Kids
My grandnephew, Jake Harman has always been a “big kid at heart” as his wife Melanie told me…not that she had to tell me that. Anyone who knows Jake knows that about him. Jake loves playing with his babies, Alice, Izabella, and Jaxx, as well as his nephew, Nathaniel all the time! Jake can often be found tossing the children around, chasing them, and making them giggle and scream with happiness. Melanie tells me that he is an amazing dad and uncle, and “loves them all with his whole heart.” I think anyone who knows him knows that is true. Jake is the kind of “kid at heart” dad who doesn’t mind the fact that “peace and quiet” rarely prevail in his home.
Of her husband, Melanie says, “He is an amazing husband that 
reminds me every day of how beautiful I am and how much he needs me and loves me. I couldn’t ask for anything better than this man that I have now in my life. I love his excitement with certain games he gets and plays or when he gets a new sword or an ax of some kind to add to his collection! His imagination is so amazing, and I love how he comes up with songs and stories that he loves to tell me! It’s truly amazing to be around him and watch him every day! And every day I do it with a smile in my heart!” I couldn’t have expressed her feelings anywhere near as perfectly as Melanie did, but then Melanie knows Jake better than anyone on Earth, and she loves him forever and always.
Jake always seems to be the face of positivity. No matter what things are going on in his life, he stays positive. When Jake and his sister, Siara Kirk were little kids, he was always there for her. They were the best of friends, and while they are both married now…to their best friends, they are also best friends with each other too. That is something that will never change. Jake was always protective of his little sister, and now he is the same way with his nephew. Jake is a very family-oriented guy, and the love he feels for his family runs deep. He has grown into a great man, and his family is very proud of him. Today is Jake’s birthday. Happy birthday Jake!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My niece, Jenny Spethman is a wonderful girl who has been through much in her life, and yet has come through it all, a little worse for wear, but stronger than ever. Of course, Jenny’s strength didn’t come just from herself. Mostly, it came from her devotion to God, who has taken her through the difficult loss of her older daughter, Laila from a heart defect just 22 days after her birth. Her devotion to God brought her husband, Steve Spethman, into her life. Steve was a gift from God, and she a gift from God to Steve. Theirs was a marriage made in Heaven. Together, Jenny and Steve sloshed their way through the loss of their daughter…and it was like sloshing through quicksand, but they hung onto each other and to God, and they came out the other side. No, they will never stop missing sweet Laila…until they are reunited in Heaven, that is, but they have been strong for each other and in their faith. 
Jenny loves to get up very early in the morning. She watches the sunrise or looks at the pre-dawn sky, often catching great pictures of both and of the moon. But most of all, the early morning hours are her time with the Lord. Her study and worship time have yielded many scriptural revelations, that she has so graciously shared with her mom, Cheryl Masterson and her aunts Caryl Reed, Alena Stevens (before she went to Heaven earlier this year), Allyn Hadlock, and me. These have been blessings of the greatest kind and blessings we will cherish always. Jenny has such a sweet and kind spirit. It’s no wonder everyone loves Jenny. She is so loved, in fact, that when she is work as a runner in the law firm where she works, all her coworkers would love to have her stand and visit on her runs, but Jenny is also very ethical and responsible, 
and she keeps the chatter to a bare minimum. They understand, of course, but they do enjoy visiting with her whenever they get a chance.
Jenny loves her job as a runner, because it gives her the chance to take a walk during working hours. How many people get to do that? She runs paperwork from the firm to the courthouse, and that is vital work. The attorneys don’t have time to deliver the documents to the courthouse, and some things must be original. Faxing is out of the question. Jenny’s work is a vital part of the day-to-day operation of the firm…and she loves it. Today is Jenny’s birthday. Happy birthday Jenny!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
In what my niece, Toni Chase had called an average year, her husband, Dave Chase found a way to have a few adventures in 2025. Dave is a very optimistic kind of man, and he said it was a fun year with all the Pickle ball, golf, softball, and a new favorite…online Cribbage which he came in first place for the summer session. If only my Uncle Bill could have known Dave…he would have loved him. Uncle Bill wanted to figure out a way to play “long distance Cribbage” when I was a kid. We never got that done. Uncle Bill would have been ecstatic…if he had known how to use a computer.
