It's Been Awhile (6 monthes!)...

Busy Worker at Home emailed me a month or so ago to ask me if I still blog. I suppose that I should answer that I don't since it's been so long. Life got very busy when Jack-Jack (aka The Young Prince) began sleeping less, crawling, etc... Then came summer with everything it held-including the computer takeover by my children. Then school started and Jack-Jack came back too. So, rather than try to do a catch-up post, I've decided to post some random highlights. Here goes:

My kids are both driving now on permits. When Miss B drives, I keep one eye on how she's doing and the other on my iphone or book. When Charlie drives, I buckle up tight and bite my nails.

Dr. Love got me an iphone for my birthday. I LOVE it! If you play Words With Friends, reply to this post with your user name and we'll start up a game!

Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN is a wonderful place. Even though it took so long to get an appointment, it was well worth it. And, God knew what was going on with Miss B all along and He timed the appointment right.

Charlie now has a stuffed marlin hanging on the wall above his bed. A dear friend from college had it for almost 20 years and gave it to him when she redecorated. This led to many fun "Marlin" moments while we were on vacation.

The Shenendoah Mountains near Harrisburg, VA are hot the last week of June. Very hot. Can't go outside hot.

Miss B joined Charlie at Faith Christian School this year. She adores it!

Do you remember my dear life-long friend Connie? The one who made me this quilt? She's going to be a grandma before the year is out. A grandma to identical twin boys! You can see Connie & her daughter pre-marriage at the end of this post.

Autumn is back...my favorite time of year. I love apples, pumpkins, cider, falling leaves, bonfires and the like. I like the word "autumn." I love the colors and the crisp air. I like burrowing under the blankets next to Dr. Love with the bedroom windows open all night. I like the sound of the coyotes howling somewhere in the fields around us. I like Autumn decorating better than any other!

Jack-Jack toddles around like a drunken sailor. He likes to play ball & is pretty good about delivering it right to me. He also likes to hand things over one at a time & then have them handed back the same way. He's a lot of fun!

I finally painted over the ginormous harlequin wall in my bedroom. That wall is now pink. Before I'm done, it will be a soft red. But since it took me 3+ years to paint over the harlequin, don't count on me being done any time soon.

The picture at the head of my blog was taken just a couple of weeks ago. It's my front entrance and Miss B. She's prettier than any of those flowers!

I think the biggest reason that I've not blogged is because of Facebook. I do like Facebook; I don't think I waste too much time there as others claim to be doing. I've been able to reconnect with friends from childhood and my teen years and also keep up with friends who've moved away and those I left behind in NorthWest Indiana.

So, no promises about when I'll blog again but if you know me personally, don't be afraid to call!

Leslie

My Dishwasher is Broken

1. (see above title) It's been broken for about a month now. Dr. Love keeps saying that he's going to take a look at it and I keep asking him to wait. After Miss B & Charlie cleared their plates & the rest of the table, it used to take me another 10-15 minutes to finish up loading the thing and hand-washing the pans, etc... Now it takes about 10 minutes to wash while someone clears and someone else dries and yet another someone puts away. And then there's no dishwasher noise for an hour. And I don't have to time the dishwasher not to coincide with showers. And in the morning, there's not dishes to put away. Plus, every time Charlie complains, I am determined to wait another week for the good Dr. to do his thing. I'm evil that way.

2. There are a lot of leaves in my yard. Some are in huge piles waiting for the wind to die down to be burned. Some are scattered, needing to be raked.

3. Today is my last free Friday. Not that I'm not looking forward to the Young Prince's arrival at SmallPeoples House on Thursday.

4. I bought some beautiful fabric for a quilt for someone I don't even know. I can't wait to get started on it!

5. My husband is terrific! He makes me giggle almost every day. He flirts with me. He fixes stuff. He does algebra & biology & spanish homework with Miss B & Charlie. He cooked dinner last night while I had a nap! He smells good. He's coming home for lunch today.

6. If you haven't read Tales From the Coop Keeper...you must go there right now! I get deep belly laughs every time she posts! I've gone back in her archives and read every single post word for word.

7. Facebook is my friend. This week I connected with a former pastor's son who was 6 the last time I saw him. Now he's a Pastor with 8 kids! And two other former pastors. We went to a lot of churches when I was young.

8. I'm trying a new recipe tonight. The ingredients are penne pasta; fontina, mozzarella & parmesan cheeses; roasted eggplant & zucchini.

