parents
My grand-niece, Adelaide Sawdon is her mother in just about every way. She looks a lot like her mother, my niece, Jessi Sawdon, and she definitely has a lot of Jessi’s personality. She is learning to be a little bit sassy, which is quite cute, since she usually has a very good sense of humor and is a well behaved little girl, who is quite loving. Nevertheless, like her mommy, Adelaide is quick to learn things, and it doesn’t take her very long to learn things like no-no, I’m the mommy and you are the kid, and other such boss phrases. Then she proceeds to use them on her parents. Of course, it doesn’t get her any further that the laughing of her parents, but I guess that is one way not to be in trouble. I think her parents would be hard pressed to be angry at Miss Adelaide very much, because she is just their favorite person on Earth, and I can’t blame them for that, because Adelaide can wrap you around her little finger pretty quickly,and she doesn’t even have to try hard to do it.
Of course, in Adelaide’s world, other than her parents, there is simply nobody that can compare to her Aunty Kellie Hadlock. I can understand that, because Kellie is very sweet, and lots of fun, but it still surprises Kellie to think that this sweet little niece has chosen her to be the favorite, but Adelaide is, nevertheless, a girl after Kellie’s heart. While Kellie is singing at church, Adelaide can hardly wait for her to come off the stage, so she can climb up on her lap and just enjoy her company. They love to send time together…laughing and giggling, and Adelaide would have Kellie live with her and her parents if she could. They are just that close.
Adelaide take her personality traits from both her mom, Jessi Sawdon, and her dad, Jason Sawdon, and that 
makes her a very special girl. Adelaide’s mommy and daddy are two fun loving people, who are very social, and they are passing that on to Adelaide too, although she isn’t always too quick to warm up to people she doesn’t know well. No matter, that will come in time, as she gets to know our large family better. In the meantime, we just keep talking to her so she will get more familiar with us. we look forward to watching Adelaide grow and become the wonderful little girl that we all know she will be. Today is Adelaide’s 2nd birthday. Happy birthday Adelaide!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My aunt, Dixie Richards is the 8th child of my grandparents, George and Hattie Byer, and the middle of the younger three daughters. She is also a very giving person. She is always there whenever her help is needed. For many years she has taken care of her grandchildren, as well as the children of her siblings and their children. It has been a long run of children who can say that they got to spend quality time with Aunt Dixie. What a blessing that was for them, and how nice I was for their parents, who didn’t have to worry about who was watching their kids. They knew that their kids were entertained, loved, and cared for in the best possible way.
Aunt Dixie has lived in the country for as long as I can remember, but I suppose there might have been a time when she didn’t. She has always enjoyed the country life, 
complete with the farm animals that went with it. One of her farm animals came from my mom, Collene Spencer, who was given a baby chick that one of her grandkids had won at the fair. I could never figure out why they gave away live animals at the fair, because most people didn’t have their parents permission to bring these animals home, and often, the animals weren’t allowed in town. Nevertheless, my mom had big plans for her baby chic. She was going to raise it and have eggs. Little did she know that she had a rooster. Even when the chick started crowing, Mom denied the obvious, still hoping for eggs,but finally she had to face reality, and the chick, named Queenie, who should have been King, moved to aunt Dixie’s place. Mom never knew what happened to Queenie after that, but I think that deep down inside, she knew that Queenie had probably become chicken noodle soup or some other such thing, because he was older than most butchered chickens, 
and probably not suitable for a fryer. Nevertheless, Aunt Dixie would never have told her sister what happened to Queenie, because she was far too kind.
These days, Aunt Dixie is retired from babysitting, and her favorite thing to do is to spend time with her family. She and Uncle Jim love being close to their grandchildren, all of whom they are very proud. I’m sure they are looking forward to the day when they will have done great grandchildren too, because as every parent knows, grandchildren are the reward that comes from having children. I know that they will be wonderful at that too, just as they were with kids and grandkids they have now. Today is Aunt Dixie’s birthday. Happy birthday Aunt Dixie!! Have a great day!!we love you!!
