As hard as it is to believe, we are just a few short days away from Thanksgiving 2012. It feels like just yesterday we were celebrating our first holiday season back in Illinois; nevertheless, now that the holidays are upon us once again it seems appropriate to reach out and let the world know how things are progressing in the Realm of Kanak.

Since we believe the children are our future, we continue to teach them well and let them lead the way. Do you see what I did there? In any event, Mary and Geno continue to grow, develop, and amaze.

Mary is a straight-A first grader who continues to exceed expectations on every benchmark assessment her school can throw at her. She has become a proficient reader at this point. As such, it's not uncommon to see her walking around the house at any given time toting a dozen books or more. She either reads them aloud to herself, or she reads them to Geno, which is a particularly cute scene to witness. Despite her sweet, girly nature, she has an interest in the macabre; dressing up in scary costumes in order to creep out family members is among her favorite activities. She loves snakes, spiders, zombies, mummies, skeletons, and grim reapers--yup, that's our girl! All in all, she's still the same sweet, smart, caring little girl we've all grown to know and love.

Geno, on the other hand, has a bit more spit and vinegar in him! This isn't to say that he isn't a sweet and polite little man. Much of the time he is; however, the pendulum swings just as far to the other side for him, so it's also not uncommon to hear him voicing - or bellowing - his displeasure with various goings on in his surroundings. One of Angie's and my favorite stories was earlier this year at preschool when he told his teacher, "You didn't give me a warning before you gave me a time-out; that's unacceptable!" Now, as teachers, Angie and I don't condone our little boy back-talking, but it's hard not to chuckle at that one. I mean, honestly, what 3-year-old says "unacceptable"? Thankfully, such outbursts are few and far between at school. In fact, his teachers report that he is well-behaved, and they genuinely seem to love having him around due to his pleasant nature and inquisitive mind. Toward that end, they even moved him out of the 3-year-old room and up with the older group. We're not exactly sure how a 3-year-old can be "gifted", but apparently Geno is. Here's hoping!

Moving along, Angie is doing just fine as well. She is still happy at Kankakaee High School. She had a bit of a scare at the end of last year when the seniority-based system put her on the budget-fueled RIF - Reduction In Force - list. Thankfully, the brass at KHS knew that they would be losing an amazing teacher if they let her go, so once some budget corrections were made, she was reinstated. Since then, she has continued to work tirelessly to help her students along the road to success both inside and outside of the classroom. She's even increased her contributions to the school, helping serve as Assistant Director during this year's fall play and musical revue. Thanks to Deena Cassady's (the new drama director at KHS--who is REALLY good at her job) and Angie's hard work, the show was one of the most profitable fall KHS productions in quite some time. She will be helping with the spring musical as well, and that is sure to be awesome as well.

Lastly, there is me. I am nearly half way through my second hear as an English Teacher at Watseka High School. I'm nowhere near the amazing teacher that Angie is, but very few teachers are! Nevertheless, I feel I'm doing a good job preparing my students for what they'll face in college and/or the working world. One of my seniors from last year made a point of coming back to tell me that she got the highest grade of anyone in her freshman composition course. One of this year's seniors told me that he thinks I'm by far the best teacher he's had at WCHS. Now, the first student was a solid writer before coming to me, and the second may just have been trying to suck up; nevertheless, I'll take their compliments and run with them. Teaching is a very tough profession, not one for the faint of heart. As such, it feels good any time a student has something nice to say about you. That's especially important since this is my first year of teaching sans power goatee. That's right; in case you hadn't seen or heard, I shaved off my mega-goatee this past summer. There are times when I miss the coolness-cred. it gave me with my students, but it's nice to not have to turn my head to the side to avoid stabbing the wife and kids in the eye with beard hair every time I give a kiss! Suffice it to say that I am happy.