9. I like when my cats cry to find me. Not so much when they sit on the stool and nibble the raw meat on the counter when I turn my back to find a spatula.

10. Did I mention my husband?

Tuesday Ramblings

I just read a great post by Brenda at Cozy Little House about home decorating entitled "What Does Our Home Say About Us?" and it started me thinking.

I'm drawn to old stuff. Not antique furniture, just old junk. But my house is filled with the things that I love (my apologies to Randy Travis). Old things that once belonged to my Mother; vintage finds given to me by friends who "just knew" that I would appreciate that particular bric-a-brac; pretty things that I find interesting... A friend once told me that my decorating style is "interesting." Sadly, I took that as a personal criticism and every so often I bring that back up and chew on it again. But really, what's bad about being interesting?!

More important to me than what my home reflects about me is what does my life reflect about me? I say that I love God more than anything & anyone : does that show in my day-to-day life? Can Dr. Love, Miss B & Charlie get a glimpse of Him? What about the people who live on my street or those I run into at the grocery store, library, Goodwill? Sometimes I get so caught up with "being" the right person or "doing" the right things that He is nowhere to be found! Please forgive me Lord Jesus for my selfishness, renew my heart one more time and help me to live my life for You!

On another note, here's a slideshow of my sun room. I think Dr. Love & I have finally gotten those pesky old tins to stay perched above the windows. A little fishing line, a few self-stick velcro coins.... Most of the tins once contained Mrs. Steven's candy. Her company was in business in Chicago from the early 1900's through the early 1960's as far as I can tell. The glass fishing weights are from our family vacation is Seattle a few years ago; they've been in a bowl on my coffee table and were finally hung this weekend. The leaves windchime is one that Dr. Love picked up many many years ago when he was traveling internationally for his job. He had never unwrapped it and I was pleased to find & hang it for him to enjoy! The sweet little gourd birdhouse was made by and given to me as a birthday gift this year by a friend. All of my plants have to be out of Mudgie's reach...she is a real plant afficianado and every time she manages to taste one she gets sick on my carpeting! The last picture is of Henry-she is more skittish than Mudgie is so I don't have a chance to snap a picture of her face very often.
If you'd like, you can play "I Spy" as you watch....find some dust, a toy gun, a pair of flip-flops, some nail polish, an ant trap and a paint color sample.

Grace & Peace,
Leslie

Monday Ramblings

It's a nice, slow Monday here. Sunny and 74 degrees....maybe the pool will get warmed up this week!

Miss B went to work with Dr. Love this morning. This week, in the afternoons, he's heading up a preschool Entrepreneurship Academy. That in itself is a long story! Last year he made an appearance, took off his shoes & suitcoat and sat down to read excerpts from "Oh, The Places You'll Go!" by Dr. Seuss to the kidlets. This year, he's in charge of the whole kit & kaboodle! He has a tremendously wonderful assistant though and she's got everything organized & ready to go. Plus he has Miss B helping today.

My newest grandnephew was born on Saturday. He is the #2 son of my #1 nephew. If you're confused, see this post: http://contentedinwestlafayette.blogspot.com/2009/06/my-older-brother-is-9-years-my-senior.html I've seen pictures of the new baby on facebook and he's beautiful! Congratulations Matthew & Alana!

I had a really nice weekend. On Friday evening our neighbors, the J's, came for dinner and we had BBQ ribs from the grill, sweet corn on the cob, baked potatoes, some wonderful homemade bread that Mrs. J made and fresh fruit. We taught them how to play Polish Poker and they taught us "31."
Saturday we were able to sleep in and then spent the day hanging with the kids. We played some cards and a couple of other games, had yummy crab legs for dinner (with leftover sides from the night before) and took a walk together. Then we sat in the backyard and had a nice fire.
I DID NOT want to get up for church yesterday morning and I dragged my feet into Sunday School. The lesson was entitled "Finding Hope in the Promises of God" and was based on
1 Corinthians 10:13. I was encouraged as one class member talked about "the way to escape" for her being obedience. The class also sparked some discussion between Dr. Love and I about temptations vs. trials and I always enjoy when we talk about scripture together. Then, our church service was great too: the music portion touched my heart and prepared me to listen to the next lesson in Pastor Viars' series on "Hope in Growing From Your Past." You can download or get a podcast of it here: http://www.faithlafayette.org/SermonFiles.aspx As one who tends to wallow in the past, I needed to hear how to move on!
Yesterday afternoon we watched a couple of 24 episodes from season 3 and then went to Happy Hollow Park and walked/hiked/played for a bit. We stopped at Jimmy John's and took our sandwiches to another park before heading home to sit in the backyard again.
All in all, it was just nice to relax and be together!