Dave spent a lot of time on the water, opting to fish the river in Big Horn Canyon rather than their normal area…the good old Platte River. He went a handful of times, because it was such good fishing. Then, in March, Dave made the annual trip to watch the NCAA basketball tournament held at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, and took in some skiing at Ski Loveland (somewhere in Colorado near Breckenridge).
Dave didn’t do much socially in April, but once when he was on his way to the dog park when he saw a marmot running across the road right before he inched to the stoplight on CY and Outer Drive. Toni tells it best, so I’ll leave this part in her words, “He quickly slowed down, hoping the light would hurry up and turn red so that the poor little thing could get to the field before getting hit… The light turned red and the marmot was gone. Dave figured it must have made it across the road, so he continued his way to the park (about a half block away). When he got to the park, he let the dogs out as he always does but this time, the dogs didn’t go running as they usually would. Instead, they made a B-line for the front of the car. They started sniffing around the tires and along the fenders and grill like they were part of some super K9 unit. They were coming up short so they both went underneath the car and tried sticking their heads over the splash shield. All the sudden Dave said they spotted something that caused them to go into a barking, clawing melt down. Dave and all the other pet owner started investigating what was causing such a stir. Dave silently hoped he hadn’t hit the marmot after all. He tried peering underneath the car but didn’t see anything. A crowd of dog walkers had started to gather and began their own investigation.
An older, rather suspicious man said to Dave “I think we need to pop the hood” (I wish I could have seen the look on Dave’s face lol). So, Dave reached through the window and engaged the hood lift keeping eye contact with the man. Dave walked to the front of the car and slowly started to lift the hood (the dogs were still going crazy; spectators were nonchalantly pretending to have business near the car all the while). Dave got the hood about halfway up when all of the sudden Biscuit let out a high pitch howl. Both Dave and his new detective friend caught a glimpse of a large brown furry creature poking his head up from the back of the engine block. They both jump back and the hood starts to inch to a close, so Dave rushed forward to prevent it from closing. He slowly started to lift the hood again; his arm extended to its maximum reach. The suspicious detective man 
who was even further back was bent forward to see if he saw what he saw. As the hood went up a little more, the dogs saw it too. It was the marmot. And when he (or she as it turns out) saw the dogs she ducked back down and wouldn’t come back up. This went on for about fifteen minutes, so Dave called me to head his way. He told me to bring a spray bottle. When I got there the dogs were out of control. Dave told the suspicious man that he was going to lower the hood and run the dogs home with me, hoping that the marmot would just crawl back out once it knew the coast was clear. The man told Dave “Ok, I’ll keep working on getting it to come out while you’re gone” (lol can you imagine). Dave just shrugged, jumped in the truck and we headed back to the house to drop off the dogs then went back to the park.
When we got there, the park was empty. The hood of his car was closed, and the water bottle was sitting on the driver’s seat. We figured the marmot had made his escape. So, Dave jumped in the car and we went back home. When we got there the dogs were sound asleep. They didn’t even get up to greet us. We started settling in when all the sudden Crickets head popped up then Biscuits. They both focused their sight at the wall, then out of nowhere they went into hysteric again and took off for the garage And out the door to the driveway where Dave’s car was parked. Unbelievably, the marmot was still taking up residence.
