Got tickets?

Well, as you can see it has been a busy few days for me here in Massachusetts. I had a great time going out with the Mullaneys' they brought me to some really cool places. The visit with the Lizzottes' was fun too, but once they got those baseball bats out it made me a bit homesick.

Anyhow, it got me thinking, I heard the Yankees' were coming to town this weeknd. So, I have been trying to score a ticket. Unfortunately the people up here want money (and alot of it) for tickets, and I spent my last few bucks on the sweet hat I have on in the picture. I never had this problem going to a Tampa Bay Devil Rays game!

So if anyone out there happens to know someone who can smuggle me in to Fenway I will PROMISE not to chew up your lawn! Seriously! I swear!

Oh, and about my side trip to Texas, it really was innocent. I was just droping in on some relatives and they wanted to see if I could still chug a beer in 3 seconds....flat. Well, I am happy to announce this old boy still has it!! I did it in 2.5!

Go Sox!

Finally Captured

How do you capture an armadillo? You do it the Sappet method! The boys decided since Andy was too fast to grab, they would use the Sappet method to capture Andy. Bravely, Zachary grabbed a baseball bat and went on the attack. He whacked Andy on the white-striped shell, while Maddox grabbed him by the tail. Proudly, the boys captured him and drove (with the help of their mom) miles away from their lawn. Is that the end of Andy? Or will he visit your lawn too?

Another sighting!

Andy the Armadillo has been spotted again! While mowing his lawn on a beautiful sunny day, Zachary Lizotte spotted Andy digging in his lawn. Not knowing what to do, he ran for his older brother Maddox for help. Maddox was shocked to hear the news that Andy was back. "What should be do?" wondered Maddox.


Maddox, being the older brother, ran to capture Andy. Though he was fast, he wasn't fast enough for Andy and Andy got away again. What will they do to stop Andy from ruining their lawn as well as the lawn of those they love?

Another sighting!

Armadillo Andy Sighted in Fitchburg

The pesky Armadillo Andy has been sighted in Fitchburg! While playing outside on this beautiful sunny day, two children spotted what looked like a giant shell of armour. As they approached, they saw the unmistakable white stripe of Andy. Before he scampered away, the two boys were able to snap a photo. Be on the look out for Andy in your yard soon! Story to be continued.

This guy gets around

Apparently another sighting of Andy in the Lone Star state!

Where's Andy? Sighting #6

Where's Andy? Sighting #5

Where's Andy? Sighting #4

Where's Andy? Sighting #3

Where's Andy? Sighting #2

Where's Andy?

We still haven't seen Andy but there have been some sightings in the area.

I'm Back!

Hi All,

I am not too familiar with most of you, so I will introduce myself. My name is Andy the Armadillo. I lived with John, Liz and Simon for a while. We really had a great relationship, they would pretend to be upset that I was there, but they didn't fool me. Anyhow, there we were living peacefully, and John's friend Mark comes to visit. Well, evidently they forgot to tell him about our little arraignment because the next thing I know, I am 40 miles away with a big white stripe painted on my back.

I missed John and Liz and Simon so much that I decided to try to find my way back to them. In my haste to get back I hitched a few rides and, well, evidently I must have gotten on the wrong side of the highway, because here I am in Massachusetts!! I don't have the energy to get back right now, so I guess I will drop in on some of John's friends and family while I am here. All I ask is that you send John (or Vicki) the pictures of my visit with you.

If you want to sign up for a visit, just leave your email in the comments section and I will contact you.

Wish We Were There

Hi John (JJ),
Just can't get use to calling you John, but I'll practice. I was glad to read Seth's blog and discover how much he looked up to you during his adolescent years. I'm glad you were his "idol", but I'm also glad Hudson Catholic didn't allow long hair. I remember Gramp's stories of the pile of magazines in the garage and I'm sure, being Seth's role model, you didn't help him to discover the books!!! We're glad to hear your apetite has returned and your legs are slowly healing. From what I've read, it looks like a busy weekend in Ormond Beach. Sounds like a great get together. Casey and I will be thinking of all of you. Enjoy!!
Love,
Aunt Judy and Casey

Hello Johnny

We love you John!

Hi this is Denise (Liz's sister)!

Our family is making some travel plans down to Florida....my mother and my sister Kathy are planning a trip down on Wednesday and I am finalizing my plans to come down with my son Casey (11) Thursday till Monday!! (May 24 -May 28.) We all wish we could be closer so we could spend MORE time with Liz and John ( and, of course, Simon!!) John, we think about you and pray for you everyday!! There are people I work with at the hospital that are always asking about you...and they don't even know you! Some told me they belong to a Prayer Line and have put you on it!! It is INCREDIBLE, the people pulling for you!!! I also want to mention what a great group of friends and family you have!! The love and support is tremendous! We are here for you! We'll see you real soon!!!

