c-section
On January 15, 2024, at 8:31am, my niece, Siara Kirk and her husband, Chris were blessed with the birth of their first child together…a beautiful baby boy named Nathaniel Andrew Kirk. Nataniel was delivered by c-section, weighed in at 8 pounds 7 ounces and was 19.75 inches long. He has dark hair, but not very much of it yet, and I could try to guess who he looks like, but I’m not very good at that. If I had to guess, I would say that I rather think maybe he is his daddy’s boy. Nathaniel is a baby that is so, so very wanted. I know you might say that most babies are so wanted, but for Siara, Nathaniel is her “Rainbow Baby” because she lost her first son, Alec Todd Olsen when he was 3 days short of three months old. For Chris, Nathaniel is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream of having a family of his own. When Chris looked at his precious son, he said that it just “feels so natural” to him. Parenthood…oh yes, it feels so perfectly natural, because it is such a 
wonderful, beautiful, miracle of God!!
When I looked at the pictures of this sweet little family, I could easily see the total love these parents have for their precious little boy. They have both waited so long for this little miracle, and now he is a reality…and they are so blessed. Nathaniel is a good baby, who doesn’t cry very much. I suppose that could change as he gets a little older, but I know that Siara and Chris won’t mind that one bit. Babies get noisy, and there will be far more laughter than tears in the future, and the giggly, laughter 
moments in the life of a baby are simply the best thing ever. They never get old.
Nathaniel (aka Nathan or Nate the Great) joins his parents to make them a family. His name was chosen with great care. In Hebrew it means “Gift from Heaven” and little Nathaniel is just that a wonderful gift from Heaven. On that day…January 15, that little gift from Heaven made his appearance, and with that, Siara and Chris stepped across another threshold…the one to parenthood. Their lives have been forever changed. Their home is filled with sunshine, their days filled with smiles, the precious sounds of their baby cooing, giggling, and even crying are the greatest sounds they have ever, or ever will hear. Congratulations Siara and Chris, and we welcome little Nathaniel Andrew Kirk. We love you very much!!
My brother-in-law, Mike Stevens is heading for some very big life changes. He and my sister, Alena Stevens are getting ready to welcome a new granddaughter on June 24th, and they are so excited to meet her. They don’t know their new little sweetheart’s name yet, but since she will arrive by C-section, they know when she will arrive. The whole family is very excited. With their son, Garrett and his family living in Sheridan, it has been harder for them to see their oldest granddaughter, Elliott, but all that is about to change.
On July 1st, Mike is going to retire from the oil fields, after 39 years. It has been a long and successful career, in which Mike has been promoted to high levels, and has had great success. Still, the time comes for all of us to retire and enjoy our golden years, even though the definition 
of those years has really changed for most people. It used to be that when people retired, they sat around watching television and sleeping in their chair, but these days people are really quite active. While our hobbies and activities of choice are different, they usually keep us very busy.
Mike and Alena are no exception to that rule. They have plans to do a lot of golfing, camping, and possibly some traveling with Mike’s new-found free time. In the immediate future, they plan to be in Sheridan to help out with Elliott while her parents are in the hospital with Elliott’s new baby sister. They are also hoping to bring Elliott to Casper for several weekends this summer, and before long the new baby will also be coming for visits. Kids love to spend the night with the grandparents, and it’s even more fun when that means a trip to a different town. Elliott and her grandpa are best friends. Mike loves to chase her around the house, push her on the swings, and pull her around on a sheet. Elliott giggles and giggles. They really are pals. The best kind of pals…grandpa and granddaughter kind of pals.
