Jared's Self Portrait

Jared has a habit of taking my camera (without my knowledge) and takes all kinds of pictures. I have had to learn to check my camera prior to developing. He took these today, and it was perfect timing!

Self Portrait

I hope you all enjoy my self portrait! I know you probably have been wondering what I look like. I have a bit of a hair problem. I did take the photo myself (as Carrie had said to do), and I think it turned out well.

Flashback

These are pictures from our trip to Camp Lejune, North Carolina. We went over President's Day weekend to welcome some of our troops home from Iraq. Scott's youngest brother is a Marine. Joshua was the most excited about seeing all of our military people. The top photo is two of Matt's buddies that he served with, Matt is the tallest one (far right) and Joshua is with them. The guy in the middle received a purple heart after his vehicle ran over a bomb. Thankfully, he was not seriously injured, and this was a pure miracle from God. The bottom photo is two men who have already served two tours of Iraq and were setting up a field operation. They were kind enough to let Joshua and Andrew take a picture with them, and then excited the boys even more by offering to let them hold their M16's. (Yes they were unloaded) The boys were so excited and you can tell by their smiles. It was an interesting trip, and an emotional one. Matt turned 20, less than two weeks after returning from Iraq. He is already set to return, to Iraq, in November of this year. This will be the second Christmas, in a row, without him. Please, let this be a reminder to continue to pray for all our troops.

Parky's Farm

We recently celebrated my cousin, Danielle's son, Alex's 5th birthday at Parky's Farm. This is a picture from that day that I love. Alex is the goat, my aunt Joan is the cow, Aaron is the lamb, Jared is the pig, and my aunt Rhonda is the horse.

Joshua

This is Joshua William . He was half asleep in this photo (he requested that I inform you all of that). He was born March 5, 1996. It was a leap year and he was due Feb. 27th. In other words he was a week late. His middle name is after my father. It is hard for me to believe that I have an eleven year old. He is in the 5th grade, which in our school district places him in the middle school. He started playing the sax this past Sept. and had a solo in our church play in Dec. He obviously has God given talent musically. He did not get this from me, but we have a strong family of musicians on my side. (It somehow skipped me totally) He had his check-up last month and is almost 5ft. tall and weighs 105. He gained 20 pounds in the past year! He is sensitive to others feelings, but as puberty is hitting, I find him to be more sarcastic than ever before! Having a disabled brother has made him more conscientious to people with disabilities. He is not one to make fun of peers who cannot do things as well as others. Just tonight he was asking advice on what to do when kids on his baseball team make fun of his friend (who has never played before). He wouldn't make fun of him, but he also wanted to properly stand up for him too. He has his typical kid moments, but we are really proud of him! He has played baseball since kindergarten (t-ball then). He has played basketball in our church's Upwards program since 2nd grade. He says he wants to try football this year. He keeps us very busy! Mostly, he is looking forward to our church's preteen mission trip this summer, to intercity Nashville.

My boys

Here's another picture of the boys, in order of age, Joshua, Andrew, Aaron, and Jared. Jared wanted to show everyone how strong he is!
Martha, I don't think you've seen Joshua with his contacts! I just realized he got them after you moved.

Bella

This is my latest addition to our family. We adopted her from the "no kill" shelter, near our home. We have another cat, named Molly, that we've had for 7 years. I need to adopt four-legged females to have any allies in this house.

Easter

Here is finally a picture of my boys! This is as dressed up as they get for Easter. Joshua, is the oldest, Andrew is next, then Aaron and Jared. Andrew and Jared have the fake smile going on anymore! I tried to color coordinate them more, but the older two wouldn't have it. I dressed them alike alot when they were younger, and they hate it now. The best I could do was all in a shade of blue. Look for more pictures to come!

Opening Day

Today was opening day for baseball season. Andrew is playing baseball for the first time, he is in 3rd. grade, and Joshua has played every year since he was 5 (he is now in the 5th grade). I must admit, that I was not looking forward to the games today. It has been so cold, and today is no exception. Andrew's game was scheduled for 8:30 a.m., which means we were to arrive at 8:00 a.m. I don't like to drag all four boys (and myself) out in the cold morning air. Scott doesn't mind it as much as I do. Well, it started raining before dawn! Opening day has been canceled! I really do not like to have rain out days, because I don't like to have to fit these games into an already full schedule. Today I am thankful. It is too cold and wet!

Road to recovery

Well, everyone has has enough antibiotic in them to no longer be contagious. They are feeling better, but not 100%. I think I have decided to cancel all of Aaron's tests for this week. It has been an agonizing decision. It takes so long to get these appointments, but since he has been sick, and he is weaker, I don't want to put him thru anything else. The good news is, Scott is still going to take the next two days off and we can spend some family time together! I'm really excited about that. As he was leaving this morning for work he noticed my back tire is flat on my van. I guess that will be our first order of business. Do you know how it is when you didn't plan on leaving the house (I also am watching my friends son today), now I can't leave, I feel trapped. I guess I could start cleaning my house. It is much needed!

I should be a doctor!

I just thought I'd let you know, after sitting in an exam room for one hour, with 4 kids, I received the official diagnoses that I already knew. Joshua and Aaron both have strep, and Jared has a sinus infection. Please pray that the rest of us stay healthy.

Is this what the rest of the week is going to be like?