My laundry is going and I have a sewing project to finish up this week for a shower gift. Just in case the recipient reads this blog, I won't post pictures until after Saturday. But please stop back after that to see what I've been working on as I'm tickled at how it's turning out!

My friend Beth started a new blog (her first!) this week. You can visit her here: http://bethrider.blogspot.com/.

Have a great week everyone!
Grace & Peace,
Leslie

Whew!

Last week was extremely busy! I know that Monday was full but I can't remember with what!

On Tuesday I cleaned the sunroom really well, including all the windows, even the high up ones! I re-arranged the furniture in there too. I also dusted off and in some cases re-arranged & re-attached my tins in there.

My neighbors (and friends!) next door are expecting their first baby in August and on Wednesday I helped scrape wallpaper off the walls in what will be their nursery. Now you know my issues with wallpaper! I prayed the night before, asking God to help it come off and He did! There were only 2 walls and it took up about an hour to strip each wall! Then we washed them with T.SP and did the remaining walls also. They're planning an elaborate "under the sea" theme that should be pretty cute.
I also had a friend of Charlie's overnight whose parents were out of town.

On Thursday a dear long-time friend arrived with her son for an overnight visit. We had a great time catching up and also got in a little thrifting. Here's a not-so-great picture of us:
Friday night was the Greater Lafay.ette Heart Ball and in preparation I had my hair styled at the salon I've finally settled on here after 2 years! In addition to my firend and I receiving complimentary parrafin hand treatments (because I'd pre-booked the appointment on a previous visit) I also received a complimentary make-up touch-up. Which in my case was my entire face done for the evening! That was a huge treat! After a wonderful day of friendship I had a marvelous date with Dr. Love. And, we're famous! A shot of the top of his hair and my back flashed across the local news as they covered the Ball. Good thing my hair looked fabulous!

Earlier in the week I had promised Miss B that I would sew her dress so that she could wear it yesterday. I stayed up pretty late Saturday evening getting it together. I encountered a few things with the pattern that I hadn't done before, and the zipper gave me some trouble too. The end result rivals any store-bought dress, in my humble opinion. Here's a shot of her showing it off before we left for church yesterday morning. She already had the red shoes from a winter outfit and so she chose the fabric to go with them!


At church, Pastor Viars began a new series entitled "Finding Hope From Your Past." This first sermon focused on ways our pasts can benefit us. When he was finished, he challenged us to examine our pasts and make four lists this week: victories, blessings, forgivenesses and failures.

Yesterday afternoon we dropped off Charlie at Purdue's College of Technology TOTAL Camp. He's got a fun week scheduled. Here's a picture of him with his roommate, a nice boy from Merrill.ville.

This week is shaping up to be slower. I'm hoping to work on my quilt most of today. I do have two pair of shorts to sew for Miss B and her 80's prom dress to alter for her theatre class but I'm planning to save those for tomorrow.

I hope you have a great week too!
Leslie

One week down...

three more to go. Miss B is taking two summer school classes, PE & Theatre. So I'm spending quite a bit of time in my car these days and our daily schedule changes from day to day (and if you know me, you know I abhor change!) I've been able to hang out with Charlie one-on-one and that's been pretty cool. And watching Miss B mature a bit is fun too.

Here's the quilt I'm working on. It's not coming together as quickly as I'd like....having to run Miss B here & there twice a day on top of overseeing Charlie along with keeping up with the house doesn't leave me much quilting time. Plus I've done two other projects and have a dress in the works.

This is the fabric for Miss B's dress. I wish I'd seen it first because I love it too!

I ordered four swim components off the clearance page ($35.00 total) at Land's End.com and received free shipping. I had to mix & match tops & bottoms but I think they look alright for backyard swimming. I love the "swim mini" bottoms. I don't feel exposed if I walk around to the front of the house or out to the mailbox.

Miss B needs 3 costumes for her summer theatre class so we scouted our 3 local Goodw.ill stores on Saturday. We may have found the dress she needs for the prom scene; she took it to class with her this afternoon see if it gets approval. I found these sweet little silver pieces and they look great nestled in among the silver candlesticks on my table.


