Merry Christmas 2012 from the Blackstocks!

We write this letter with broken hearts, less than a week since the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy. Colorado has suffered its own tragedies (again) in 2012. Please God, help us work together to end this torture.

The grandchildren: Son Steve and Beth live in Byers, about an hour’s drive from us. Having them and their daughters, Grace (almost 6, kindergarten) and Ava (4, preschool) so close has enriched our lives immeasurably. We see our two oldest granddaughters often, Kyra (age 14, Lafayette CO – 9th grade) and Jordan (she’ll turn 12 in January, Fountain CO – 6th grade), plus Jordan’s brother, Jaden (age 7½ - 2nd grade). And we continue to have wonderful communication and occasional visits with grandsons Caleb (age 10, Kearney NE – 4th grade), and Kaelan (age 8, Albuquerque – 3rdgrade). We enjoy holiday visits each year with granddaughter Hannah (age 11, Englewood CO – 6th grade) and grandsonTrae (age 9, Commerce City CO – 3rd grade), along with Trae’s little brother, Tegan (age 3).

[See photo gallery below]

2012 travel/visits:

• February – Sharon’s brother, Richard (Milwaukee) traveled to Denver for an overnight meeting and treated us and Steve to dinner at Elway’s (wow!!)
• April – Annual women’s retreat (Sharon and Beth), Highlands Presbyterian Camp.
• Spring, summer, fall – Go Rockies! Yes we still love them and are looking forward to a better season next year!
• June – surprised Dwight’s sister, Donna, for her 70th birthday. Dwight, Sharon, Steve, Beth, Grace, Ava, plus Dwight’s younger sister, Marcia, and family all traveled to Claremont CA to celebrate. Sharon enjoyed a day at Disneyland with Steve, Beth and the girls during the trip. Granddaughter Kyra and her mom were visiting in Pasadena at the same time and came out briefly for the festivities, too – great family time!
• June – spent another wonderful week at Ghost Ranch (New Mexico) with Kyra (8th year she’s gone with us?) The trip included spending a day with grandson Kaelan in Albuquerque.
• July – Dwight and Sharon traveled to Wisconsin for Sharon’s 45th H.S. reunion (a blast!) plus a delightful Sunday afternoon visit with brother Richard & Ann, and sister Kathy & Tom at Richard’s lake house in Oconomowoc.
• July – Caleb and his mom came from Kearney for a weekend visit; along with Steve and family, we all got to see the wonderful new elephant venue at the Denver Zoo.
• August – weekend trip to the mountains with Steve for a presbytery meeting in Avon; spent an overnight with friends Tom and Ruth – thank you!
• September – Georgetown Loop Railroad with Steve and family, plus Jordan and her family (beautiful day!)
• October – Dwight traveled to L.A. for a 4-day reunion with his 3 high school buddies (another blast!); they haven’t all been together since our wedding in 1971. He also spent a couple of days visiting with sisters Donna, Marcia and Annie.
• November – our anniversary (41 years) was celebrated over a weekend with friends Jon and Danny, at their cabin near Fairplay – thank you
• November – Thanksgiving at our house with Steve and family and a DU friend of Steve’s from Ghana, plus Kyra and her mom and other grandparents (they live in Boulder) and a cousin who flew in from Australia that afternoon – an international event right in our family room!
• December – We hosted our annual neighborhood holiday party on a Friday evening and enjoyed visiting with about 20 of our neighbors.
• December – Enjoyed dinner with friends Phil and Nancy at Windcrest, a retirement community in Highlands Ranch. They are letting us use their cabin near Winter Park after Christmas (thank you!) Steve and family will join us.

Dwight will celebrate his 66th birthday on December 29th and officially retire as far as Social Security is concerned. He was honorably retired by Denver Presbytery in March, which included a very touching overview of his career and well-wishes from many friends and colleagues. He still preaches and teaches occasionally and serves on presbytery committees (COM, PJC). Last year we reported a “miracle” in terms of reduced back pain. That has continued for the most part, but new health issues have made life very frustrating. His health problems aren’t life-threatening, just misery-producing. This makes planning for just about anything very difficult. Nonetheless he refuses to be beaten, continues to take photography classes at the local community college and has signed up for a sociology class next semester (wants see if anything has changed since he got his sociology degree in 1968 … ya think??!!??)

Sharon continues to work for the City of Lakewood (almost 16 years), got a promotion in 2012 to Central Records Manager in the City Clerk’s Office, and plans to work until age 66 (2 more years). She stumbled on new carpet at work in January (duh … ), damaged her left shoulder and had rotator cuff surgery in March, but has recovered well (not perfectly, but well enough). In July she made the difficult decision that she needed to find a new church home, resigned from the session of Genesis Presbyterian (Littleton) and went “church shopping”. She joined Green Mountain Presbyterian (Lakewood) in December and plans to get back into choir singing after the first of the year. She continues to serve on an annual church women’s retreat planning committee and hopes to entice the women of her new church home to participate.