Well, that's the long and long of it from the World of Kanak. To our friends and relatives from Illinois who will read this, we love you all very much, and we're sure to see you soon now that the holiday train is beginning to pick up steam. To all of the wonderful people we had the privilege to get to know in Texas, we miss you more than words can express. We'd say that absence has made our hearts grow fonder of you all, but we were already damned fond of all of you before we left! Please accept our sincerest best wishes to you and your families. We wish you nothing but the very best, and we hope to have the opportunity to see you again soon!

Warmest regards,

The Kanaks

Home for the holidays!

Pics from our trip to the Dells on Dec. 10-11.

Season’s greetings from the Kanaks! With the holiday season upon us once again, we felt it was time to give our families and dear friends the yearly update. Here goes. We’ve been back in Illinois for nearly four months now. We often speak of how much we miss all that we left behind in Texas – wonderful friends, a beautiful home, and gorgeous weather; nevertheless, being back in the midst of family and friends has reaffirmed that this is home and we’re back where we belong. Mary is nearly halfway finished with kindergarten and, despite feeling like she already knows all of that stuff – her words – she is doing very well. She has met or exceeded expectations on all of the benchmark assessments she’s taken up to this point, and her teacher has reported a great deal of growth in her social development as well. But most importantly, she simply loves being able to see her grandparents and cousins whenever she pleases! Likewise, Geno is flourishing. He is the only native Texan in the Kanak Family, so we weren’t exactly sure how he’d adapt to life in Illinois. Well, he simply loves it! He plays in the wide-open spaces of our 20-acre backyard, he watches poppa complete all sorts of fascinating chores and projects, and he follows his big sister around day and night to make sure he doesn’t miss any of the super cool things she does. Last but not least, Angie and I are doing very well also. Angie has found a wonderful niche for herself at Kankakee High School, and I have found a home at Watseka High School. Both of us are getting used to our new surroundings, and we are optimistic that the future will bring a great deal of happiness and success. As the holiday season progresses, we hope that health, happiness, and countless blessings rain down upon you and your loved ones no matter where they may be. Until we meet again, know that you are always on our minds and in our hearts. Be well, The Kanaks

P.S. Be sure to watch our Christmas video below!

Mary's Impromptu Illinois B-day Party.

Since we had to cancel Mary's birthday party due to our unexpected trip to Illinois, we quickly threw together a small get-together with family and Gene's hetero-lifemate's, Joe Strejc, family. It was a nice evening for all:) Click to view pictures.

The moving truck will be rolling out of Texas on July 29 for my permanent move to Illinois. Gene will return to finish up odds and ends; he will be joining us in Illinois the weekend of August 12.

Headed Back to Illinois

Well, after nearly 3 years as Texans, the Kanaks are headed back to Illinois. When we moved to Texas, it was for Gene's dream job--a chance to work with the brightest and the best in the bowling industry; however, since Gene was part of a large corporate downsize back in February 2010, staying in Texas lost its purpose. Though we have enjoyed our time here and will treasure the friends we have made, it's time to return our children to Illinois, where they can be raised around our large, supportive extended families. The moving truck is scheduled to arrive at my parents' house in Bonfield sometime around July 30. We will be staying at the Schafer Homestead until more permanent arrangements are made (or until they kick us out).

Mary could not be happier. It seems as though her heart never left Illinois, and she is anxious to return. On the other hand, Geno has permanently etched Texas in our hearts since he is the only true Texan Kanak. This will be a new adventure for him.

This was a hard decision for me as I truly loved my job, my fellow teachers, and the friends I have made along the way, but in the end, it came down to what was best for our children. Looking back on my childhood, the memories of family meals, huge holiday get-togethers, and sleep overs at grandma's are among the most potent, wonderful recollections. Taking the same opportunities away from my children because I like my house and job seemed petty in our situation.

So...Thank you for the memories, Texas.

album 01\03\11 (24 photos), by Angela Kanak

I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
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Our Year at a Glance Kanak Update--2010

Season’s Greetings from the Kanaks!

