7 Things You Might Not Know About Me!

I have been tagged by my friend Shelley to post 7 things about myself, so here goes:

1)I was so chubby as a child that I was nicknamed "Moose"! No joke! Uncle Don even convinced me that I was sprouting antlers. I have since passed those nicknames down to either of Anita's children...as infants, they both fit the bill!

2)I have moved 16 times since I was born! All within the state of Missouri. I have a garage full of unpacked boxes to this day. Just last weekend I returned home from my folks with even more boxes of "Leslie's Stuff" that had not been unpacked! I'm 36 years old...you do the math.

3)I love country and bluegrass music! Even more so in the fall. My friends once laughed b/c at a holiday "Ladies night out" for my church, I listed one of my favorite Christmas tunes as "Two-Step 'Round the Christmas Tree", and was the only one who didn't list a traditional Christmas melody...much less religious! It held/holds special memories for me, as Owen and I would "dance" to that when he was a toddler and his daddy was out of town. It counts!

4)Since chemo, I can no longer drink coffee! Go figure. Even though it sounds good, and smells good, I just can't drink it. It's as if it acid washes my mouth and tongue. Isn't that sad? I just drive past St*rbucks and sniffle...don't you feel for me?

5)I met Jeff in college at the Baptist Student Union while I was "promised" to another guy! Wowzer! He opened doors for me, sat beside me during Bible studies and church sponsored meals, and even walked me to class. Once, we even won a free-throw shoot-out contest at SMSU to win 20 tickets for our organization (the BSU) to the season opener of the Bears basketball season. Later that year, I heard him and his brother, Bob, and good friend, Mike sing at Harmony Baptist in Rogersville, and I'm sure I swooned! To top it all off, he wore Wrangler's and Ropers, and if that doesn't make your heart skip a beat, there's just something wrong with you! My high-school sweetheart broke up with me on a Sunday night, and Jeff called my dorm room on Monday night to ask me for a date. And the rest, as they say, is history!

*** Have I used enough "quotation marks" yet? I just realized I'm like Joey off of Friends! Good grief!

6) My dream house is a white farm house with a wrap around porch, huge kitchen, and an upstairs (my 100 year old childhood home on S. Clark street would be great...or the Walton's house would do fine). I'd like a wood stove (or pellet...I'm rational about this part of the dream). I'd like a creek nearby, a clothesline, and a garden...and while we're at it, I'd like a well stocked pond so the boys can fish. I'd also like a barn (to hide all my unpacked boxes in!) and a chicken house...with chickens. Oh...I'd also like a couple of rocking chairs and a porch swing on the front porch. Let's see...yep! That about covers it. Oh...and a jar of sun tea brewin' on the porch. There...that's it. Zinnias...did I mention zinnias....and peonys...

7) Hmmm...let's see. I love to hear old timers tell stories. I could listen to Uncle Howard, Granny Fannon, or my Uncle Keith for hours on end (all of whom will never read this blog, so I feel safe in referring to them as "old timers"). I love to hear how things used to be done, what used to be where, and how to make something from nothing, a skill very few possess these days. I love to hear content people talk about life...it causes me to be more content!

There you go! And I now tag Kim and Carrie to post 7 things about themselves!

Thanks for the Poo-poo!

A big thank you to the ladies at Salem Avenue Baptist Church in Rolla for inviting me to speak last night. As I learned at the Ladies Luau, "poo-poo" actually means "apetizers" in Hawaiian, and I'd just like to say that the food was amazing! I'd share more Hawaiian greetings, but Nelda swiped my Hawaiian glossary, so that's all I remember! Thanks again for having me! I had a wonderful time!

Blessings,

Leslie

Bah Humbug on Halloween

I have had it...really, I have. Is there honestly any reason for my children to have to see all the freaks of the poly-vinyl variety every time we enter a store? Could they not just put up a sign that reads, "All un-holy, un-natural, scary, freakish apparel and accessories located in the dark recesses of the store." Is that too much to ask? Apparently so.

I have just spent the afternoon with my children looking for costumes for the Fall Festival (Halloween alternative) at our church. They both wanted to be specific characters which I did not have the resources to build at home. So, we set forth to price store bought costumes. ( A big shout out to Aunt Suzan who began this costume search tradition last year when my illness kept me from being all that holiday-ish! )

Anyway, we walked into the Factory Card Outlet, only to be greeted by a foul looking ghoul who was mechanically "alive" for all intents and purposes. The little boys came unglued...I'm not kidding. That should've been a major hint, but I lured them into the birthday aisle, where they were momentarily mesmerized by Backyardigans, Thomas the Tank Engine, and Diego...relatively harmless animated characters.

All was well until....they looked UP! MORE GHOULS! Hanging from the ceiling, of all places! Heaven help us! There were tears, wails...I may have been hot lined for all I know. They were just a mess. Owen, on the other hand, was content to peruse through the assortment of light sabers. "Just find that costume lady, and tell her what you want!", I insisted. He did, and we proceeded to the checkout, only to be startled by gummie snakes, tarantulas, and the like! My goodness! At this point, I was questioning whether a 9 year old could make a purchase alone if given my debit card. I knew the answer, but I was tempted.