Marc: We haven’t spoken with son Marcus since he was released from jail last February and we refused to put him up in a hotel for a month while he looked for work. We know he’s still in Colorado Springs, but have no idea if he’s still married or if he’s found a way of supporting himself and his family. We have no contact with his two youngest children: Jaellynne (age 5½), who we presume is in kindergarten, and Ayden (1½).

Steve: Son Steve is finishing up the MSW (Master’s Social Work) program at the University of Denver and will graduate in May. He was inducted into the Social Work honor society, Phi Alpha in March, and is doing an internship at Family Tree, a non-profit family services agency. He continues to serve as part-time pastor at the Presbyterian Church in Byers. Beth works part-time for the local school district.

Kirk: Our lovable Great Dane is doing well at 8½ years old and 150 lbs, but suffered a spinal stroke over the summer (“FCE”),which was treated with anti-inflammatory medication and regular walking. He’s slowing down a bit, but is still very vital. The biggest challenge is getting him in the car, which we don’t do very often.

Merry Christmas! Our prayer is that the Prince of Peace will bring peace to our world and that you will experience God’s blessings at Christmas and in 2013. We love your holiday letters, even the ones that don’t arrive until Easter!

P.S. We’re looking forward to the Broncos winning the Super Bowl!

Photo Gallery - 2012

Happy Birthday, Steve (with Ava & Grace) - Rockies game July 2012

Duarte Calif HS Class of 1964 - Ed, Tom, Dwight, John - October 2012

Cousins Kyra, Grace and Ava - June 2012

Half-siblings Kyra and Kaelan - June 2012 - Albuquerque

Kyra at Ghost Ranch - June 2012

Dwight and Sharon - Ghost Ranch - June 2012

Caleb and Kirk - July 2012

Cousins Grace and Caleb - Denver Zoo - July 2012

Granddad with Grace - Denver Zoo - July 2012

Sharon, Grace, Mickey, Ava, Steve, Beth - Disneyland, June 2012 

Blackstocks gather in Calif for Donna's 70th - June 2012

Jordan, Ava, Kristi, Grace, Jaden, Steve - Georgetown Loop RR - Sept 2012

Kyra, Ava, Beth, Grace, Steve - National Western Stock Show - January 2012

Ava, Kyra, Grace - National Western Stock Show - January 2012

Ava & Grace - Sledding - February 2012

Off to school! Grace and Ava - August 2012

Kyra and Sharon - High Tea - May 2012

Kristi, Jordan, Jaden, Grace, Steve, Ava, Beth - Grace's BD Jan 2012

Trae - September 2012

Sharon's 45th HS Reunion - July 2012

Hannah with Dwight and Sharon - December 2011

Blackstocks gather to celebrate Dwight's sister's 70th!

The Blackstock clan gathered together at Donna and Annie's home in Claremont, California last weekend. Donna is Dwight's sister and her 70th birthday was June 5. Dwight, Sharon, Steve, Beth, Grace and Ava came from Colorado. Dwight's other sister, Marcia, and her family came from the Bay Area - our niece Dawn and her daughter Jordan; and our nephew Justin, his wife Jenny and their 2-month-old Juliana. Donna was expecting some of us but not all - a surprise orchestrated by Marcia and Annie - and it was great fun. Even our granddaughter, Kyra, and her mom, stopped by for a little while because they were in southern California for a graduation. Sharon, Steve, Beth, Grace and Ava spent a very full and very fun day at Disneyland. Enjoy the pictures!

Family gathered - Pilgrim Place - Claremont CA - June 2012

Grace and Ava at Donna's party

Beth and Jenny, with Juliana

Marcia, Dawn, Justin

Donna opening her gifts

Justin and Annie

Kyra (sitting on floor)

The food ...

Grace and cousin Jordan

Beth and Ava

Steve, Justin, Dwight

Steve and Sharon

Grace and Ava on Dumbo - Disneyland

Ava with Fairy Godmother (Cinderella)

Beth, Grace, Ava, Steve - Jungle Cruise!

Teacup ride!

Waiting in line for the submarine - looking for Nemo!

