The Leschorn Family

November/December 2011

2011-11-22T06:34:00.000-07:00

Friends and family, it's been almost a year since my last post. It seems that Facebook has taken away much of my 'need' to update the blog. I am going to try to post a bit more often, as my Facebook posts are a more transient and temporary, the blog posts stay accessible forever.

Family Update - We are all doing well, Malachi was baptized earlier this year, a bit late, since we did not feel like we had a Church home in TH we waited until we moved to our new home. Gabriel will be baptized in the next several weeks. Erica is YW president in our little branch, I am Cub Scouts leader, good stuff! Rose is doing well coming along in her schoolwork. Sarah is rapidly developing her illustration skills. Ammon, Malachi and Gabriel are learning what it really means to work hard, carrying wood, helping with real chores... Hannah has been demoted from Princess to Dutchess (Yes we had to demote her, she was taking the princess thing to seriously...). Maggie and Abbie are super cute, Maggie's hair is growing back well from her head shaving incident, Abbie is growing like a weed.

House Update - Well, I had big plans for the house and still do, but things are going slower then I'd hoped, having stated that, we have done alot, replace the outside doors and two windows on the main floor, I replaced all of the plumbing (including the drain lines) and the bathroom, we have finally started seriously insulating the attic and are putting up drywall, running new electricity and recessed lighting. Hope to complete that work before the end of Thanksgiving weekend. We have also painted the kitchen and put up a new ceiling fan. On the outside we have done alot, cleared the yard of the huge weeds, cleared back the woods quite a bit, made a path to the future back pasture, starting a permenent fence in the lower pasture, hope to finish the first leg before the ground freezes we have also started a pole barn that is going to initially serve as a horse run-in.

So, we've been busy bees! I'm hoping to start to 'finish' some of this work over the next weeks, we will see...

An open letter to the people who are fighting for freedom in the middle east...

2011-02-15T16:00:00.005-07:00

First let me tell you who I am, I am a Christian and a conservative, born in the United States of America. Many of you probably assume that people like me hate people like you. First I want to clear this up, speaking for myself and fellow Christians and conservatives that I know personally. We do not hate you, in fact we pray for you and read the news about you and hope for you and your families freedom and prosperity every day. We respect your faith and your desire to simply be left alone. The challenge we face is that there are people amongst you that would have us and many of our other friends literally wiped off the map. So what do we do? What would you do?

I personally have a large family by western standards, 8 children and a wife, I married young and have gone through many struggles, from losing a house, to having a child with epilepsy, to homeschooling my children, the daily struggle to feed them among countless others.. I have been blessed with the freedom to live as I choose and do what I will, that blessing, although I personally have not had to spill blood to maintain it, was bought with the sweat, blood and treasure of my ancestors and other great people in this country.

You now stand at a precipice, what do you do? Do you make the leap over of your own free will? Do you grab the powerful hand of the fundamentalists groups to help you over just to find out that they want to limit your freedoms, just as has been done thus far by the various dictators and nobility in your country?

I want you, each and every one of you to be happy. I firmly believe that happiness can only truly be obtained by individuals when you have the liberty to do as you wish in your life and to work towards the goals you set for yourself. You deserve to be able to worship freely! You deserve to be able to raise your children, care for them and see them become who they want to be. The only thing I ask of you is to not impose your specific religious doctrine on others, let them choose and be happy.

Your God and my God are the same, let us live as children of that God not mortal enemies. Peace be with with you my brothers and sisters.

Well Pleased.

2010-11-29T15:18:00.001-07:00

I usually post about politics, but today that will not be so...

As some of you may know, the last couple of years has been tough on my family. I lost my job in AZ, moved back to Indiana, thanks to the kindness of Erica's Sister and Brother-in-law had a place to land. This was very tough for us. I am thankful that I was able to maintain employment throughout this, initially not immensely "gainful" but since I have obtained a solid position with a 90+ year old company. But that is not why I am writing this post...

I want to write about my wonderful children, they have taken this entire roller coaster ride in stride. They have adapted to sharing bedrooms with cousins, sharing beds when necessary, living by someone elses rules, even if they are confusing and new and sometimes hard to understand, They have been willing and joyful participants in sacrificing what has needed to be sacrificed and doing what needed to be done. For them I am well pleased, to God I am grateful.

