social butterfly

Every kid gets excited about their birthday and being another year older. Most start saying they are their age and a half pretty early on, but for my grandniece, Mackenzie Moore, the excitement maybe went to the extreme. In fact, she’s been talking about turning seven since she turned six!! Hahaha!! So, to think the day has finally arrived is…well, the best birthday gift ever!! Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’m sure she is excited about birthday gifts and such, but being seven is just the coolest most important part of her birthday.

Mackenzie is kind, and she has such a sweetheart. Like her mom, Lindsay Moore, Mackenzie is a social butterfly…she is a friend to everyone she meets. Mackenzie is truly a such a delightful person. She is easy going and fun. She loves her family and loves to be with them. Her grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles, and most of all…her cousins are a huge part of her life!! The summer, she got to spend time with her cousin Khloe from South Dakota; and lots of time with Adelaide Sawdon, who lives in Cheyenne, so not too far away. She and Addie play together often, and we try to get the girls together a lot. They build forts, make up games, and love to jump on the trampoline. Then, Mackenzie and Adelaide got to go camping with cousins, Ethan and Aurora Hadlock, and Jolene Thompson . The Hadlock family has had a long-standing tradition of camping together, and that has built a close comradery among the cousins. Chelsea tells me that, Mackenzie is very funny, kind, and determined…and she is never interested in Uncle Ryan Hadlock’s teasing and nonsense. Hahahaha!!

She spent a lot of time practicing her gymnastics this summer and started officially this fall. So far, she loves it. and her hard work has paid off. She is very proud of her gymnastics skills and loves to show those skills as often as possible. She’s practiced the perfect cartwheel and executes it flawlessly each time she does it. Her aunt, Chelsea Hadlock, tells me that she is super good at them!! When Chelsea asked what she wanted for her birthday she said, “makeups and lotions, lip ‘skincare,’ soft scrunchies…Simone Biles things.” Chelsea really laughed about that. For those who don’t know, Simone Biles is an Olympic gymnast.

Mackenzie loves her daddy, Shannon Moore, very much!! They are two peas in a pod, and they love doing the same things. She also loves being in 1st grade!! Mackenzie has the sweetest heart. She is always considerate of everyone around her to make sure they are included and comfortable in all situations. She is a helper and always does what is right. She is also such a sweet friend. One place where Mackenzie shows maybe just a “hint” of stubbornness, is in the area of fashion. She has her own style, and it may not be like everyone else. That doesn’t matter, because it is her style. She’s always been this way and knows exactly what she wants her outfits and hair to look like and will not be swayed, haha!! Her Aunt Jessi Sawdon and family love that they live so close and get to see her often! God has made her uniquely her…instilling her perfect gifts and talents. He has called her according to a purpose!! She is loved by God, loved by her family and her sweet little doggy Brinkley Bear. Today is Mackenzie’s 7th birthday!! You made it Mackenzie…six is gone and seven has arrived. Happy birthday Mackenzie!! Have a great day!! We love you!!

My grandniece, Anna, is Anna no more. Anna, whose full name is Audrianna Taylor Masterson, as decided she wants to change things up a bit. So, now Anna is Taylor, and while I love the name Taylor, I have a feeling the transition for her family will not be easy. She has never really been Audrianna to me, but she was always Anna. I’ll have to work hard to use Taylor as her proper name now. So, what better time for me to get started!!

Taylor is starting high school next year and will be attending Kelly Walsh High School. Like most kids going from middle school to high school, Taylor finds this to be a very exciting time. It is a sign of so many things…becoming more grown up, planning for more freedom, and more great activities. One of her first priorities is to get a job, because she wants to get a car right away. Even though she can only get a permit right now, she wants to learn in her own car, and when she turns 16 next year, she will already have her wheels. I don’t blame her. Learning to drive in the same car you will drive later, will make that all important driving test that much easier. So far, Taylor has put in an application at Dairy Queen, and I really hope she gets that job. I know several kids who worked at Dairy Queen for their first job, and they all said that it was the best first job ever. I think is because it’s a happy place.

