blessed
Looking back on the years of my life, or more specifically the Christmases of my life. I know that I have been very blessed. The years have changed the look of our Christmas, but not the joy. With the addition of now, great grandchildren, we have new little faces on with to see joy, and we also still have the faces of the grandchildren and the children to enjoy. Just knowing that we have brought them some Christmas cheer makes me feel so blessed.
Some years have found us with some people in the family missing. Some have moved and some had to work. It 
makes for a different kind of Christmas, but you still feel blessed that they are in your life, and that the next year will likely be different. Then, you consider those who have family serving our country far away and overseas, and you reconsider your situation in light of theirs. And you feel grateful for their service, and the sacrifice their families made so that this country can remain free.
And then, there are the family members who have left us for Heaven. Those are the changes that hurt the most. The ones that can’t be reversed. Of those we just have the memories of Christmas past, when times were different, and there were no empty seats. I think the empty seats are the hardest part, whether it’s people who have left us or those who have moved. Missing them just doesn’t stop, no matter how many years have 
gone by. Now they spend Christmas with Jesus, the one for whom we celebrate Christmas. I can’t think of a better way to spend Christmas than with Jesus himself. And I can only imagine the party!! Someday we will all see for ourselves. Until then, our memories and Christmas changes will continue to accumulate. Merry Christmas everyone. May your day be sweet and blessed, no matter where your loved ones are. And thank you to all who are serving our country far from home.
Last Thursday brought the sad news that my aunt, Doris Spencer was leaving this earth. It was so hard to believe, mostly because she had lived her for a little over 100 years. So many people don’t get that opportunity, but Aunt Doris was very blessed. She had beaten the odds, to become a centenarian!! We were all so happy for her, and she was so happy. Her birthday celebration was such a wonderful event…worthy of her great accomplishment.
The reality is that her whole life was lived as a blessing. I will never forget when we visited her. She always made everything so special. It didn’t matter what time we arrived; she would get up and make a meal. She always felt that a guest should have something to eat, and she was a wonderful cook, so we didn’t argue with her philosophy. We had so many wonderful visits through the years. I specifically remember the time we got to go and pick blueberries. Then we had cereal with fresh blueberries on it. Oh, my goodness!! So good!!
Aunt Doris’ life was blessed with children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Her family was the most important part of her life. She was blessed with long life and good health. For most of her years, she was able to get around largely on her own, even when she no longer drove, she could still maneuver and visit with family and friends. Aunt Doris liked people, and she enjoyed being with people. Now her life wasn’t perfect, and she has lost loved ones, but she knew she would see those who went before her, again, and now she is in Heaven with those who have gone before her.
Aunt Doris was the saving grace for my mother. When my mom, Collene Spencer and dad, Al Spencer got married and moved to Superior, Wisconsin, Aunt Doris and Uncle Bill rented the house behind their own to my 
parents. The girls became best friends, and mom, who had never been away from her family before, felt like it would all be ok. She and Aunt Doris had so many “escapades” together, and they wouldn’t have traded a single one for anything different. Now, the girls are back together again in Heaven, and I’m sure they are having a wonderful time. I’m sure Aunt Doris is having a great time with all of her family and friends who have gone before her. We will miss Aunt Doris so much. She lived a wonderful, long life, and she was a blessing to all of us. Aunt Doris, we love you so much, and we can’t wait to see you again.
My grandnephew, James Renville and his wife, Manuela have been having a very good year. Last year, just shortly after James’ birthday, they traveled to Colombia so that James could meet his new extended family for the first time. When he and Manuela were married on July 21, 2021, her family could not travel to attend, because of Covid restrictions. They were sad that they couldn’t come, but they loved James, whom they had spoked to over Skype a number of times, so they were happy they were getting married. James was very excited to meet them, and he loved them instantly. As it turns out, James and his mother-in-law, Consuelo share the same birthday, and Manuela’s sister, Sarah is the day before. (Happy birthday to Consuelo and Sarah too) They were excited that James and Manuela were coming and had made plans to have a big birthday bash for the two of them.
