diva
My niece, Chantel Balcerzak has been having a wonderful year. Her daughter, Siara Kirk and Siara’s husband, Chris bought that house next door to Chantel and her husband, Dave earlier this year. They quickly renovated the house, because they were having a baby boy named Nathaniel Andrew Kirk on January 15, 2024. It has been so nice for Chantel and Dave to have them living right next door, because Chantel and Siara are very close. Now that baby Nathaniel is a couple of months old, Siara is getting ready to go back to work, he will be spending his days with his grandma and his daddy. While it will be really hard on Siara, she knows that her sweet boy will be is good hands and having fun. I have always thought it would be cool to have my grandchildren live within walking distance of me. Of course, that doesn’t always work out, but the most important thing is to be close to them in hearts, if not in distance. One is as important as the other. I’m so excited for Chantel to have this precious time with her newest grandson.
Besides being a grandmother, Chantel is an amazing artist. We have several in our family. I, however, am not one of them. Nevertheless, I very much appreciate the work of those artists around me. Chantel has a kind heart, that sees the beauty around her. Her home reflects the beauty that is in her spirit…and a beautiful spirit it is. Chantel has a gentleness that not everyone possesses. It is just a part of who she is. Some people just seem to belong in a gentler time…and Chantel is one of those. Even her home reflects that. I always think that her home has a Victorian flair to it. Personally, I love the Victorian era designs. I’m not sure exactly what Chantel’s design style of choice is, but I think that whatever you might call it, I would call is very pretty. She has even helped Siara with the decoration of her new home. Siara shares many of her mom’s artistic abilities. 
They have decorated a few places together, and both are very capable.
Chantel has truly embraced the role of grandmother. She as several other grandchildren too, and she enjoys spending time with all of them. Chantel is young at heart. I think she always will be. That has made her a great mom and grandmother. Chantel is my first niece. She was always a sweet little diva, and fashionista. Maybe it was her artistic abilities showing themselves at a very young age. I’m sure it was. Chantel hasn’t really changed all that much over the years, after all. Today is Chantel’s birthday. Happy birthday Chantel!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My niece, Chantel Balcerzak was the first grandchild of my parents, Al and Collene Spencer. From the start, Chantel was a Diva, and very girly. She could have been a model of baby clothes. She was almost always in a pose. Chantel always had so much going for her. She was everything lots of girls wanted to be. She was cute and petite, 4’10” fully grown. She had a super smile, and you couldn’t help but smile with her.
Of course, Chantel has other things going for her. Chantel has a wonderful imagination…both for stories and for art. As she has grown, Chantel’s imagination has grown, and developed into a love of art. She is so creative, and her art is stunning. Recently, Chantel has been painting murals for people around town, and her mural business is really growing. Painting a mural is no easy job. It takes a lot of planning. I’m sure that Chantel started on her own walls, and she has painted so really beautiful murals for her 
home. The other people heard about her murals, and her business took off.
Chantel also has a wedding business. She doesn’t do the whole wedding, but the flowers, and other decorations. This year she already has flowers for two weddings lined up. She is very skilled at floral arrangements, and word of mouth is one of the best ways to advertise, so her business has really grown.
Chantel and her daughter, Siara Kirk have been working out together for a couple of years now, and they are both crazy strong. they do a lot of the heavy lifting, and they are really good at it. They try to work out during 
lunch breaks, which kills two birds with one stone. They get their workout in, and they eat less food at lunch. It’s a win-win!! Siara is so proud of her mom’s tenacity.
Chantel is a woman of strong faith. No matter what comes her way, she prays over it and then patiently waits on God to take care of the situation. She has passed that strong faith on to her husband, Dave Balcerzak, and her children. Her strength and her faith have made them very proud too. Chantel and Dave are not only husband and wife…they are best friends. Her daughter, Siara says she is her best friend as well, and always has been. And her sisters dearly love her. Today is Chantel’s birthday. Happy birthday Chantel!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My second cousin twice removed, Hazel Grace Pallas, daughter of Angel and Brian Pallas, is quite a character. I have only met Hazel and her family via Facebook, but her mom and her aunt, Elizabeth Nordquist, have posted a lot of pictures of the kids, and along with the stories they provide, I feel like I’ve known their kids forever. As I said, Hazel is a character, but she is also a Girly Girl, and could even be classed as a Diva, but that isn’t surprising, because she spends a lot of time with her cousins, Addilayde and Meadow Nordquist, daughters of Elizabeth and Aron Nordquist, and they can definitely be Divas.
While these girls can be girly and artsy, they also love to play, and they have a great time together; as well as with Hazel’s little sister, Tenley; and their cousins, Hosea and Canaan Oltman, sons of Grace and Tzaddik 
Oltman. It’s so much fun to look at the great pictures of these close families of cousins. The moms take pictures often, especially Elizabeth, who is a photographer in her own right, so I have watched these kids grow up almost all of their lives.
Addi and Meadow, being the oldest ones, inspire all the fun around there. They play with all the kids, and really enjoy having their cousins come over. The other day, the three older girls, Addi, Meadow, and little Hazel were out in the back yard, playing in the snow. For Hazel, who is 2½ years old, I think this is still a very new experience. Nevertheless, it is one she very much enjoyed. The girls got out anything the could slide on, and they had a wonderful time slipping and sliding on the snow. When Hazel told her mom about all she did that afternoon, she simple 
summed it up as, “Swimming in the snow, Mom!” When I read that comment, I just laughed and laughed. It was perfect. To have that childhood enjoyment of the snow…untainted by the experiences of driving in the snow, and all the stress that comes with it…seemed like a dream world to me. As I was driving to work this morning, with little Hazel on my mind, I noticed that as I drove down the alley from my backyard garage, over the freshly fallen snow, it felt like I was almost floating along. Hazel’s words came to my mind. “Swimming in the snow, Mom!” I think I know how Hazel felt.
Long before there was such a thing as a Diva, my niece Chantel was one. That little girl posed for every shot of the camera, and even if no one was taking a picture. It was just second nature to her. She was posing before she could walk. Chantel was a teeny little girl, who still only stands 4’10” and she is a mom. So those days she was just the cutest little Diva there ever was.
It’s funny how some people are just born with style, and they really don’t worry about the current trends, they just wear what they like. That was and always has been how Chantel is, and since she is a fashionista, she need not worry about it anyway. I must admit, however, that when she was younger, her idea of fashion was a little different than what I would have worn, but that is probably pretty normal, considering that I am her aunt, and not the same age or even close.
There was also the whole game of dress up, which we all know little girls love to play, and those outfits, like this one, can be pretty comical…especially the wearing of the adults glasses or sunglasses. They look for funny on those little teeny faces, but as we all know, they are the finishing touch to the whole ensemble!! And what outfit is complete without the heels. I mean really, a girl has to look amazing for her adoring fans…right!! And if you are liked Chantel, who is very short, those heels help put you in the height category of the big kids…very important, you know!!
Chantel will always be one of those people who doesn’t even have to try to take a great picture. It all just comes naturally to her. She is very photogenic, and enjoys having her picture taken too. Yes, Chantel always was and always will be a fashion diva, and that’s ok with us.
