I expect this to be the last blog post.  Please know that it brought Leslie so much happiness knowing you were reading and responding to her writings.  And as long as you keep Leslie's love for others alive in your heart and in your actions, Leslie will always be with us.

Eulogy  

"It’s not the amount of years in a life, it’s the amount of life in those years". It’s the sort of thing we say when someone is taken from us too soon, but in Leslie’s case it was so very true. Leslie lived more in her 49 years than most people do in 100. Leslie loved to celebrate any occasion, she patented the "birth-MONTH" celebration. She loved the holidays, especially Christmas. Every year from the beginning of October to the end of December, our house would be wall-to-wall with decorations - "throwing up Christmas" she would say. The reason Leslie loved celebrations was because Leslie loved people. Holidays are for family and EVERYONE was family to Leslie. Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve were times for family and the house was always full. She always invited some "strays" too – people who didn’t have any family near.  Leslie always made everyone feel welcome. Serving others was one of her greatest joys.

Leslie was a wonderful mother to our children. She loved them and disciplined them. She taught them right from wrong, she instilled a strong work ethic in them. She attended every function they were in, often attending multiple performances of the same event. She was so proud of them in everything they did, so proud to see them grow into good and Godly adults. Jenna and Jeff were not finished needing their mother, but she equipped them to go on without her. Leslie LOVED being a "Nani" to her precious Tyler. As much as anything else, Tyler was the source of her eternal optimism. She gave him her love for learning and for books and she gave him an un-ending supply of love.

As hard as it is for me to say, cancer made Leslie a better person. It gave her a sense of urgency to encourage others, to foster relationships between people, and to share the love of God. Many of you read her Blog every day and felt her radiant optimism. That optimism was real, it was not just putting on a brave face for the world to see. That is not to say that were not hard times, but Leslie always held on to hope – she knew that God was in control and that He had a plan for her life. She was overjoyed to see the small and the large differences in people’s lives because of her experiences. She said that her tribulations were all worth it if it brought people closer to God and to each other. Leslie frequently told me how happy she was that God allowed her to see the "little miracles" that He brought about through her.

Leslie never lost hope. She slipped painlessly from this world knowing full well it was part of God’s plan. I have absolutely no doubt that Leslie is resting safely in the arms of Jesus, that He has given her a full explanation of why this had to happen, and she is completely satisfied with His reasons. Leslie was able to catch glimpses of truth before and now her understanding is complete, just as ours will be someday.

Leslie was my best friend - I was complete in her. It sounds cliché, but Leslie and I never argued. We learned very early in marriage that the secret to happiness was to put each other first. She made me the man I am today, she is my hero, my soulmate, my encourager, my PR agent, my beautiful angel. Leslie is the love of my life.

I love you Babe.

Mike