Kids
I was born in Superior, Wisconsin and at that time, I had one grandfather, George Byer, who was my mother, Collene Spencer’s dad. My grandfather and grandmother, Hattie Byer lived in Casper, Wyoming, where my mom was born, and where our family would eventually move back too. Sometimes, I wonder if my grandparents were happy about having us moving back. It wasn’t that they weren’t happy to have us closer, but now they didn’t have an excuse to visit the beautiful Wisconsin area.
Grandma and Grandpa made a few trips up to see us, as did my Aunt Sandy Pattan and possibly some of my other aunts and uncles, and they always had a wonderful time. I don’t think you could gage kept my grandpa away, because when it came to kids, he was a big softie. About the time he knew he had a new grandbaby, he was ready to go.
Grandpa was the same way with his own kids. He loved coming home from work to have all of his children around him. The girls would often comb his hair, and even paint his fingernails. If his buddies at work ever laughed about that, he didn’t say, and I doubt he cared. I’m sure he just likes having the attention his kids loved to give him, 
especially after a long hard day at work. The evenings were often spent listening to the radio or reading a book out loud so the whole family could hear. They also sang, and after Aunt Dee bought the old piano, maybe they played that, although I don’t think anyone really knew how. Nevertheless, evenings were for family time, and Grandpa loved it. Today marks the 130th anniversary of my grandpa’s birth. Happy birthday in Heaven, Grandpa Byer. We love and miss you very much.
My little great grandnephew, Max Herr is such a fun kid. He is quick to smile and laugh, and he is the light of his parents’ lives!! Katy and Dylan Herr rejoice every day because Max is a dream come true and a blessing beyond measure. For the rest of us, watching him as he grows up had been truly a pleasure. I love that little boy’s smile. It lights up his whole face. And Max is quick to smile. In fact, he is almost never not smiling. He might be serious on the inside, but his face is always “sporting a smile.”
Max is a total Spiderman fan, and the plan is to have a Spiderman birthday party for him. It’s so fun what you start to see your child’s personality coming out in the things the like and don’t like. For Max, that means all things boy!! And it means all things his daddy likes. Dylan likes to golf, so Max is ready to go with him and learn the ropes. Max loves 4-wheelers, golf carts, lawn mowers, and monster trucks. My 
guess is the fancier the better, but then isn’t that the way of monster trucks? They have to have bright colors, and a great theme, and you can’t fool a true monster truck fan, like Max and his daddy. Max loves the outdoors, and playing in the snow, and his daddy is quick to help him build stuff and have fun in the snow. Unfortunately for Max, sometimes his daddy has to work. It seems totally unfair, but that’s how it is. Sometimes Max and his mommy stop down to Daddy’s store, and he gets to see what his daddy does all day. Max will most likely work with his daddy at the store someday, so he might as well learn the ropes.
Of course, Max loves his mommy too, very much. She may not do guy things all the time, but she makes good stuff to eat and there is the whole “making sure Spiderman is on TV” when Max wants to watch, so a guy has to love that. We all know that a good mommy knows what their kids like, and Max has been blessed with a really great mommy!! 
Katy has wanted to be a mommy for as long as she can remember, and now that she is, she is loving every minute of it. While Max’s daddy is his mentor, for sure, his mommy is his biggest fan. She loves every change that comes along, and every new accomplishment he makes. Yes, Max is living the good life, and who wouldn’t always be sporting a smile when you have the greatest life ever? Today is Max’s 3rd birthday. Happy birthday Max!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My nephew, Garrett Stevens has been a welder for a long time now. He currently works at EMIT Technologies, but he has been selected to take the certified welding inspector (CWI) test. The CWI is an extremely challenging test with only a 30% pass rate on the first attempt. Right got now Garrett is in classes to prepare him for the test, and he will be taking the test in August. When Garrett passes the CWI, he will be able to work more in quality control. This is such a great thing for Garrett, as it will help him move his career forward in the direction he wants to go. Garrett is a natural at welding. He learned his career easily, and is always striving to improve himself. He is never satisfied with the status quo, choosing excellence instead.
