Kids
My little great grand niece, Hallie Joy Moore came into this world on December 19, 2020 at 5:00am, in Laramie, Wyoming. Her family had excitedly anticipated her arrival, and she was already so loved, but she arrived two months early, and her time on Earth was not to be long. Hallie, who’s name means “Praise the Lord,” tried very hard to stay, but then she went home to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The doctors and nurses who tried so hard to help Hallie stay, will never forget this sweet little girl who stole their hearts immediately. In the end, she was just too early. Hallie went home at 5:37am, just 37 minutes after her birth.
Hallie Joy wasn’t here very long, but for those who knew her, in the womb during the months before her birth, in the moments after her arrival and passing, and in the hopes and dreams for her planned future, her impact was everlasting. This sweet little girl captured the hearts of all who had the honor of being there with her, in life and even after. Her spirit and strength will live on in all of her family members. We all feel like we knew her even though we didn’t get to “meet” her in person, because her spirit lives on in our hearts…and we will get to meet her when we go to Heaven.
Hallie is the second daughter of her parents, Lindsay and Shannon Moore. She has a sister named Mackenzie, with whom Hallie bears a strong resemblance. That in itself will be a blessing to her parents, because as Mackenzie grows, they will be able to see the shadow of her little sister Hallie Joy. Every time they say her name, Hallie, they will be saying, “Praise the Lord,” and they will also know that their little girl was a joy to all who knew her, and to all who know of her. She will always be a Joy to her parents hearts whenever they think of her. A child has a deeper impact than just the ones who got to meet them. Her extended family, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and so many more loved this little girl before we ever knew that she was a little girl. We knew Lindsay and Shannon were having a second baby and we were all excited about it. We couldn’t wait to meet this baby, and that has not changed. We are all looking forward to meeting Hallie, who is with the Lord, and yes, still praising Him right now. That is the beauty of Hallie’s current life. She has had the 
opportunity to meet her grandparents, cousin, and many others who have gone home before her. She has been held in the arms of our Lord Jesus, and she has seen the face of God. Her life is not sad. It is glorious, happy, and beautiful. She is perfect, not weak or sick, just perfect. That is the greatest physical part of Heaven. Of course, the truly greatest part is knowing God…knowing Jesus…knowing Holy Spirit, and being always happy. One day she will know her big sister, when the Moore girls are together in Heaven. They will have so much fun, laughing and playing. There are no tears in Heaven…just eternal joy!!
When my nephew, Allen Beach was a little boy living in Washington state while his dad was in the Navy and out on a seven month cruise, my sisters, Cheryl Masterson, Alena Stevens and her daughter, Lacey, Allyn Hadlock, and I went to visit our sister, Caryl Reed, who is Allen’s mom. That put Allen being the only boy in a crowd of women. For a boy of 3½ years, I’m sure that was overwhelming. All those bosses. Nevertheless, I think Allen had a good time.
I was thinking as Allen’s birthday approached, that no one had any idea where his life would take him. It’s not surprising that Allen followed in his dad’s footsteps, joining the Navy after graduating from high school, but truly, from there on out, it was unexpected. He had wanted to be train as a member of a flight crew for the navy, but small fracture of his foot caused him to have to give up that dream. While that was disappointing, Allen chose to go into the medical field, as a corpsman. The Navy can’t wait for six weeks to complete the training. That isn’t a totally unexpected 
thought either, because his mom, my sister, Caryl was a respiratory therapist. So, Allen trained to be a corpsman, and ended up serving in some pretty cool positions. He was a corpsman in Bethesda, Maryland at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, as part of the medical detail to the President of the United States, and then he was stationed in Japan, where he met his sweet future wife, Gaby, who was also a corpsman, and is now a nurse. On a wonderful trip to Bali, Allen proposed to Gaby, and when she accepted, he knew his life was complete.
