Still here...

Okay so I'm still here in Croatia. We are two weeks away from flying out for furlough and Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Not having the internet is about to KILL me. I am so addicted. Maybe this cold-turkey time is good for me.
Furlough this time around should be great. We will be leaving the work in the hands of the national pastor Bro. Rich and 3 other missionaries. All the different works should still go on. We did have to do something really sad and postpone our kids meeting in one of the Gypsy villages. It's getting cold and with half these kids not wearing any clothes anyhow and having no building to meet in we're gonna have to wait until Spring to start it back up. Well at least our partners will.
Anyhow, 2 more weeks and we'll be in the states and I'll have internet again, can't wait!!!
Miss reading all your blogs and can't wait to get caught up.

Happy 2008 and Farewell for Now

Well I can't believe I'm saying it but Happy 2008! Oh my, 2008, what happened to 2007 and for that matter what happened to 1989??? It's amazing how time flys. I can't believe that I'm almost 35 and my kids are all big enough to bathe themselves. :0)

When I was a kid, I frequently complained about how bored I was and how long the days were. My Mom would tell me that the older I would get the faster time would go, and you know what? She was right!! The days are so short now there doesn't seem to be enough time to do anything much less be bored.

Well along with 2008 there are some other changes happening in our lives. On the 9th of January, which is a week from tomorrow, we board a plane and head out to Germany and then onto Zagreb, Croatia. We're so excited!!! We have tickets in hand and 8 out of 10 containers packed to be shipped.

With that said, I think I need to sign off from Blogger for a while, at least until we get the internet hooked up at our home in Croatia then I'll be blogging again from My Home Away From Home.

I pray you all are having a wonderful new year, you do more for Jesus this year and that God will bless you all abundantly in 2008.

Blog at 'cha soon!!

The Most Wonderful Church Family!!!

And yes I do have the most wonderful church family in the world!!

Well it all started back a couple of months when we were in a mission conference in Duncan, Oklahoma. We were blessed to have our fellow church member-missionaries in the same conference with us. Bro. and Mrs. Horton are missionaries to the Chiappas Indians in Mexico and dear friends of ours. I got to spend a lot of time with Suzanna (Mrs. Horton) during the conference and we wasted alot of time chatting. :0)

Well while talking about appliances and cooking we got on the subject of KitchenAid mixers. I told her that I had always wanted one but really knew they were out of our price range and even if we did have the money to buy one the shipping to Croatia would be insane. Anyhow, the conference ended and we said farewell to our dear friends and headed down the road.

Well it had been a while (actually months) since we were at our home church Trinity Baptist in Texas and we were excited to see friends. After a wonderful sermon by our pastor, Bob W. Smith and prayer time, he drew our attention to a huge silver box someone had placed on the platform. Preacher joked about the package being for him and then he looked at us and called us up to the platform. We we surprised but knew he did this kinda thing often so new members would know who the missionaries were when they came home. Anyhoo, he went on to ask me if I liked to cook and bake and I do, then he directed me to the big silver box now placed on a chair in front of me. As I opened the package I was shocked to find a new 6 qt., pearly white KitchenAid mixer just for me.

Come to find out, Suzanna had told a Kristy another dear friend about our conversation and she ran with the ball. The church folks raised the money to buy the mixer and enough money to ship it too. I know that I really do have the most wonderful church family ever!

Oh yea and last week, I made my first successful loaf of bread and it was good!

Thank you Bro. Smith, Suzanna Horton and all of those at TBC who sacrificed to be such an incredible blessing to me. Love y'all!!

Just Some Stuff

Well I thought I would share this photo with you guys. Only is Roswell, New Mexico can you go to the local gas station and get your yearly flu shots! :0)

Now something more serious, a friend sent me this poem today and I like it! Thought I would share it with ya. Thanks Donna!

When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin'"

I'm whispering "I was lost, Now I'm found and forgiven."

When I say... "I am a Christian" I don't speak of this with pride.

I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not trying to be strong.

I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on.

When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not bragging of success.

I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.