For Taylor, this next year is filled with so many changes…so many big things are coming her way. Taylor has really come out of her shell in the past year. Where there used to be shy girl, a bit of a social butterfly is emerging. She has her best friend group which consists of Christian and Eden, and they are pretty much inseparable. The Masterson house often sees these girls hanging out laughing and just having a great time off and on throughout the week, and probably even more now that summer has arrived. Taylor used to be nervous talking to people, but now she regularly invites her friends over for sleepovers, and she enjoys going places with her mom and sister, Raelynn, as well as her friends. She has also started going getting out on her own and with friends, working out and taking walks. Taylor has always been rather shy, so for her, learning to branch out and join in on fun things, is an amazing feat, and her family is so proud of her.

Taylor also rescued a cat recently. She found him under the family car up near the axel, so she named him, Axel Rob. He got his name because of his rescue, but he picked Taylor to be his human. The cat is super relaxed, much like Taylor, and he didn’t even need to be declawed. I’m not sure who adopted who, and in fact, maybe it is that Axel Rob and Taylor adopted each other. Whatever the case may be, it is a mutually beneficial adoption. Today is Taylor’s 15th birthday. Happy birthday Taylor!! Have a great day!! We love you!!

Lindsay's GraduationLindsay and ShannonMy niece, Lindsay Moore, is a social butterfly. She never had any trouble making new friends, and everyone who knows her, loves her. It’s a personality trait that Lindsay has. She can talk to anyone…and feel no shyness, and her friendship ability is coupled with her genuine caring nature. I remember when she was a teenager, and I would see her at church, before the service, talking to some of the other members of the congregation. It didn’t matter how old they were, or how young, Lindsay could talk to any of them. I always found the way she was when talking to some of the older members of the congregation to be the sweetest thing to watch. I remember when she was talking to a woman named Fern one time. I’m not sure how old Fern was at the time, but at least mid-seventies I would think. Lindsay went up and hugged her and then sat down to visit with her for a minute. Fern was obviously pleased that this teenager cared enough to talk to her, but it was also obvious that it wasn’t their first conversation. They were talking like friends, because they were friends. I know that Lindsay was just being Lindsay, but I can tell you that her actions affected more than one person in church that day. Fern, of course was very blessed by the sweet, loving girl who was sharing a moment with her, but there were others too. I noticed several other members of the congregation looking on with a sense of…well, pride, almost as if they had something to do with how Lindsay had turned out. They didn’t, of course, but she was a member of the church, and that gave them a sense of family, and therefore pride at how kind she was to Fern. For me…well, it was a picture that has been stored in my memory files since that day. Her way of making people feel important is something I’ll never forget about Lindsay.

Lindsay has had the opportunity to live a number of places in her life. She was born in Casper, Wyoming, but has lived in South Dakota, Florida, and North Carolina. Her husband’s work as a college special teams coach also gives them the opportunity to travel to recruit players, so she has been a lot of places. I’ve often wondered if the moves were difficult. Being somewhat shy, myself, it is hard for me to imagine making new Lindsay & CompanyLindsay in Nashvillefriends every time another move was necessary, but Lindsay really has no trouble. Everywhere she has lived, she makes new friends quickly. Then when she has to move, she remains friends with the people she has met…for life. I think it all goes back to that ability to share a moment with people. Then moments turn into a friendship that forms because Lindsay genuinely cares about people, and people want to be friends with people like that. Today is Lindsay’s birthday. Happy birthday Lindsay!! Have a great day!! We love you!!