Allen and Gaby returned to Walter Reed Military Medical Center to finish their time in the Navy, and then began their college educations. Gaby still had time left in the Navy, so Allen started first, and after finishing his studies and obtaining his degree in Hospital Administration, they decided to move to Casper, Wyoming where Allen has family, so Gaby could start college in the nursing program. Allen was hired by Wyoming Medical Center as the department manager over the Referral and Communications Departments. Later he also became department 
manager over the EMS Department. Who would have ever guessed that the little 3½ year old boy running around his parents home in Washington State would have gone on to do the great things he has. It just goes to show that you never know what a child might choose to become, and sometimes their life experiences can play a part in shaping their future, even if it is having a fractured foot. Sometimes, the things we thought we wanted, turn out not to be the best for our future…while another path becomes by far the best move. Today is Allen’s birthday. Happy birthday Allen!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
There are some kids that you can take one look at, and you know without a doubt that they are feisty and full of spunk. My great grand-niece, Izabella Harman is one of those kids. Belle, has sparkling eyes to match her sparkling personality, and she has the wit and smile to match. She loves life and loves her family, especially her older sister, Alice and younger brother, Jaxx. Nevertheless, she is very independent, and her mom Melanie Harman tells me that Belle has this “random rudeness,” just like her dad, Jake Harman, but somehow, her sarcasm doesn’t bring the same reaction as it does with her dad. In fact, it’s all her parents can do not to laugh at their little girl trying to show off her rude sarcasm, and all she can pull off is funny sarcasm.
Belle is a girly girl. She loves her makeup and lip gloss, her shoes and her clothes! The dunny thing is that as much as Belle loves her makeup, she really won’t need much as she gets older. Her eyes are beautiful, and will likely need little help, but like most girls, she will probably wear it anyway…and that’s ok too. She’s definitely a princess at heart. Of course, in my opinion, girly girls are great fun, because they make so many cute and frilly outfits for girls, and if the girl doesn’t like that stuff, it’s a bummer. These days, they even have tutu skirts, which we never would have put our girls in, in my day, but maybe we missed it, because they look so cute. Pair that with a pair of leggings and a cute top, and you have a girly girl’s dream outfit. These outfits are Belle’s idea of cute, and I agree.
Belle is such a cool little kid. She and her older sister, Alice keep their younger brother, Jaxx totally entertained. All I can say is, that it’s a good thing her parents are so young at heart, because they rarely mind the loud play 
and giggles that are common when you have three kids in the house. The reality is, your kids are only this little once, you might as well enjoy it. Sometimes Jake and Melanie post some videos of the kids at play, and it is very cool to hear their giggles and laughter. They wrestle around, make faces, and then they laugh about just how funny they are. And they really are. Today is Belle’s 5th birthday. Happy birthday Belle!! Keep being you, because we love it. Have a great day!! We love you!!
My nephew, Isaac Spethman is a very athletic kid. One of his favorite things to do is climb. I suppose you could call him the Houdini of climbing. Houdini was an illusionist, but he was also a stunt performer. I don’t know if Isaac likes illusionist tricks, but he definitely likes stunts. He also love to go with his mom when they are “adventuring.” He loves to forge. I think this kid might be half mountain man. Isaac doesn’t just look around for trinkets he can sell, he melts down pop cans and makes shapes out of them. He has also made knives out of spikes and rebar. I’m sure that one of his favorite shows is probably “Forged In Fire,” which is all about knife making. I have to admit that I like it too. The process is very interesting.
Isaac is a hunter now that he has passed his hunter safety class. He and his siblings have grown up around guns, and their parents have taught them, not only safety, but the value of life human or otherwise. They would never kill anything just to kill. They have too much respect for life to ever consider that to be ok. Isaac’s love of hunting and guns has made knives interesting to him as well, hence the love of forge a knife. Isaac 
enjoys other sports too, like wrestling and football. He is very good at both. He is not a husky kid, but rather is wiry, and that makes him a good wrestler. He is also a capable runner, which makes him a good football player, but most importantly, he is full of energy. He doesn’t like to just sit around. In fact, slow down…is not a phrase in his vocabulary.