W hen I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not claiming to be perfect,

My flaws are far too visible but, God believes I am worth it.

When I say... "I am a Christian" I still feel the sting of pain.

I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name.

When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not holier than thou,

I 'm just a simple sinner who received God's good grace, somehow!

“A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ that a man should have to seek Him first to find her."

**what a great saying, how many problems would be solved in relationships today if we as women practiced this???

Croatia meets Chile!

How exciting is this?? Do you know who these ladies are in this picture with me? Huh, huh??

Well since you asked, this is Rhonda from over at Missionary Mom. Yea, while in Amarillo, TX I met up with Rhonda and her sweet family at the local IHOP. Bro. Neil, Rhonda, Ilene, Ronnie and Rhonda's sweet mom were all there. We enjoyed lots of fellowship over our pancakes and Rhonda really is as sweet as she seems in blogdom.

It was so neat to hear all about the work in Chile and we're excited that there's such a good witness there.

Praise the Lord for new friends!!

TV Dinners?

Well as you know we've been in Amarillo, Texas for the last few days while visiting Pan Handle churches. Well we are staying in a place that has a kitchen or at least a microwave so we've been buying TV dinners at Wal-mart and nuking them to save money.

Well today we're on the freezer isle and my kids bring to my attention that a lady going down the same isle had flour, chicken breast, veggies and lots of stuff to cook. Then my nice kids began to point out to me what was in my basket, TV dinners, chips, little debbies and all sorts of empty calorie foods. "Hey mom, do you even know how to cook?" "Your like a modern day woman, you don't cook." Well HA HA HA!

As I looked into my basket that's exactly what it looked like. I could just imagine people thinking that my stove had never been used and I couldn't make a decent meal if my life depended on it. Shame washed over me. As we left the freezer isle I noticed some XXL T-shirts in the end display so I determined this was the disquise I needed, not for me but to cover all those TV dinners.

We finished shopping and headed to the register. As we neared the front I figured that I could take the disquise off and pay. As we're standing at the register and the 40ish lady was checking us out my dear husband go an idea. He looks over at me and says, "I need to get you direct TV so you can watch all the cooking shows." I look at him in disbelief and he goes on to say, "I'm tired of eating TV dinners!" I'm in shock now and can't figure out what to say. I didn't, didn't say anything, just stood in shock thinking how I could get back at him, good!!!

Well it has been a long time since I cooked a home-cooked meal, but I can, really I can. I'm a good cook and love it too. So anyhoo, I thought this was funny and would share it with you. Do you feel sorry for me yet??? :0)

Who sends us??

Someone asked what mission agency we were through so I though I would let y'all know.
We are sent exclusively through our home church, Trinity Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas. Our wonderful pastor is Dr. Bob Smith.
We do have some prayer cards available and if you would like one just click on the e-mail link on the side, send me an e-mail with your addt and I'll get them one their way.

Carlsbad, New Mexico

We've been in Carlsbad, NM at Landmark Baptist in mission conference all week. What a wonderful time we've had. We've been spiritually filled and have made many new friends.

On Friday we decided to take the kids to Carlsbad Caverns since they were babies the last time we went. I took a few pictures and thought I would share.

New Mexico is lovely in it's own dry sorta way. The cliffs were beautiful.

Some of the desert flowers we're just lovely. I love the cacti.



The Lord gave us a wonderful day. We all had such good spirits and we really enjoyed each other. I know some of you more sanctified folks have that all the time but we have our moments when we're not exactly enjoying each other. hmmm, been there?

Me and the kids before heading in the natural entrance of the caverns.

My 3 favorite guys and my little girl. She looks like Dad has her in a head-lock but he doesn't. Oh by the way, Cody (our family clown) turned 15 last Friday, he's a great kid. If you've never been, it's worth seeing. Have a great Lord's Day!!

Friend By the Bank

Well we actually have a little down time, well not actually down time but we're in conference in Carlsbad, NM and we're in a place where we actually have high-speed internet, so I thought I would get caught up on some posting and since it's been so long I have a lot to post about.

