Went to the annual Starnes family get together in Crawfordsville, IN (about an hour from Indianapolis). Family, food, and fun all wrapped up together. The nice thing about this year was Daniel, Karen, and James were coming back from Maryland and planned the trip to include Friday and Saturday with Michael's uncle and aunt which is where everyone gathers. They hadn't seen them for about 6 years so it was really nice to have both sides of the family represented (made it more fun for me). Michael and I flew down for the weekend and stayed at a hotel for the night. the only downer for me every year is they are really into NASCAR racing since they are so close to Indianapolis and it's usually going on when we come down for the reunion. That's actually worse to watch on TV than baseball!

Life is Not a Beach, But I'm Pretty Happy Anyway

Way back in 1974 a good friend of mine told me I needed to get a focus in my life since I hadn't done anything with my chosen major from college, I hated my job doing "secretarial" work at a local church and really didn't have any future plans in the works. So I went back to school and after 6 weeks got a job doing nursing aide work and as they say the rest is history. I have been doing temp work for 3 years now. Even though it's been a major learning experience I finally landed a wonderful position with the Healthpartners clinic in Bloomington. God has been so good to me. When I finished school I thought I had learned everything. I learned real fast I didn't know squat if anything more than the basics of the ins and outs of being a CMA in a clinic setting. We never know it all, we never have it all figured out. Life is a true learning experience and we are all constantly reinventing ourselves, all evolving into who and what God wants us to become. Even though I have come a long way I am still growing in my knowledge of the medical field. Even though my dream of becoming a nurse was not achieved I work alongside some wonderful nurses every day. My life's goal has always been to try to make my little corner of the world better, to ease life's pain for those I come in contact with, and to spread His love to others. If I can do that for even a few, I feel I can rest easy, grow old, and die happy but only with His grace and love can I do anything. Thanks go to all my advocates who believed in me and encouraged me to reach for my goals!

This one's brought to you by the economy.

This past weekend we were going to go to Chicago to bike 18 miles on a trail that winds around a lake in the downtown area with a cousin of Michaels. We decided not to due to the long drive (about 8 hours), the motel room for 2 nights (we're not getting any younger) and time spent away (it's valuable, you know) so we stayed home. Actually we heard about the Winona County Fair in St. Charles, Mn. a short 2 hour drive and no motel room to pay for so we headed out for the day. Lots of fun and it cost zero to get in the place (unlike the State Fair). We also took in a drive to Wabasha looking for eagles and ended the day in Lakeville at the Crackerbarrel for supper(the kids gave us a gift card for Christmas). One piece of pizza and a diet pepsi - $5.00, one large glass of fresh squeezed lemonade - $3.00, one sunshiny day with the love of my life - priceless.

4 years to the day

4 years ago on July 3rd my dad died from a massive heart attack. Even though it was very sad to say the least, God was merciful. He died the way he lived: very fast: no hospital room, no lingering suffering, etc. When it happened I was a part of a writing group and decided to write about his life. I didn't know it at the time but it ended up as a very therapeutic tool for me to work through the grief since none of us ever got to say goodbye (easy on the person, hard on those left behind). With that said I would like to share a piece from my journalistic endeavor. I hope you enjoy it.
"As a child I had an intense fear of the dark, which probably was contributed to some evil cousins, hated by the entire family, who locked me in a closet at a family gathering when I was just barely 8 years old. It was upsetting to me to have such an intense fear that I had no control over but I learned very early how to manage life around my fear. Most neighborhoods in the 50s were constructed with alleys that separated the back yards of the homes. Cars parked mostly in the front of the homes on the street so most of the kids in the neighborhood felt free to wander back and forth across the alley to each other’s back yards. My best friend lived across our alley and down a short hill. During inclement weather we would usually spend the day indoors playing board games, cards, or watching movies on TV. Sometimes I would forget about the time and would suddenly realize that it was getting dark which meant that I needed to get home. Usually I would call home and ask if someone could come outside and stand in the back yard and wave me in. Invariably it was my father who would appear in the back yard waving his hand for me to catch a glimpse of him. He was easy to see with his 6 ft. frame and his large white undershirt. I would run as if my backside were on fire but he would always wait never turning around to soon before going back inside knowing my intense fear would only heighten if he did."

