shy

imageMy nephew Riley Birky is growing up so fast, in fact, I can’t believe how tall and adult like he is getting. Riley is a Freshman this year, and that has given him a chance to learn public speaking. Public speaking, to me is a subject that should only be taken by those who truly want to become public speakers. I am definitely not one of those people. I’m far to shy for it, and from what I hear, Riley and I have that in common. I hope for Riley’s sake that he can overcome that shyness, because it is hard to live with.

Public speaking is quite possibly the only thing that Riley is shy about. He has be practicing Tae Kwon Do for two and a half years now. He loves the challenge of fighting, so the next logical step was for him to start boxing. He is pretty excited about learning to box. While Tae Kwon Do, Judo, boxing, or any other form of fighting is not my cup of tea, I have to say that they are very interesting to watch. It takes a great degree of skill to learn these arts, and a lot of dedication and discipline. I think Riley has those traits, and that they will take him far.

Riley loves music, especially Rap music. Personally, I could never see the draw that Rap music has, but then I am not a teenager. It seems to me that every generation has a new type of music. I know my own parents absolutely hated the Rock music my sisters and I listened too, and now that I’m a grandmother, I personally go for Country music, so now I can agree with my parents’ thoughts on Rock, or any of the other music of today’s generation…sorry Riley.

imageRiley may be growing up fast and spreading his wings in many ways, but one thing has never changed. Riley loves his mom and his little brother, Tucker. He may not always see eye to eye with them, but he loves them nevertheless. Riley is also loves his dad, sister and family, and gets along well with his stepdad, my brother-in-law, Ron. The teen years are tough, no matter who you are. Lots of changes are going on within you, and you are trying decide who and what you are going to be. Riley still has time to make the choices about his future that are his alone to make, and I’m sure that he will be a success in whatever career choice he makes. He is a kind and loving young man, and that will carry him a long way…no matter what he decides to do with his life. Today is Riley’s birthday. Happy birthday Riley!! Have a great day!! We love you!!

Galoshes and Port HadlockWhen my niece, Lindsay Moore was just a little girl, she knew when her birthday was, but there was a little problem with it. For some reason, August just wasn’t a fancy enough name for her month…or maybe she just couldn’t pronounce it. So, for whatever reason, August became Faugust. Even after Lindsay learned how to say August, the month just never got changed…at least not on the 29th. That was her day, and it would always be Faugust 29th. Lindsay has always liked the goofy things in life, so it’s not surprising that she named her day something special.

When the rubber galoshes phase came out, Lindsay was among the first to jump on that bandwagon too. We all thought it was the silliest look, but if anyone could Jogging Buddiespull it off, it was Lindsay. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if she still wears them sometimes. And even if she doesn’t wear them often, I’m sure she still has them and would wear them if they fit into her new surroundings much. Lindsay and her new husband, Shannon, moved to Miami Florida right after their marriage because he took a job as the special teams coach for Miami International University. It is a new adventure, but I don’t know how often Lindsay’s galoshes will be used, unless she decides to go jogging through a swamp.

Lindsay has never been shy…not even for a minute, so I have no doubt that she already has a wonderful group of friends in Florida to spend time with, while Shannon is working, because Lindsay now has an online job that she does. That is kind of nice, because it gives her a little Excited about Lifebit more free time to explore her new surroundings. As an exercise enthusiast, she will most likely be scoping out the walking/jogging trails, or she might just do her jogging on the beach. And who could blame her for that. I love the beach, and if I were a jogger, I might love to jog on the beach, but since I love walking, I know that a long walk on the beach would be very appealing to me. But since this story is about Lindsay, I guess it would be jogging on the beach. Lindsay is and always will be excited about life, and wherever she goes, sunshine will follow, because she is a sunshiney girl. Today is Faugust 29th…Lindsay’s birthday. Happy Faugust 29th Lindsay!! Have a great birthday!! We love and miss you!!

Jason and AuroraMy grand niece, Aurora…nicknamed Rory, is the daughter of my nephew, Ryan Hadlock and his wife, Chelsea. Rory is a sweetie pie of a girl, who loves making faces with her aunts, and playing with her older brother, Ethan. But when it comes to Rory’s uncles, she is the princess. Those girls have a way of wrapping their uncles around their baby fingers. Of course, the uncles have a great time with Rory’s brother, Ethan too, but Rory is the princess, and that is all there is to it. In reality, uncles just don’t stand a chance against the charms of their little nieces. Rory just gives them one of her sweet little smiles, and they melt. Then, she gets picked up, swung around, rides of all sorts…like piggy back and airplane. Yep, Rory’s uncles think she’s the cream of the crop. And she thinks the same of them. Of course, it isn’t just her uncles who think Rory is pretty special. Her great aunts and uncles fit in that category too.