James loved spending time with his in-laws, and he said that Consuelo and Manuela’s dad, Edwin took 
such good care of them. They were so pleased with James, and the showed him such amazing hospitality. Consuelo is an excellent cook, and she spoiled both them with delicious meals. Cooking is her way of showing great love for her family, so James and Manuela really felt the love.
Manuela loved showing James where she grew up along with other special places in her beautiful home country. They had such a marvelous time, and they are already making plans to go again, as soon as they can get it worked out. James loves to travel, so having extended family in Colombia is very special to him. I’m sure there will be many trips there in the future. Consuelo took a real liking to James, and I know they will be lifelong friends too. James has kind and loving heart, so I am not surprised that she loves him already. James and Manuela took a trip to Marco Island Florida in May and had a great time there too. Taking a break from everyday life to enjoy some fun in the sun together.
James has been moving into a new phase in his life. He and Manuela are buying their first home, and it is very special to James, because it is the home he grew up in. After she remarried, James’ mom, Toni Chase kept the old place and rented it to her sister, Elizabeth Masterson. Now, Elizabeth wants to buy a place of her own, so James jumped at the chance of owning his childhood home. He is excited about renovating it with Manuela, and making it their own, with their own tastes and touches. James has told his mom several times this year, that he is incredibly blessed!! He has a great job!! A great wife!! A great family!! And a great life!! Today is James’ birthday. Happy birthday James!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
I always greet Father’s Day with mixed emotions. I don’t have my dad, Allen Spencer or my father-in-law, Walt Schulenberg with me anymore, so there is always a little bit of sadness too, because I miss them both so much. They were both so important to me…they still are, but now they are in Heaven, and in my future. Nevertheless, on this and every day, I think of them lovingly, because they were so influential in my life. God blessed me, my husband, and siblings with two of the greatest dads ever. Both were gentle souls, soft spoken and kind, and both were hard workers. Sometimes, the similarities surprised me, but I always knew that I was loved and valued.
When I met and married my husband, Bob Schulenberg, God gave me a perfect soulmate. Bob took after his dad is so many ways, not the least of which, was his work ethic. They had spent countless hours together working on cars and other projects around his dad and mom’s place. They probably spent just as much time 
working on our stuff too. Bob was a “girl-dad” and a very good one. Our girls had him wrapped around their little pinky, and he was just fine with that. He was like his dad in so many ways, and that soft heartedness followed him into fatherhood. The girls could have gotten away with just about anything, because like his dad, Bob was a softie.
Now our girls are both married to wonderful men, Kevin Petersen and Travis Royce, and we consider ourselves very blessed to have both of these wonderful sons-in-law in our lives too. It is so great to be able to give your daughter in marriage, knowing that the man she is marrying is going to treat her well, provide for her, and take care of her. The years have brought many changes into our girls’ lives, and their husbands have been beside 
them all the way. they have given us a beautiful granddaughter, and three handsome grandsons, who have all blessed our lives greatly. And now, two of our grandsons are dads too. Chris (Karen) Petersen and Josh (Athena Salazar, soon to be Petersen) Petersen. The next generation of babies have brought us a great granddaughter, Cambree Petersen, two grandsons, Caysen Petersen and Justin Petersen, and two more grandsons on the way. Life is good!! Happy Fathers’ Day to all of the dads in my life, and to all of the other dads out there. Have a wonderful day and know that you are loved and appreciated very much!!
For my sister, Caryl Reed, this past year has been filled with changes within her family. On November 12, 2022, Caryl’s son Allen and his wife Gaby left Wyoming and moved to Eugene, Oregon. They had been living in Casper, while Gaby went to nursing school. Gaby then went to work at Banner Health in Casper, while Allen was working there as a hospital administrator. It was a perfect situation for Caryl. While Caryl is happy for Allen and Gaby, she still misses them very much. She hadn’t had Allen and Gaby living near her for a long time. It was a time that Caryl will always consider herself blessed to have had.