Whewwww!! Talk about a mouth full!

While we were on the east coast we were so blessed to get to meet the Springers. They're so sweet, they pastor in Palataka, FL. While we were there we were blessed to know and stay with Sister Peggy and Bro. Johnny. They lived on a beautiful river in Florida and we loved hanging out beside it.

While sitting out by the river we were so surprised to see this little visitor come up to the bank. He wasn't actually little he was about 6 ft. long. For folks from Texas this was pretty kewl!

I just thought I would share with you, if you live in the south near the gulf, this picture is old hat for you. For those who live elsewhere this is pretty cool huh?

Remember Me???

Wow has it been so long that you don't recognize me???? Have I really changed that much?? :0)

Yea, it has been that long. I'm thinking several weeks if not months. You know time just flies by when your having fun, or is it time is fun when your having flies, I forget!

Since my last post from the sand hills of Texas we have been almost in Mexico (Harlingen) and in New Mexico (Roswell, home of E.T.). We've seen Athens, Paris, Samaria and Trinidad (actually all Texas cities), it's a big state you know. :0)

Furlough is going great and we're so excited about it coming to a close soon. It's amazing how much we all miss Croatia and our dear church family.

You know what I really miss? I miss sitting in town sipping a cup of coffee and watching folks stroll down the center of town. Isn't that silly?? I love it and miss it lots. I miss Monday night date night at the local coffee house. When we come in the owner usually turns the radio to a station that has country music on it, I guess he thinks if we're American we like that kinda stuff. It's a nice gesture.

In two weeks we are headed to Croatia for a short 2 week trip. We are looking for a house. At the moment we're homeless here in the states and there. :0) We will also be showing another couple around for their survey trip. We're so excited that God is calling more people to Croatia. We've been there for 7 years along and I can't wait to have someone close, at least to spend the 4th and other holidays with. God is so good and He does things in His timing and it's always perfect.

Well I haven't had any time or place to be a homemaker lately but once I get back to Croatia the end of December I'll have a whole new empty house to make up so I'll be back to being a mom and wife in a semi-normal life then.

I think since we're in a hotel now and have high-speed I think I'll take some time to visit some of you!

Have a wonderful Hump-day!!!

Sledding in Texas in August!

This week we have been in west Texas and what a great place to discover hidden treasures. One of those treasures is Monahans Sandhills State Park. This place is now on my top five favorite places.




I used to think that sledding was one thing that we Texas weren't blessed with but I was wrong. Yesterday we took the kids to Monahans Sandhills State Park and we forged through the shin deep ultra-fine sand and went sledding. We made sure to wax the sleds really good first and then we started out.


The first thing we realized is that it is very difficult to walk in shoes in the sands so off came the shoes. The kids were so excited and so were we. I had to include this one just because I love my sweetie so much.
It took us a while to make it to the top of one of the dunes but after we made it the kids knew exactly what to do. Oh yea and the older kids too. One time was enough for us older ones, it was just too much work making it back up the side of that dune.

Okay I included this picture so you could see the size of this place. That little red X is my son and daughter. They were heading out to find bigger and steeper dunes, and they did.

Took this one just because. It was near the entrance to the state park and I like those windmills.

Daddy and Daughter, Kings of the dune.

Our son Cody was taking a rest before heading down, this is him before and below is the picture of him on his way up. :0)

We really had a wonderful time. The Sandhills at Monahans is a great place to see. Make sure you go in the morning. We headed out there at 9 am and it was perfect. The sand was so cool from the night air but as the day wore on the sand heated up pretty quick. On the LONG walk back to the van we were hot-footing it to say, it was pretty warm and we were looking for some shade to keep our footsies cool.

Monahans Sandhills State Park, a great place to see!!