Rory is good friends with her cousin, Aleesia too. They love to play together and get along famously. They especially love to dance the night away. And our little Aurora can sing with the best of them. She loves music, and just can’t help but sing along. Rory loves spending girl time with her aunts and her mom. Since she is the only little girl in her family right now, she is the focus of all the girly fun things…nail polish, pony tails, and girly clothes. Rory is her own girl, and I know she will develop her own style, but she will have been well trained in what looks good by her mom and her aunts. Nevertheless, it seems to be her uncles who Rory likes to play with the most.
Shannon & Rory
Rory is a little bit shy with people she doesn’t know very well, but once she knows you, she is more at ease and you never know what she might decide to do. Like most kids, she is pretty inventive with her play. She might be camping out with her brother or doing the baking with her mom. It just depends on her mood at any given time. Rory has a lot of years ahead of her, and I know she will have a lot of changes in her life. I hope she will always keep her sweet sense of humor, because it will take her far. I just think we are all very blessed to have little Rory in our lives. Today is Rory’s 3rd birthday. Happy birthday Rory!! Have a great day!! We love you!!

Delores Fern Byer JohnsonMy Aunt Deloris…Aunt Dee to all of her nieces and nephews, was such a happy person. It never seemed to matter what might be going on in her life. She didn’t allow her happiness to depend on whether or not everything was perfect in her day. In fact, I truly don’t remember a time when I saw my Aunt Dee, that she was not smiling. That is a very special thing to say about a person, because not all of us can be known for our smile or our happy personality. I never knew my aunt as a young girl, because she was already a grown woman with children of her own by the time I came on the scene. Nevertheless, I have been looking at pictures of her in her younger days, and I think she was always that way. She loved people, especially her family, and just being alive.

I have to think, however, Virginia, Harriet, George, Evelyn,Delores, Collene, Larry, and Wayne editedthat Aunt Dee might have been a little bit shy when she was a girl. At lease that is how she looked to me. As I look at the family pictures she is in, I noticed that her demeanor seems to be happy, but just a little bit timid. Maybe it was just her being humble minded, which is never a bad thing, and really, an endearing trait to have.  I don’t think Aunt Dee ever thought of herself as anyone special, but I did. I loved having her come over to our house, because she was always like a ray of sunshine. She never had an attitude of greatness, which in my opinion just goes to show how great she really was…she just didn’t seem to know that. How could that be? I mean, we could all see it, but she could not. It was just her way. Hers was a behind the scenes greatness.

Nevertheless, if you asked all the people who knew her, I’ll bet that every one of them could Deloris Fern Byer (2)tell you about some of the many special things she did for people…like the piano she bought for the family, and teaching her siblings to dance, or my mom to fly…at least as much as you could using the wind and your coat as wings. She was a friend you wanted to call yours. She was such a kindhearted woman, and yet she took no credit for what she did for people. She was more the Wind Beneath Your Wings kind of gal. I will always remember her sweet smiling face. Aunt Dee left us on October 6, 1996, when Brain Cancer stole her sweet smile from us. Today would have been Aunt Dee’s 82nd birthday!! Happy birthday in Heaven Aunt Dee!! We love and miss you always.

Eddie & PearlThe first time I met the Montana branch of Bob’s family, I felt more than just a little overwhelmed. I was shy, and it seemed like there were a lot of them. In reality, there weren’t that many people, it was just me and my jangled nerves. One of the things I remember most about that first trip to Montana was Bob’s Aunt Pearl. Pearl is the kind of person who is always happy…or it seems like that to me. Every time we went to Montana, she welcomed us with open arms, a big smile, and her woderful hospitality. Pearl is one of those people who are the perfect hostess. She wants to make sure that you have everything you need, and that makes you always feel very welcome in her home.