On July 12, 2022, Caryl’s husband Mike retired. Caryl had been retired for a few years. Caryl and Mike had been planning, and preparing their ranch outside of Casper for this momentous change in their lives, for some time. Suddenly the time had come, and they were ready to make the move. It was so exciting for everyone, but it also meant that they would be leaving Caryl’s daughter, Andrea Beach and their grandson Chris Spicer; along with Mike’s daughter Amanda Reed and her partner, Sean Mortensen in Rawlins; as well as, their granddaughter, Jadyn Mortensen in Laramie, where she is going to college. That makes the move bittersweet.
Now, almost a year later, Chris Spicer is graduating from high school in Rawlins, and so he and his mom, Andrea will be moving to Casper. For Caryl, that means that once more, she will have some of her family living nearby. Of course, there will always be a tie to Rawlins, because Amanda’s family has no intention of moving, at this time anyway. Andrea has been wanting to move to Casper for some time, and wouldn’t have waited, but Chris is a senior at Rawling High School, and you just don’t move a kid in their last year of high school. Everyone agreed that it was best for him to finish there, but I know Caryl will be happy to have them in the same city again. It’s a hard thing to have your family live in a different place, especially when it is far away from you. It always nice to have at least one child close by. Thankfully, Rawlins isn’t too far away, nor is 
Laramie, so Caryl and Mike will be able to visit Amanda and her family easily. That will help too. For Caryl and Mike, family is very important, as it is for all our sisters and for our families, but we also know that sometimes our children must move elsewhere for the betterment of their families. It is just a sad reality, but they are happy, and so will we be. It always nice to have at least one child close by. Today is Caryl’s birthday. Happy birthday Caryl!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
Today is Saint Patrick’s Day, but I don’t believe in Luck. I believe in blessed. Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations are all about “the luck” of the Irish. I’m not real sure where that idea got started, and I know that it’s all in fun, but luck isn’t real, and blessing is. Saint Patrick was born in Britain, but he was kidnapped by Irish pirates at 16 and enslaved for six years. They took him to Ireland where he was enslaved and held captive for six years. Patrick writes in the Confession that “the time he spent in captivity was critical to his spiritual development.” Often it is when we are our lowest time, that we finally look up and find the Lord. He explains that “the Lord had mercy on his youth and ignorance and afforded him the opportunity to be forgiven his sins and convert to Christianity.” While Saint Patrick was held in captivity, he was assigned to work as a shepherd, but while there, he also strengthened his relationship with God through prayer, eventually leading him to convert to Christianity.
After six years of captivity, Patrick heard a voice telling him in a dream that he would soon go home, and then that his ship was ready. There was no “luck” to it. God spoke to him in a dream, and he obeyed. He was blessed with his freedom. He immediately took action, and escaping from his master, he 
travelled to a port, two hundred miles away. Once there, Patrick found a ship and with difficulty persuaded the captain to take him. After three days of sailing, they landed, presumably in Britain. Odd that they didn’t seem to know. All the passengers and crew left the ship, walking for 28 days in a “wilderness” and almost starving to death. After Patrick prayed for sustenance, they encountered a herd of wild boar, and since this was shortly after Patrick had urged them to put their faith in God, his reputation as a man of God grew. By the time Patrick arrived back to his family, he was a young man of twenty years. Patrick continued to study Christianity.
After making his escape, Saint Patrick, who wasn’t a saint then, made his way back to Britain, but Ireland beckoned him, and he would eventually go back there. Patrick had a vision a few years after returning home, “I saw a man coming, as it were from Ireland. His name was Victoricus, and he carried many letters, and he gave 
me one of them. I read the heading: ‘The Voice of the Irish,’ As I began the letter, I imagined in that moment that I heard the voice of those very people who were near the wood of Foclut, which is beside the western sea, and they cried out, as with one voice: ‘We appeal to you, holy servant boy, to come and walk among us.'” A.B.E. Hood suggests that the Victoricus of Saint Patrick’s vision may be identified with Saint Victricius, bishop of Rouen in the late fourth century, who had visited Britain in an official capacity in 396. However, Ludwig Bieler disagrees. I guess we will ever really know.
