Leslie was born in LDS hospital and soon after was united with her new adoptive parents. She was their second child, she has a brother 4 years older who also was adopted. She grew up in the same home in North Salt Lake all of her life. Her parents had waited so long and were so excited to have these two beautiful children, they gave them everything they had and spent as much time together as they could.
From a very young age Leslie remembers many family vacations. Her favorites were Disneyland, Zions, Bryce Canyon, and Mountain Outings. Their family were HUGE New York Yankees fans (the baseball team) and traveled to Oakland and San Francisco a few times to see the Yankees play. When she was older, their family continued traveling but they traded in Disneyland and mountain outings for cruises. Even now their family still goes all together on Family Vacations . Leslie's favorite places to travel have been St. John's for their awesome snorkeling, Jamaica, Turks and Caicos and Antigua. Leslie hates the winter and being cold so the Caribbean truly is her happy place.
Leslie was encouraged to do any sport or activity she desired. She was always very tall and grew tall very early. By the time she finished Junior High she was already at her full height of 6'. Therefore she tended to pick sports and activities that she felt comfortable doing with her tall frame. She found she loved ice skating, played competitive softball as a pitcher and danced.
When Leslie was little, her father's health deteriorated very rapidly. He has Rheumatoid Arthritis and when Leslie was 12, he went in for a knee replacement and foot Replacement (the knuckles in toes ) which led to some interior infections, 25 surgeries in the next 5 years and her dad being in a wheelchair most of the time. Leslie remembers having wheelchair races with her brother on a big ramp her Grandpa made for her dad to be able to get in the house. There were many health care providers in the home and they would have Leslie help them do different procedures on him including putting in his pic lines. This and being at the hospital ALOT, however began a love for the medical field in Leslie's life. Over years, she had a dream of being a NICU nurse combining her two loves, medicine and babies.
Also, being so tall so young was very difficult for an adolescent girl, even one as beautiful as Leslie. It wasn't fun to think about going to school dances when only a few boys at the school were taller than her. So instead Leslie focused on academics. She took her love for nursing and completed her CNA training at the DATC before graduating from high school. This was very fun for her, she and all her friends would leave high school half-way through the day and go up to the DATC to take the courses together.
Still Leslie felt very out of place being so tall. A few times while at the mall she would have modeling scouts come up to her and give her their card. One time a scout took a step further and called her mother. This made her mother really stop and consider that this might be the thing to really help Leslie feel more comfortable with her height. After some thought, They decided to go with an agency in Salt Lake that they felt comfortable with. She began modeling classes and found she was quite good at it.
Leslie also worked in High school at a scrapbook company in Bountiful. She worked there for 3 years. She learned quickly that she didn't like scrapbooking, but she did like having a pay check. While working there she met another girl who kept telling Leslie about her big brother Jeremy. This girl was very good at photography and took Leslie's Senior pictures. When Jeremy saw Leslie's pictures on his sister's computer he asked about her. This delighted his sister as she had been wanting to set them up. But when Jeremy heard Leslie was only 17 that freaked him out a little. So Jeremy patiently waited until July when Leslie would be graduated and be the grand old age of 18, then he asked her out. As soon as Leslie heard he was 6 '4 '' she said, « Sign me up! »
A month after meeting Jeremy, Leslie moved to Orem to attend UVU and start in pursuing her RN. She continued to model and also worked in a nursing home. Every weekend she would drive home while she and Jeremy continued their courtship, as Jeremy was attending Weber. During this time Leslie learned something about herself, she learn she didn't like bodily fluids at all! (Especially from older people.) She started questioning her decision to pursue nursing. It also seemed more and more that her and Jeremy would be getting married in the not so distant future.