Garrett has chosen excellence in all areas of his life. He has always made his parents, Alena and Mike Stevens so 
proud. Garrett was their only son, and he is his dad’s son for sure. They love doing things together, even though they don’t get much time to do that these days, now that Garret and his family live in Sheridan, and the rest of his family lives in Casper. Nevertheless, whenever they can, Garrett and his dad get a little fishing in, even doing some ice fishing recently.
Garrett is a hands-on dad who likes to spend quality time with the two daughters, Elliott and Maya, that he and his wife, Kayla have. Kayla tells me that he is great girls dad, which isn’t too far out of his wheelhouse, since Garrett grew up the only boy of his parents’ three children. That meant that Garrett, while all boy, still understood little girls. He and his sisters, Michelle Miller and Lacey Stevens have always been close.
Recently, Garrett and Kayla bought a trampoline and he doesn’t hesitate to jump around and be silly with the girls. Kayla thinks it takes him right back to his childhood since he has such fond memories from the trampoline his parents got for him and his sisters. They had so much fun playing on that trampoline. Now he is making new memories with his girls, and they are loving it. It’s not just the trampoline that Garrett plays on with his girls. The go swimming, to the park, the bouncy game place in town, and running around in their own living room or their yard. The girls will have so many wonderful memories and games to pass down to their own kids someday. Today is Garrett’s birthday. Happy birthday Garrett!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My niece, Kayla Stevens is mom to two beautiful daughters, Elliott and Maya, who arrived just under a year ago, on June 24, 2022. With her husband, my nephew, Garrett Stevens and the girls, Kayla is as happy as she can be!! She and Garrett are living their best life, watching their kids growing up and learning so many new things. Kayla and Garrett really enjoy taking their girls to the park, now that nicer weather has arrived. Of course, Elliott is in a number of activities now, so they all stay pretty busy.
Kayla has always been a kind and compassionate lady. That really makes her perfect for her career as a social worker, working at the Veterans’ Administration. Really, that is a unique 
kind of job. Many veterans have been through so much, it helps to have people who understand the stressors, and are there to help with it. Things like PTSD, have become so well known in recent years, but for years veterans, like anyone who is facing something like that, felt like they had no one to turn to. With Kayla’s kind heart they can feel less alone now. I know that the parameters of Kayla’s job have changed over the years, and now she works from home, but that has not stopped the sweetness of this lady from shining through to these people she works with every day.
I know that her kindness is in a big way, what drew Garrett to Kayla in the first place. Garrett and Kayla were 
introduced by his sister, Lacey Stevens, but it was Kayla who won his heart. Nothing more was needed, once they met, because they knew that their life was real. Now after being married for eight years and having two beautiful daughters, they are happier than ever. The only sad part for the family here in Casper is that they live in Sheridan, and we don’t get to see them as often as we would like. Nevertheless, Kayla is good about sending us lots of pictures and videos of the kids. That really helps. Today is Kayla’s birthday. Happy birthday Kayla!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
As I was sitting in church yesterday morning, waiting for the service to begin, I looked around me at the people in the room. Most of them I have known for years…them and their parents. Then, I realized how many of the parents are no longer with us. It has happened over time…one here and one there, until suddenly, my generation was the new patriarch and matriarch generation in the church…the elders if you will.
I felt a wave of sadness, as I thought about my parents, and the parents of so many others who have gone home. Of course, the sadness was accompanied by the joy for each of them, who were now living every day in the presence of God. How glorious that must be!! They left this Earth, as well as their children and grandchildren, hoping that they had given us the training we would need to go forward in life and follow God in the way we had been trained. They left this Earth standing on the promise in Proverbs 22:6, that says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and 
when he is old, he will not depart from it.” The people around me had all come up the way I had…going to church with our parents, and so the promise held true.