Grace and Ava at the water ball

Merry Christmas 2011 from the Blackstocks

2011 has been a year of great joy and great pain. Great joy over the relationships we’re building with our grandchildren. Great joy over a long-planned Inland Passage Alaskan cruise in May. Great joy over the June weddings of a beloved niece (Catherine) and beloved nephew (Justin). Great joy at having son Steve, wife Beth and their girls so close. Great joy at being able to spend another week at Ghost Ranch with granddaughter Kyra. Great joy at being able to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary in November. Great joy that Dwight began a miraculous recovery from some of the chronic pain that has plagued him for the last 15 years. And great despair at the downward spiral our son Marc’s life has taken and the horribly broken relationship that has resulted in removing his two youngest children from our lives, probably forever.

The Grandchildren:
Since Steve and Beth moved to Byers in 2010, our relationship with their daughters, Grace and Ava (almost 5 and 3) has blossomed. They all spend the night a couple of times a month and drop in at other times as well. It’s a thrill to hear the joyful screams of “Gaga! Granddad!” as they burst through the door. We are also very close to our two oldest granddaughters, Kyra (age 13, Lafayette CO – 8th grade) and Jordan (she’ll turn 11 in January, Fountain CO – 5th grade), plus Jordan’s brother, Jaden (age 6½ - 1st grade), who has become our grandkid, too. And we continue to have wonderful communication and occasional visits with grandsons Caleb (age 9, Kearney NE – 3rd grade), and Kaelan (age 7, Albuquerque – 2nd grade). We are thrilled this year to be able to connect with Hannah (age 10, Englewood CO – 5th grade) and Trae (age 8, Thornton CO – 2nd grade) before Christmas, plus meet Trae’s little brother.

Quick overview of travel/visits:
February – Caleb and his family traveled from Nebraska for a hockey tourney in Colorado

March – Long photography weekend in south-central Colorado for the Monte Vista Crane Festival

May – Annual women’s retreat at Highlands Presbyterian Camp; Beth came, too – great weekend!

May – Alaskan cruise (Inland Passage) – an early 40th anniversary gift to each other

June – Wedding weekend, Milwaukee, for niece Catherine Gallagher and groom Jonathan Brown

June – Wedding weekend, Lake Tahoe, for nephew Justin McElroy & bride Jenny; Steve officiated

July – New Mexico with Kyra, included a day with Kaelan, followed by a week at Ghost Ranch

August – Caleb and his mom visited from Kearney; included a pool day with Grace and Ava

August – Annual Genesis Church retreat; this year with Beth and Grace, and Jordan and Jaden

September – Labor Day weekend with Steve & family at Kepners’ cabin – Winter Park (Thank you!)

October – Sharon to Dallas, grade ordination exams; Dwight to Princeton, 40th seminary reunion

November – 40th anniversary weekend with Jon & Danny Yeagley at their cabin (Thank you!)

Brief visits with Sharon’s brother, Richard, who flew to Denver a couple of times on business

Holiday traditions include the Genesis Church “Holly Daze” event with Jordan, Jaden and their parents, Thanksgiving with Kyra’s family (Steve, too; this year, Beth and girls traveled to Indiana to be with her folks); gift exchanges with the grandchildren; Colorado Symphony Christmas Concert and Zoolights with Kyra and her mom (hoping for Zoolights with Grace & Ava, too); Live Nativity with Jordan & Jaden; lunch with Dwight’s cousin, Bill & family; and Christmas day with Steve’s family.

After Christmas, we will spend a few days with Steve, Beth and the girls at Kepners’ cabin (Thank you again!) Snow play and a sleigh ride are on the agenda, plus a visit from Kaelan and his mom on the 29th, followed by a visit on the 30th with a couple of Sharon’s college buddies from NJ who will be here for the holidays. Somewhere in the middle we’ll squeeze in birthday parties for both of us!

Dwight:
Dwight will celebrate his 65th birthday on the 29th and officially retire after being on disability for nearly 10 years. He still preaches and teaches occasionally and serves on presbytery committees. The “miracle” mentioned above occurred after preaching for the Presbyterian church in Idaho Springs on Father’s Day. Following the service, a member of the church asked if she could pray with him regarding his chronic back pain. “Sure”, says he (thinking this is the 10,000th person to pray for him over the last 15 years, can’t hurt …!) The next day, he experienced significant reduction in pain. That relief has continued with only occasional bad days. His pain medication levels have been slashed, his activity increased, his attitude greatly improved – we’re beginning to believe we’ll actually have some kind of life after retirement. It’s not a panacea – he still needs lots of rest, but it is a huge improvement – and one we attribute to persistent medical care and equally persistent prayer. For the 10,000 of you out there who have been praying for Dwight all these years – thank you, thank you, thank you!

