Wounded Warriors and Medal of Honor Recipients

For the past few years Hamilton has hosted a Wounded Warrior event to honor those that have bravely served our country and have been wounded in action.  This year's program at the local airport featured several planes from past conflicts as well as several helicopters which were used to allow any of these veterans to go feral hog hunting.  In addition, we were treated to a sky diving show and a few locals were able to tandem jump with the professionals.

Some of the elementary classes attended so I went out and met Taylor for the day.  This kind of thing is right up his alley and he and I had a great time looking at the planes, going aboard for a tour, and watching the sky diving.  However the highlight of the day for us was getting to meet three recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor.  I think there are currently only 80 living winners of the award, the highest United States military honor that is given. We visited with Donald Ballard who served in Vietnam as a medic and was cited for his bravery during a mission in the Quang Tri province.  It was an informative day for both of us and reminded us of the importance of honoring those that have served this country.

A Random Look At The Remainder of February

 In the interest of time here are a few random pictures from February of various activities.

Nothing pleases Taylor more than lunch with his Pawpaw and Bebe.

 Presley all dressed up for a Valentine party at Circle T.

 Presley, Maya and Lou posing for the camera.

 Listening intently to Mrs. Kneuper's instructions on returning to school.

 Time to get the garden ready for spring.

 Birthday girl Presley turns six.  This year it's been horses and guitars!

 A couple of cone headed dorks that showed up for the party.

 Pretty Presley in her Ariel dress.

Taylor wanted to eat lunch outside in the "fort".  The guy ate two burgers!

Remembering Ronnie

Ronnie was once married to Beverly's sister Deborah.  They married April 4, 1969 and Deborah died at age 26 from a congenital heart condition.  Ronnie and Deborah were married for six years.  She died in late September and we married three months later on her birthday, December 27, 1975.  For a while we stayed in contact but over time we all went our separate ways.  So, it was a shock to learn of his death this past February.  We regret not keeping up with his life over the years.  It's another one of those things that you say you aren't going to do, but over time, you get too busy with your own life and things fall through the cracks.

Some time you get the feeling that things are just meant to happen a certain way.  This was one of those times.  We have been going through Beverly's late parent's things over the past two years and one day Beverly decided to sort through some of her sister's things.  That night, about 11:00 p.m. while she was still going through a lot of keepsakes, I decided, for some unknown reason, to check the Stephenville obituaries, as I often do and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Ronnie's obituary and the funeral was the next day! You think God had a part in that?

It was a wonderful service and we were able to visit with old friends and get reacquainted with new family members.  Ronnie had remarried and we met his sweet wife and son and daughter.  But now almost 40 years later, Ronnie is at rest, next to Deborah.

A Sweet Unexpected Visitor

We certainly live in a super busy world.  Everyone has plenty to deal with each day, especially if you are building a house, have jobs and you have small children.  Such was the case with Jordan and Ashley this past February.  To complicate matters, Ashley was sick.  She went to the doctor and tested negative for the flu. However, as it drug on, we all begged to differ with his opinion.

It became obvious that they were going to need a little help so we went to Abilene and brought Leighton home with us.  This gave Jordan and Ashley a break and time for Ashley to get to feeling better.  We got to be with Leighton for about four days and she was fine while she was here.  We played, read books, made brownies, went for walks and enjoyed being together.  She is one funny girl and we love her so much!

Lots of work going on in the house + trying to work + sickness + a 2 year old = Stress!

Going to the park was fun!

These bubbles tickle, Pawpaw!

This was in February so the poinsettia in the background looks a little tired!  But who is looking at the plant?

Leighton brought her own brownie mix because she wanted brownies to eat!!

Of course, a little Blue Bell wasn't too bad, either.

Nothing like a bed time story with this sweet little girl!

Their temporary living quarters while the house was being built!

Leighton was happy to be home with her toys, and of course, Mom and Dad!

Taylor's Stock Show Season

This was our oldest grand child's second year to show steers.  For a ten year old he has become a much better showman this past season, having shown at the State Fair in Dallas, the Heart of Texas in Waco, the Hamilton County Fair, Ft. Worth, San Antonio, San Angelo, Austin and Houston.  Experience is the best teacher and he did a good job getting his steers shown.

He fared much better this year especially at County and at the Star of Texas show in Austin.  He showed a Hereford, a Charolais and an AOB at county.  He placed second with two of them and won his class with the Charolais.  This steer went on to be named the Reserve Grand Champion.  He won a nice belt buckle and also won a special award honoring a former 4-H member for the best fitted and presented steer.  He also sold a premium on this steer during the sale which will help pay for some of his feed bills!

This same steer won his class at the Star of Texas Show and he was able to sell the steer during the premium sale which was held at the Bob Bullock State History of Texas Museum.

Beverly and I in the cold at the Ft. Worth Show.

This is my version of the rally caps!  Watching Austin on line!

During the sale at the Bullock Museum.