87 and still kicking

My mother celebrated her birthday this past week. So far she's beat breast cancer, liver cancer (even though she still lives with both), a stroke that left no ill effects and was robbed this past year. Even though she lost her hair as well as alot of weight and wears a wig nothing seems to stop her. Her life is filled with Uno, bingo, evenings filled with card games of 500 and Hand & Foot, Farkle, Spanish Dominoes and Skipbo not to mention the Red Hats where she goes with her many friends to various functions for social outings. The last time she went to a restaurant outing with them the wattress had to use last names for the bills since most of them were named Betty. I guess it was a "hot" name back in the 20s. Two weeks ago she insisted on getting her driver's license renewed. The man at the counter told her she could get a senior ID card instead for only 11 dollars and it would last the rest of her life. I tried to head him off by telling him I had already gone down that road with her but she leaned against her walker and gave him a few choice words as to what he could do with that idea and firmly demanded that she wanted a drivers license renewal and she would be glad to pay the 25 dollars knowing full well that she would have to come back in 4 years to again renew it. He knew it was a losing battle and drew up the paperwork. When we got to the eye test I held my breath and prayed to God. She sat for the picture, wrote out the check and when we got outside she turned to me and said "we probably didn't have to put down the donor part. I doubt there will be anything left to use". What a woman!

Survivor of the Lions Den

The other day I got a phone call from Daniel. Apparently he witnessed some animal abuse at the hands of an unfortunate dog and its owner. I gave him some advice, told him to pray for the man and his anger problem and moved on to other items of the day even though his concerns and what he could do about it for the sake of the dog were the reasons he called. That in a nutshell is Daniel. Always rooting for the underdog and what he can do to remedy the situation. The eternal caregiver. The eternal peacemaker. I told him once he would make a great nurse, however the issue of blood and something about needles squelched that option. Instead he works on large inanimate objects. Unlike his brother, Daniel always has had to weigh all the options before venturing out which is a good thing in itself. Needless to say risk-taking is not one of his strong suits. In spite of that he has grown into a gentle soul surrounded by numerous friends of various backgrounds, beliefs and ways of life. He may have been my youngest child and my smallest baby weighing in at just 5lb but he stands tall in the eyes of Jesus as he invites his friends to church with him, worries about little dogs at the hands of their abusive owners and quotes some of his favorite lines from Casting Crowns on his Facebook page. May Jesus bless you this day, Daniel on your 23rd birthday!!

Noerenberg Gardens

This past weekend Michael and I did our weekend biking up at Lake Minnetonka area including Wayzata and Orono. WOW, how some people live! I try to keep it in perspective while asking God to show me once again how blessed I am and to be thankful for all He has given me, esp. not in material ways. Anyway we were to meet our biking friends at the Noerenberg Gardens. They were running alittle late so we walked through some of the garden areas. They are located on the north shore of Lake Minnetonka's Crystal Bay in Orono. Noerenberg Gardens are among the most beautiful and prestigious gardens in the state. This former Lake Minnetonka estate of Grain Belt Brewery founder Frederick Noerenberg, was donated by the family to the Park District in 1972.

"Noerenberg is a reminder of the quiet elegance and grace of days gone by." The gardens include a wide variety of unusual annuals and perennials, an assortment of grasses and a large daylily collection.

The park features accessible brick pathways and an ornamental boathouse/gazebo overlooking the lake." After walking through the garden I was not disappointed and was once again reminded that He created all the color and beauty just for us and it doesn't cost us a single dime! Enjoy!