The Grand-kids Interview their Papa on his 62nd Birthday

Jeffrey:  "What would you want to do if you could to anything in the whole wide world?"

Papa:  "Take all of my grand-kids to Yellowstone National Park"

Macy:  "What is your favorite meal?"

Papa:  "Sauerkraut, ribs, and mashed potatoes"

Jeffrey:  "What is your favorite show on tv?"

Papa:  "The Big Bang Theory"

Macy:  "What is your favorite birthday party you ever had?"

Papa:  "When we used to go tobogganing down Hilken's hill in high school."

Jeffrey:  "Who is your best friend?"

Papa:  "Mikey Anderson"

Macy:  "What kind of car do you like?"

Papa:  "Camaro"

Macy's 2012 Interview

 

Interview with Macy - Age 4 - January 2012

Sing to me the Sunday Night Football Lyrics

(while dancing) I’ve been waiting all day for Sunday Night.  Chris and Al are the best on TV!

Is the singer (Faith Hill) Jeffrey or Daddy’s girlfriend?

Daddy’s (she smacks him and laughs)

What would you do if it snowed a foot tomorrow? 

Make snow angels

What does it mean to be tough?

 If I fall down on the ground like this, I don’t cry.

Who is meaner, Mommy or Daddy?

                Mommy

If you could do anything you wanted to do right now, what would you do?

                Play when it is naptime.

Smokey or Garfield?  (our cats)

                Smokey

What do you want to be when you grow up?

                Sister

What is your favorite color?

                Pink and Purple

What is your favorite food?

                Fruit Loops (funny because I never buy those)

Who are your best friends?

                Kambree, Emma, Allison, Sophia, Lydia, Emily, and Grace

Jeffrey's 2012 Interview

 

Interview with Jeffrey age 6 - January 2012 

Sing to me the Sunday Night Football Lyrics

I’ve been waiting all day for Sunday Night.  Chris and Al are the best on TV!

Is the singer (Faith Hill) Jeffrey or Daddy’s girlfriend?

 Nobody’s!  (blushing)

What would you do if it snowed a foot tomorrow? 

Snowmobile!

What does it mean to be tough?

 I’m tough whenever I do pushups, and I never cry.

Who is meaner, Mommy or Daddy?

                Daddy

If you could do anything you wanted to do right now, what would you do?

                Play Wii.

Smokey or Garfield?  (our cats)

                Garfield

What do you want to be when you grow up?

                Snowmobile racer

What is your favorite color?

                Blue

What is your favorite food?

                Chicken burgers, I ate two of them at school!

Who are your best friends?

                Bridger, Brock, Jerron, Lak, Ashtin, Daddy, and Grady

Angels

Grandma Nancy

To say that my step-grandmother-in-law passed away does not feel nearly endearing enough to describe the woman that Grandma Nancy was to me and the way that she made me feel whenever I was with her.

Getting to spend time with Grandma Nancy and Grandpa Jim is a special treat for Tyler, the kids, and me. Not only do we live a long way away, but work schedules are busy and there are always those darn cows of Grandpa’s to be fed and watered. Because our visits have been few, they each has felt like an extra special treat.

No matter what, Grandma Nancy insisted upon spoiling the grandkids. And when I say grandkids, I don’t mean great-grandkids. It seems like once you have kids of your own, you are just the parents to the grandkids. That was not the case with grandma. She would not take no for an answer when offering to take Tyler, Jenna, and me to Norman’s to get something special just for us…and I have no doubt the rest of you grandkids as well. However, so much more importantly, when I say spoiling, Grandma Nancy did not just spoil us with material possessions. She also spoiled us with attention. When we were in Cut Bank for a visit, we were number one. We got full attention from Grandma Nancy because she was not affected by the distractions of everyday life. Rather, she made us a priority and she was there to spend quality time with us and made sure to do so.

What I think I will miss the most about Grandma is watching the way that she and Grandpa treated each other. I loved getting to witness their teasing banter…some may even call it flirting…between the two of them. For a marriage that lasted nearly 20 years, it was clear to me that they still loved each other, depended upon each other, and liked to spend time together. I loved the way Grandma Nancy would say, “Oh Jim” and slap him on the leg after he gave her a hard time over something. What role models to show us all that love does not fade away with age. It can grow stronger.

Although I cannot be there today to say good-bye, I want Grandma to know that I love her and will miss her. Sooner than we all realize, though, we will see her again in heaven. And I am sure that she will make each one of us feel as though she has been waiting the entire time to see just us…because that’s how special she made me feel each time we got to visit.

Thankful for...

Last December a man named Jeff, who now goes by Jefferson, took his kids skiing in Montana.  Little did he know that one evening while he was out playing pool with a friend of his, that he would meet a woman named Jenna.  Summed up, after a few months of dating and traveling back and forth between Dickinson and Laurel, the two fell in love and Jeff moved to Laurel.  Now, they are planning a wedding.

Since they are planning a wedding, that leads to our family growing, and not just by one, but by four.  Have you ever thought about how much better four is than one?  If someone were to offer you four quarters or one quarter, which would you choose?  Four, right?  If you got to choose between four days of vacation or one day of vacation, the choice would be four.  Even better, if you could choose between four inches of snow and one inch, why not pick four?  That way you can go sledding and snowmobiling.  You can't do those with just one inch of snow.  So, when it comes to adding four new members to our family, we couldn't be happier. 

Jeffrey and Macy now get to have cousins on their Daddy's side of the family which makes holidays like Easter and Thanksgiving so much more fun.  When you are a kid, what's better than having more kids to play with, fly kites with, or make up games together? 

Spending Thanksgiving with Jenna and her family made me thankful that she found someone as special as Jeff to share the rest of her life.  And because she will share her life with him, we'll share in their life together.  Which means that I am looking forward to growing old together, going on vacations together, watching sporting events together, attending graduations, and attending the weddings of our children in the future.

At four you are...

... just leaving behind a stage of refusing to wear anything other than jeans and your Chicago Bulls shirt or your green and pink hoodie along with refusing to let me brush your hair, much less putting clippies or ponies in your hair.  Our mornings we nothing but stress trying to get you dressed and ready for the day.  I love that you are finally willing to let me fix your hair and you are willing to wear some of the cute sweaters and dresses that used to hang so lonesomely in your closet.

... stubborn.  More stubborn than anyone else in the family.  At supper if you don't want to finish your meal and we tell you that you have to, you'll reply, "I don't want a treat anyway."

... a best friend to Jeffrey.  Most Saturdays the two of you wake up and start to play without a second thought.  I love to lie in bed and listen to you playing down the hall.

... a lover of all animals.  Whether you find a cricket, grasshopper, bird, cat, or dog, you are willing to mother the critter and carry it around.  Andrews even got you a kitten for your birthday...and you have behaved like no less than his mother since then.
... so anxious to go to preschool.  Your friends Kambree, Deacon, and Emma are all several months older than you and they got to start preschool this year.  When you turned four, you woke up and told me, "I'm four!  Now I can go to preschool."  Nope, sorry baby.  Now we tell you that you have to wait for KennaDee and Jordan to turn four and you all three can go together.

... still my little baby who loves to be rocked at night.  If only Daddy would go hunting more so we didn't get in trouble for spoiling you!

... my best girl.