My grand-niece, Aleesia Spethman is the youngest child of her parents, Jenny and Steve Spethman, and the youngest grandchild of my sister, Cheryl Masterson. Aleesia is a bubbly six year old girl who is getting ready to start first grade on September 4th. She is quite excited about the coming school year, but she is ok with it not starting for a couple of weeks. Aleesia has lots left to do with her summer, and then she will get back into the swing of things for school. She is a very active little girl and she loves to spend time with her parents, brothers, and her grandma.
After spending the day at home or doing things with her mom and brothers, Aleesia 
often spends time with her grandma in the evening. They love to hang out and watch movies or talk. It really isn’t about what they do, but rather that they do it together. They are just very close. On Thursday nights, my sister; her daughter, Liz; Aleesia; and I go out to dinner. It is our chance to do something fun…a girls’ night out sort of thing. Aleesia always feels special that she gets to hang out with the grown-ups. We always have a great time. Aleesia keeps us laughing, and we always have a great time.
As much as Aleesia loves to hang out with her grandma, she loves her family, and before long, she is ready to go home. Aleesia hates it when her grandma goes out of town, and she misses her very much, but she would 
really miss her family if she went along with grandma, so she doesn’t do that yet. Maybe someday. She is the kind of girl who really wants everyone she loves to be in the same place. In fact, if she had her way, she would probably have her grandma move in with her family, then she would never have to be separated from any of them. Aleesia is a little girl who has a deep love for her family. She might fight with her brothers, but they are her brothers, and she loves them. Of course, they love her too, and they treat her like she is a little princess. She really is, you know. She is the little princess that they had waited for a very long time. Today is Aleesia’s 6th birthday. Happy birthday Aleesia!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
Few things change a person quite as much as a baby. It has been nearly a month since my great granddaughter made her entrance into the world. I have watched as my grandson, Chris Petersen and his fiancée, Karen changed right before my eyes. They went from being carefree kids, to new parents…just like that. It’s hard to believe that they are parents now. They have crossed a bridge, of sorts, and their lives will never be the same. Time has flown so quickly…as time always does. Before we know it their baby girl will be one year old, then Kindergarten, high school graduation, marriage, and babies of her own, but lets try not to get ahead of ourselves. Time will take care of that on it’s own.
Their baby is a sweet-natured little girl, who really doesn’t cry much unless she is hungry, and even then, she will wait patiently for her dinner, if she has visitors. She wasn’t a real fan of her first bath, but her second bath was much more enjoyable. Who knows, maybe she will be a swimmer. She also seems to really like to think things through. I like to say that she is a concentrator, just like her great grandma…me. I think this baby girl is going to be very smart, and able to analyze the situation before she makes decisions. I suppose it’s a bit early to tell, but I’m going to take some great grandma privilege here and say what I think she will be. Karen and Chris are adapting well to parenthood, and working through the short nights. They are both so in love with their precious girl, that nothing else matters.
Adding a new baby to our family has been the biggest change in more than 22 years…when my great granddaughter’s daddy arrived. Babies change so many things, and our family was quickly beginning to change. Within two and a half years, we had three more babies in our family. Our world would never be the same, and for that we were very happy. It wasn’t that our family wasn’t great, but now it was even better, because it had been almost 21 years since our family had changed in such a big way…when we had our own daughter…her grandma, Corrie Petersen. Babies are such a great blessing, and as each first child arrives, a big change happens…because there are suddenly parents, where once two kids stood.
My grandson, Caalab Royce is an adventurous kind of guy. He is willing to try just about any new thing…provided it’s legal and not too dangerous, of course. Caalab likes most types of games, but these days, he is into Midnight Laser Tag. He has done paintball as well, but compared to paintball, laser tag doesn’t hurt because it uses no physical projectiles. If I were going to play that game, I think I would like laser tag much better. Laser Tag is one of those games that don’t require a special facility, but rather just the right equipment. Caalab and his friends play the game outside…usually at midnight, because that’s when they get off work. He has always been a night owl, so it’s the perfect time of day for him…just don’t try to wake him up very early the next morning.
