A LOVE STORY: AS TOLD BY BILL AND SHELBY FRANKMORE – PART TWO

And we’re back with part two on how one northern Nevada family is making it work… even while working together.

Bill and Shelby had anchored the morning news segment together, meaning they were literally working next to each other for five years. While some may cringe at the idea of working with their spouses everyday in tight quarters, Bill and Shelby loved it.

Shelby: “Before we had kids, we would both get up at 3a.m. drive to work together to get to the station by 4a.m., do the morning segment and the noon segment which left our afternoons wide open! We would go golfing, catch a movie or grab lunch, it was like we were on a date everyday after work.”

As much as they enjoyed their quality time together, they both knew that some adjustments had to be made when decided to start a family.  From there, Bill remained the morning news anchor and Shelby was moved to evenings.

Shelby: It was a perfect situation for our schedules and because someone was always going to be home when we had two little ones. I would have the boys all morning and then Bill was on his own with two little babies. Another bonus, dinner was cooked when I got home!

(According to the Shelby, Bill is an amazing cook, a skill he learned from his father, August.)

And so, that was life for the Frankmore family. An exquisitely planned schedule raising two boys, balancing careers and marriage. To onlookers it appeared as though they had the complete package, but to them, their package wasn’t quite complete.

Shelby: “2011 brought us some challenges. I came down with meningitis and felt that my body was sending me signals to get more rest, which led to my decision to no longer anchoring the 11pm news.”

After making a full recovery, Shelby had a lingering feeling that she and Bill had even more growth ahead.

Shelby: “I’ve been so blessed with our boys, but never had the feeling that I was done. I couldn’t get rid of baby clothes and would talk to Bill about how we just want to hold a little baby again.”

Bill: “So we decided, ok let’s give it a shot!”

Shelby: I realized that I am older and we had to think of how a baby would integrate with our family, especially our boys who will be 6 and 8.

The couple was aware that planning for Baby #3 would have its challenges; things were taking longer, they wondered if they were crazy for thinking they could add another family member and quite frankly, were aware of the many challenges couples face when simply trying to have their first child, let alone their third.

From there, a new set of family challenges arose. Bill’s father, August had suffered an unexpected stroke in June of 2012, an emotional rollercoaster for the family that put their baby plans at a halt.

Shelby: “We had kind of given up, we thought that maybe it wasn’t meant to be and are so fortunate to have two already.”

Sadly, on Thanksgiving 2012, August Frankmore had passed away.  Bill had traveled to Denver for his father’s funeral and to spend some much needed time with his family.

Bill: “I had to go back to work the day after my dad’s funeral and was feeling really low and Shelby had called to see how I was doing. I told her I was sad, I missed by Dad, it was like everything was really hitting me all at once. All Shelby said to me was, ‘Just come home.’”

When Bill arrived home, he walked into their kitchen to find something waiting for him on the counter. It was a photo of him and his dad, and next to it were two hearts.

A blue heart reading “Augustino?” (Bill’s grandfather’s name)

A pink heart reading “Augustina?”

And a sign below that read “Baby Frankmore #3 Arrives August 8^th 2013”

Shelby was expecting!!!

Bill: Here we are after suffering this huge loss and we come back and it’s the other side. It’s a life, it’s new beginnings and it’s something that we can be excited about. It wasn’t like it necessarily took the sadness away, but rather gave us something positive to focus on.

It’s safe to say that with their two kids and another baby BOY on the way, life for the Frankmores is far from slowing down, which is just how they like it.