Acting on his vision, Patrick returned to Ireland as a Christian missionary, and that is how he became a patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick actually never used a four-leaf clover, but rather he used a three-leaf clover as a way to help people to understand the Trinity (Triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).
My grandson, Chris Petersen was the first one to make me a grandma. It was a wonderful day. Amazing, he managed to accomplish two great things that day making my goal of being a grandma by the time I was 40 and being born on his great grandmother, Joann Schulenberg’s birthday. I was privileged to be in the room when he arrived, and it was a wonderful blessing to me…one I will never forget. Chris was a wonderful and silly boy. He made the greatest faces and totally loved making all the animal sounds, and he knew them by heart.
These days, Chris is all grown up, married to a wonderful girl named Karen, and has two wonderful babies of his own named Cambree and Caysen. He is the assistant 
manager at Auto Zone in Casper, a job that is right up his alley. Chris is a car fanatic, and truly loves everything about his job. For a time, he was in food service, and while it was a job, it was not his heart. Since moving to Auto Zone, I have seen that happy boy come back. Chris is funny and loves to joke around. He is witty, and quick with a great punch line. He loves playing with his kids and making them laugh. When he is with them, he is a kid at heart. I love when he sends me funny texts or call to see if he can fool me, which he and Karen seem to be very good at. Hahaha!! It makes my day, when my kids and grandkids still want to talk or text me every day. It warms my heart to see Chris so happy with his life. He is very blessed.
Chris has a Camaro, and he has decided that he is going to wrap it with Rhino, which I think looks very cool. He 
hasn’t said if he will go black or choose a color, but I’ve seen some of these done, and it is cool. His car has won him awards, and he is very proud of it. His kids love to be in the car too, so I guess they know a hot rod when they see one. They are their daddy’s kids after all. Of course, the Camaro is a summer car. Chris and Karen have 4-wheel drives for the winter weather, and this year it has been a good thing. We have had a banner snow year in Casper, and 4-wheel drive is essential. Nevertheless, Summer is coming, and it will be nice to take out the old hot rod sometimes. Today is Chris’ 27th birthday…how can that be already?? Happy birthday Chris!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
It’s strange how the longer a person has been in Heaven, the more you sometimes find yourself talking about them. My father-in-law, Walt Schulenberg was like a second dad to me, in fact, my mother-in-law was also like a second mom to me. I was very blessed to have the sweetest in-laws in the world. The first years of having my in-laws were wonderful, but the last years of having my in-laws were quite possibly the ones I will always treasure the most.
While my mother-in-law wasn’t always able to contribute much to our conversations, she always added a bit of a humorous flair to them, because of her dry sense of humor and her off the wall moments of lucidity. My father-in-law, on the other hand, had a sharp mind. He also had a great sense of humor, and we had many times of laughter. We also had many conversations about their care. I wanted Dad to be involved in the care they were receiving. He needed to be comfortable with all of it. He never felt like he understood the medical side of things, and so he was happy to turn that over to me, and even have me speak for them with the doctors…a plan the doctors 
didn’t always get until we explained our arrangement to them. Then they were on board, and everyone was comfortable. Dad and I became very close in those years. It was like a partnership of sorts.
While some time was spent with medical things, there was also lots of time spent just visiting. We talked about so many things, and I really felt like I got to know both my father-in-law and my mother-in-law much better than I ever had. It’s amazing just how much you can become good friends with someone, when you spend a lot of time together, and we really did, especially when my mother-in-law began to need more care. I went over four times a day in those days, and I believe they really looked forward to the increased visits. It can get lonely when there are just two people in the house, and one can’t really carry on a conversation very well anymore. Dad got a chance to visit when I was there four times a day, his sons Bob Schulenberg (my husband) and Ron Schulenberg were also there pretty much every day, and his daughters Brenda Schulenberg, Jennifer Parmely, 
and Debbie Cook were there at times too, along with my daughters, Corrie Petersen and Amy Royce and their children, Chris Petersen, Shai Royce, Caalab Royce, and Josh Petersen. And we had the occasional help, when needed of my sons-in-law, Kevin Petersen and Travis Royce. We were a team, and for my in-laws, that made all the difference. Today would have been my father-in-law’s 93rd birthday. Happy birthday in Heaven, Dad. We love and miss you very much.
