Oklahoma Trip: by Lori

Well, we are back home, safe and sound. We stayed on Grand Lake in north east OK (Monkey Island to be exact...and no, we did not see any swinging in the trees). It was just beautiful...hot, but peaceful. A nice wind off the lake seemed to cool things off a little and kept alot of the bugs away. I didn't really want to go, since we had rented the place thinking that my Mom and Dad would be coming with us. The empty bedroom was a sad reminder, but Mama always lived life to the fullest. We felt she would have wanted us to take the kids there. I had alot of quiet time for reflection on life and my loved ones and it was something that I really needed. Keeping the kids busy with new experiences seemed to have helped them cope a little too. It was bittersweet, since I could not share our fun times and silly pictures with my mom, like I have always done after a trip away. Not being able to call and tell her we are home safe...life still seems so surreal to me. I know that everyone says that time will heal...well, I guess only time will tell.

Yes, Lou saved Savannah from the big, bad croc...he only needed 10 stitches! Just kidding...

This emu kept eyeballing Lou, not sure if it wanted to kiss or kick him, though! The same goes for this alpaca!! It must be Lou's magnetic personality...I was jealous!!









Kiss me baby!

In Memorium

Our Precious Mother and Grandmother,

Lola Janik 3/10/44 - 6/09/09

Mama, I have the right words in my heart, but the ones in my head just don't seem enough to portray what you have meant to all of us. All that I know right now, is that you are at peace, but we miss you so much...why did you have to leave us so soon? We miss your laugh, your words of wisdom, your awesome sense of humor, your strength and vibrancy. You touched so many people, with your love and caring, throughout your life and your passing has left such a huge hole. Thank you for being such an awesome mother to Julie, Michael and me, and a wonderful grandmother to our children. I pray that I can pass on to Zack and Savannah all the things that you have taught and inspired in us. It's not fair....all your suffering and now this tremendous loss. Savannah said to me, "I only got to know Grandma for 8 years, it's not fair Mom". How can the simple words of a child cut so deep? At least Savannah had 8 years, but how come Baby Przyzycki did not get to have any time with Grandma Lola? That is SO unfair!! I had 41 years with you and that wasn't enough, by far. But, God gave you 65 years full of love, so who are we to question His plan. I know that we will be together again, someday, in Heaven, so that gives some comfort. I love you Mama.




Mama and me, 1968

Memorial Weekend Camping Trip to Fox River! by Lori

We took Tyler and Hannah along for the camping fun this past weekend. It was such a treat that they were able to come with us...the kids had a great time together! You never know what to expect from the 'Great Outdoors', and that is half the fun. Swarms of gnats, June Bug attacks, the occasional thunderstorm and an attempted camper infiltration by carpenter ants did not deter us from having a great time! Even a wandering 'orphan' child, who spent some time at our camp site, added to our experience. For the most part, the weather was just perfect, warm during the day and cool at night. We took the kids to play miniature golf, canoeing on a small resort lake, and LOTS of swimming at both the indoor and outdoor pools. Lou and I even enjoyed some quality time together in the pool during the 'adult swim' times....yep, no kids allowed...they had to stay out, with their sad little faces, looking at the clock and asking over and over again when they can come back in. Absolute bliss! In the evenings, we roasted hot dogs and marshmallows over a nice roaring fire. The epitome of camping! I had a little bit of a hard time sleeping, what with the night forest noises and the occasional obnoxious loud neighboring camper (really, who starts blasting bad rap music at 10 pm anyway...just asking?!?). Then comes the early morning light and the birds....oh, the birds! I never heard so many, singing with such joy, at the crack of dawn! So, it was awfully nice to sleep in our own bed last night! Well, the weekend was great. I hope everyone at least got to relax a little. It was a nice way to kick off our summer traveling. I am looking forward to summer vacation so much right now!! Just 8 more school days left! Whoo Hoo!!!!




We are VERY BLESSED!!

Oh, Baby! by Lori

Well, all the ladies were in attendance to celebrate the upcoming arrival of Baby Przyzycki! Julie looked absolutely radiant, beautiful, glowing, happy...etc, etc! And Mama totally outdid herself. All the party favors were so adorable...she put so much work and 'TLC' into them! Thanks, Mom! The food was delicious and we hope everyone had a great time. Julie and Brian received sooooo MANY wonderful gifts from their very generous family and friends! Baby Przyzycki is very lucky and blessed to be already surrounded by such love and generosity! We can't wait to meet our new nephew/niece...2 more months to go! Yea!

Mother's Day

Well, I didn't get to spend this Mother's Day weekend like I thought I would. I was looking forward to visiting with family and all the 'Moms' that we love so much. But between Lou's contagious skin fungus and my stomach flu, we spent a quiet weekend at home. At least the kids were healthy, still...cross your fingers, so they had some fun playing in the hot tub and backyard. Since I was kinda confined to my bed, I tried to at least be a little productive. I spent some time backing up all my digital photos. So it turned out to be a blessing after all for Mother's Day. It has been a while since I looked at the older pictures when the kids were little. You think you remember, but there so were so many little details that had gotten foggy in my memory. It was so wonderful to see their little faces, silly pics, and outings that we had gone on. It turned out to be a great Mother's Day after all...because all those pics reminded me how special it is to be their mom and how blessed I have been over the years. I know we get so busy in our lives, but I totally recommend everyone to take some time, pull out those dusty old pictures and just remember those moments that were fast and fleeting.

Family ROCKS!

A Weekend of Blessings

What a big weekend for Charlie! He celebrated both his Baptism and his first birthday! He was such a good boy during the baptism...no crying for him! After the service, we went to Vince and Meg's for a lovely dinner and birthday cake. It's hard to believe it's been a year already! The kids just keep growing and growing. It was also so nice to see family that we haven't in too long!





God bless you, Charlie!

















Charlie really enjoyed eating his cake, with a little help from his dad!











Spencer celebrated his first communion on this beautiful day. We had a lovely dinner at the Chilo's, and the kids had so much fun playing on the trampoline for HOURS! They just jumped and jumped and jumped....I got tired just watching.

God bless you, Spencer!

Spring Break is Over Already??! by Lori

I can't believe it's back to work/school tomorrow! I love my job, but it was so nice to be off with the kids this week, having fun and getting some spring cleaning done. Ok, that wasn't really fun, but needed to be done. I missed having Lou home with us, but hopefully the kids still had an enjoyable week off. Easter weekend started us off, we also went to the movies to see 'Monsters vs. Aliens', Savannah had a play date with a friend, and we took Grandma Lola to Brookfield Zoo.

We had the perfect zoo weather! It was a little busy, but Zack and I made the best of it by using Grandma's wheel chair to clear our path through the crowd. The new Dino exhibit is really cool! I love how Brookfield Zoo is always changing and adding different exhibits.




I think we showed Grandma a good time.
She's getting good at using my camera, too!




Lou was able to take Friday off and we battled the Illinois River with our new pontoon boat, 'Old Ironsides 2'. It's alot bigger than our old boat, so it was trial and error getting it in the water and back onto the trailer. The river current kept trying to sweep us back downriver. We had some 'panicky' moments and near misses, (Lou and the boat almost being swept into the bridge footing, the boat hitting the trailer and then the dock...yes there is already a dent on her!), but we were able to use our problem solving abilities to finally get the boat back onto the trailer. Well, practice makes perfect, they say.


Hopefully, we will get the hang of it as the summer progresses. Wrestling a 24 ft. boat will definitely keep us in shape!
Well, I am now looking forward to summer vacation in 7 weeks. The taste of warmer weather and being able to do things outdoors is so enticing!