While I was happy that the people around me, were there to carry on their parents’ legacy of raising their own children in the church, I was sorry that so many of our parents and mentors were no longer there with us. Nevertheless, while we aren’t all queens like Esther was, the verse in Esther, 4:14 holds true, “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” It occurred to me that while our parents were no longer with us, the truth was that this wasn’t their time in life…it is ours. We were born for this era, and it is up to us to carry on now. It is up to us to make our parents proud of the people we have become, the people they raised. I left church after the service, feeling a little melancholy, but also a little encouraged, because the people around me, who are carrying on with what their parents taught them, are making 
their parents proud…we all are. And while this era will have its own issues, the fact remains that each era has its own troubles, as the Bible clearly states in Matthew 6:34, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Our parents carried their day, and now it is up to each of us to carry ours, until our era is up, and then, prayerfully, we have trained up the next generation of warriors to take up the tasks of carrying their day.
My great grandnephew, Jaxx Harman is such a wonderful young man. He makes it his mission to exhort other people. His mom, Melanie Harman tells me that he is the biggest sweetheart ever. Whenever he talks to his family, he always calls his mom and his sister, Izabella (Belle), beautiful and his daddy, Jake Harman, handsome. Jaxx really comes by this happy trait naturally, because he acts exactly like his daddy does. Jake has made it his mission to make everyone feel loved and appreciated, and now he is teaching this very important habit to his son. Many people don’t really know how to make a woman feel appreciated, because they don’t see that at home. I’m not saying that Jake is the only man who treats people, and especially women, well, but many men, while they appreciate their wife or daughters, don’t exhort them…don’t make them feel beautiful. Jake does, and now he is teaching that to his son. He is very loving, always saying, “I love you and you are my best friend” to his mom and dad, every chance he gets.
Jaxx has a great personality!! He loves to be silly…loves funny jokes!! For Jaxx, it’s really all about making people laugh. He doesn’t care if he has to look silly to do so either. Jaxx does some weird dance moves all the time…just to see who will laugh. Then, he will sing a version of “Broken Heart” by Axel Rudi Pell…with a minor alteration…Jaxx sings, “Don’t leave me alone with my broken hotdog!!” Jaxx also loves to randomly say “I am 
not a pickle, sir!!” or “Spider man, spider man, hit you in the face with a pickle man!!” Hahahahahaha!! You just can’t help but laugh at the funny things he says. He one time took a bite out of his hotdog and said, “Mom, Mom it looks like a screaming hotdog!”
Like most kids, Jaxx loves to play games. He likes to play games with his pops, but also plays with his grandpa, Dave Balcerzak or Uncle Chris Kirk. His family loves to hike, so Jaxx gets to get his fill of climbing on rocks…like all little boys like to. There really isn’t anything in life that doesn’t excite Jaxx. He is a little boy who is full of life, love, and joy. Is there a better combination? I don’t think so. Today is Jaxx’s 6th birthday. Happy birthday Jaxx!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My niece Kellie Hadlock’s boyfriend, Tim Thompson is having a great summer, and it’s just getting started. Now that school is out, Tim gets to have his daughter, Jolene Thompson for the whole summer. Tim and Kellie have so many plans for the summer. For starters, they went camping in the Green Mountains over the Memorial Day weekend. Then, they celebrated his birthday last night, because Tim and Jolene have to head back to Gillette in the morning. Tim is so excited about have his daughter for the summer. It’s been really hard being so far away from her. Tim and Kellie have already been fishing a ton and Tim is super excited that the camper is up and running! Tim is an outdoor fanatic. He loves hunting, fishing, camping, and hiking; and so, they have many plans for the camper and camping this summer!! They are always out doing fun things and being active and, the girls love that!! 