A new chapter has begun in our lives, Erica and I closed on a home a few weeks ago. It's an old house in the country on 4 acres. We got it dirt cheap, with that it needs a ton of work, we should be able to handle about 90% of it ourselves, but we are talking in the tens of thousands of dollars range. The previous owner has not yet removed their "stuff" and we need to start the work to prepare the children's bedrooms. So yesterday Erica and I went to the house to move all of the remaining stuff downstairs and get the space ready for a complete demo and remodel. Once again, my kids were up to the task, Rose and Sarah took turns helping out upstairs and keeping the babies, everyone participated in moving stuff downstairs, sweeping, cleaning-up and doing what needed to be done. Not one complaint, in fact one of the kids, I believe it was Gabriel said that "It is great that we are all working on this together!" My children exemplify what I believe it is to be a Leschorn, we are a family that does not fear hard work and takes joy in the process of reaching for our goals, a family with the help of the Almighty can overcome huge obstacles and strenghten our bonds with our Maker and eachother in the process.

My quiver is indeed full and I am a blessed man. Praise to our God, our Heavenly Father. In Jesus' name, Amen.

It's time to take out the dictatorship that is the Iranian Government.

2010-07-19T17:47:00.002-07:00

"There is no security, no safety, in the appeasement of evil. It must be the core of Western policy that there be no sanctuary for terror. And to sustain such a policy, free men and free nations must unite and work together." - President Ronald Reagan

Who are the Democrats really?

2010-07-19T05:07:00.002-07:00

Reposted from a comment on MSNBC.com. Details below:

I guess it is because of my age and back ground but I have never understood how left wing Democrats have overcome their history of being a notoriously racist group of politicians in the US. Here is the short list of Democrats that have a well documented history of being racist. Listing to the news you would gather that Republicans are just short of being under the control of Hitler. Let’s take a journey through history and honor those past Democratic Party members that have brought your party to the place you are today.

•George Wallace the Democratic Governor that stood on the step of High Schools, and College's promising that schools would remain segregated. Had black demonstrator’s water cannoned in the downtown streets of Birmingham. Senator Byrd who just passed away was an active member of the KKK.
•Sen. Ernest Hollings, leading Democrat Senator known for use of racial slurs against several minority groups
•Lee P. Brown, former Clinton cabinet official and Democrat mayor of Houston who won reelection using racial intimidation against Hispanic voters
•Andrew Cuomo, former Clinton cabinet official and Democrat candidate for NY Governor who made racist statements about a black opponent.
•Dan Rather, Democrat CBS news anchor and editorialist known for using anti-black racial epithets on a national radio broadcast
•Donna Brazile, former Gore campaign manager known for making anti-white racial attacks. Brazile has also worked for Jackson, Gephardt, and Michael Dukakis
•Franklin D Roosevelt, Democrat icon and orchestrator of Japanese Internment
•Dick Gephardt, former affiliate of a St. Louis area racist group
•Robert Byrd, former Ku Klux Klansman known for making bigoted slurs on national television
•Jesse Jackson: Jackson was the featured prime time speaker at the 2000 Democrat Convention. Jackson has a history of using anti-Semitic slurs and derogatorily calling New York City “Hymietown.”
•Rev. Al Sharpten, Democrat activist and perennial candidate and race hustler known inciting anti-Semitic violence in New York City
•Cragg Hines: Hines is one of the most rabidly partisan DC based Democrat editorial columnists to work for a major newspaper, and he makes no attempts to hide it.
•Orval Faubus, Democrat Governor of Arkansas and one of Bill Clinton's political heroes opponents of school integration
•Lester Maddox, Democrat Governor of Georgia opponents of school integration
•J. William Fulbright, Arkansas senator and political mentor of Bill Clinton filibustered against 1964 civil rights act.
•Albert Gore Sr., Tennessee senator, father and political mentor of Al Gore Jr. has been known to lie about his father's opposition to the Civil Rights Act.
•Sam Ervin, North Carolina senator of Watergate hearings fame filibustered against 1964 civil rights act.
•Richard Russell, famed Georgia senator and later President Pro Tempore filibustered against 1964 civil rights act.
Facts about the civil rights act: 40% of the House Democrats VOTED AGAINST the Civil Rights Act, while 80% of Republicans SUPPORTED it. Republican support in the Senate was even higher. Similar trends occurred with the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was supported by 82% of House Republicans and 94% of Senate Republicans.

So, I was wondering how this history of conservatives being this big group of racist, fascist Nazi’s has become mainstream. It seems that the media is successfully omitting the historical facts of the Democratic Party. Plus, they are doing a very good job of insinuating that Republican are and have always been affiliated with various racial group or movements. They are using the ignorance and the lack of history being taught plus a poor education system to make younger Americans (younger than me 50 yrs) believe that Republicans are the party of racist Nazi fascist. Wow, they are doing a good job of it I must say. Plus, the people spouting this information believe it and many are younger Americans. I think most Democrats older than 50 know the truth about the party’s well documented history as being a party with strong ties to racist organizations and policies. As my son would say Dad when the world was black and white (he thinks that because of old black and white TV shows) we would have link this new Democratic party or Progressives as a left wing Marxist, communist radical political party. Today I would just categorize many Progressive as NUT BARS and to be fair there are some Republican NUT BARS.