We noticed on Saturday that Charlie continues to get taller. Miss B thought it would be fun to be the Veri.zon bars. Hence this picture.

This bag is probably my best sewing accomplishment this year. Miss B couldn't find an E.lmo backpack for her baby brother's 1st birthday and so we set out to make one from scratch. She purchased the canvas fabric and the zipper and we downloaded the photo from a free internet site and printed it onto heat transfer paper. Miss B added baby bro's name and then I found the red webbing for the back straps. We even sewed pieces of plastic canvas into the large sides & bottom to give it stability. And the whole thing can be thrown in the wash machine!

End of the School Year Ramblings

Today is the last full day of sch.ool....tomorrow is a short day and then "no more cla.sses, no more books..." The summer is pretty much planned to the hilt: Unless God has other things in mind for us, Miss B is taking summer PE & theatre and will be tied up with those for 8 hours every weekday in June. Charlie goes to technology camp at Purdue for a week in June. Dr. Love is busily getting the finishing touches on his High Sch.ool Entrepreneurship Academy that will have him gone for an entire June week too. Towards the end of the month we will have visitors from Alabama. Then in July the kids will be gone on a Texas trip for 12 days. We'll be in Michigan for vacation the first week of August and then school (High School for Miss B!) starts back up the very next Wednesday. Somewhere in there we hope to do a little visiting up in the Region and also get to Wisconsin to see Aunt Joe.

Yesterday was my 45th birthday. I woke up to a big zit on the end of my nose!
Dr. Love and the kids plus Miss M took me to Turkey Run State Park for a day of kayaking (Charlie & I) & canoeing (Dr. Love and the girlies) plus a cook out. We took the short trip so we'd have time for hiking too. I'd never been in a kayak before; now I don't think I'll ever sit in a canoe again! I loved being closer to the water & able to move about the water more freely plus I could stop & look for rocks at will. I really liked having the backrest too! Just as we got to putting the boats in the water the rain began so I don't have any pictures of the actual trip down the creek. It was a nice gentle rain so we weren't too bothered.
Afterwards we changed into dry clothes & headed for the part itself. As Dr. Love started the charcoal, the rain came down in earnest so we huddled around the grill under umbrellas while the hot dogs cooked. Since it was still raining off & on, we decided to not hike on this trip. We did stop & make a reservation to spend one night at the Inn next Memorial Day weekend. After napping (me) on the way home, we leaded up the wash machine & then napped (me & Dr. Love) again! The day ended with Kentucky GRILLED chicken, presents (a red rooster for my kitchen counter and a very generous gift cert.ificate to my local quilt store) and a chocolate cake that Miss B made all by herself.

Our family devotions have moved on to the book of Esther at Miss B's request. Since I finished Beth Moore's 10 week study of Esther back in April, Dr. Love has me co-leading our discussions. Today we talked about Xerxes' command that all husbands should be mas.ters in their own homes and cross-referenced that with the passage in Ephesians that tells husbands to love their wives. We discussed the idea that love is an action, not a feeling. I also brought up the verse that instructs older women to teach the younger ones to love their husbands & children, etc. One of the kids was taken with the idea that loving someone is not always easy. I think we may have more discussion on this topic during dinner tonight.

The robin in the slide show has built a nest on my front porch. I opened the door to take a picture of the chair cushion that I made and saw Momma feeding the babies. She was none to happy with me for intruding and she flew around & chewed me out but good! I'm glad that the nest is high enough to keep the neighborhood cats from accessing it.

Miss B's new skirt took just a couple of hours to make. There's a dress on the way for her too but I need to get some housework done before I start on it. We're also working on a backpack for her 1-year-old baby (1/2) brother. She wanted one with Elmo on it but we couldn't find one in the stores. I'll post pictures of both the dress & the pack when they're finished. I've got a second quilt going too.

I was thrilled to find the rug on Craigslist! I was a bit worried about the color--it looked sort of peachy in the sun. But I think it blends in really nicely with the room and is just right.

Wishing a happy day to you all...Grace & Peace,
Leslie

p.s. Once I posted this, links showed up! I don't like that, so I added some periods in the words. I really do know proper punctuation!

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." John 10:27

These are a few of the sheep who reside in the field behind my back yard.