Kellie tells me that Tim is such an amazing person!! He is so selfless and is always wanting to take care of his daughter, Jolene and Kellie, and their dogs too, of course!! And speaking of dogs, Kellie’s neighbor is not able to get around easily, and when we had the three feet of snow this winter, she was worried about letting her little dog outside to potty, because if the dog got stuck, it might not be able to get free and she wouldn’t have been able to get it. She asked Tim, if he would mind watching to make sure the dog got back in, and Tim did one better. He went out and shoveled her walks so that not only could the dog get in and out safely but so could the neighbor. That kindness will never be forgotten. It’s a hard thing to be unable to take you pet outside, because 
you are afraid for the pet and for yourself. Tim saw that and made sure he gave both of them a safe passage.
Tim is such an amazing blessing to anyone he comes in contact with, but especially for his girls, Kellie and Jolene and their dogs, and Kellie tells me that she is “so thankful that God gave me him!!” Tim has brought Kellie out of her comfort zone on a few things, such as the outdoor things. She wasn’t really an outdoorsy girl, and now she is. She has even gone ice fishing and enjoyed it!! Life is always better when your partner is a gift from God!! Today is Tim’s birthday. Happy birthday Tim!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My grandniece, Brooklyn Killinger is such a sweet little girl, and she is growing up so fast. Today, she officially hit the double digits in age, reaching the age of 10 years. While she is growing up, she is still a little girl, and as such, she loves her dolls. In reality, the dolls are probably an interim replacement for the real thing. Brooklyn loves babies, and while she plays with her dolls, she would much rather have the “real” thing when it comes to babies. It helps that she has a baby cousin…Maya Stevens, because while Maya lives in Sheridan and Brooklyn lives in Casper, she gets to see her quite a bit, and when she does, everyone else might just as well understand that Brooklyn will be holding Maya as much as is humanly possible. In fact, I’m told by her bonus mom, Lacey Stevens, that Brooklyn is “still obsessed with Maya.” She will let her little brother, Jaxon Killinger hold Maya, but he must understand that she will be supervising this process and giving him pointers on how to properly hold a baby. So, Jax has to get used to hearing things like, “make sure you hold her like this” or “you’re not doing it right.” She’s very motherly, and Jax is a pretty good sport about it…understanding that being motherly is her thing. It’s super cute, and it helps that Maya seems to be obsessed with her too. Maya doesn’t let a lot of people hold her, but Brooklyn is always allowed to hold her, and that is totally ok with both of the girls.
Brooklyn really does love babies, and since she can’t always be with Maya, she chooses to improvise, by giving her dolls the very best of care. Brooklyn has two baby dolls that she treats like real babies. The dolls are named Navy and Seth. Brooklyn has car seats, highchairs, and strollers for them. She gets up to get ready for school, but she needs to be up in time to allow for feeding them before she leaves and making sure they are set for their day before she leaves. She is just a loving and motherly toward her little brother, Jaxon. Like all siblings, she sometimes gets annoyed with him, but she does not get overly angry or speak harshly to him. That is just not in her nature. She is a sweetheart who is so kind and gentle.
For the Memorial Day weekend, Brooklyn’s dad, Chris Killinger, took the family to Denver. They are having a 
wonderful time. It is the very first visit to Denver for Brooklyn and Jaxon, and as a very cool sidenote, her first visit included her birthday. Chris and Lacey took the kids to the Denver Zoo, and they had a great time seeing all of the animals. Brooklyn liked the elephants, but she was a little bit scared of them too. They are, after all huge!! Thankfully, there was a safety divider between the elephants and the people. I’m sure that…and the ice cream…eased Brooklyn’s jitters a little bit. Nevertheless, she was pretty wide eyed while they were watching the elephants. They are having lots of fun, and I’m sure she will have lots to tell everyone about all the animals they saw, and I’m sure Chris and Lacey have lots more super fun plans for the weekend. Today is Brooklyn’s 10th birthday. Happy birthday Brooklyn!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My niece, Cassie Franklin is a great mom. She now has three children, following the birth of her youngest daughter, Allison Winter Burr. Allison joined siblings Lucas and Zoey Iverson on January 6, 2023, and they are so in love with their new baby sister. Cassie and her partner, William Burr are so perfect for each other. Cassie needed a kind and gentle, loving man, and that is exactly what William is. Their home is filled with peace and love.