Needless to say, that first trip to Montana went very well, in spite of my nerves. Pearl played a big part in that successful trip. It’s nice to find such a friendly face in a place where you don’t know too many people…especially if you are as shy as I was. Shyness can be quite painful, and there isn’t a lot that can be done to alleviate it, but a smile truly goes a very long way toward doing just that. Pearl endeared herself to me on that first visit, Pearl Heinand I was one grateful girl.

Pearl has not change much over the years. We don’t get to see her as much these days, since Grandma and Grandpa passed away, and we don’t go to Montana as often as we used to. I keep in touch with her mostly by texting these days, and I am very grateful for that technology. It keeps people in touch, even if they don’t get on the computer, and especially on Facebook. Maybe one of these days her grandchildren will even get her into that. I look forward to it. Today is Pearl’s birthday. Happy birthday Pearl!! Have a great day!! We love you!!

Raelynn and Audrianna Early in her life, Audrianna was a tomboy. She was shy and quiet too. Now that she is a little older, she has begun to change and become more like her older sisters. She likes pink and bling. She isn’t the shy, quiet little girl she used to be. Now she is quite the little chatterbox. She loves to goof around with her sisters and brother. I think she might turn into quite a little kidder.

Audrianna used to be too shy to just come up and hug someone, unless she was told to, but recently, she he lost that shyness, and in it’s place is a loving girl who surprised me the other day when she came up to get a hug from me. I love it when these little ones come into their own, and begin to know who is related to them and who is ok to talk to. Before that, unless you are very close family, those shy babies aren’t too sure of you.

Audrianna has a gentleness about her that you don’t often see in a child of six years, but that is just a part of who she is. I think this quiet little girl might just be a little bit like her great aunt, in that we both concentrate deeply. We can get so lost in thought, that we almost don’t hear what is going on around us. The world just disappears around us. It seems odd, but it is how we are.

I’m excited to see where Audrianna’s personality will go next. She is at that age where Dustie and Audrianna change is inevitable. She has Kindergarten behind her now, and she is now moving into the independence that begins to come with grade school. Their personality is now influenced by more than just their family…as teachers and friends begin to play a part. Nevertheless, I think that Audrianna will not be easy to turn from her sweet little ways, and so only the good things will be gleaned from those around her. Audrianna strikes me as a very stable girl, and I think that Audrianna will grow up to be a wonderful woman some day  It’s a part of who she is deep down inside. Today is Audrianna’s 6th birthday. Happy birthday Audrianna!! Have a great day!! We love you !!

Delores Fern Byer JohnsonI didn’t know my Aunt Deloris as a child, which is to be expected, but one thing I have noticed is that she was always smiling. I only wish some of the pictures I have were a better quality. The things Aunt Dee, as we all called her, saw around her seemed exciting to her. And yet, she seemed to have a shy side to her. The Aunt Dee I knew in my childhood would bear that out too. She had a shy smile that always warmed my heart. I loved to have her come over. And it was always so much fun to hear the stories about the past that she and my mom talked about.

Aunt Dee was always coming up with some new invention or idea. She wanted to find a way to feel like flying, and not alone. So she came up with the idea of using her dad’s trench coat and she and my mom got in it and off they went. She loved doing things for her family, like catching fish at the river, and putting them in a wading pool for the other kids in the family to enjoy. She bought a piano for the family for $35.00, and it was in her mom’s house until her passing. She taught the rest of the family a dance that she learned in 5th grade, and to this day, my mom remembers that dance.

I remember her laugh, that could light up a room. She would come up with some funny thought, and then start laughing. Well, you couldn’t help but laugh right along with her. I have a feeling that her sisters and brothers found a lot of her schemes…or at least the scheme failures, to be pretty funny too. When things worked exactly as planned, it was just pretty cool.

Aunt Dee passed away in 1996 from Brain Cancer. If she were still alive, she would be turning 81 years old today. I still miss her very much. She had a loving nature that was very endearing. It makes me sad that we were not able to have more time with her. Happy birthday in Heaven, Aunt Dee. We all love you very much.

My grand nephew Ethan is 4 years old today, and at this age, he is really coming into his own. He has lost the toddler aspect of his personality, and it has been replaced with a little boy with ideas of his own. He knows what he likes and what he doesn’t. And he doesn’t mind telling you what he thinks about it. Oh, don’t get me wrong, Ethan is a very well behaved little boy…he just knows what he wants to do. His mom, Chelsea told me the other day that he wanted to come to my office, which just happens to be just down the street from where he lives. He tried very hard to insist on it, but it wasn’t a good day for Chelsea to bring him. That just melted my heart. Ethan is such a sweet boy, but it never occurred to me that he might enjoy stopping by my office for a visit. It was just such a sweet little moment, and I told Chelsea that she would have to bring him by real soon.