We couldn’t get her to come out for anything. This went on clear past nine. We had to barricade the dogs in the bedroom for the night. When we got up the next morning, both dogs were chomping at the bit to get out. The minute I opened the door they went straight for the garage. I opened the garage door thinking there is no way that marmot is still there. I was wrong. This story goes on and on but to try and make it short, we ended up calling one of Daves friends at Game and Fish. The friend/game warden came to the house and went to work pulling out all his bags of tricks. But he had no better luck than we did so he called another game warden to the scene, and if you think the Looky-Lou’s at the dog park were bad, try imagining our neighbors observing 2 game wardens searching our car. In the end it took a garden hose and the release of Biscuit and Cricket (the makeshift herding dogs) to finally got her out.
Our story ended there. The first game warden drove her up to the mountain and released her. Or so he thought…she ended up in his truck…as it turned out she was ready to give birth and was looking for a place to do so with some privacy. She wasn’t about to let him force her out…but that’s the game warden’s story.
Other than that, they took a trip in May to Florida and did some fishing on the Gulf. They spent some time in 
Tampa at the aquarium and around Saint Petersburg. They spent a lot of time around town and went to numerous concerts in the park. They did some hiking in the snowy range and spent a couple weekends in Centennial at the cabin with the kids, Jane, and Dave’s cousins, Chuck and his wife, Chris. Dave took another fishing trip in Colorado on the South Platte River, and they went to Yellowstone at the end of September to see the fall colors. Other than that, Toni says it was a pretty uneventful year. An uneventful year…seriously!! That statement makes me laugh, because there was little that was uneventful in this story. Nevertheless, Dave and Toni just take it in stride and keep going. Today is Dave’s 65th birthday. Happy birthday Dave!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
It’s National Amy Day!! Who knew that was even a thing? In our family, we usually celebrate Amy Day on June 1st, which is our Amy’s birthday. But since today is the official National Amy Day, we’re celebrating again! Simply put, it’s a day dedicated to celebrating girls named Amy. It’s not the only name with its own special day, but this one and National Corrie Day are two special ones for me, as mom to daughters, Corrie Petersen and Amy Royce. Our daughter, Amy has decided that from now on, this will be her cue to take a day off. So, today, that is what she did. So now, January 28th will be a personal day for Amy from now on.
National Amy Day is celebrated every year on January 28th. In modern French, Amy is the English version of the Old French name Aimée, which was a translation of ‘Amata,’ a Latin name from ‘Amatus,’ meaning ‘beloved.’ That meaning was one of the things I loved about the name Amy. Amie and Ami are other possible spellings. 
While it’s far less popular for babies now, Amy was the second most popular girl’s name in the 1970s, right after Jennifer. That makes sense, since my Amy was born in 1976. It remains a short, charming, “Little Women” style classic name even today, but not the reason we chose it.
I first heard the name, not from the movie “Little Women,” but from an old western show I watched years ago called “The Monroes.” It only ran for a year, from 1966 to 1967, and told the story of five kids heading West after their parents died in an accident. Determined to fulfill their parents’ dream, they pressed on. The youngest sibling, played by Tammy Locke, was named Amy. She was a sweet, adorable little girl. I had never met anyone named Amy before, but I liked that little girl on the show, even though that wasn’t her real name. The name fit her. I suppose that’s how many names catch on. In any case, we’ve always felt blessed to have our Amy, and her older sister, Corrie, who, I’ve discovered, also has her own special day.
Little did I know that there is also a National Corey Day, that falls on December 10th…but that’s a story for another day. Today is National Amy Day, so happy National Amy Day to all the Amy’s out there, and especially to my own Amy!! Our Amy is sweet and kind, but she was also feisty…and still can be, if someone crosses her. Nevertheless, she has always been a blessing to us, as has her sister. I am very proud of Amy and of all her accomplishments. Have a great day Amy and happy National Amy Day!!
