archery

Jolene Thompson is my niece, Kellie Hadlock’s boyfriend, Tim Thompson’s daughter, and she is such a little sweetheart. She always has a smile on her face, and she is totally fearless. She is a totally tough little girl. She is an amazing big sister to her siblings, and helps take care of them, but this summer, she got to spend with her dad, and they had the best summer. Jolene is in 1st grade this year, and she spent the summer learning to ride her bike and learning how to swim. She excelled at both new skills and can’t get enough of them. Her dad is a great teacher, and he guided his little girl to the level of expert in no time. She even jumped off of the high dive in Thermopolis without hesitation…multiple times!! She is totally fearless in all aspects of her life.

Jolene loves to draw and color. She has that creative gene, I think. She also loves to brush and style Kellie’s hair, which if you know my family at all, is like the greatest blessing ever. Some people hate to have their hair touched, but our family…can’t get enough of having our hair brushed, styles, or just touched. Some people might call that weird, but if you like having your hair brushed and such…well, you just know what I mean. With Kellie, Jolene gets to do all the girly things that she doesn’t get to do normally, because at home, either with her dad or her mom, there is no doing the girly things. Not everyone likes the dress-up, fix the hair, girly things. That is a blessing for both Jolene and Kellie. They are best friends, and they love each other very much.

During her summer with her dad, Jolene got to do a lot of camping, hiking, and shooting. She also got to go fishing, and of course bicycling and swimming. She had a totally blissful summer. Her and her dad had a great summer…and they did all the things!! They went to a rock-climbing wall place, and Jolene climbed like an expert there too. She also showed off her climbing skills on the trees in the campgrounds she and her dad stayed in. Jolene got her first bow this year too and learned archery. Tim is a total outdoorsman, and Jolene wants to do everything her dad does, so she is eager to learn and to reach expert level. Today is Jolene’s 7th birthday. Happy birthday Jolene!! Have a great day!! We love you!!

Most soldiers know that when you are trying to sneak up on your enemy, it’s probably best to leave the bagpipe playing at home. Nevertheless, John “Mad Jack” Churchill, who was one of the most colorful and unusual soldiers to fight in World War II, might find just about anything…you just never knew. The British-born “Mad Jack” Churchill had no known relation to Prime Minister Winston Spencer-Churchill, although I would not be surprised to find there was a relation. He was known for carrying a Scottish Claymore Sword into battle, and felt that any officer who didn’t have one while going into battle, was basically out of uniform. “Mad Jack”was also an avid archer and bagpipe player and brought both of these hobbies onto the battlefield.

Churchill volunteered for Great Britain’s first-ever commando unit in 1941, and he participated in covert operations in Italy and Norway. In one Norway operation, he played his bagpipes on the landing craft as they approached the shore, then picked up his sword and attacked. In 1944, “Mad Jack” was on assignment in Yugoslavia to assist with the communist partisans under Josip “Tito” Broz, and that was when his infamous bagpipe incident happened.

During a mission to attack a German position on the Island of Brac, “Mad Jack” and his men advanced under heavy fire. In the end, he was the only one left alive. After running out of bullets, and in typical “Mad Jack” style, he picked up his bagpipe and played “Will Ye No Come Back Again?,l.” It was an 18th-century song celebrating the Jacobite Prince Charles III’s escape from being captured by the British monarchy.

Unimpressed, the Germans knocked him out with an explosion and captured him, but they spared his life…not because of his bagpipe prowess, however, but because they thought he was related to Prime Minister Winston Spencer-Churchill. They thought that having a relative of the prime minister would provide them with sone leverage. Unfortunately for them, as far as anyone knew there was no connection. “Mad Jack” was placed in a prison camp, from which he escaped captivity twice before making it home.

Churchill married Rosamund Margaret Denny, the daughter of Sir Maurice Edward Denny and granddaughter of Sir Archibald Denny, on March 8, 1941. They had two children, Malcolm John Leslie Churchill, born 1942, and Rodney Alistair Gladstone Churchill, born 1947. He also had a grandson named James Also stair Gladstone Churchill. “Mad Jack” lived a long and happy life. Nevertheless, I seriously doubt if any part of it was as crazy as the time he spent in World War I. He passed away on March 8, 1996 at 89 years old, in the county of Surrey.

My niece, Kellie Hadlock has been in a period of growth. So much is changing in her life. A while back, Kellie bought her own house, and now, she has time and space to grow…and grow she is. Kellie has been concentrating on her relationship with the Lord. She is now fully engaged in daily Bible study, and you can actually see that she is growing in knowledge and in truth, and that the Word she is reading is planted deeply in her heart. Kellie has been one of the worship leaders in our church, Word Christian Fellowship Church, for a number of years now, and the love she has for the Lord shows in every song she sings. Kellie has always been a “smiley girl,” and that has served her well in her role as worship leader. I know that as one of the backup singers, I always tell myself to watch Kellie, so I remember to smile too, because I tend to be more serious. She has helped me more than she will ever know. It is wonderful, for all who know Kellie, to see her actively growing in her relationship with the Lord, and as worship leader. She is becoming a great woman of God!!

As an aunt, she is among the most beloved aunts I know. Her nephew, Ethan Hadlock, and nieces, Aurora Hadlock, Adelaide Sawdon, and Mackenzie Moore, flock to her whenever she is near. She loves children and is a great “step-mom” to her boyfriend, Tim Thompson’s daughter, Jolene. She is also a great “doggie mom” to her little puppy, Leena and to Tim’s dog, Jett. Unfortunately, Kellie and Tim don’t live in the same city right now, so they have been spending time going back and forth visiting each other in their long distance (but not too far, only from Casper, Wyoming to Gillette, Wyoming) relationship. Lovebirds will always find a way, and these two have made it work.

And speaking of Tim…he has really brought Kellie out of her wheelhouse and into activities that none of us would have ever expected Kellie to be involved in. Tim is an outdoorsman, and he has taken Kellie along with him on his trips. She, of course, was open to going and has found that she really loves doing things like hunting, ice fishing, axe throwing, and archery. As her sister Lindsay Moore said, and I agree…Who saw that coming?!? Kellie really never seemed the “woman of the great outdoors” type, with the exception of going camping. Of course, when I say camping, I mean in a travel trailer and mostly sitting around the campfire. Now, all that has changed. She’s like “Annie Oakley” or something, and for her it’s a whole new wheelhouse. Kellie has always had a positive outlook on life, and she is open-minded, so it shouldn’t have been so surprising. Nevertheless, somehow it was. She’s a whole new Kellie. Today is Kellie’s birthday. Happy birthday Kellie!! Have a great day!! We love you!!

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