Catching Up--One year At A Time!!

Hey everyone!  We are back after nearly a year's absence.  Most of 2012 was a blur, a continuation from one thing to the next.  Some were great, like the birth of another grandson in Denver.  But, on the other hand it was a tremendously sad year marked by the passing of both of Beverly's parents within the span of a couple of months.  You are never prepared to lose your parents but to lose both so quickly took a toll on her and our family.

We hadn't even looked at the blog for months, but last night we decided to go back and review the entire blog contents. It brought back so many fun memories and pictures that we made the decision to get back into it.  It at least gives you a journal of things you have done over the past and captures it for the future.  So, we will try and catch up the past year and vow to stay current.  But this may take a while this time!

Starting in March we took a little trip to Denver.  We went, of course, to see the kids, especially since Jeremy and Annie were expecting their second child in May.  We wanted to spend time with Jane before her little brother arrived and do a little sight seeing, too.  Then we found out that Ree Drummond, also known as the Pioneer Woman, was going to be in nearby Littleton, Colorado promoting her latest cookbook at a book signing!  It was a good opportunity to buy her book and have her sign it.  She seems to be a down to earth rancher's wife, easy to relate to and really a funny speaker.  It took awhile to get through the long line but thanks to some luck, we were able to move up in line and cut a few hours off the wait.  It was really good to meet her and she even sent Danny a Drummond Ranch cap!

On a little different note, Jeremy took us to see the Columbine Memorial.  It is a beautiful tribute to those killed in the shootings at the Columbine High School in Littleton in 1999.  The memorial is near a park that overlooks the school and is a touching reminder of those that were killed.  If you are ever in the area you should go and see it.  We also took a look at the Colorado Judicial Center that Jeremy has been working on for the past couple of years.  It is going to be a beautiful  building and we are proud that he has been instrumental in designing the bottom floor and the rails around the balconies.

In April we had a lunch and Easter egg hunt at church.  Taylor and Presley had a good time and of course collected way too many goodies!  We attended Presley's preschool program and Jordan, Ashley and Leighton came to Hamilton for a visit and we enjoyed the pretty weather and getting out and playing with the grand kids.  Unfortunately Beverly's  dad collapsed at their apartment on April 17.  We spent the remainder of the month with him in several hospitals.  Ironically, it was just a week earlier that we had taken both her mom and dad to the doctor for checkups and everything was fine.

He eventually had to have a pacemaker.  He ended up getting a staph infection in his blood and was not able to overcome it and died on Mother's Day, May 13.  It was a shock to our entire family, especially since we had been preparing for the reality that Beverly's mother had a lot of health problems that weren't going to get any better.  It was a beautiful service and we are thankful for all of the support from our friends and family.

But, for every life that ends, another one begins.  Jack Paton Phillips was born May 12 to Jeremy and Annie and big sister Jane in Denver.  So, as soon as we were able, we headed to Denver again to see the latest addition to the family.  He is a precious, big boy!  He weighed in at a healthy 9 lbs , 11 ounces!  He was so cute and cuddly and helped us to not think about our sadness so much.  While there, we were able to help Jeremy install some new energy efficient windows in their house.

Jeremy and Annie always want to show you the sights when you come to visit.  On this visit we went west of Denver to hike up to St. Mary’s glacier.  It is actually a perpetual ice field but the scenery when you get there is well worth the effort.  Jeremy took Jane along with us but Annie and Jack stayed behind.  It was a rocky climb but as you reach the top it levels out to a beautiful alpine lake and the first views of the ice field.  It gave us some great opportunities for pictures.

In addition, Jeremy had arranged for a tour of the Judicial Center for us.  With hard hats and safety vests in tow, he gave us a wonderful behind the scenes tour of the project that he has been working on for a couple of years.  We are especially proud of the columbine (Colorado’s state flower) design in the rotunda floor and the ornate railing around the upper floors since Jeremy designed them.  He also showed us the justice’s chambers, court rooms and then he took us up on the roof.  It overlooks the state capitol building and has plants growing up there but will not be open to the public.  We were very lucky to be able to get this private tour.  We had lunch at Denver’s oldest restaurant, the Buckhorn Exchange.  It hold’s liquor license Number 1 in Colorado but we went there for the great food!  It has an interesting history and we recommend it if you are ever in the area.