My niece, Lacey Killinger has had a year of ups and downs. There is really no other way to say it. The hardest of the downside of the year, was losing her mother, Alena Stevens to cancer on April 23, 2025. It doesn’t seem right to bring sadness into a birthday story, but my sister was very close to her children, and I know they all miss her terribly. Kids expect that their parents will be around for many years of their lives, but for Lacey, that was not to be. Her mother left her when Lacey was just 32 years old, and that makes me very sad for Lacey…and for her dad, siblings, and the rest of their family and extended family.
While the Spring was a hard time of this year, there is light at the end of the tunnel for this family. Lacey married the love of her life, Chris Killinger on October 28, 2023, and became a stepmom to his kids, Brooklyn and Jaxon. Now, 
they are going to grow their little family by adding a new baby in early August 2026. When Lacey told her aunts, my sisters, Cheryl Masterson, Caryl Reed, Allyn Hadlock, and me that she was pregnant, we were all so excited. Lacey said, “Thank you! We are super excited, but starting this journey without my mom has been really hard. Still, I know we have a supportive family.” I know they wish Alena could be here, because she would be so excited, but she is watching from Heaven, and we know she is very happy too. While she is now with us in person, she is in spirit, and this is her family too. We don’t know what this baby will be yet, or even if they will reveal the gender, but that doesn’t matter. This baby will be very loved…is already loved. We’re all very excited.
Lacey has been a wonderful stepmom to Brooklyn and Jaxon, and they love her very much. Lacey is a cosmetologist by profession, and the kids get to enjoy the bounty that brings. They can have just about any hairstyle they choose, or want to experiment with, and they know it will turn out great. It saves a lot of money too, on both sides. Much of Lacey’s work is makeup and hair for weddings, and she is becoming quite well known. The shop she owns is called Lux Lou, and Lacey is usually pretty busy. She and Chris are building a good life, and the future is very bright for them and their little family. Today is Lacey’s birthday. Happy birthday Lacey!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
It’s so hard for me to believe that my youngest great grandson, Cristian Petersen is one year old today. It seems like just yesterday that he arrived. Cristian is all smiles and personality. He has the ability to turn on that charm and steal your heart in a minute. His big blue eyes light up when he sees the people he loves, especially his older brothers, Justin and Axel. Cristian thinks his brothers are the greatest. They love to make him laugh and when the three of them get going, it’s like a giggle festival. Cristian hates to take a nap, because he might miss something, so he fights it as long as he can.
Now that Cristian can crawl and walk along the furniture, he is pretty much everywhere at once. Keeping up with him is a full-time job for anyone “in charge” of him. Cristian thinks he is the one in charge, you know. When he is planning 
to do something he knows he isn’t supposed to, he quickly crawls toward his target, stops and turns to look at you, to see if you are going to stop him, then grins and quickly move toward his target. He seems to think his charm alone will keep him out of trouble…and he could be right. He’s a hard one to be upset with. He really does know how to pour on the charm.
Cristian also loves to be chased. He will crawl as fast as he can, and if it seems like he got away, he will peek around the corner, just daring you to come after him. He loves playing “I’m gonna get you” with me. He loves being caught and tickled. He laughs and laughs!! Then, he takes off again to see if you’ll chase him again. Cristian loves to look at books, but doesn’t have time to hear the story yet. He prefers to look at the pictures, 
for now anyway. He loves listening to nursery songs and dancing along. Like his brothers, he will know the words before long. And Cristian loves to stick out his tongue.
He’s been getting very brave about letting go of the tables and chairs he is hanging onto these days too. I would expect that he will be walking within a month or so. He is very motivated. He knows that his brothers walk around, and he wants to do everything his big brothers do. He loves everything about his big brothers, but then Cristian is a very loving boy. The minute he sees people he loves, his face lights up. Today is Cristian’s 1st birthday. Happy birthday sweet boy!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
I often wonder how the years can go by so quickly, and the older I get the faster they go. That is why I can’t believe that we have arrived at my great grandnephew, little Nathaniel (Nathan) Kirk’s second birthday already. It seems like just yesterday that he was having his first birthday. Now, here we are, at his second. Nathan has learned so much in his second year of life. Indeed, I found his mom, Siara Kirk’s post about his birthday almost telling in a comical sort of way. He had started the last year, his first, learning to walk, and now as his second year begins, he is learning to drive. While that is comical in a way, it reminds me that before we know it, he will be in school, then dating, driving, graduating, marrying, and having his own family. Yes, I know that seems like it’s eons away yet, but I know that when we arrive at those “far away” landmarks, it will seem like it was only yesterday…that he was just a two-year-old baby boy.