Caalab has always been good at games, and at most sports. He has played softball off and on through the years, but this year, he is actually his team’s coach…and a player. Caalab has an unusual “style”in baseball, for lack of a better word. Caalab is right handed, but he bats left handed. He wasn’t really a good hitter, until his mom, my daughter, Amy Royce realized that he was awkward when he batted right handed. The improvement was instantaneous when he switched. I’m sure that he will be a great coach, although at the age these players are, I doubt he fill find anyone who would benefit from a batting hand change. That happens more when you are a kid. Nevertheless, I now that Caalab will have some great tips for his team members.
Caalab took up bowling with his family a couple of years ago, and has done quite well. Like softball, Caalab’s bowling is unusual, bit just like his dad, Travis Royce’s bowling. They don’t use the finger holes, but rather palm the ball. The result is a pretty serious curve. The thing about this type of curve is that most people can’t control it very well, but Caalab and Travis have both figured it out. This was Caalab’s second year of bowling, and he is doing very well. Early in the season…October 10th, to be exact, Caalab got his first 200 game. It was a 203. And he didn’t stop there, he got several more throughout the season. He is turning into quite the bowler. Maybe he takes after his grandparents, my husband, Bob and me. I know that he will have many more to come, because he is just pretty good at sports.
Today is Caalab’s 21st birthday. I can’t believe that he could already be 21 years old. I know that his parents are planning to take him out to the local casino to do a little gambling, and of course, for that traditional first legal drink. It is going to be a great time for sure, and I hope he really enjoys himself, and of course, “Win BIG, Caalab!! I hope you hit the jackpot. I’m glad you aren’t driving home, however!!” Happy birthday Caalab!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
When we think of deployment, we think of the military and of war, but there are other ways to be deployed too, and some of them do not even include the military. Every year, thousands of firefighters are separated from their family members, some of them for months at a time. For the most part, these are wildland firefighters, but sometimes they even have to enlist the help of teams from cities around the country. Wildland fires are not bound by the schedules of humans. Once they get going, they take on a life of their own. Firefighters are in it for the long haul, and many wildland firefighters go from fire to fire, spending the entire fire season far away from their families.
The other night my husband, Bob and I were watching a television program called FireStorm. The show focused on not just what happens during a wildfire, but also on the people who are affected by the fire, that most of us never think about…the firefighters. These are the people who leave their families at home and head out to fight a fire at a moments notice. Some of these people are gone for as much as nine months out of the year, going from fire to fire. These people include the smoke jumpers, the tanker 
plane personnel, the hotshot units, and sometimes teams from cities in the area, as well as the Bureau of Land Management, and the Forest Service firefighting teams. These people talked about missing everything from school functions to weddings and childbirth. The fires wait for no man, and people depend on these men and women to drop everything and come quickly to try to save their homes.
Smoke jumpers are especially isolated. They jump into a fire area and they are pretty much on their own for up to 3 weeks. The have to pack supplies, tents, and water with them. Part of it is dropped with the smoke jumpers and part of it with it’s own parachute. These firefighters are on their own now…in the middle of the monster. Obviously, they have ways out, but often it is by helicopter. They have to be alert at all times, and there is no time for fun and games. Smoke jumpers are essentially seal teams, when compared to the military. They go out on missions that no one else wants to attempt, and most often, they come back alive too. That is not always the case of course, because some of these teams have been overtaken and killed like the Prineville, 
Oregon hotshot team killed on Storm King Mountain in Colorado, when the fire exploded and ran up the hill overtaking them. They paid the ultimate sacrifice for other people in an effort to save lives and homes.