Well, day two of spring break. It's almost 2p.m. and I still haven't showered yet. I know, you're all thinking how gross I must be and currently happy I haven't posted any photos. Three of my four boys are sick! We have doctor's appointments at 4:10. Since I not only have a medical background, but also a mommy background, I've already diagnosed them. Joshua, and Aaron both have strep, and Jared has a sinus infection. Andrew, is still healthy, and has been ordered to remain that way. Since all of you, with Martha as an exception, don't know my children, this is the worst time for Aaron to be ill. Aaron is physically, and mentally handicapped. (I plan to go into details in a future "meet the kids" post) Aaron is scheduled to have a lot of testing at the end of this week. This was already going to be a difficult spring break at the end of this week, I guess it just started early. I really shouldn't whine, I just had big remodeling plans for this week. Ok, I NEED to go take a shower. All is actually quite for the moment, I need to take my chance! I hope all of you are having a good start to your week!

He has risen!

He has risen indeed! This was the response that you were to use after my Granny quoted "He has risen" to you. Every Easter morning I continue that quote with my kids. I guess it's part of my way of keeping some of Granny's memory alive. I'm so thankful for Easter, what God has done for all of us, the suffering He had his Son go thru for us. It is so hard for me as a parent to imagine. I have four sons, not just one, and I can't imagine sacrificing any of them, for someone else! Maybe because I am a mere mortal. As I ponder all of this, I still can't help but remember Easter 4 years ago. Granny was so close to death. She actually had asked my permisson the day before to "go home". The day before Easter that year was my 30th birthday. I told her that I didn't want her to suffer, and I wasn't going to be the one to argue with God. If it was her turn to go home, I wouldn't stand in her way. She made it thru that night (much to everyone's surprise), and was alive for Easter dinner. Even though all she could do was lay in her hospital bed (which was in the living room), she was there. I believe she made it through that day for the sake of my oldest son. Joshua was only 7 at the time. Easter morning he didn't want to get out of bed until he knew, for sure, that Granny was alive. He kept saying that she HAD to live through Easter. She did, and went home to be with Jesus 3 days later. As I watch my kids this morning, checking out their Easter baskets before church, I see how happy Joshua is. He is my most sensitive boy, and I thank God that He spared Granny that day. Four years later, I'm not sure how long the lasting affect would have been for him, but I know I still vividly remember it. I also am thankful for that final Easter with Granny, and will continue to teach my kids her favorite phrase. Have a blessed Easter, and remember, He has risen.....He has risen indeed!

Continuing Frustration

Today is the first day of our spring break. The flurries have begun (I hate snow), my kids are exceptionally rowdy, and I still can't get pictures to post on my blog. I called the technical support department (since both my camera and computer are HP's) to see if there was any possibility to fix my problem. I picked the number to call that claimed to only speak English. Well, the man spoke English, but not very well. He continued to call me "Lee", until I finally said, "It is Leslie". I may have let it slide had I not been so irritated by that point. If I paid $30 he would transfer me to the support team, who could walk me thru simple steps to make my pictures work. I wanted to know if it was even possible to make it work before I paid any money. I told him I would want to discuss it with my husband first and decide what we would do. He then told me he would hold while I phoned my husband for permisson! Apparently, he didn't understand that I wasn't asking for permisson, but to consult with my spouse about our options!!! Hopefully, tonight we can get someone who may help us better, and Scott will be home for me to get permisson from!

In the beginning......

God created the heavens and the earth. Wait, wrong story for this post. I just thought I'd fill you all in a little about myself. Leslie (that would be me) was born on April 19,1973. My birthday has always been a big deal to me. People thought I'd grow out of it, especially once I hit 30, but I never did. I'm like a little kid who still counts it down. Fast forward to October,1992. I was invited to go "haunted housing" with a friend from high school, and some people she worked with at Kings Island. I went, and met a cute guy, named Scott. The next day, at another gathering, I found out he was still in high school. I was in shock (I graduated in 1991), I thought he was in college like the rest of us. His first response to me was to inform me he was 18. He had been for a whole 2 weeks! Well, I didn't let the year and a half age difference stand in my way. I thank God everday for that. Scott does love to rub in how much older I am than him, and our kids find humor in it also. On September 24,1994, we married. Our first son, Joshua, was born in March,1996, Andrew came December, 1997, Aaron was born September, 2000, and our surprise, Jared, was born in November,2002.

Scott commented on the title of my blog. He didn't seem happy. I thought about using Clark Capers, until I looked it up in the dictionary, and realized it meant illegal activity. The more I thought about my title, I realized it fits. We are raising 4 boys, and there is never a dull moment. Life is crazy, chaotic, but wonderful! Stay tuned for more.

Frustration

I am very frustrated!!!! I finally got a new computer, have high speed internet, own a digital camera, and I'm not able to post pictures! We have the new vista software (instead of windows), and my digital camera disc doesn't work with this system. I guess we will be calling tomorrow to see what we need to do. If anyone knows how to remedy this, please let me know.

Martha, you are safe from any "black mail" photos, I do not have a scanner.

Up and Running

We finally bought a new computer, and I can now have my own blog! I'm so excited, since I've been posting on other's blogs for some time now. I'm happy to be part of the blogging world. I need to figure out how to post pictures, before Martha digs out her old photos of me.
Come back and visit. Pictures should be added soon.