Love, Denise

Pictures

I will bo going down on Tuesday. I would love to bring more pictures down and put them on the frame. Please send them to me, anything. It will mean so much to him. Matts14120@comcast.net

Shipping Down to Florida

Hello from Tom Burke and family in Sturbridge, MA. For those of you that I don't know, JJ and I have been friends forever and served as “best man” in each of our weddings.

I spoke with Mark Dilling last evening while he and Kellie were visiting with JJ and Liz at the hospice. Obviously, they are very happy to be there and to help out in any way they can.

I was able to talk with JJ (although I did have to make him pause the "Robot Chicken" DVD he was watching), and he was in great spirits. The hospice is much more comfortable and inviting than his hospital room, and hopefully (if he can manage his pain medications) he will be able to go home early next week.

I was able to give John some good news. My wife Cheryl and I, along with our daughters Hannah and Caitlyn, will traveling down to Florida this coming Wednesday (May 23rd) for a visit until Saturday. John and Liz met Hannah when she was just 2 months old and have yet to meet Caitlyn who is now 18 months old. John sounded psyched that we were bringing our girls for a visit! We can't wait to get there!

Will keep you posted upon our return.

Take care and keep the LOVE coming!

-Tom
Ps> Kenny, I received your message last night. Thanks for the update! We’ll have to get “Ode to the Lovebug” recorded when we get back!

Back from FL

5/20/07

Hello all,

This is the West Boylston Dilling clan (Ken, Sherri, Kelcey, and Zachary...yes another Zachary). Just got back from Florida yesterday and had a great week. Our house was very cold and damp upon our return. We got to see Disney Monday although we told the kids we were going to the zoo and got lost but decided we would go into Disney anyways since we were there. We all visited John, Liz, and Simon on Tuesday. Went on an airboat ride and saw the alligators on Wednesday. Went to the Brevard zoo on Thursday, rode kayaks through the zoo, and fed giraffes and birds. I was able to get back and see John and Liz on Thursday. Although we originally planned this trip to Cocoa Beach several months ago and were planning to visit John, Liz, and Simon anyways it was extremely comforting personally to get back and visit Jay again. He's sharp as a tack and keeping the nurses on their toes. Wish I could've stayed longer for sure.
The Connecticut Dillings (Mark and Kellie) are in Florida now and will be returning home Tuesday.

I found some old pictures of J from a trip to Daytona back in '92 when he had long hair. I will not be posting them since this is a kid friendly site but it made me smile. It's going to shock everyone but we were drinking very tall beers.

Liz has been amazingly gracious and kind. I wish we could e-hug her every day. Please keep the pictures and letters and whatever you can think of flowing.

I cannot stress enough that if you are planning to visit you should try and make plans soon. John is still very much himself but the increasing amount of pain medication will likely make it more difficult for him to focus. If you can't visit then try writing what you want to say to him to let him know how much you love him. He needs your love right now because he is a strong stubborn male who will never ask for anything. One of John's greatest strengths is that you can ask him anything and he will give you a straight answer every time. Even if you don't like the answer he is a straight shooter for sure.

On a lighter note Kelcey and I wrote a little song for John and for you not in Florida our rental car was absolutely covered with these poor little creatures:

ODE TO THE LOVEBUG (please sing with a Southern drawl)

Lovebugs, you were everywhere

You got squashed on the car
But you did not care

'Cause you were making love
In the Florida sun

Lovebugs, you were everywhere

You flew into Kelcey's hair
But you did not care

'Cause you were making love
In the Florida sun

Ohhhh Lovebug

Perhaps Mr. Burke can help me record it with Kelcey and post.

Well I've blabbed long enough. Wish I had pictures of John on my camera but Liz took the pictures at the hospital and she's got more pressing things to do than download pictures on the computer.

Love to all.

Ken

Pictures

I purchased a digital photo frame for john to put in his room. It can hold over 1000 pictures. Please email me some pictures of yourselves, families, pictures you have of John and Liz anything. I am sure he will get sick of looking at my kids .Thanks
matts14120@comcast.net

Let's get together??

Hi All,
My name is Kim Stresing, I have been friends with Liz for many more years then either of us will admit to! Through my friendship with Liz, I have been fortunate to have met and become friends with John. My love and support are endless for both of you!!

I want to thank Vicki for starting this, what a great job you have done.
John, I sent a poster to you so keep an eye out for it. I'm pretty sure you'll love it!

