George & Marilyn - December 2006

Sample work from "by George Productions"  © 2002

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Our May 2005 Trip to the Bahamas

Our May 2004 Trip to the Bahamas

The "Island Girl" - born June 25 2002

2006 Christmas Letter  

What another beautiful and eventful year we’ve had!  We hope that our annual holiday newsletter finds you and your family healthy and happy.

This year started of with lots of visitors. We had cousins, dad (John Gidzinski Sr.) and Marilyn had 5 relatives from Burbach, Germany (her hometown) visit for 2 weeks – they did everything from boating on the Island Girl and visiting the Space Center, to airboat huntin’ for gator!  Shortly after they left, we were off for our summer trip on the Island Girl to the Bahama Islands.  We decided on a more relaxed 2-month itinerary this year and stayed at Boat Harbor Marina in Marsh Harbor the entire stay.  Needless to say, we were very relaxed when we returned. 

 We only had one minor hurricane evacuation this year where the boat had to be moved and it turned out to be a non-event. It is hard to put into words what a great relief this mild hurricane season has been after all of the destruction of 2004 and 2005. Let’s hope that 2007 is another uneventful year.

Tara expanded her teaching skills this year in her field of helping hearing impaired children, working in the local elementary school system and is now incorporating her new skills into her work. Robert is busy with the 2 businesses that he has ownership in – commercial window design and commercial/residential window installation. Robert and Tara spend a lot of time traveling between Melbourne, Ocala, and Orlando in support of their businesses. George recently finished the security system project that he and Robert installed when their house was being built.

Megin is still in New York City working on the set of the TV show “Law & Order, Criminal Intent” as an actor’s assistant. She is still dating Jesse, another member of the film and TV industry tribe. We are looking forward to seeing her over the holidays.

 John Jr., Robin and their families are doing well. Tera and Stephanie are now sophomores at Northern Illinois University. Kirstin has become a freshman at the local high school. She is enrolled in honor classes and participates in cheerleading. Eric is looking into joining the military after high school.

 Elfriede (Marilyn’s mom) lost her best friend Janet about a month ago and misses her tremendously. She keeps active with her friends from church and has her home open to several Bible study groups each week. She is very healthy and exercises daily. She enjoys her trips to see her children and grandchildren a couple times each year. 

 Karl (Marilyn’s older brother) started his own structural engineering business this summer – Hees & Associates, Inc.  He is doing very well and has built quite a base of customers already.  Christina, his wife of 17 years, will be joining the firm early next year. She is very active in agility training and competition with their Australian Cattle Dog Molly Mae. They have won quite a few ribbons!  We will be having Christmas at their home in Sarasota this year.

 Heidi  (Marilyn’s sister) and her husband Jim are adding a master bedroom suite to their home in Columbia, IL.  Jim is doing most of the work himself and they hope to have the addition done by the New Year. Jacob (10) is doing very well in baseball and is being trained by a retired Texas Ranger. Rachael (9) is a straight-A student and is active in Girl Scouts. Zachary (5) started pre-school recently and Ben (3 1/2) is enjoying getting all of mom’s attention for a few hours each day. Marilyn enjoyed her annual visit to them in September. She even put up a few pieces of sheet rock in the new master closet!

 Glen (Marilyn’s younger brother) and his wife Wendy reside in Colorado Springs.  Katie (8) started a new school this year and is excelling in her class. Taylor (4) is now in pre-school and loves the interaction with other children her age. Glen was accepted into a scholarship program sponsored by the Army that will allow him to complete his Masters degree in Space Systems Operations Management while still on active duty. When he receives his degree in 2007, he will be stationed at Peterson Air Force base in Colorado assigned to work on the space systems that support our military operations worldwide. We are finally going to have a rocket scientist in the family! Marilyn visited them in February and loved every minute!

 We are very fortunate to have such great friends and family in our lives and the ability to travel and see so many wonderful places and people.  One of these days we will slow down but we seem to like being very active for now. 

 We wish you all a wonderful and safe holiday season and best wishes for a healthy and happy New Year. Please keep in touch – we’d love to hear from you!