While Mike is leaving the oil field, the oil field isn’t totally leaving Mike. The convenient thing about the oil field is that they are always in need of oil field consultants, and it can be a really lucrative side gig too. Mike’s 39 years of oil field experience make him a prime candidate for the oil field consultant position, and they work their own hours, taking the jobs they choose, and not the ones they are told to do. I know that Mike will be very successful in all of his post-retirement ventures. Today is Mike’s 63rd birthday. Happy birthday Mike!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
Today would have been my mother-in-law, Joann Schulenberg’s 89th birthday, but she went home to Heaven just over two years ago. She was born second of her parents’ 4 children. Her older brother Everett Knox passed away shortly after birth, due to a complicated birth, and the lack of medical assistance. The baby should have been taken by Caesarian section, but he was born at home and the doctor did not think the C-section was necessary…sadly. When grandma, Nettie Knox found out that she was pregnant again, she made up her mind not to take any chances with this Rainbow Baby. Grandma decided that she would go stay in the hospital for the last month of her pregnancy, until her baby arrived. She paid $5.00 a day for the privilege, and she would stay there for 40 days by the time her baby, my future mother-in-law was born.
I’m sure lots of people though her solution was extreme, but she did what she felt was prudent for the times. She never wanted to deliver another baby, so far from emergency medical services. As it turned out, her three daughters were born without incident. Nevertheless, her daughters were all born in a hospital. She wasn’t taking any chances.
My mother-in-law may not have had a rough beginning, but she would, nevertheless, remain an only child 
almost 15 years, before her sister, Linda joined the family. Margee would follow just over two years later. Many things have changed in the years since my mother-in-law was born. Home births have become less common, but they are making a comeback these days. Babies dying in childbirth are more rare now, but it doesn’t mean that it’s impossible. I think that if all that happened to Grandma Knox today, she would still react to it in the same way as she did then. Today would have been my mother-in-law’s 89th birthday. I’m thankful that she lived all those years ago, because if she hadn’t, my life would have been much different. Happy birthday in Heaven, Mom. We love and miss you very much.
My grand nephew, Isaac Spethman is a sweetheart of a boy who is kind to those around him and a good brother to his siblings. His birth was a little bit difficult in that he was twisted sideways and so his mom had to have a C-section to deliver. That never mattered though, because they always considered him to be a wonderful early Christmas present and one of their greatest joys. Isaac takes great pride in being the baby boy. He never wanted a little brother, and told his mom, with both of her subsequent pregnancies, that they better be girls because he wants to be the baby boy. Thankfully they both were, because how do you break that news to a determined little boy. It never mattered that there was a baby girl, he just wanted to be the baby boy.
Isaac loves his mom so much, and still makes the bed on the floor beside her every night to sleep in his parents’ room. He isn’t afraid, he just wants to be near her. His mom, my niece, Jenny Masterson Spethman has always seen a lot of his great grandpa, my dad, Allen Spencer in her baby boy, and she told me of a picture of her grandpa holding him in a little Santa suit, which is one of her favorites. Isaac often makes faces just like my dad, and behaves like him in many ways.
Isaac is a kind, giving boy. He has a heart for the new kids in school, or even new teachers. He does his very best to welcome them, by searching through the house in the hope of finding something that would be the perfect welcome gift for them. He goes out of his way to make kids at church feel welcome too, often inviting them to sit next to him and shares his Bible.
Still, the most important way that he identifies himself is that he is the Big Little Brother. He considers his place in the lineage to be the very best place. When his first baby sister, Laila died he filled the biggest void for his mom, by continuing to be her baby, even if he was a little old for that, in reality. He saw what her heart needed, and he took it upon himself to make sure her need was supplied. I think he will always be that for Jenny, because his heart tells him that she needs him to be her baby boy.
Now don’t get me wrong, because Isaac is all boy, and loves to roughhouse with his brothers, Xander and Zack, and even 
pick on his little sister, Aleesia once in a while. I’m sure people might think that picking on his sister is a mean thing to do, but you really have to know Aleesia before for assume that Isaac is mean. Aleesia is a sweetheart too, but being the only girl, with three brothers means that she pretty much rules the roost, if you know what I mean. Aleesia can take care of herself…trust me. So when Isaac was being annoying this last time, his teasing met with Aleesia’s attitude, when she told him, “You are getting on my very last nerve!!” I doubt if that stopped Isaac from his teasing ways for very long, but I’m pretty certain he had to stop for a minute and laugh about that one. How could anyone not laugh at it? Today is Isaac’s 9th birthday. Happy birthday Isaac!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