We hope that this find you and yours healthy, happy, and anxiously awaiting another fun-filled holiday season. As usual, our family has undergone a great many changes in the past year. Here are some of the highlights:

Geno is now a walking, talking (kind of) 20-month old. His primary hobbies are eating, dancing, and watching TV. His favorite shows include Blue’s Clues, Yo Gabba Gabba, and The Fresh Beat Band. If you haven’t seen one of the Facebook videos of him dancing, do yourself a favor and check it out. I don’t care what kind of day you’re having; watching his moves will be enough to bring a smile to your face. Speaking of smiling, he’ll be doing a great deal more of that soon, as he is preparing to start up at a new preschool. He takes very well to the preschool environment, as he loves being around toys and other kids his age. Unfortunately, we had to pull him out of his previous preschool environment because he kept getting bitten by a teething female. She may actually be a vampire; the authorities are still looking into it; nevertheless, Geno emerged from the situation just fine, and now he’s ready to move on to bigger and brighter things. In between preschool settings, Angie’s good friend Allison cared for Geno during the day. In many ways, Allison’s house was better than preschool! She taught him sign language, fed him nutritious food, and nearly weaned him from his pacifier. We are in a great deal of debt to Allison—literally, we owe her a ton of cash.

The same can be said for Mary Christine, who will also be attending a new school after the New Year. Mary did very well at her Montessori school during the first half of the year. Her teachers said that she was sweet, smart, and a pleasure to have in class. Of course she was; she’s a Kanak! Nevertheless, she was only able to attend that particular school three days per week, and she wants to go all five days like the big kids do. How can you argue with that? Outside of school, Mary’s hobbies are many, but her biggest loves include books, art, dancing, American Girl Dolls, and bowling. She has become quite the little keggler. During the first half of her youth league, she carded 3-4 games over 100, including a personal best of 118. The league didn’t keep track of averages for the bumper bowlers, but it seemed pretty obvious that Mary was the leader of the group. At her current rate of progression, we figure she’ll card her first 300 game by age 6 or 7. Stay tuned.

Speaking of remaining in tune, over the last year, Angie has continued to find her groove in regard to living and working in Texas. She is now halfway through her second year teaching at a prestigious local high school, and, as expected, she has excelled. She has impressed her colleagues and administrators a great deal. However, she is excelling outside the classroom as well. As many of you know, she has been faced with some extremely difficult medical issues. Despite the challenges, she met some extremely difficult health situations with more strength and grace then can scarcely be imagined. The penultimate example was when, less than four months after undergoing major surgery, she walked 60 miles in three days while completing the Susan G. Komen 3-day Breast Cancer Walk in Dallas. Obviously, we were all quite proud of her.

Point of View Change:
Since Gene didn’t feel comfortable writing his own paragraph, I (Angie) will be taking over for the next few sentences. It would be a lie to say that Gene has had an easy year. After being part of a large corporate downsize at USBC in February 2010, Gene was offered a sales job at Strike 10 Entertainment. Though he was still in the sports industry, spending all day on the phone with billiards facility owners asking them what type of food and beverages they serve was not his idea of a career, and it certainly was not reason enough to move his family 900 miles away from all their friends and family. After hopes of moving back to Illinois were squelched by a poor education job market, we all accepted the fact that we needed to stay in Texas until the education system in Illinois financially recovered. Gene was fortunate to find an English teaching position at a magnet high school, Cedar Hill Colligate High School. Though he was told the teaching atmosphere at a colligate high school was intense, the over-testing, constant observation, and endless parent contact are making him realize that this is not the atmosphere for him. However, he is hell-bent on completing the school year with gusto—teaching the best he can in the high-stress situation. Needless to say, he is constantly browsing websites and networking with friends attempting to find different employment for next fall. Though he often talks about opportunities that would bring us back to Illinois, the wonderful people we have met in Texas, make our life here worthwhile and enjoyable—not to mention year-round softball and access to the best bowlers in the world. Despite Gene’s bad luck, he has remained a wonderful father and husband.

Here’s hoping for a great new year!!


The Kanaks (notice that no apostrophe is needed as nothing belongs to us in this context)