Isaac is the youngest of his sister, Aleesia’s three older brothers. That makes him a couple of things. Being the youngest of the three brothers, he has had to learn to defend himself. His brothers, Xander and Zack are good boys who love their brothers and sister, but there is still that “I’m the boss of you” aspect of their relationship. That makes him both tough, and sometimes, put upon. Being the youngest of the boys, the only one he can be the “boss of” is his little sister, Aleesia. With that, it naturally follows that he is the most ornery to Aleesia, but make no mistake about it, he also watches her like a hawk. I’m sure that Aleesia has mixed feeling about all that, depending on what she needs him to be at the 
time. A brother who won’t let you out of his sight can be annoying, until someone decides to pick on you or you get in a jam. Then that brother is a very good thing to have around…as Aleesia well knows. Today is Isaac’s 14th birthday. I can’t believe he is 14. It seems like just yesterday that he was the baby. Happy birthday Isaac!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My great grand niece, Reece Balcerzak made her debut into the world on December 14, 2017, about 10 weeks early. She was a tiny little girl of just 3 pounds 11 ounces, and 17¾ inches long. Since that time, Reece has been a whirlwind of activity, smiles, and most of all a zest for life. She is a little bit sassy and a little bit sweet…the perfect combination. Her moods show up all over her face, and you can tell what she is thinking by the looks she gives you. I suppose that is true for most of us, but Reece has such an expressive face, that her moods are plainly seen.
At this point, Reece is her parents’ only child, but she did get a new cousin this year. Little Max Herr came to visit her earlier and their meeting was just precious. Reece was totally taken by her little cousin, and enjoyed holding him and giving him kisses. I’m sure that when they are older, they will have a great time playing together. Cousins really are your first friends, and often, some of the best friends you’ll ever have. Plus, who can resist holding a little baby. It doesn’t mater how young you are or how old you are…babies are meant to be cuddled. It’s impossible to resist hugging those precious babies.
Reece is ever changing, and before we know it, she will be heading off to school, graduation, marriage, and babies of her own. Ok, I know that is down the road a ways, but time flies by so quickly that it will seem like it is tomorrow. Reece is so curious. Her mommy says that she can “do more during one unsupervised minute, than most adults do all day.” Hahahaha!! That is a dangerous situation for the mommy. It’s not necessarily that it’s dangerous for Reece, just that most parents have no idea how a child can get into so many things so quickly. Still, even when you find that they have made yet another mess in the two minutes when your back 
was turned, you know you’ve been had by that sweet little child of yours, and that adorable, smiling face. And the thing is…they know it too. They know that all they have to do is smile sweetly, and their parents will cave…at least when they are little. I have a feeling that Reece’s parents Keifer and Katie Balcerzak, have a lot of trouble being upset with her. All she has to do is smile, and look at them with those expressive eyes, and they simply melt. It is the greatest talent Reece has…to change people’s mood with her own. Today is Reece’s 3rd birthday. Happy birthday Reece!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My nephew, Barry Schulenberg is a hard working mechanic for the State of Wyoming Highway Department. If a highway vehicle breaks down in our county, he is often the one sent to repair it. He also has to do maintenance work on the vehicles which means that he is on the, and that means he might have to work some overtime in the form of comp-time. That can make for a long day, and make it feel really good to get back home.
Barry and his wife, Kelli live out in the country east of Casper, Wyoming, and they really enjoy getting away from the hustle and bustle of the city. That is also why they love to go hiking, bicycling, and camping whenever they can. They are nature lovers for sure. This year, with all the Covid-19 “social distancing” no one was sure if camping was going to be an option, but in the end, the campgrounds were open. So Barry and Kelli happily hit the campgrounds. They love camping in the Big Horn Mountains, but they also went to the lake and spent some time on the water just enjoying the wind in their face and the cool water on those hot days. This year they also went to the Black Hills to go camping. There is a lot of hiking in the Black Hills, and so they had extra trails to enjoy.