Mini Vacation in Galveston Texas

Well as usual we are all over the place, we're in south Texas at this point in eternity. Furlough is going great, tiring but great. This week our family (Mom and Dad in-law, sister and brother in-law and of course Madison the sweetest little 2 year old around) came down and are taking their vacation this week. We headed to Kemah Boardwalk yesterday evening. The kids had a wonderful time and despite it being a tourist trap it was a wonderfully family oriented place; no bad music or swimsuits. It was very nice. The kids rode the rides tons of times and really had a good time. I rode a few too but I realize I'm not as young as I used to be. The Pharaoh's Fury (rocking boat) mad be terribly scared and a bit sick. Oh well it had to happen sometime. :0)

Today we're going to see Houston Space Center. Actually the men in the family are headed to the space center and the ladies are headed to the shops!!!! Yes, shopping with no men!!! Does it get any better than that?

Tomorrow evening we have a meeting with Bible Baptist so we'll have to do something small so we will have time to prepare for the meeting.

On Thursday and Friday we are going to Moody Gardens. It's a very nice place, they have 3 or 4 huge pyramids and lots of 3D Imax theatres about nature and stuff. It really is big enough to fill two full days.

Anyhoo, this is what we're doing this week. We were down here anyways so it's nice to spend the time with the family.

Sunday we will be so far south we'll be on the border of Mexico. Down where the tarantulas run free.

The Leslies hit D.C.

Since we were near Washington this week for a meeting so we decided to take the kids to see D.C. We drove into Springfield and parked the van and took the Metro to the National Mall. Talk about a confusing town, where are all the street signs anyways???? Finally we managed to find the Metro station with the one Metro sign we saw, what a frustrating time, but we enjoyed Washington, so it was worth the trouble.

Hope you enjoy the pics.

The Washington Monument, we got there and then close to the long line of people waiting to get into the memorial was a sign that read "Tickets can be bought at kiosk on 15th street. To top it off it was burning hot out there at least mid 90s. So needless to say, we didn't go up in the monument, maybe next time.
The Lincoln Memorial, it was so hot out there we had to fight the desire to jump in that water.

The White House, sadly we couldn't see it so well and by the way we made it that way we were to pooped to walk down there to see it, so this is as close as we got. Oh well George wasn't exactly waiting for us.

The United States Capitol building.

Me and my honey.

Cody, Joshua and Hannah on the National Mall.

My favorite part of the Smithsonian was all the old stuff, well it was a musem and it was all old, but you know what I mean the neat old stuff. These are the original Ked tennis shoes that Timmy wore on Lassie, pretty cool huh?

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day for a neighbor, would you be mine????? Yep, that's Mr. Rogers sweater.

The writing desk that Thomas Jefferson used to pen the Declaration of Independence.

Yep, those famous ruby slippers that Dorothy wore to OZ, I love that show and please don't write me and tell me it has witchcraft in it. Okay! :0)

Oh wow, this is the actual top hat that Lincoln had on when he was shot, how cool is that???

My son Joshua took this picture and though it was an interesting question, see if you can figure it out, the femal "toilet" is on the left. Hmmm

The actualy Apollo landing craft, wow, wow, wow!!!

I have no idea who this is, but he was a pretty cool looking guys, so we took his pic. If you know, please let me know, thanks!

Okay this is my favorite picture of all the ones I took. We walked around the corner and we were in the Insect area. They had all kinds of insects you could hold, including 4 inch cock roaches. What was funny is that the section was funded by Orkin, you know the folks who make it their buisness to kill insects. He He He!!!

This angered me along with pretty much at least 75% of all I saw at the Smithsonian. This sign was in the animal area and let me guarantee you that NONE of my reletives were there.

The devil has really thought this thing out. If he can convince the world that we came from animals then they can easily say that since we weren't born from Adam we don't have a sin nature and without sin, who needs a Savior. Man that devil is sly.

Just a picture of the foyer of the Smithsonian.

I just thought this was a really cool picture, those are my boys.

Okay I know this picture isn't so clear but I want to put it on my wish list for anyone who has any extra money lying around and wants to be a blessing to a missionary wife. :o)
This is the 42 kt Hope diamond.

My Hannah girl.

The Smithsonian Natural History Museum.

The Smithsonian Information Castle, oh yea and my kids down there.