Reflections of Bonnie's 85th

Finally, I have some pictures from last weekend. Before we left, I did not have time to go and get a new lithium battery, and after a failed attempt at Wal-Mart, I could not find the size I needed in the small town in Florida where we were staying. So, I had to rely on my father-in-law a.k.a. Papa Kim to snap some shots. Well, I got so ancy around Saturday afternoon when I saw him just sitting there missing so many great shots...so I asked to take a few. About 100 pictures later, I got some great ones of the kids at the beach...and also some shots of little Charlie taking a sip of his first beer (aww, how cute).

We spent all day Saturday at the Kuersteiners family beach house. I think it has been in their family for over 75 years. Their mother, Martha Lee Kuersteiner, has EIGHT children. Wow! And her sister, Bonnie, who is my husband's grandmother, had SIX. You can only imagine how many cousins, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, uncles, aunts, etc. etc. that were there! It was crazy. But, they were all so wonderful.

On Saturday night, there was a big dinner to honor Bonnie - and almost 60 people were there - ALL RELATED! Crazy. Everyone stood up and gave toasts to Bonnie, and it was truly touching to hear all of the stories. As a parent, I think you hear things differently....all of her children had such loving words and such wonderful memories to share. However, what struck me the most was how much her grandchildren had to say. Almost every grandchild stood up (there are 17) and said something about Bonnie. They all had such specific memories of her singing to them, taking them places, and doing special things with them. It made me realize how MUCH time she spent with them - and really, that is all that matters! We spend so much time trying to give our kids things - when really, all they want - is our time!

Bonnie said one thing in her speech that really rang true to me...she said: "Money is not important, nothing is important in this life - except for LOVE and passing down Love and Values to your children..so that they can pass them on to theirs".....so true.

Here is a family photo of my family + all of Ken's brothers, their dad, and Bonnie. We had a wonderful time!