Barry does a lot of work around their place in the country. He has planted a bunch of trees, and he cares for them every day. He added a cover and a hammock to their patio in the front of the house. He keeps their acreage mowed, so that the risk of a fire is much less in the hot, dry summer months. A few years back a huge fire went through, and the homes that had mowed lawns faired much better the ones that had lawns that 
weren’t mowed. Barry has always been a worker, and he is always making improvements on their place. Many homes in the country are really just a house on a piece of land, but some people, like Barry and Kelli, have a place that has a lawn, trees, a nice house, even a large incinerator type of stove that heats the house, so little outside heat is needed. Everything is well manicured and looks sharp, and that is a credit to Barry’s pride of ownership. Today is Barry’s birthday. Happy birthday Barry!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My niece, Machelle Moore is just six months younger than my youngest daughter, Amy Royce. As young girls, they couldn’t really decide if they were friends or enemies, of course that all ended by the time they were about two years old. From that time on, they were friends. Before that, I think it was mostly a sharing problem…their toys, that is. Most kids that age don’t really like to share their toys, so it really wasn’t anything that unusual, and these two girls were both a bit stubborn. One thing I’ve learned in my lifetime is that stubborn people often make the best friends. While they might have disagreements, they never give up on things, and two things they never give up on are friends and marriage. So to this day, both girls are good friends, and both have enjoyed a long marriage with their spouses. While they live a long way away from each other now, they will always be close as cousins.
Machelle is married to Steve Moore, and they have two sons. They love camping in the Big Horn Mountains, which is near their home in Powell, Wyoming. In the summer they go camping as much as possible, although these days their boys can’t always go along…at least, not Weston, their oldest, who works. Easton usually goes, but that will probably change as he gets older too. Machelle and her husband, Steve love to be in the great outdoors. The love rock hunting, and looking for artifacts. They could walk the hillsides for hours in their search for the perfect stones. I think I could easily see them with a mining claim where they looked for gemstones. I’m sure they could make so beautiful things out of all the great stones they have found.
These days, Machelle is into all things health. She is doing her own studies on vitamins, immune systems, and healthy eating. I guess we are all trying to make our way through all the health issues of the current pandemic 
and the truth is that we have to all work out our own health as we see fit. We all have different ideas on masks, social distancing, closures, and safety. We can only share what we have learned, and let everyone make their own choices. That’s all any of us are asking. The freedom to choose for ourselves. Machelle is a strong woman, who follows her heart, and I think she has chosen well for her life. Today is Machelle’s birthday. Happy birthday Machelle!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My niece, Kelli Schulenberg is an outdoorsy girl who loves pretty much everything about nature. She is very into sports like hiking, skiing, biking, snowshoeing, and camping. She and my nephew, Barry Schulenberg have been doing a lot of camping, taking trips to the Big Horn Mountains, the Black Hills, and Alcova Lake, where they enjoy boating too. They take their bikes and do a lot of trail riding or hiking the trails in the area. Their dog, Scout rounds out their hiking and biking group most of the time, although, Kelli’s mom, Mary Wages joins them sometimes as well…especially this year, when Mary was forced to evacuate her summer camping site in Colorado, due to the wildfires there. Kelli and Barry were relieved that she was safe here with them. Having a parent in harm’s way would be an awful situation.
All that exercise can make the downtime very important. Some people have a hot tub, but Kelli and Barry decided to buy a dry sauna for their house last winter. Winter isn’t Kelli’s favorite time of year, so having a dry sauna at the house must be just like Heaven to her. Kelli has already used it a few times this year. I think I’m jealous. Kelli and Barry have a place in the country, and it is their sanctuary. In the summer of 2019, Barry put up a sun shade at their house, and bought a hammock to hang from the sun shade frame. Kelli has been enjoying both a lot. The hammock is a great place to read a book or just relax. Kelli works hard and plays hard, so being able to relax is a really important part of life.