In April of that year, Jeremy's family took a trip back to New York and all the church history sites. They invited Leslie to come along with them. While in the Sacred Grove Jeremy pulled Leslie away from the rest of the group. He got down on one knee and asked her to marry him. It was a very spiritual proposal. She was surprised. She knew he was going to ask but didn't even realize he had the ring yet. She accepted and for them the Sacred Grove is not just the place where God revealed truth to young Joseph but the place their family was started.
On July 22nd of that year they were married, Leslie was just barely 19. She knew she needed to make a choice about nursing school. She decided to drop nursing and instead went into the medical assistant training and also started a job with her friend at DMBA, (the churches insurance company).to help get some income. However, as often happens in life, the Lord had other plans. 4 months after being married Leslie found out she was pregnant and very, very sick. She quit the medical assistant training program and soon after had to quit her job as well. Modeling was also on the back Burner. But she was so excited to have a baby. She had always loved babies and had always wanted to be a mom.
2 years after Halle was born, Leslie came to a cross roads in her modeling career. After having a scout from New York talk to her about the possibility of a modeling career there (not knowing she had a family) She realized that she either needed to really devote time into it and do more to go anywhere, or quit and be a mom. The choice was easy and she hasn’t looked back since. She quit modeling and a year later they welcomed their second child, a boy named Dallas into their home. 2 ½ years after that they welcomed Alyssa and last year their final child, Drake was born. Leaving them with the perfect ratio of 2 boys and 2 girls. Which is exactly what Leslie had hoped for ever since she was little and so badly wanted a sister!
Halle is very fun, energetic and loves life! She has an amazing singing voice and is musically talented. Dallas loves every sport and especially has a love for building things and figuring out why things work, much like his dad. Alyssa is a very happy and fun little girl. She loves dancing and tumbling and is a very free spirit! Drake is the « snuggle bug » of the group and loves his dad more than anything. Leslie says her children and husband are her happiness. She didn't realize you could be so connected to someone and love them so thoroughly. She says she is normally a very shy and reserved person and doesn’t like to be noticed and in the spotlight (unless walking the runway where nobody knows her) She says her children have helped her come out of her shell and inspire her to be the best she can. She feels very blessed to be a stay at home mom.
In 2012 Leslie and Jeremy decided they wanted a different/bigger home. They were living in Farmington in the Eagle Bay school boundaries. Hallie was in the Spanish immersion program and they really wanted to keep her going in that. They looked and looked but were having no luck finding the home they loved. One day while out driving, not looking for homes they drove past the model home for Woodside. Leslie thought, « That's exactly the home I want. » She asked Jeremy to stop, but Jeremy reminded her they didn't want to leave Eagle Bay. She mentioned that it wouldn't really hurt to just look.
When they entered the model home the spirit struck her so strongly. That was the exact home she wanted and this neighborhood was where they needed to be. Both her and Jeremy felt it. That day they put money down on their lot. (This impulsivity was not like them) They loved the view of the mountains and the openness of the neighborhood. Leslie says they have been here for 4 years now and love it. They haven't missed Eagle Bay and she loves that she can just send her kids outside and they have a multitude of friends to play with.
In her free time Leslie likes to decorate her house. She also loves to garden and her yard is very pretty. She also likes putting photo books together online. She still really loves traveling and has continued her family's tradition of traveling with her kids. She hopes to be able to continue doing that and still considers working on her dream of becoming a NICU nurse.
I asked Leslie what piece of advice she's gained from living her life. She said that it's important to live today for today and enjoy it. So much of her time when her dad was sick or going through other trials, she felt like if she could just skip ahead until it had passed, or the trial was over, that everything would be OK after that. What she learned though is when one does that, they miss out on all the good things happening in between because they're always looking forward. Now things are hard instead of saying, « Just wait and this will be over. » She changes her attitude and says, « Look for the Positive today! »
I loved visiting with Leslie. She's not only a great listener but I was surprised by the many experiences she has had in her own life. If you get a chance ask her questions about what she's done, you will be glad you did. She is fun and very open to talking about herself. She's a very great lady!
No comments:
Post a Comment