Shirley Bliven

Her parents, Shirley and David Bliven, sent three of their own out in the world.
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At 68, Shirley Bliven, a former teacher, artist and pastor, has taught her daughter to strike that balance, and, in turn, her daughter is teaching her children, a trait that is second nature in this family.
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"I have children that are very capable and independent," Bliven said.

How, in a world filled with challenges, did she manage to make that work?

Simple things, she said, simple things that they worked at.
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"And we've always gone to church together," Bliven said.

They also boated and camped as a family for years.Now, three generations gather at the homestead every Sunday.

It sounds perfect, although Bliven insists a happy family does take some work.

"We've had some down times when things haven't always worked out the way you think they should," Bliven said."It doesn't always mean that was God's plan for the day."

Persistence is a key.So is realism.

"You've got to keep trying," Bliven said."You don't have to be perfect."

As Bliven learns to live life with Parkinson's disease, she's adapted, doing what she does best and changing the rest.

A talented artist whose work has been exhibited often, Bliven jokingly says she's now concentrating on drawings of Snake Alley.Her shaking hand easily creates the landscape's curves, she said.
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After teaching for two decades, Bliven returned to school to study for the pastorate.She is officially the Rev. Shirley Bliven, ordained by the Disciples of Christ.She's served as interim pastor at area churches following a second career as chaplain at Great River Medical Center.

There she saw so much pain, so much hope.

"You would walk away and you'd say, 'I don't have any problems,' " Bliven said of her days as a chaplain.

She learned acceptance in ways she didn't know she could.It is a lesson she's living as she works through her own disease.

At her desk in her studio, a spare bedroom in their South Summer Street home, Bliven works on her "happy books."Using the pages of blank journals, she compiles her previous writings and artwork into devotionals.

Life is harder now, but with family support things sail on.They've been there before ... when Noll's husband was in a motorcycle accident and when Bliven was hospitalized.
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"We're just ordinary people," Bliven insisted.

Ordinary people with a talent for life, which is faced with humor, optimism and faith.

"It's a positive attitude that you have," Bliven said in trying to explain how they've gotten through the inevitable rough spots."You step back and ask, 'How can I change, because you can't change the other people.' "

So on Mother's Day, the two generations will look at their offspring with pride and amazement.

"All the kids have been very special to us," Bliven said.