Sharon:
Sharon continues to work for the City of Lakewood – 15 years as Central Records Administrator in the City Clerk’s Office and plans to work until age 66 (3 more years). She sings in her church choir (Genesis Presbyterian, Littleton) and serves on session. She traveled to Dallas for the last time in October to grade Presbyterian ordination exams (exam grading goes digital next year), and serves on an annual church women’s retreat planning committee. This year’s trip to Ghost Ranch was taken in early July, which meant Sharon could participate in the Ghost Ranch Chorale with a bunch of very talented singers and musicians. Lots of fun, very challenging, great music!

Marc:
In September, son Marcus pled guilty to felony theft of an at-risk adult (his father-in-law) and was sentenced in November to 8 years of closely-supervised probation and a huge restitution bill. Before he’s released, he faces child support and failure-to-appear charges (and another huge bill) in a different county. Our relationship with him and his wife is so badly broken that we don’t expect to see Jaellynne (age 4½) or Ayden (born March 14) again unless they seek us out after they become adults. Also learned recently that Marc has another child we’d never heard of, probably several years old (a girl named Jayden, we think). That makes 10 for him.

Steve:
Son Steve started the MSW program at the University of Denver this fall, earned straight A’s his first quarter and is doing an internship at a non-profit housing agency in Aurora. He continues to serve as part-time pastor at the Presbyterian Church in Byers (about an hour’s drive from our house) and Beth is working part-time in the local school district. We are blown away by what wonderful parents they have become (and a bit humbled; they’re better than we were …. ) We get to see a lot of them and their girls (Grace, almost 5, and Ava, 3) and love every minute of our time together. They are, without a doubt, the most talented pre-schoolers on the planet! Betcha never heard that before!

Kirk:
Our lovable Great Dane is doing well at 7½ years old, but has developed fear of walking on wood or vinyl floors, also icy conditions.

Merry Christmas!
Our prayer is that the Prince of Peace will bring peace to our world and that you will experience God’s blessings at Christmas and in 2012.

Dwight and Sharon at the Rockies season opener - April 2011

Ghost Ranch - July 2011

Steve, Beth, Grace, Ava - July 2011

Dwight and Kyra at her 13th birthday dinner - Sept 2011

Jaden and Jordan - Angels for the Live Nativity - December 2011

Sharon and Hannah - December 2010

Grace and Caleb - Pool Day - August 2011

Kaelan and Kyra - Albuquerque - July 2011

Jordan and Jaden with Kirk - February 2011

May and June Travels - Alaska, Milwaukee, Lake Tahoe

May and June were very busy for us with lots of fun travel. In late May we took a week-long cruise up the inland passage to visit Juneau and Skagway, Alaska. On the way back to Seattle, we went on a whale-watching tour and followed a pod of orcas for about an hour. We enjoyed the cruise - the weather wasn't great so we don't have a lot of great pictures to share, unfortunately. Our cruise was with Royal Caribbean. The ship was Rhapsody of the Seas.





Our niece Catherine was married in Milwaukee on June 11th and it was a beautiful event. Again, the weather was cold and foggy, but could have been worse - that didn't stop anything, however. Following are pictures of Sharon's brother Richard & wife Ann with bride and groom and rest of their family and close friends at the reception (Milwaukee Country Club); Jonathan and Catherine; gorgeous flowers everywhere; Elizabeth (sister of the bride)and husband Chris; Sharon's sister Kathy and husband Tom; our nephew Tim and niece Elizabeth (cousins); beautiful strawberries "dressed" like bride and groom and served at a luncheon for the bride two days before the wedding; three more nephews and their wives (left to right: Heidi, Jaime, Nathan, Mike, Matt, Tracy); and finally a pretty nice picture of us at the reception!











Our nephew Justin was married on June 25th in California. Son Steve officiated the ceremony which was held at Murphy's Irish Pub in South Lake Tahoe. Thirteen of us spent the weekend together in a rented house and that was great fun: Dwight and Sharon, Steve, Beth, Grace, Ava, Dwight's sisters Marcia (and husband Calvin), Donna, Annie, Calvin's parents Jim and Dorothy, and Marcia/Calvin's granddaughter Jordan. Our ages range from 2-81 years old! Following are photos of Grace at Pope's Beach Lake Tahoe; Grace and Ava having a picnic lunch on the beach; Ava in her car seat; Grandpa Jim (the piper) with Ava, Grace and Jordan; Sharon and Steve; Grace, Annie, Donna, Ava, Jordan (Dwight in the background) finding their seats for the ceremony; bride and groom Jenny and Justin; the bridal party (our niece Dawn is the bridesmaid 2nd to the right of the bride - Dawn is mother of Jordan and sister of the groom); a cute picture of Grace, Beth and Steve, followed by another good one of the 3 girls (cousins) Grace, Jordan, Ava; the mothers of the bride and groom (Marcia is Justin's mom); Steve and Calvin (father of groom); and more beautiful flowers!