My random, general observations as I study this picture:
Some are paying attention while others aren't.
Not all of them are tagged.
Some are mangy as they shed their old wool.
Some are feeding.
Some are resting.
Some are paying attention to their own needs.
Some are on the alert for danger.
Some are paying no attention at all.
Some are wandering off.

Did I miss anything?

If I was really industrious, I'd find the Bible verses that correspond with each of my observations. I think I'll go do that now.

Grace & Peace,
Leslie

I heard those dreaded words....

"Mom! One of the cats puked! I don't know which one! They're both eating it!"

...and I am reminded how sometimes I return to my own disgusting sins. Oh Lord, wash my heart clean again this morning. Help me to remember where You've rescued me from and delight in YOU today. Amen.

"Jesus Christ, I think upon Your sacrifice
You became nothing
Poured out to death
Many times, I've wondered at your gift of life
I'm in that place once again
I'm in that place once again

And once again I look upon the cross where You died
I'm humbled by Your mercy and I'm broken inside
Once again I thank You,
Once again I pour out my life

Now You are exhalted to the highest place
King of the Heavens, where one day I'll bow
But for now, I'll marvel at Your saving grace
I'm full of praise once again
Oh I'm full of praise once again

And once again I look upon the cross where You died
I'm humbled by Your mercy and I'm broken inside
Once again I thank You
Once again I pour out my life

Thank you for the cross
Thank you for the cross
Thank you for the cross, my friend

And once again I look upon the cross where You died
I'm humbled by Your mercy and I'm broken inside
Once again I thank You
Once again I pour out my life"

Grace & Peace,
Leslie

Thankful Thursday

This morning I am thankful for quite a few things, but I'll just share a couple of them.

#1 I'm grateful for a husband who can (and will) fix things! I thought I had broken off the start knob on my dryer....after Dr. Love opened up the panel, he found it was just loose and had fallen backwards. He re-positioned it, tightened it up, closed up the panel & I'm back in drying business!

#2 I'm grateful for the prayers of friends. Yesterday was another snow day from school. Usually the change in my routine really upsets me but (due to said prayers, I'm sure) instead of getting frustrated, I had the presence of mind to do something with each of the kids. Miss B looked up a sugar cookie recipe on the internet that we tried...very yummy! And, as you can see from the slide show, we had a good time frosting them. Charlie & I played a couple of rounds of ping-pong...he's getting pretty good!

#3 I'm grateful for the book of Proverbs. Dr. Love & I are taking a class on Wednesday nights entitled "Falling in Love with Wisdom." Each week God has used it to tweak my heart. "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom."

Grace & Peace,
Leslie

Inauguration Day 2009

For me, the pinnacle of this monumentous day was when Aretha Franklin took the stage. Was she poised and confident? Yes. Did she sing beautifully? Yes. Did she wear the most awesome hat ever?? YES!! Could I pull off a hat like that? (hanging my head sadly) no. But I'd sure like to have it topping off my hatstand!

Thankful Thursday

This morning I connected with someone with whom I was friends 25 years ago. I was not the person spiritually & emotionally that I am today and it was one of my times of insanity.
As I looked over her information and pictures earlier today, thoughts filled my mind of "what a great boat....I wonder what her home looks like...her spouse.....she's been on television, wow!...her life sure looks exciting...."
A little bit later I sat down in my kitchen to have my quiet time and I was immediately struck with guilt for envying her and had to confess that to my Lord. I'm using Elizabeth George's study of Luke and today was chapter 12. Verses 22-34 really spoke to my heart and I felt as though God had prepared this lesson especially for me on this day. Where my treasure is, there will my heart be also. I know Jesus is my treasure; He is really what I want. How blessed I am to have Him as my provider!
"I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold. I'd rather have Him than have riches untold. I'd rather have Jesus than houses or land. I'd rather be led by His nail-scarred hand. Than to be the king of a vast domain! Or be held in sin's dread sway. I'd rather have Jesus than anything this world provides today."
Grace & Peace,
Leslie