Firefighters who go out for months at a time fighting wildfires all over the country, are truly just as much deployed as their military counterparts, but we seldom think about the family side of their time fighting the fires. The spouses and children, and even parents and siblings, waiting and praying that their firefighter will make it home. It is a different kind of deployment, but it is a deployment nevertheless.
Becoming parents for the first time is such an amazing thing. You are in awe of the beautiful gift God has given you, and you can’t wait to see them grow and become the person they are destined to be. Today was that special day for my grandson, Chris Petersen, and his beautiful fiance, Karen, when their daughter made her grand entrance into the world yesterday, May 30, 2018 at 4:35pm. She weighed in at 7 pounds 2 ounces. She was 19¼ inches long. She has soft wisps of brown hair, just like her parents did, and she is absolutely beautiful.
Their baby’s arrival has brought with it many changes in my family. Of course, Chris and Karen became parents, but also, my daughter, Corrie Petersen and her husband, Kevin became grandparents. Their other son, Josh became an uncle. My daughter, Amy Royce and her husband, Travis became great aunt and great uncle, and their children, Shai and Caalab now have a 1st cousin once removed. My husband, Bob and I are now great grandparents. And of course, there were the same changes for Karen’s family for her parents are now grandparents. And this baby has multiple great grandparents, and even one great great grandmother. Her siblings are now aunts and uncles. It’s an exciting day for sure.
My great granddaughter is a sweet little baby girl, who loves to cuddle with those holding her. She was wide awake, even after having a full day of work just being born. Everyone knows labor and delivery is a tough job on the mom, but the baby has a lot of work to do too, and it can be quite exhausting for those little babies. Nevertheless, she was excited to see what was going on around her, so she had her eyes wide open. What I found really special is how she just snuggled up to her daddy. She knew his voice from hearing him talk before she was born, and she cuddled up to him as if to say, “That’s my Daddy!” I find it so amazing that these babies can know their parents voices from inside the womb and so quickly relate to it after their birth. Such a sweet bond to both mommy and daddy. When her mommy had her, she was totally content. She would have snuggled up and stayed right there for the rest of the day. This pretty girl is a sweet combination of both of her parents, and we are just so in love with her. She has a big family who all love her very much and we can’t wait for all the wonderful times to come. Congratulations to Karen and Chris, your beautiful little family is growing, and we are so excited for the future!! We are so happy for you!!
Mastery knows no age. Genius can occur in anyone, and of course, always presents itself when a child is very young. In 1920, one such genius, Samuel Reshevsky was busy mastering chess masters in France. Reshevsky learned chess when he was just 4 years old. He became known as a child chess prodigy and was playing simultaneous games of chess against adults when he was 6 years of age. At age 8 he was playing chess against strong players. Following the events of World War 1, Reshevsky immigrated to the United States. As a 9 year old, his first American simultaneous exhibition was with 20 officers and cadets at the Military Academy at West Point. He won 19 games and drew one. He toured the country and played over 1,500 games as a 9 year old in simultaneous exhibitions and only lost 8 games. In his early years he did not go to school and his parents ended up in Manhattan Children’s Court on charges of improper guardianship. In reality, little Samuel probably could have taught the teachers, so missing some of his education was not detrimental to him in any way.
Reshevsky was a tough and forceful player who was superb at positional play, but could also play brilliant 
tactical chess when warranted. He often used huge amounts of time in the opening, a dangerous tactic which sometimes forced him to play the rest of the game in a very short amount of time. That sometimes unsettled Reshevsky’s opponents, but at other times resulted in blunders on his part. Reshevsky’s inadequate study of the opening and his related tendency to fall into time-pressure may have been the reasons that, despite his great talent, he never became world champion; he himself acknowledged this in his book on chess upsets.
