1. I accepted the Lord as my personal Savior at a very young age. I received assurance of my salvation in college. I am thankful for my Christian heritage and the unique opportunity to grow up in a family that was in an unusual ministry. Since my Dad was a missionary pilot, traveling by private plane was a normal event for us. My faith is simple. God said it. I believe it. I trust the Lord in the little things of life and that helps me in the big things that happen. I've learned that in trials, it is always a matter of choosing to become better or bitter. I have witnessed the completed work of the Lord through repentance, restoration and reconciliation in the life's of dear friends. Heaven has become more personal to me since my Mom went to be with the Lord.
"My God He was, My God He is, My God is always going to be."
2. I was the new girl at six different schools in six years. I did not like being the new girl because I am really a shy person.
3. I stuck my hand in a hand dug tunnel of a sand pit we'd played in the day before and touched the head of a snake.
4. I had an electrifying experience when I was cranking a metal handle to close a window with one hand, while touching a lamp that had a short with the other hand and standing barefoot in a puddle of water on the floor.
5. I rode an untamed donkey. Yes, he bucked me off! A few years later, I thought horse back riding would be less painful. The horse almost killed me by heading into the trees. I didn't think to duck, hit a tree limb with my forehead and was knocked off.
6. I saw John F. Kennedy, Queen Elizabeth , Prince Phillip and Ronald Reagan.
7. My secret desire is I wish I could have been a singer. But I've never been comfortable about being center stage anyway. I played 'Mary' in a Christmas program in fourth grade and was so nervous that I was sick all night.
8. I am a matchy-matchy person to a fault. Like matching a colored straw to whatever color my drinking glass is or color coordinating cupcake papers in a row in the muffin pan. WHY???
9. I love toys, strawberry licorice and gummy worms, Mexican food, my laptop, my red, blue and yellow kitchen, my car, earrings and ankle bracelets, crocs all year around, lunches with friends, laughing, chick flicks, cozy slippers, concerts, peppermint ice cream, Bible study, Praise and Worship on Sunday a.m., cute paper towels to MATCH my kitchen, daisies, my yellow duck I sleep with, pants more than dresses, blue ink pens, pretty stationary, Spring and Fall, hot air balloons, Aigner purses, piggy tailed little girls, E-bay, HGTV and pictures of family
10. I have always been a cat lover but IF I had a dog, I would have a golden retriever. After seeing 'Annie' at the Little Theater, I fell in love with Sandy. Such a majestic dog! I gravitate towards any golden retriever that comes within my sight.
11. I am a five year breast cancer survivor.
12. I have a daisy tattoo above my ankle, thanks to the encouragement of my youngest daughter to celebrate the end of cancer treatment, 50 lb. loss, and my birthday.
13. In my twenties, I dyed my hair often. I've been all colors from frosted, to blonde, to black and then to auburn red. At age 59, I don't dye my hair at all and have just a few sprigs of gray. I used to say I didn't just have a bad hair day but I had a bad hair life. I don't complain anymore. A bad hair day is better than a 'no hair day'. When I was bald, I had the arrogance to inform the Lord that the least He could do was to give me better hair than He did the first time. He graciously answered my prayer.
14. I put off grocery shopping until one of two things happen, we run out of toilet paper or cat food. The thing I don't like most about grocery shopping is toting groceries in from the car and putting them away cuz I think I have to reorganize my cupboards and refrigerator. Then it becomes a three hour chore.
15. I like to clear my head with full volume music, like Michael W. Smith, Avalon, Santana, Toby Mac, Tina Turner or Michael Jackson's Thriller. Beat it, beat it! I am always gonna love rock music. It revs me up! I also LOVE praise and worship music, especially on Sunday a.m. with the orchestra!
16. My heroes of the faith are my Grandpa Beldin, my Dad, Bill Gustafson, Billy Graham, James Dobson and Warren Wiersbe.
17. I love a motorcycle ride twice a year. A spring ride. An autumn ride.
18. Favorite vacations: Spanish Wells in the Bahamas, Rio de Janerio, Chicago, sailing on the Windy across Lake Michigan, Eiffel Tower on New Years Eve, Switzerland, Disney World, and ALL trips to the beach with family.
19. In college, I was interested in psychology and briefly thought I'd like to be a counselor. But my greater life ambition was just to be a wife and mother. And that is what I became. It proved to be more rewarding then I ever imagined. I am growing old with my college sweetheart. We love and cherish our three beautiful daughters! And now I have the awesome blessing of being a grandma to five wonderful grand kids. As a grandma I get to do it all over again but in a different way. The difference between being mommy and grandma is energy and time. Grandma's can't keep up with the energy level needed 24/7 but we have the time to play. I love being the ice cream in their lives!
20. I can't resist anything my grand kids ask me. The first incidence I remember was when my almost three year old grandson Eli saw a Tinker Bell doll for sale at Blockbuster. He fell in love with her and wanted to take her home. It was decided that it would be more acceptable if Grandma had one at her house. A phone call was made to Grandma across town. "Grandma, Daddy won't buy Tinker Bell. Will you buy her?' Grandma answered, "Yes!" I immediately headed straight to Blockbuster to bring home our soon to be most beloved toy, Tinker Bell. Eli gave her his undivided attention from the minute he came over until he left. He held her in his own unique style, one fist clenched around her legs. One day the unthinkable happened. Her head flew off during play. The horror on Eli's face prompted Grandpa to quickly scramble to fix her. Eventually, Eli's interest in Tinker Bell faded. Her place upon his pillow was transfered to being kept in a dresser drawer with a missing arm, dirty dress, messy haired wobbly head. Occasionally, Eli sees Tinker Bell and the twinkle in his eye reveals a hint of affection for his long ago friend. This is why I love and collect Tinker Bell stuff.
21. Highlights of my life: Having my one and only See' star, my BFF Joan and high school, my BFF Linda and college, marrying my BFF Vance, the births of my daughters, helping each one of my daughters plan their wedding, having three son-in-laws that I love and cherish, being at the moment of birth of four of our grandchildren, hearing the excited voices of grandchildren yelling, "Grandma!" when they see me, driving my new car off the dealership's lot, knowing Mom didn't die alone like she feared, being with our family, especially having our three girls together.
22. Hard times of my life: Worrying about my Dad flying over the ocean in a small plane, leaving home to go to a college where no one knew my name, pregnancy puking for what seemed forever, holding a feverish baby and imagining the worst, sending each of my daughters off to school for the first time, getting a call from the hospital telling me my husband had been in a car accident, driving out of the big windy city leaving our college girl behind, separating out the Christmas tree ornaments of our oldest daughter who was getting married while the melancholy music from the Titanic played in the background, pancreatitis, head on collision with a drunk driver and spending 6 months in a turtle shell for my broken back, being told I had cancer, chemo, radiation, seeing the fear in my daughter's eyes before she taken into Labor/Delivery for an emergency cesarean-section, sorting- packing up-unpacking and sorting again 58 years of our parents household accumulation, adjusting to parenting my parents, seeing my Mom take her last breath, and knowing our youngest daughter is a lamb that has lost her way right now.
23. My sister and I are a team. We often say the same thing at the same time. We've sent the same card. We work well together. We play well together too. We love to laugh. We know how to make something fun out of anything. We've had less then a handful of fights our whole life together.
24. Now that our family is raised and I have more time, I would like to be a writer. But I haven't figured out where that extra time is hiding.
25. I live by ONE DAY AT A TIME, sometimes Plan B is the better plan and Because He Live I can face tomorrow! Seems like tears are too close to the surface these days.