Nathan is a curious little boy, who is all about dinosaurs, Ms Rachel, and animals in general. He can name all animals and loves to do puzzles!! I’m sure his parents, Chris and Siara Kirk, have loved spending time teaching him all about those things that he enjoys so much. Nathan and his daddy love their playtime, when he rides around on Chris’s back like around the house, pretending to be gorillas. Nathan has a vivid imagination, and loves to play guns, like any Wyoming kid would. He totally knows the drill, pretending he’s hurt, if you say, “POW” to him. And like most little boys, the minute his parents say they are going to change his diaper, he’s off like a rocket. I don’t understand the issue boys tend to have with getting their diaper changed. Hilarious!!
Nathan gets to go over to Siara’s mom, Chantel Balcerzak’s house while Siara is at work, if his daddy isn’t off 
that day, and he adores her. He has taken to calling her, “Gra Gra” and gets very excited when he hears the garage door open, because he knows his Papa, Dave Balcerzak is home!! He also LOVES when his uncle, Jake Harman comes over with his kids, Jax and Izabella. Cousin time is so important for kids. Those are their first friends. Jake and his wife, Melanie watch Nathan every time Siara and Chris ask and Nathan actually gets disappointed when his parents have to come pick him up because he loves his uncle, aunt, and cousins so much. And they love him. He is so happy and so funny, that it brightens everyone’s day. That’s just the kind of sweet little boy Nathan is. Today is Nathan’s 2nd birthday. Happy birthday Nathan!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My niece, Gaby Beach, has been a dedicated athlete since before she joined the Navy years ago. Her physical health hasn’t always been easy for Gaby, but when she decided to join the Navy, she knew that she had to get into excellent shape for it. She knew that the Navy wasn’t going to be a long tern career for her, but it was a good way to get her college education paid for, and she wanted to be a nurse. Now that she’s been discharged, she’s still fully committed to her health and has never looked back. Gaby loves all kinds of sports, from hiking and weightlifting to running. When it comes to her workouts, she is fierce…never giving up and 
never slacking off. She’s a determined woman with the mindset to be the very best she can be, and I have no doubt she’ll achieve every goal and make every dream a reality. Gaby is a very determined person.
On of Gaby’s favorite forms of exercise is running. Gaby especially loves the competitive kind of running, and while I’m not sure how many marathons or half-marathons she’s participated in, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a dozen or more. When she’s not competing, she’s training. Her workouts are tough, and she runs with determination. What amazes me, as someone who prefers walking and only runs from a bear (just kidding), is that even in the middle of a long run, Gaby can still kick up her heels with a big smile. Meanwhile, I’d be seriously trying to catch my breath.
Gaby and Allen love to travel. After having served in Japan, where they met, they decided to take a trip back 
there with friends. I can only imagine how they felt on that trip. They were back in their old stomping grounds, but this time, they didn’t have to go to work or anything. This trip, they were “tourists” in a place they knew very well. It wasn’t the first time they had toured the area, but they were free to really enjoy it, and to show their friends a good time. The trip to Japan was, for most people, a trip of a lifetime, but I wouldn’t be surprised if these kids don’t take several big trips like this one. They were engaged in Bali, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they took a trip back there someday. While the Navy was a way to “see the world,” it isn’t the only way to see the world. I know they have many trips in their futures. Today is Gaby’s birthday. Happy birthday Gaby!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
Normally, my niece, Toni Chase and Her husband Dave hit the road running each year, but this past year, they got off to a slower start, not really getting in gear until March. Dave, who is always doing super nice things for Toni, had a portion of their garage closed off and made into a “she shed” for Toni. It was not a quick and easy project, and it took quite a while to get it all organized. Still, to have a “she shed” will easily make Toni the envy of all her friends and family, even though more people are building man caves and she sheds these days. I think it is a very cool thing for Dave to have done for her, but then Dave is always doing cool things for Toni.