My grandnephew, Jake Harman is totally a character. To call him a goofball is an understatement. Jake and his wife, Melanie have three children…Alice, Izabella, and Jaxx. I rather think that Melanie has four children, however, because as anyone who knows Jake will tell you…he is just a big kid!! When it comes to rough housing, Jake is the ringleader, and all the kids follow suit. It may look to the outsider, like Jake is attacking his kids, and that they are terrified of him, but don’t you believe it, because they know that their daddy is a big teddy bear. I truly don’t think I have ever seen Jake happier than when he is with his family. He is a great husband and dad. He is blessed with a wonderful family, and they are blessed with him.
Jake has been a transit bus driver for the City of Casper for a while now and loves his job. Jake is the kind of guy who likes to stay busy. He doesn’t really like sitting still. and that’s a good thing, because while he sits driving the bus, he is always going from place to place. Jake is, first and foremost, a Christian, and while he can’t bring it up, he is able to spread the word of Jesus (when a customer brings it up) and he absolutely loves being able to talk about Christ with others.
Jake and Melanie participate in an organization called Christ-Like Neighbors, in which they go help out anyone in need in any way they we can. Sometimes it’s snow removal or lawn mowing. Other times its cleaning or 
grocery shopping. These are people who really don’t have the ability to do the work that they need to have done, so they really appreciate what the Christ-Like Neighbors does for them. Jake and Melanie have a heart for those in need, and I think it is so wonderful of them. Of course, like most volunteers, Jake and Melanie feel that their reward is the smiling faces of those they have helped. Today is Jake’s birthday. Happy birthday Jake!! Have a geat day!! We love you!!
Have you ever wondered what things you might change if you could just turn back time? I can think of a number of things I would change, and I can think of many things that I would never change too. Things like my husband, children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren are definitely in the “I wouldn’t change these things at all” category. My religious beliefs and career choices fall in that category as well. I have lived a blessed life. Of that fact there is not doubt. I had wonderful parents and in-laws, as well as sisters, sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, nieces, and nephews too. My aunts, uncles, and cousins are precious to me. Yes, I have been greatly blessed. In these things, I would never choose to turn back time.
Of course, we have all made mistakes in life. I think the ones that tend to haunt us the most are the things we didn’t say, when we could have. Or we might regret the things we did say, when we might have kept quiet, or said something different. Also, we might regret the time we might have spent with those we care about, but we allowed our busy lives to dictate our time, or the lack thereof. When it pertains to those we love, like parents, grandparents, aunts, or uncles, we all have wished that we had spent more time. Of course, as kids, and even as adults, there always seemed to be more time for these things later…until there wasn’t. When they are gone, we finally see just how unimportant that important thing we needed to do, really was. Of course, communication goes both ways, but some people really warrant an extra effort. Unfortunately, they don’t always let us know that they needed more of our time. They don’t want to intrude, I suppose.
If I could turn back time, I would go see my parents and in-laws more than I did. I would call and talk to siblings, siblings-in-law, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, and cousins more. I have found that for those who are online, Facebook, texting, and Messenger have helped to fill the gaps. For me, it is far easier to text or write things down, because believe it or not, I am a bashful person. I can carry on a conversation, however, and I 
really should do that, so I don’t regret still another “shoulda, woulda, coulda” later in my life. I guess what I am getting at is that we all need to consider the things that are important to us, and make sure that we pay those important things enough attention. That way, maybe, “If I could turn back time” could be just another song lyrics, and not a personal regret.