Cassie has always reminded me of her mom, my sister-in-law (now in Heaven) Rachel Schulenberg, but the older Cassie gets, the more she is her mom’s “mini-me” for lack of a better term. I guess adults can’t really be a “mini-me” since they are all grown up. Nevertheless, Cassie grew up looking like the mirror image of her mom, and that is a lovely look to have. Cassie also has two brothers, Riley Birky and Tucker Schulenberg, who are quite a bit younger than she is, because for many years, it was Cassie and her mom. Two of a kind. I don’t 
know is Allison will inherit her grandmother’s looks, but the other children really didn’t. It would be cool is Allison did, so they could be three of a kind. I know Rachel would be smiling down from Heaven to see that. Of course, she is smiling down from Heaven to see all of her grandchildren right now. Cassie’s brother has a bonus son named Jace and a new baby son named Ryder, so Cassie’s kids have cousins too, and that’s always nice.
Cassie is very resourceful. She has always had her own business. In fact, she tried several things before she settled on her current business called Moonlight Naturals, which is a bath and spa company, specializing in candles, bath salts, and body washes. Cassie forages many of her herbs herself, and then turns them into the most beautiful items imaginable. You should check them out. Cassie also sells some used clothing, resin trays, and a little bit of jewelry, but her handmade spa items are her main products, and they are worth having a look at.
Cassie is a great cook, and she likes to make a variety of foods that are healthy and delicious. With her son, Lucas having some health issues, she has learned to get creative with food…cooking gluten free and staying away from other food allergens that could aggravate his conditions. While things are made in special ways, I can tell you that it all looks amazing. I’ll bet it tastes great. As a stay-at-home mom, Cassie works really hard to take great care of her family. Today is Cassie’s birthday. Happy birthday Cassie!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My grandnephew, Xander Spethman and his partner, Alli Simpson moved into their own place this past year, and they have been figuring out life as they go along. Xander still loves to go hunting and feels really good about filling his own freezer with meat to last them through the winter months to come. Xander is becoming a responsible man, preparing to take care of his partner and himself. Xander and Alli were high school sweethearts, and their love has continued. They are very happy together. Alli is a sweet girl, who is perfect for Xander. She is gentle and kind, as is he.
Xander and Allie have their own place, but they still spend most evenings with Xander’s family…parents Jenny and Steve 
Spethman; brothers Zack and Isaac; and sister, Aleesia. The Spethman family is a very close family, and since Jenny and Steve love to entertain, it is the “happening” place to be. Xander has always known that, and that hasn’t changed, just because he has his own place. People always want to hang out where all the fun people are, and the Spethman kids know that the fun people hang out at their parents’ house.
Last June, Xander and Alli decided to expand their little family, so they became “fur” parents to a sweet dog named Rocky. They love their sweet pup and take Rocky most places with them. They know that taking Rocky to Xander’s parents’ house is ok, because Xander got his love of animals for his parents, and most especially from his mom, who is an animal fanatic. Over the years, Xander and his siblings have had just about every type of pet, from lizards, to fish, to cats, to dogs, and even for a time, a raccoon who lost its mother. So having a dog of his own was a completely natural next 
step for Xander.
These days Xander works at Walmart, as a stocker. He was working for a pipe company called Tubescope, but Walmart pays better, and when you are a responsible family man, you have to take that into consideration. One thing about it, Walmart would also be a less dangerous job to have. Working with pipes and such is a dirty job, and it can be dangerous around heavy pipe. That said, I’m sure Alli likes this job much better for him. For Xander, it’s all about what is best for his family and that is what makes him a responsible man. Today is Xander’s 20th birthday. Happy birthday Xander!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
