Our five year old son, Owen, has become a novice scholar of late. Various topics have peeked his interest over the course of the last year. For instance, on one of our recent geothermal excavations, he was grossly preoccupied scouring the ground for fossils and arrowheads. This prompted the immediate follow-up query and study of […]

• What if my kids get lice? • What if my dog gets sprayed by a skunk? • What if I find a foot of sitting water in my basement? We all have a “what if” list. You might call it something different, but I’m sure you know what I am referencing. It’s the list […]

We would all agree how essential clean water is to our day-to-day functioning. From drinking water to running your washing machine, it is essential that your H2O be contaminant free. According to Illinois State Law and Illinois State Plumbing Code, Reduced Pressure Zones (i.e. RPZs) are back flow devices installed within the plumbing networks of […]

Whether today or fifty years ago, we cannot help but empathize with the child who is always picked last. That child, the one who is so easily forgotten or ignored, grips at our heart strings. We are forced to over analyze and ponder the myriad of ways we should celebrate his/her attributes in the face […]

Parenthood isn’t easy.  If only there was a manual to guide us through the stressors and scares of raising a family. Life’s curve balls always have a tendency to surprise us and throw us into a new reality that never before existed.  Last spring, Brian and I encountered one of these curve balls when our […]

I thought I would spoof a timeless favorite by the Backstreet Boys for today’s blog entry.  There’s nothing like memory lane to put a smile on your face.  I’m sure you are just as amused as I am when vintage components of our nostalgic past reemerge into the trend scene.  We have all seen fashion […]

I was grocery shopping the other day, and was amazed at checkout when the clerk offered me an extended service warranty on a small electronic I was purchasing.  Like many of you, I declined this additional charge.  I have heard time and time again that these plans are not worth the added expense.  Sometimes it […]

In light of our current understanding of fossil fuel dependency, we often hear folks discuss the efficiency of the heating and cooling options for their homes. Whether this interest is sparked by financial motivators or the strong influence of the U.S. Department of Energy (and its new 19 energy-efficient rulings for 2015), we are not […]

I was thumbing through some family photo albums last week and stumbled upon some old pictures of our company from the early 1970s, 80s, and 90s. It was a proud moment to realize how consistently our family’s business principles and philosophies have stayed intact; however, it was equally rewarding to see how much J & […]

I must confess, when I joined the Herra clan, I had no idea what it would mean to be a part of this VERY large and established Elburn family. I remember my first date with Brian fondly. He took me to Taco Bell (my request), and we spent much of the night discussing his family […]