For all of us in the New England chapter of "We love you John" I am wondering if anyone would be interested in getting together. I have some ideas for some creative wall art for his room but I can't do it alone. I will be more then happy to host the get together. If anyone is interested, my email is kimafischer@verizon.net

Traveled down to Daytona today and visited John in the hospital. He has a nice big room with a good view of the speedway. Kenny Dilling and family came to visit which was a nice treat. We got to hear all about Disney and John got a beautiful picture to decorate the room. I am sure John would love lots of pictures to brighten up his room. The doctor had not checked on him while I was there so no answers yet. Keep the messages coming.

FYI Liz spoke with Mom around noon...John's labwork came back low today.He is back in the hospital, most likely will receive at least one blood product.Liz will keep us posted.Love, Chris

Happy Mother's Day

Happy mother's Day to all you mothers out there.
I got to spend a great mothers day with my mom, dad, aunt Judy, Uncle Casey and my very favorite brother and his amazing wife Liz.Scott , my husband, grilled us up some great BBQ. We turned the channel when the sox were loosing 5-0 boy I guess we missed a good one. I think my son with his Orioles shirt was jinxing them so maybe it was good we turned it off.
John will have labs done tomorrow and I will be traveling down on Tuesday to join him and Liz at the wound care doctor. We have lots of questions on how to care for and what to look for when it comes to his legs. Hopefully between the 3 of us we can get some answers. Thanks everyone for all the great messages. John and Liz love them!

I have no idea what I'm doing!!!

I'm trying real hard to post a photo....I have not idea if this will work. I also my have signed onto this blog page under 3 different names!! Sorry :). Anyway, for those of you who are wondering who are these Lizotte people who have signed on under a thousand different names, well, I'm Liz's sister. The other k in kklizotte is my husband Kevin (I'm Kathy) and we have two boys, Maddox 3 and Zachary 10 months. Maybe there will be a picture of them! Here goes!

Mark, great job listing the visiting schedule! We plan on visiting in June, but the dates have yet to be determined.

John, with your sports package, did you see that Sox game??!! Now that's entertainment! I also tried roasting my veggies for the first time. They came out pretty good. Thanks for the idea. Keep them coming!

It's official. Zack is walking! (Liz we may have to break out the outlet plugs!). And he loves dogs...well, small dogs are the only ones he's been near, but it loves them! He gives a full out belly laugh when he sees them, so he's going to love Simon. Maddox just finished his dec hockey season (1-9)...and yes, the one game I missed is the one game they won. Instead of counting goals or assists like most parents would, we counted the number of times he touched the ball (or shall I say, the ball touched him) during the games! Oh well, better luck next season!

Well, if this works...amazing. The real test will be if I can get back to this page! Don't ask how I did it Denise! Talk to everyone soon. Kathy

Hi from the Mullaneys

Hi everyone. This is Mike Mullaney posting using Chris's account. For those of you who don't know us or haven't seen us in a while, Chris is one of Liz's sisters. I'm her husband and we have twin 3-year old boys. Patrick is sitting on John's lap in the photo and Adam is on Liz. We were so happy to spend a few days with Liz and John when they were here early last month. As Chris posted earlier, she had a really good visit with them last week. It was as good for her as we hope it was for them. We hope to schedule a family trip to see them soon. Adam and Patrick talk about taking a rocket ship to see Uncle John, Auntie Lizzie and Simon several times a day. We all include John and Liz in our prayers every day. Vicki - great job setting this blog up. What a terrific way to let them know how much we love them whenever we can. Take care everyone.

Visiting Schedule

I thought this would be a good place to document everyone's visiting plans so we all don't show up at once and so we can see what 'available' times would be good to visit.

What I know so far:

Aunt Judy Sunday May 13th

Ken Dilling and Family Monday May 14th (PM), Tuesday May 15th and maybe Wednesday May 16th.

Mark and Kellie Dilling Saturday May 19th through Tuesday afternoon May 22nd.

Jeremy has mentioned Memorial day but he can post more accurately.

To start your own post and add pictures

Hey everyone,
Thru trial and error I figured out everyone who is signed up can start their own post and also add pictures. At the top of the original blog page it should say in blue "new post". Click on this and start typing away. There is a small square icon with a mountain and tree at the top of this page. If you click this you will be promted to upload pictures. It will even format them to fit so you dont have to worry how big they are. I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any trouble

We love you

Hi Uncle John, This is the home run I hit for you. Hope you are feeling better. Brayden

Hi Everyone,
Mark Dilling came up with a great idea to start a blog so we can all keep up to date on John. Who's coming to visit and maybe add some fun things to make him laugh. Ive never done this before so hopefully this will work.