Reshevsky never became a truly professional chess player. He gave up competitive chess for seven years, from 1924 to 1931, to complete his secondary education. He graduated from the University of Chicago in 1934 with a degree in accounting, and supported himself and his family by working as an accountant. Not everyone could leave off and then pick up their education and never miss a beat. Of course, when you have genius level intelligence, I guess that isn’t a problem.
Everyone’s home life growing up is different. Some homes are very reserved, some are chaotic, and others, like mine are simply wonderful. We always knew that our parents loved us and that they loved each other too. In our house, there were kisses and hugs all around, but we got the biggest kick out of our parents kissing. Dad would come home from work, and give Mom a big kiss, and my sisters and I started singing a song we made up…”Mommy and Daddy are kissing!!” The more we sang the song, the more they continued to kiss. We loved teasing them about kissing, and they love having us tease them. Of course, there was no embarrassment on either side, because we loved that our parents demonstrated their love for each other. What makes a kid feel more secure in the stability of their parents marriage, than a daily show of love.
Of course, kissing wasn’t the only way my parents showed their love for each other. My dad was always the 
gentleman. He was very protective of my mom. He treated her like a queen, and made sure that we respected her too. He was a hard working man, and we never wanted for anything that we needed. Nevertheless, it was never the things that made us rich. It was the love of our parents that made us rich. There is nothing more comforting than to know that your parents will be there with you and for you. And mom, for her part, always made our home welcoming and inviting, not to mention teaching us to keep house and to cook. One of my favorite memories of my childhood was coming home for lunch on a school day, to find chicken noodle soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. That was my very favorite lunch, and it was great to come home to Mom’s cooking.
I’s like to say that there was never any drama in our house, but my parents had five daughters, and…well, drama is just a part of the deal. You get five girls to the age of their teens or close to it, with one phone, and everyone wanting to have their turn, and you have drama…not to mention the fights over 
the bathroom with all of us trying to get ready for school or a date. I suppose mom understood, but dad had to be a saint, and that’s all there is to it. With one bathroom, a wife, and five daughters, dad just had to wait…forever!!
Nevertheless, while there may have been a little bit of drama, our home was a house filled with love, laughter, singing, and yes with mommy and daddy kissing. Today would have been my parents’ 64th wedding anniversary. They will be spending it together in Heaven. I’m sure it will be a beautiful day, and I wish we could spend it with them, but for now, that is not to be. Happy anniversary Mom and Dad. We love and miss you very much.
Very early yesterday morning, a little boy named Jaxx David Harman was keeping his parents up all night. That may not seem like a strange thing to the parents of little ones, but little Jaxx had a very good reason for keeping his parents up…it was going to be his birthday, and he was excited. It wasn’t his birthday yet, and no one knew for sure if his birthday would be May 29th or May 30th. It depended on just how much of a hurry Jaxx was in. As it turned out, Jaxx wasn’t in a big hurry, and by the time he made his entrance, it was 4:15am on May 30th. Let’s hope he doesn’t make a habit of being up so late.
Jaxx is the youngest child of my grand nephew, Jake Harman and his wife, Melanie. They have two daughters, Alice and Izabella, both of whom are very excited to have a little brother. Alice, being the oldest understands all this better than Izabella, but Izabella is quite interested anyway. Oh, I know that as little Jaxx grows up, he will most likely torment his big sisters, as most little brothers…or brothers in general…do, but they will love him anyway, because he is their brother, and nobody gets to be mad at him but them!!
I’m sure little Jaxx didn’t mean to keep his parents up all night, but I seriously doubt if it will be the last time. I 
hope that starting out this way is not indicative of how Jaxx will be in the future, because as we all know, parents need their sleep too, especially parents of little ones. But then again, I would much rather have a baby keeping me awake than a child out on a date, and running late for curfew. I’m sure Jake and Melanie don’t even want me to think about those days yet, but as we all know, time flies quickly by, and those days will be here before they know it. Until then, Jake and Melanie, enjoy that sweet little boy. He is so precious and we are all very happy for you. Congratulations!!