 

In June, Beverly’s mom passed away, only six weeks after her Dad.  She had been suffering from a multitude of illnesses that were just too much for her frail little body.  She had Alzheimer’s, osteoporosis and melanoma and the combination of all three of them, but especially the melanoma took her from us too quickly.  We were thankful that she knew all of us up until the very end and we were there with her when she died.   Jeremy and Annie and the kids were able to come for the funeral so we had a few days to be with them and get to know Jack a little better.  During all of this time, we were also busy in the pecan orchard spraying, irrigating and mowing so the summer was pretty busy for us.

The remainder of the summer was spent working in the orchard and taking care of all the little things that come up following the death of two parents.  We spent many days going through everything in Beverly’s parent’s house, being sure that we had everything we needed out of the house before we sold it.  In addition, we worked on “staging” the house according to some ideas the real estate agent gave us.  We saw Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder at the 4th of July in the park at Stephenville.  In August, Danny had surgery on his hand at Scott and White in Temple to remove a cyst.

Beverly’s parent's house sold in September which brought about a hurried and hectic few weeks trying to get everything out of the house.  We thought we had someone that was going to do an estate sale for us, but at the last minute he backed out!  So, between the two of us and Beverly's brother John and his wife, we did the sale ourselves.  Luckily we found a young man that would come and take everything that didn’t sell.  It was a relief in one way to sell the house and so sad in another way to let it go.  It had been Beverly’s home since she was in about the seventh grade.  It has been especially difficult for her to see it sell.

We decided to make a third trip to Denver in September since we had sold the house and it was before the pecan harvest started.  In addition we wanted to see a display at the Denver Art Museum on Flight.  It featured Fentress Architects, the firm that Jeremy works for, and their contribution in the design of several of the world’s most interesting airports.  We enjoyed the exhibit which featured airports in Denver, Seattle, San Jose, and the one in Korea.  We also went back to Buckhorn Exchange for lunch!  It’s becoming a tradition.

Jeremy and Annie gave Beverly her birthday present- dinner reservations for two at The Fort, a nice restaurant on the west side of Denver.  We had a great time, wonderful food and unique atmosphere.  It’s a little pricey, but I bet we go back whenever we can.

During the week, we helped Jeremy trim back some of his trees around the house but after a week long stay it was time to head back to Texas.  We stopped in Colorado Springs at the U.S. Air Force Academy so that we could go to the gift shop and pick up a few things for Taylor’s birthday.  He is convinced that he is going to go to the Academy after high school and hey, he just might do it.

The fall was filled with lots of work in the pecan orchard as the harvest began in early October and ended right before Christmas.  We have managed the orchard for the past five years but decided that this would be our final year.  We have enjoyed it but there are a lot of things we would like to do and the orchard takes a lot of time, especially in the fall.  This will give us a chance to travel a little if we want to and with the grand kids getting older and more involved in lots of activities, we want to be able to go see them.  We also have a list of things that need doing around here, too.

For instance, we have been working on the completion of the front bathroom for, well, lets just say, way too long.  We finally have the new LED lighting installed, the new vanity and granite top in and we are finishing the painting and trim.  More time should give us the opportunity to get some of these projects finished.

The entire family was here for Christmas and we had a great time.  The grand kids are getting old enough to play and entertain each other and it was fun to watch.  In January the County Stock Show was held and Presley showed in the Pee Wee swine division and Taylor showed his Angus heifers and 4 steers.  He made the premium sale and will show at Ft. Worth later.

Whew!!  If you are still with us after all of those pictures, thanks for hanging in there.  We hope to stay up to date in the future.  Hope you have a great year in 2013!!

Bookmark Artist

Our local library recently sponsored a contest for elementary through junior high students to design a bookmark. These bookmarks would be judged and the winners would be printed and be available for sale with the proceeds to benefit the library. Taylor, our 8 year old grandson, was the first place winner for second grade!