This & That

Well, Dr. Love is out of town until late tomorrow and while the cat's away.....lol
The kids & I just got back from a great time together. After a 5 pm dinner of tuna casserole (Miss B's request) we set out on a surprise road trip. I told the kids we were going to a "sad" place. Miss B sure knows her Momma 'cause she guessed pretty quickly that we were headed to Happy Hollow Park. I can't believe we've lived here for over a year & this was the first time we visited there! It's an absolutely beautiful place with hollows & dales and trails and wildlife. The colors on the trees were breathtaking! The scent of fall was wonderful! There was a great play area too that the kids weren't too old to make use of! On the way home we stopped off at the Silver Dipper--the pumpkin ice cream is to die for!
The kitchen redecoration is almost complete. I'm considering valances for the windows and we're looking for the perfect ceiling fan/light fixture to replace the one currently over the island. I'll get some pictures posted at some point. But since I think C is the only one who reads this blog anyway and she's coming for a visit very soon, maybe no pics :)
We've started our second 9 weeks of school and parent-teacher conferences are this week, along with 2 half-days. Time seems to pass so quickly, today in the mail I received a Nov. issue of Country Living with Thanksgiving recipes! Before long it'll be Christmas and then we'll be on to 2009.
And since I'm such a hit or miss blogger, it may very well be that long before I post again!
Grace & Peace,
Leslie

My Playmates are gone.

It's hard to believe that the summer has gone by so quickly and today is the first day of school!
We spent last week we making the kids get up earlier in the morning in preparation for the start of school, registering them & checking out their new school building as well as shopping for supplies and clothes. We got in some extra swimming and had friends spend the night. We also introduced a couple of their church friends to Deep River Water Park up in Merrillville. Ten days ago I would have said that we weren't ready to go back but then the inevitable bickering set in a week ago and this morning both Miss B and Charlie were ready to head out.
The start of school means a shift change for me. Instead of "working" summer hours from 8-5, my kids need me first thing in the morning and then again from 4pm until bedtime. I'm free during the day to start & finish projects and to eat or not. So this morning I tackled some wallpaper removal in the kitchen and now I'm headed for the grocery store without someone who wants to add items to my cart.
I have to say that I miss them. I miss them foraging in the kitchen and whooping it up in the pool. I miss having Miss B grabbing for the phone when it rings as I hate answering the phone myself and she does love it so. I miss Charlie's funny comments.
But as much as I miss them I am excited for this new school year and the joys and trials it will bring. I look forward to seeing how God will continue to grow them and make them into what He wants them to be.
Come home soon my jr. highers, so we can "hang!"

One Year Milestone

The last two weeks have been full of memories for us. Not only did we celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary, this time of year also marks when we moved out of our home in Crown Point, were "homeless" for a few days, closed on our home here and then took possession and moved in. Those first few days are still a blur of unpacking, meeting all our friendly and gracious neighbors, trying to keep the kids occupied, getting the cats used to their new place and finding our way around the new town. We went on vacation shortly after that and it seemed very odd on our way home when we passed the Crown Point exit and still had an hour + to get home.

When school started in mid-August this still didn't feel "normal" for us and I, especially, had a bad time those first few days (and weeks) that the kids were gone all day. Eventually we had some visits from old friends, started getting things on the walls, began attending a local church instead of driving back to Crown Point and started to settle in.

Fast-forward to Thanksgiving. We had a mix of family, childhood friends, Crown Point friends and new church friends in for Thanksgiving dinner and when it was all over, I remarked to Dr. Love that for the first time I felt as though I lived here.

At Christmas time I enjoyed seeing how our "old" decorations fit into the new home and also scoped out Goodwill for additional items. We loved serving in the Living Nativity presentation and attending the Christmas Eve service at our new church. We had friends in over New Year's and that helped solidify us here as well.

The new year brought additional chances to get involved at the kid's school and new serving opportunities at church. Miss B and I joined the choir for the annual Passion Play in April and ended up staying in choir regularly.

Over spring break we were back in NorthWest Indiana to visit and Charlie was asked what he missed about our old home/city. He replied "really, nothing." That was a huge blessing to this Momma's heart! This past week Miss B, out of the blue, said that she really likes her school and doesn't miss Crown Point at all. She did say that she misses her old youth pastor & group (I think she always will, it's really an exceptional program!).

I am highly resistant to change of any kind, whether my brand of laundry detergent or to move away from the house that I love & the geographical area that I've been in for 20+ years. So it was with great joy when last week Dr. Love mentioned moving upon retirement and my first thought and response what "WHAT?!!!!! Leave this wonderful home and great neighborhood and excellent church? You've got to be kidding!"

I titled this blog "Contented in West Lafayette" because when I first started it, that was what I was praying for....that God would make me content here. This post now is all about how He has answered that prayer.

Grace and Peace,
Leslie