Even though the year started off at home, it did not end there…it rarely does for Toni and Dave. They took a trip in May to Florida and made it all about the fish. Toni caught her first fish on the Gulf, and it was actually a little hammer head shark!!! Ok, cool, but yikes!!! Still, it would be fun to fish in the Gulf. While I’m not an avid fisherman, but just being on a fishing boat in the Gulf would be cool. During the trip, they spent some time in Tampa at the aquarium and around Saint Petersburg…just touring around and enjoying the scenery and the pleasant weather. They had a lovely, relaxing time.
Later in the year, they did some hiking in the snowy range and spent a couple weekends in Centennial at the cabin which was one of the best times of the year. Toni was having one of the best times with Dave, the kids (James and Manuela), Jane, and Dave’s cousins, Chuck and his wife, Chris. At the end of September, Toni and Dave took a quick trip to Yellowstone to catch the fall colors. They were not disappointed, because they were 
just in time to see some truly stunning scenery. They also made several trips to Colorado for various activities, but mostly to attend the long-awaited return concert of one of their favorite bands, Linkin Park. Toni tells me that other than these events, it was a pretty quiet year. A pretty quiet year!! That’s more activity than most people have in two years. Today is Toni’s birthday. Happy birthday Toni!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My grandniece, Siara Kirk is a very busy girl these days. She is a wife, mother, and a personal banker with Platte Valley Bank (a position she has held for over 10 years now), and she is a college student pursuing her bachelor’s degree in office management. Her mom, Chantel Balcerzak, says Siara is “juggling so many balls in the air and still just kicking butt!!” Siara has been on the principal’s honor roll every semester!! In addition to working full time, Siara works out every morning and still cooks home cooked meals 5 nights a week!! She allows herself a break, by ordering food from door dash on the weekends. While all of her accomplishments are important to her, Siara’s proudest accomplishments are those of wife to her husband, Chris Kirk and mother to her sweet son, Nathan Kirl. According to her mom, “my girl is a total boss!!” Siara is success in motion!!
Siara’s brother, Jake Harman says of his sister, “She is my best friend outside of my wife, Melanie and kids, Alice, Izabella, and Jaxx, all of whom dearly love Siara too.” Siara has a big heart when it comes to the people she loves. The mistakes people make can make people shun them, but Siara is a very forgiving person. She believes in those she loves, and she will stand by them to the end. Her brother tells me that his kids dearly love their Aunty Siara, and every time he goes to get something or drop something off, they want to go to just to see her and her family, because “awesome attracts awesome, and she is the kind of person that makes your day better by not even doing anything specific. There is something about her that puts you in a better place 
and makes you believe in yourself!! Obviously, God brought me (Jake) to the place I’m in now with my wife and kids, but I truly believe He did it through Siara in many ways. I can talk to her anyway about anything and she might not agree, but she is always cool about it and helps the best way she can” Jake tells me that Siara is going to be a “crazy good mom” always, even when the kid can talk…or talk back as we all know kids eventually do, hahaha!! Jake tells me, “Siara does so much for everyone!! I know that’s going to rub off on Sir Nathaniel and he is going to be a superhero, because of it. She is the best sister aunt and mom anyone could ask for!!” I couldn’t say it any better, if I tried. Siara’s family said it all!! Today is Siara’s birthday. Happy birthday Siara!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
