Mazurek Family

                                                                        John and Laura

                  Erik and Christine                    

           Jay and Melissa

                           Also visit www.mazurekphotography.com to view my Photo Gallery

Family

                                  Last Updated:  02/01/2007                                            

 An overview:   (according to John)

    This page will keep you informed on the activities of John and Laura Mazurek, their daughters Christine and Melissa, and the girl's husbands Erik Kulstad and Jay Swartz. 

    We are now living in Winthrop Harbor, Illinois a small village at the very northeastern corner of Illinois. We moved here in 2002 after retiring and are enjoying the lessened stress, more natural setting and an easier to maintain house. We also enjoy the proximity to Lake Michigan, the Northpoint Marina ) http://www.npmonline.com/  or   Illinois Gallery Webcam at North Point Marina and Illinois Beach State Park http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt/PARKS/R2/ILBEACH.HTM and other nature areas nearby. 

Current events: 

The year 2007 starts off with bad news, Just before Christmas Melissa was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma a type of cancer that affects the lymph nodes located throughout the body.  She had just started her nursing job in Cincinnati where Jay is attending Law School. After a series of tests the doctors determined she was stage three. She will be starting chemotherapy soon but since that could effect her fertility she will also be seeing a specialist regarding IVF. We feel strongly that Jay should continue with Law School since that will be their future but since Melissa cannot work as a nurse during the treatments they will be financially burdened. Luckily she will still be covered by her insurance for the cancer treatments (not the IVF) but must pay her own premiums.  We have started a fund to support them. We have a special series of web pages devoted to Jay and Melissa, her treatments, medical information and such. For more up to date information see their web page

In the photo album section, I just added pictures from our  trips last year to Costa Rica and Hawaii. There are some pictures of our remodeled living room and some Christmas pictures.Earlier, I took some new pictures of the front yard.  We had cut the boxwood hedge down to about 1ft. height and  the smoke bush to about 2 1/2 ft. they are all doing nicely. (see IMG_0848.jpg ) The maroon plant in the middle is the smoke bush.  The boxwood had been about 42" tall when we cut it back this spring and the smoke bush was over 8 feet tall.

   Laura is also feeling well, she enjoys her plants and is keeping detailed records of her work. She is also quilting (see photos) IMG_0658_smaller.jpg  and knitting. She loves to get into her garden and play in the dirt.

    Christine and Erik have sold their house in Oak Lawn and after a short vacation in Trinidad, will start their new work on the Outer Banks in North Carolina (pictures in photo album).  They have both finished their residency in Emergency Medicine. This fall, they are planning a 17 day trip to China with Erik's family. That's old news, they are now in Albuquerque, New Mexico and will be there until Dec. 23, 2005 when the whole gang will be home for Christmas. That's all old news  They are now working in Hawaii till the spring, then are planning a trip to Argentina and a return to North Carolina from May through Sept.  They have taken assignments at Christ Hospital where they first started and will be moving back to Chicago soon! They bought a house (Sept 2006) in the South Loop Chicago. - see pictures on the Photo Album page.

   Melissa and Jay are now living in Cincinnati, OH having recently moved from Chicago.  They bought a home in the city and are busy with unpacking and setting up house.  Melissa is now a nurse and will be working at Christ Hospital (not the same as Chris and Erik). Jay has started Law School at the University of Cincinnati and did quite well his first semester. Melissa has had to take a leave of absence from work due to the illness.

    I have been very busy with Digital Photography the past few years.  I have several photos on exhibit at the Spectrum Gallery in Racine Wisconsin and have been fortunate to have sold over 30 photos this past year.   I have also taught Digital Photography. Some early samples of my work are in the photo album pages. I also have started doing photo restoration and slide digitizing as a slideline!