Tonight the library held a reception and bookmark signing. People were able to purchase the bookmarks and have the young artist sign the back. It was a lot of fun and since it supports our library, there was a good attendance.

Christmas 2011

Christmas this year was celebrated on the New Year’s weekend, this being the year for our sons to be with their in-law’s families on Christmas day. It worked out well for us, giving us an extra week to get ready following Jennifer’s broken hip and surgery. Things like that seem to bring everything into focus on what is really important in life and certainly having family home for the holidays tops the list!

Our family continues to grow and change. Four grandchildren and another on the way, each growing and changing before your very eyes. You wish you could slow down the march of time but that’s one thing we all have in common, there is no stopping it. Taylor is now in the second grade, Presley is in pre-school and the baby girls, Jane and Leighton are about to start walking. It was a circus at times, but a very entertaining circus with a lot of interesting acts.

We both spent a lot of time in the kitchen (meal time seemed to come around pretty often) but it was fun to have all of them home again. Jeremy, Annie and Jane were able to spend a week with us, which included a visit with Nana and Grandad in Stephenville, before heading back to Denver. Jordan took Taylor varmint hunting and Taylor shot his first fox with his new BB gun. Jordan might have had to “finish it off” with his rifle, but he certainly enjoyed his uncle taking him with him.

Thanks to all of you for making Christmas 2011 the most wonderful time of the year!















Here's one of the circus acts: trying to get a good picture of all of the grandkids!!

Birthday Blues

December 4,2011- a day that will never be forgotten, at least for our Jennifer. Not because it was her 35th birthday but for what happened during what was suppose to be one of her bucket list goals. It was the day of the Dallas White Rock Marathon and she and two other friends had been training for this day for months. It was going to be her first full marathon. She was so excited that it was scheduled on her birthday and this was going to be a highlight of her long running career.

We had sent them off and told them to have a great weekend. Taylor and Presley were staying with us and we had a big weekend planned for them as well. We headed over to Granbury to do some shopping (we needed a new Christmas tree) and then to eat out and see a movie. The kids decided on The Muppet Movie. Presley controlled the popcorn bucket and would occasionally give you your portion! It was a really cute two bucket movie and enjoyed by all. Everything went as planned. The kids had a great time and the marathon couples were enjoying each others company in Dallas.

We got up early on Sunday morning to watch the marathon on tv hoping maybe for a glimpse of our crew. The weather was horrible- cold and wet but we knew they were in that crowd somewhere. We were texting her back and forth between us and Jeremy when about mile 17 things began to go south. She said her left leg and hip started hurting. By mile 20 she could not continue and her leg would not go forward anymore. She was taken to the finish to meet Toby and she said as she turned to get out of the police car, it snapped and the real pain began.

Not having any idea anything was broken, they headed home and eventually to the ER where an x-ray revealed the bad news- a broken hip. When Toby called to tell us, Beverly lost it. It's one of those times when you're angry, upset, scared and feeling sorry mostly for her that her dream won't come true and you know what she is going to have to go through. She was taken to Scott and White by ambulance where they did surgery during the night. Nothing could have prepared us for this. After all- 35 year old's don't break their hips and she didn't even fall! A week in the hospital and a couple of weeks here with us, physical therapy and time and we are happy to report that she is making a fast recovery.

She has gone from a walker to a wheelchair to crutches and is back at school teaching from her desk. She goes back to the Drs. next week for a checkup and more tests but we are hopeful that she will make a full recovery. There is some concern about the blood flow to her hip but we are confident that everything will heal. We would, however, like for everyone to keep her in your prayers. People have been so good to her and we want everyone to know how much it has meant to all of us.

When she went back to the Dr. the first time she wore her White Rock shirt and asked him about when could she run again? He started laughing and reminded her that she had told him the night of the surgery that she never wanted to run again!! She and her Dr. have become good friends- he's only a year older than her and just happens to be an Aggie! He said she was famous at S&W, her x-ray's having gone viral among the staff! He also told her that her long distance running days are probably over but she's had a good "run" so to speak- three state championship cross country team wins and some half marathons. But, she is a tough one and who knows what the future holds!