Ethan has a shy side too, though. Sometimes at church, when he feels like maybe there are just too many people around, he will hardly talk to me or anyone else but his parents, grandma or his aunts. Of course, that doesn’t include the other kids, because Ethan is all about playing with the kids…any kids. He loves his little neighborhood friends, his cousins, and his friends at school, and he loves his teacher, who he often calls Mrs DeHaigler, instead of Mrs Haigler…a mistake that I find very cute, as I’m sure his teacher will too.

Ethan loves to laugh, and loves to hang out with the guys. If his dad or grandpa are doing something, it just must be cool, and Ethan wants to be a part of it. He is all boy, and loves doing the guy things that boys love to do. And Ethan loves to make his little sister laugh. He loves being a big brother, and loves having a live in playmate, and of course, Aurora thinks Ethan is the greatest big brother ever. On that one, she could be right…or biased, but you’ll never convince her of that. Happy birthday Ethan!! We love you!! Have a super cool day!!

My niece, Susan was the last of the nieces on Bob’s side of the family, and in fact there would not be another girl born in the family for 15 years. That, in itself, was surprising, because up until that time, the family had been mostly girls. You could say that we were very used to little girls and their ways. Susan was unique in some things, such as her imaginary friends. Yes, many people have imaginary friends as children, but she was the first, and I believe the only one in our family to have them, and we all thoroughly enjoyed their antics.

Through the years, I have watched Susan go from being a cute litle girl, who always made us laugh, to a beautiful woman, wife, and mother to her 2 daughters. Susan has a sweet spirit, and a bit of a shy smile, but inside her lives a heart of gold. I don’t get to see her as often as I would like, since she lives in Powell, and in many ways I feel like those of us who live here have missed out on all the good things Susan is.

One thing I didn’t know about Susan is the outdoorsy girls she is. When I look through her pictures, I see her camping with her family and fishing with her little Kaytlyn, which is quite funny, since Kaytlyn was not impressed with the fish they caught. And I can’t blame you Kaytlyn. I like to eat fish, and I don’t mind fishing, but someone else needs to put the worm on and take the fish off…that is just a rule!! But Susan took it all in stride, and Kaytlyn made it through that horrible ordeal with that monster from the water. Whew!!

The years have flown by so fast Susan!! I remember when you were just a newborn, and now you have children who aren’t even babies anymore. It just doesn’t seem possible. Today is Susan’s birthday, and we want to wish her the very best of birthdays. Have a great day, Susan!! We love you!!

Uncle Jim, my Aunt Dixie’s husband has always seemed like such a quiet, and even shy man.  I don’t think he really was shy, just quiet. I think he was a man who was often deep in his own thoughts, which is quite a bit like I am, so I can relate to it. Quiet people aren’t necessarily shy, and quite often, they really have a lot on their minds, but they just don’t always say everything they know. The strange thing is that their face almost always speaks volumes. That is how I have always felt about Uncle Jim. You could see how he felt by the smiles on his face…and he smiles a lot.

A serious family man, Uncle Jim moved his family to the country on the west side of Casper, where they live to this day. His children have bought homes that are very close to their parents…just across the street, in fact. The family is very close, and enjoys each other’s company. The grandchildren have the benefit of the closeness to grandparents, and their parents have the ability to work, knowing that the kids can be with their grandparents while they are away. It is a win/win situation.

For many years, Uncle Jim took care of his mother, who lived with them for quite some time, and also helped in the care of my grandparents when then needed help. That is really the thing that has always impressed me the most with my uncle. He is a very caring person, who always puts the needs of others ahead of his own needs. People just don’t come better than that. In this age of much better longevity, caregivers are very much in demand, and as a caregiver myself, I know what it takes to care for another person. It is a selfless act of a special person with a heart of gold that is filled with compassion.

Today is my Uncle Jim’s 75th birthday, and as usual, he is spending it busily getting things ready for the cold winter months that are coming up, because, that is simply what he does. He takes care of the needs of his family. Well, happy birthday Uncle Jim!! Don’t work too hard. We love you!!

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Archives
Check these out!