My Sister is Homeless......

From the Indianapolis Channel 8 News website yesterday:

West side home destroyed in fire
1600 block of North Girls School Road
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - A west side family is now homeless after a fire ripped through their house early Monday morning.
It happened around 4:30 a.m. in the 1600 block of North Girls School Road.
Fire officials say the four adults and four kids living there got out okay. Authorities said the house is a total loss.
No word on the cause of the fire.

My Mom called me about 8:00 our time yesterday morning and told me the news. She is visiting my sister in Indiana to see the brand new baby born 2 weeks ago. Thankfully, my Mom, Sister and nieces and nephews all got out of the house safely. Some noise woke my sister and her boyfriend who woke everyone up. My sister and two of the teenagers got out the window with the 2 year old and the baby, while my 18 year old nephew and my sister's boyfriend got my Mom out the window of her room.

It's a miracle no one was seriously hurt or killed in the fire. As it turns out, the fire was Arson. The police arrested someone today that they believe was responsible. The charges could be 8 counts of attempted murder. I hope the little creep fries in hell for what he did to my family.

Tonight they are all staying in hotel in Indianapolis where they will stay for the next 30 days. The insurance company gave them some $ today to buy some clothes and supplies for the baby and 2 year old. Now they just have to begin to rebuild their lives and start over.

Kaitlyn bought a CAR!

With 10 weeks to go before Kaitlyn's 16th birthday, we found a deal on a great first car for her. A friend-of-a-friend is buying a brand new Volvo, which includes a trip to Sweden to watch it drive off the assembly line, and needed to sell her 1999 Nissan Altima SE. We went and took a look at it on Sunday. Kaitlyn took it for a test drive and decided to plunk down her "car fund" (with a little help from Mom & Tim) and buy the car.
Her car looks like the picture to the right, except that hers is bright cherry red. It has a moon roof, spoiler, and leather seats. It has a few little scratches here and there, but considering it is 9 years old, it is in great condition. Tim and I were both envious saying that it was a much nicer car than either he or I had for our first cars.
So far, we have just put down a deposit to hold the car for Kaitlyn. We won't take delivery until sometime in May when the seller leaves for Sweden to pick up her new car. Its not like we need it any sooner as Kaitlyn doesn't have a license or a job to pay for auto insurance yet! (Oh the joys of growing up!)

Thank you Terri and Jay for the great lead. I think this will be a great first car for our little Kaitlyn!

A internet photo that shows more of what Kaitlyn's car really looks like!

A new Niece!

My sister, Teresa, gave birth to her 6th child today (crazy girl!).

My niece, Karlee, was born this morning and weighed in at just over 8 pounds.

Her favorite Aunt (me) sent her a pink teddy bear to welcome her to the world.