Aunt Evelyn HushmanMy mother’s is a large family. There were nine children, and with each new marriage and birth, it grows larger still. At this point, I’m sure the family is well over 300, and all from my grandparents, George and Hattie Byer, but with them, it all started with my Aunt Evelyn. She was their first baby. She was the one who informed my grandmother, when she was asked to go get her daddy, that “You must say Uncle Daddy!” She was the first of the social butterflies in their family, having a circle of friends who did lots of activities, and I’m sure that the younger kids wished they could do that too, but by the time they were of age, things like that weren’t done so much anymore. Fads like that come and go, and unfortunately for the little ones who would have loved to be a part of it, but they just don’t get to. Yes, Aunt Evelyn was the first of her siblings, and that gave her some seniority in the whole getting things by ages thing, but to me, she was just my aunt.

Because of the fact that my mom and Aunt Evelyn had children about the same age, they got together quite a bit. Aunt Evelyn, her husband, my Uncle George Hushman, and my parents went to the military ball together, the fireman’s ball together, and they bowled together. They double dated when my mom and dad were dating, and they spent time at each other’s houses. Because they did, my Aunt Evelyn’s kids, my cousins Susie, George, Shelley, Shannon, and Greg, were some of the best friends my sisters and I had as little kids, and we remain friends to this day, even if we don’t get to see each other as much as we used to.

As kids, we loved going to Aunt Evelyn’s house. She lived right next to the Mills Volunteer Fire Department, and I can’t count the number of times that we were there when the fire alarm went off. I will never forget how loud Uncle George, Aunt Evelyn, Mom, & Dad at the Military Ballit was, nor how loud the fire trucks were when they went screaming out those big doors. Not every kid had the opportunity to live right next to that, or even to visit someone who does. It was quite interesting.

Many was the time when we went to Aunt Evelyn’s house and played hide and seek, or went down to the school to play on all the playground equipment there. There was never a dull moment when we went to Aunt Evelyn’s house. Of course, I’m sure that her kids always thought it more fun to come to our house, but that would just have to be their memory.

We lost Aunt Evelyn on May 4, 2015, and I still find it hard to believe that she is gone. Today, she would have been 87 years old. Happy birthday in Heaven, Aunt Evelyn. We love and miss you very much, and can’t wait to see you again.

MomMy mom has always been a homebody type of person. She would rather be at home making it a nice place for her family than pretty much anything else. It did make her seem shy to me, but maybe she wasn’t really so much so, in reality. She held a number of jobs outside the home, and never seemed shy while working, but that doesn’t mean anything either. Many of us are able to do our jobs without our shyness showing.

Since her retirement and Dad’s passing, she has stayed home more and more. She mostly gets out for church and doctor visits…or so I thought. In reality, she has been a secret social butterfly for a while now. I know those two things don’t really go together very well, but there is no other way to describe it. I have always told her sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews to stop by any time, because she was always there. Now I will have to change what I say to people.Jessi

A social butterfly, as you know, flits from this spot to that spot, never staying in one place very long. Granted Mom doesn’t do that exactly, but she has been spending time with her sister, Sandy and granddaughter, Jessi at the Senior Citizens Center. They do lunch and play Dominoes, and who knows what all else. When I first heard about this, I thought, “Mom!!! Is that really you???” I never expected her to be the joiner type. Granted, she goes with family, but it is just not the kind of thing she used to do, so I was…well, pleasantly surprised. I have always thought it would be good for her to go to the Senior Citizens Center, because it would be nice for her to get out and do something with other people, but unfortunately, with most of us working, it really wasn’t that easy to make that happen. Mom’s knee makes it impossible for her to drive now, so we have to take her wherever she goes. That’s fine, except for those little social butterfly events. I suppose she could take the CATC Bus, but then she Aunt Sandywould be going alone, and that doesn’t work for her. I’m thankful that Jessi is working from home now, and Aunt Sandy is retired so they can have a nice girls day out now and then.

Mom is out there doing things I never expected, and I’m glad she is broadening her horizons. It’s good for her to get out and do things with others. I’m so happy that Jessi and Aunt Sandy thought of this. Today is my mom’s birthday. She wasn’t the New Year’s Baby the year she was born, but she has always been our New Year’s Baby!! Happy birthday Mom!! Have a wonderful day!! We all love you very much!!

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