The little boys were once again distracted, this time by the mylar balloon assortment over the counter. Thomas, Diego, Charlie Brown...all sorts of friendly faces inflated and smiling down on us. But then...we had to leave the store. I kid you not, never in all my life have I seen two children simultaneously freak out before, but I saw it today! They were crying, kicking, running the other way. Totally blindsided me. What in the world? I looked at the lady and stated, "You might want to move that thing from the entrance." Turns out, the boys were not as distracted as I might have hoped, and I literally had to fight my way out of the store. It was an intense struggle...no joke. They wanted to leave, but were too frightened. Good grief!

And me, well, I was really very understanding. I tried to bolster their confidence. I tried consoling. I tried carrying and shielding. I relied on all my motherly, child-development educated, common sensical resources, but I failed...girls, I failed miserably!

Owen and I were laughing, it was all just comical. I mean, understandably terrifying, and had I known, I would have made different costume shopping arrangements. But it was hysterical...in every sense of the word. My babies had to be dragged in front of and past a hell-ish looking mechanized ghoul to get out of the store.

Isaac actually threw a shoe kicking in refusal, and Levi was just walking with his eyes covered, screaming "NO!" and running into who knows what! It was a mess. I think from now on the boys will be baseball players, or football players, or my suggestion...Norm Abrams from This Old House! Anything but anything that has to be purchased in a store. AND...I will be shopping alone until all Halloween decorations are gone.

I must go now...I need a LONG rest!

Just a thought...wouldn't it be amazing if we all had that kind of reaction when confronted by sin? The sudden urge to flee...to get away, no matter how crazy we looked or how rediculous we behaved as we headed the other direction...back toward Christ and his righteousness. I've been made numb to the ugliness of sin...in so many areas. Wow...what a wake up call!

Blessings,

Leslie

There's Another Man...

It's true. There's another man in my life. I've known him as long as I can remember, but just realized this week how much I love him. He called me on Wednesday...wanted to do lunch. I had planned to put Isaac down for a nap, but agreed to meet him anyway. You might know who he is...many of you have even seen me with him. Oh, calm down already...it's my dad! Yep! He called me on Wednesday, and said he was selling some calves at the sale barn, and wondered if Isaac and I would like to meet him to watch them sell, and then eat a burger in the cafe. ABSOLUTELY!

I love going to the sale barn with my daddy. Actually, I like going anywhere with him. When we were little, he'd let me tag along with him to ball practice. Sometimes, he'd let me go with him to a tournament planning meeting (they had doughnuts there!). I almost always got to go with him during the paper drives for the Booster Club in Vandalia. And to go grocery shopping with him...well, that was just fun (Oreo's anyone?). In high school, he first took me to a livestock auction, though, and I've loved them ever since.

Farm folks are just my favorite people in the whole world. They're practical, they're sharp, they're friendly, and they are fun to listen to. I suppose if I went to the sale barn daily, I'd grow tired of the sights (and smells) of the place, but when I take my boys and meet my dad, it's a special day.

Ordinarily, I abhor the smell of tobacco smoke...but at an auction, it's just part of the atmosphere...as are all the other smells. I love the fragrance of sizzling burgers from the cafe, coffee, pipe tobacco, and dirt. I like the denim, the boots, the hats, the trucks, and, well, just all of it. I know...I'm crazy...but I love it.

We were too late to see dad's calves sell, but we sat and watched the sale for awhile anyway. Dad's an excellent teacher, so as we watched, he answered all my questions I used to be to embarrassed to ask, like "Is that per calf, or for the whole lot?", or "How do you know those are all steers from way up here?" (well, obviously I know the physiology of a steer, but when the whole pen is full of cattle, how do you know what the ones in the middle are?)

Anyway, we watched the sale, walked the catwalk overlooking all the livestock. Isaac especially enjoyed that, because you are above the cattlemen and their cattle, and to watch them open and close all those gates and lead the cattle to the arena...well, it's just heaven for a little boy. And I just followed my daddy, and listened to him explain the whole process from beginning to end to my littlest boy, who felt 10 feet tall as he walked behind his grandpa.

It may not sound like a date to you, but on Wednesday, I had a burger with my daddy in the cafe at the sale barn, and it was definitely a date!

Love you Daddy! Thanks for the date!

Leslie

5000 Words?

Happy Fall! What a difference a year makes! Just some pictures I've taken in the past month.

Life is good...God is amazing!

Have a good weekend,

Leslie

Field Trip Anyone?

Hey...I just did another thing that I've missed out on for a year. I accompanied Levi's kindergarten class to the pumpkin patch! You haven't lived until you've gone on a hayride, run through a hay maze, and stumbled through a pumpkin patch with 50 kindergartners! Wow! I feel so alive! (Or tired...one in the same, I suppose!) It was a beautiful morning, and everyone had a terrific time. Here are some pictures!