing Private Jennifer Sullivan

Dear friends & family,

Many of you are on face book and will already know some of what I am writing about; the main focus is Jennifer. She spent the entire day on Tuesday traveling to South Carolina arriving at reception (that's the admin part or check in for boot camp) after midnight. By the time I spoke with her in Wednesday evening, she was so tired and discouraged, she did not want to be there. She got kicked out of the mess hall during her first meal; therefore she was tired AND hungry. Oh ya, and she says the drama with the girls is no different then high school. Of course I was a mess, because I was so worried about her. On Thursday she sent me two pictures (see attached): one in her camo with a friend, and one of her name on the pocket of her camo; I was ecstatic to get these pictures. I am really hoping to get a lot more. She had fire guard duty from 12am till 1am on Friday and then she then got to sleep until 4:30. I received a nice text from her at 4:30am saying "Good Morning mommy. I hope you have a good day. I love you". I felt she was feeling a little better about things and later confirmed that she was having a better day. I'm writing her nearly everyday - though I know it's a little much - I've decided to only mail a couple of letters a week. But I've been looking up and jotting down encouraging bible verses for her. She also attended bible study at reception and church at boot camp. Her phone is now taken away and we have not contact other then via letter; seems so archaic. Lol Here is Jennifer's address if you want to write her. Please do not send her packages, only letters. Thanks,

PVT Sullivan, Jennifer

C Co, 3rd BN, 13th Inf Regt PLT 1

193rd Infantry Brigade

5422 Jackson Boulevard

Fort Jackson, SC 29207

I had a long and exhausting week: working, dealing with my emotions of what Jenn is going through, and other family related issues. By Friday night I was wiped out and honestly, I hadn't done anything physical all week. I did have a nice dinner with my girlfriend Brenda on Thursday. Jimi and I stayed out way too late Saturday night at the moose and then had to be up early for a showing on the house on Sunday. The rest of Sunday turned in to a lazy day.

Jimi worked around the house, sold his espresso machine on ebay and continues to play computer monopoly, also getting me addicted.. He purchased a beautiful porcelain cast iron kitchen sink from the restore place and installed it over the weekend.

That's all for now. Happy Thanksgiving to come!

Love everybody,

Lorie & Jimi

Grown ups....

Dear Friends and Family,
 
Jimi decided it would be a good idea to consolidate and close off the parts of the house we aren't using for the winter, so we don't have to heat them. The basement, which only houses the spare bed, was shut off and the three rooms upstairs have been consolidated in to two rooms. My office is now in the South room next to my art studio, so that the North room is closed up. It is much cozier and warmer for me, cuz that North room never got any sunlight and was much larger making it harder to heat.
 
Jimi went around the house looking for things to sell. He has decided to sell the "honken professional" espresso machine, as well as some other things.
 
We took the two guns out shooting on Monday night. The 9mm is a much larger gun and can do allot more damage, but because it is larger, it is actually easier for me to shoot. It's size absorbs some of the kick back when firing. And it is more accurate for distances. Don't let that lil' 38 fool ya, that thing has got some kick to it. I will need allot more range time to get a handle on it. It's not as accurate for distances, of course it's not meant for distance shooting though.
 
We had one showing on the house; however, the lookers weren't interested because of the smell. ??? Jimi just laughed and figures the lookers must have been vegans because we had a big ole' chicken in the crock pot. Ha-ha. We had another showing on Saturday, but have not received any feedback yet.
 
We lost Internet for a few days and I tried to work from the coffee shop, but that proved trying. Thank goodness Jimi got it fixed at home.
 
I had lunch with my friend Vicki on Thursday, and then we took her and her children supper on Saturday, as she was recovering from surgery she had on Friday.
 
I got a new windshield installed in my car and then had the inside detailed. I was quite excited about that. :-) My poor lil' car is old, but hangs in there.
Jimi and I played pool Friday night at the Moose Lodge and had a good time. They had an awesome band playing there called the Colorado Storm.
Saturday morning, Jimi and I make breakfast together: pancakes with chopped walnuts and sliced bananas = YUMMY and some turkey sausage. Saturday evening, after taking dinner the Vicki, we ate dinner with Mark and Melody. We had a really good time with them and plan to get together again.
Sunday morning we cooked breakfast together again: french toast and turkey sausage; again = Yummy. I went shopping  for a lil' black dress for Jimi's nephew's wedding, and let me tell you it was not an easy find. I went to nine or so stores, trying on more than a dozen different dresses, but finally I found one suitable. Sunday evening was our usual - glued to the TV for our favorite shows.
Last Wednesday my son, the baby of the family, Daniel, turned 18 years old. It's hard for me to believe. And on Sunday night Jennifer handed herself over to the Army. She will have her final medical testing Monday before flying to South Carolina. As soon as I get her address in boot camp I will post it in a weekly update, as well as on Face Book. I encourage everyone to write her. I know she will want and need the encouragement and support.
We have a normal week ahead of us. We trust you all are doing well.
Love everybody,
Lorie and Jimi

Ruger Family

Hello all,

My week in Texas finished well. We got all of our work/informational training done and had a pleasant time doing it. I really enjoyed the ladies I worked with and will be working with more in the future. I flew home on Friday.

Jimi's trip home was not as he had planned, nor the most pleasant he's had. The forecast changed just as soon as he sat on his bike (Lol). He spent two days dodging the rain and thunderstorms. The first night while trying to sleep under his sleeping bag and a tarp, he got drenched: his boots, clothes, and sleeping bag. He rode in cold weather the next day as much as he could and then stopped at a hotel for the night, where he dried everything out. The next night he found an old abandoned house to take residence in. Of course the roof looked as though it was going to fall in on him if the wind blew, but in the morning when he woke all was well and he made it home later that afternoon.

Friday night we sat in the living room like a couple of couch potatoes and starred at the television hypnotised. Saturday, we putzed around the house. I got most of my scrap booking stuff back out of the garage and began catching up on my 2010 album.

Our realtor had an open house on Sunday, so we rode the motorcycle up to Loveland, and just as soon as Jimi got on the bike - yep - the weather changed; it was dark, cold, and rainy. However, it was worth it because in Loveland, I bought a new hand gun. I'm going to sell my 9mm. It's too big to conceal when we are traveling. My new Ruger 38 Auto fits in my purse or even my back pocket. It's so cute! Here are a couple of pictures. Now Jimi and I each have a Ruger.

That all - love everybody,
Lorie & Jimi

Texas get-away....

Dear Friends and Family,

I am having an awesome time in Texas. I'm working by day and spending my evenings working out in the hotel gym for just over an hour, reading by the pool for a couple of hours, and retiring to my room for a glass of wine, some TV, and more reading until the lights go out.

Last week I worked with one guest from our home office in Finland. This week another arrived, as well as our new CEO. There is so much to do and so little time, but at least my day is not so boring. I love my job here!

Jimi got the house ready for potential showings while he was also out of town. He's been craving a long motorcycle ride, so he left last Wednesday arrived at some friend's house in West, Texas on Thursday and then to McAllen on Friday. We spent the weekend together. It was like a mini vacation. We went to the movies, sat by the swimming pool, and played pool on some full size tables On Sunday, we spent the day driving the beach of Boca Chico; unpopulated territory, an incredible amount of sea shells, and the seagulls and pelicans were great.

Jimi left Monday morning for home. I will be here rest of this week and then reunited with him in Longmont.

Things are busy, but we are doing well. Several showing on the house, but yet no bites.

Love everybody,

Lorie & Jimi