Recently, Kelli’s bicycle met with an unfortunate end, when it fell over in the garage and made its last brave stand against the wheel of Kelli’s vehicle, which was too tall for her to see the bicycle laying in her path. It was a really sad day for Kelli, because she loves to ride her bicycle. Barry felt so bad for her, but it gave him and his mother, Jennifer Parmely a great idea for Kelli’s birthday gift, so they looked them over and picked out a pretty blue bicycle for Kelli, which she was given this morning. She loves the new bike, and has already taken it for a spin, thanks to our having no snow at the moment. Today is Kelli’s birthday. Happy birthday Kelli!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My mom and her sister, my Aunt Evelyn Hushman were very close. They double dated when my parents were dating, and Aunt Evelyn and her husband, my Uncle George enjoyed going along. The all had a lot in common, and enjoyed similar things. Later, after my mom was married to my dad, they bowled together too. For years, during my childhood, I remember them going bowling together. It wasn’t all about our parents bowling either, our families were together a lot. I have fond memories many times that we got to go out to Aunt Evelyn and Uncle George’s house. We played in the basement, and down at the Mills Elementary School. We even played hide and seek all over the house, and most of us remember hiding in that big front window area of their house. In fact, we all remember just sitting in that area. It was a peaceful, and just a special almost secret place.
Aunt Evelyn was the first child of my grandparents, George and Hattie Byer. Of course, that meant she helped raise the rest of her siblings. I’m sure that wasn’t exactly her favorite thing. I remember my sister, Cheryl Masterson babysitting us and being “the boss” of us when our parents were not at home. We didn’t really like that, and I’m sure she didn’t either. Still, being the oldest meant that Aunt Evelyn could get a job, date, and get married first, essentially letting her off the hook for the responsibility of the younger siblings in the later years of their growing up. Then, other siblings stepped up as the helpers, I suppose. We all pay our dues I suppose, with the exception of the youngest child, but then again, they get to help with the nieces and nephews of the older kids, so it all evens out in the end.
One of the coolest things for someone, as they become grandparents, is the possibility of having a namesake 
come when one of your children or grandchildren has a child. It is a wonderful show of their love for you. That is such a great honor and one that Aunt Evelyn received on September 10, 2020, when little Evelyn Mae Johnson was born to Alicia and Dillon Johnson. Alicia is Aunt Evelyn’s great granddaughter through her grandson, Michael Young. It was such a sweet gift to Aunt Evelyn, and I know that while she wasn’t here to see it, she would be very honored indeed. Today would have been Aunt Evelyn’s 92nd birthday. Happy birthday in Heaven, Aunt Evelyn. We love and miss you very much.
Today, my little grand niece, Laila Spethman would have turned ten years old…she still has, but all of her birthdays have been sent in Heaven. We only got to have her here for 18 days. While her time here was short, her impact on the lives of her family was huge. Laila was the waited-for girl, in a family with three boys, Xander, Zack, and Isaac. She was also to be the big sister to her parents, Jenny and Steve’s second daughter and rainbow baby, Aleesia. Laila’s homegoing was a sad day for all of us, but we have continued on in the knowledge that Laila is living in Heaven, getting to know her great grandparents, who have gone to Heaven too. She lives on with Jesus in the most beautiful place ever…Heaven.
Of course, the arms of her parents and siblings, as well as other family members, ache to hold Laila, and those empty arms will continue to ache until we get to see her again in Heaven. Laila was and is a beautiful little girl, with a wonderful smile and a kind heart. I know that because she has grown up in Heaven, that she is filled with God’s love and grace, and she gets to spend time in the presence of God. Heaven is never the sad choice, but it is hard on loved ones, because we miss them so much. And in the case of a baby, we wonder each birthday, who they would have been.
That is the case with Laila. We wonder who she would have been at 10 years old. Would she have been like her 
mom…very stylish and sweet? Would she be like her little sister…a girly girl, mixed with a little bit tomboy…the result of having three older brothers? She may have become a little bit of both. No matter who she would have become, we would have loved to watch her grow up, and we would have loved her very much. We will miss her until the day we see her again in Heaven. Laila left us for Heaven on November 22, 2010, and we were all very sad, but she is very happy in her Heavenly home. Today would have been Laila’s 10th birthday. Happy birthday in Heaven, Laila. We love and miss you very much.