I do believe it is time that Democrats or Progressive embrace their rich history and celebrate these truths:

•Democrats work hand-in-glove with the Ku Klux Klan for generations; they started the KKK and endorsed its mayhem.
•KKK was honored at the 1868 Democratic National Convention, no Democrats voted for the 14th Amendment to grant citizenship to former slaves
•The records of Congress reveal that not one Democrat in either in the House or the Senate voted for the 14th Amendment.
•Three years after the Civil War, and the Democrats from the North as well as the South were still refusing to recognize any rights of citizenship for black Americans.
•South Carolina Gov. Wade Hampton at the 1868 Democratic National Convention inserted a clause in the party platform declaring the Congress' civil rights laws were "unconstitutional, revolutionary, and void."
•It was the same convention when Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, the first grand wizard of the KKK, was honored for his leadership.
•Eisenhower (Republican) signed the GOP's 1960 Civil Rights Act after it survived a five-day, five-hour filibuster by 18 Senate Democrats.
•1964, Democrat President Lyndon Johnson signed the 1964 Civil Rights Act after former Klansman Robert Byrd's 14-hour filibuster, and the votes of 22 other Senate Democrats, including Tennessee's Al Gore Sr., failed to scuttle the plan.
•As recently as 1960, Mississippi Democratic Gov. Hugh White had requested Christian evangelist Billy Graham segregate his crusades, something Graham refused to do. "And when South Carolina Democratic Gov. George Timmerman learned Billy Graham had invited African Americans to a Reformation Rally at the state Capitol, he promptly denied use of the facilities to the evangelist. (Is this why the left hates Christians because they are still racist).
•Until 1935, every black federal legislator was Republican, and it was Republicans who appointed the first black Air Force and Army four-star generals, established Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday as a national holiday, and named the first black national-security adviser, secretary of state.
•Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said: "The first Republican I knew was my father, and he is still the Republican I most admire. He joined our party because the Democrats in Jim Crow Alabama of 1952 would not register him to vote. The Republicans did. My father has never forgotten that day, and neither have I."
•John F. Kennedy's (Democrat) brother, Robert, in 1964 assisted the FBI's efforts to destroy Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by approving the wiretapping of the man considered the heart and soul of the civil rights movement.
•Sen. John F. Kennedy (with an eye on the Democrat presidential nomination for 1960) voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1957, the law that really got the ball rolling on federal civil rights legislation.
•1964 Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 would never have become law if not for Republican senators and congressmen whose overwhelming support offset extreme Democrat opposition.
•President Nixon who implemented the first affirmative action program with the Philadelphia Plan in the late 1960s. The plan required government contractors to set goals and timetables for hiring minorities. Nixon was a Republican and a crook.
Recognition to Paul Brooks and IrishMike for summary of historical information. Plus, the encyclopedia Britannica that mom and dad gave me many years ago. And the Democratic party for conveniently skipping over so much of its rich history. I wonder why? Ethics and integrity would really be a great concept for both Republican and Democrats to embrace.

It is a fact that the liberal news media and democrats are just bunch of racist trying to point the finger at a group that they fear. Since I am not a member of the Tea Party, not a member of the Democratic Party, or any political party I will let you in on another fact. All races, creeds, colors, religions, ethnic backgrounds have a percentage of humans that are racist bigots. It has always been that way and always will be that way. The best we can do it try to prevent these humans from being placed in a position where they are able to influence falsely beliefs on others. Unfortunately good and evil do not have any political boundaries or affiliations. Good and evils are represented equally in both parties.

Reposted from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38303950/ns/politics/, this is a comment to the reference article, the comment is a wonderful piece of work. Rick-1103139 is the author.

Character Of The Happy Warrior

2010-06-23T21:42:00.002-07:00

Who is the happy Warrior? Who is he
What every man in arms should wish to be?
It is the generous Spirit, who, when brought
Among the tasks of real life, hath wrought
Upon the plan that pleased his childish thought:
Whose high endeavours are an inward light
That makes the path before him always bright:
Who, with a natural instinct to discern
What knowledge can perform, is diligent to learn,
Abides by this resolve, and stops not there,
But makes his moral being his prime care;
Who, doomed to go in company with Pain,
And Fear, and Bloodshed, miserable train!
Turns his necessity to glorious gain;
In face of these doth exercise a power
Which is our human nature`s highest dower;
Controls them and subdues, transmutes, bereaves
Of their bad influence, and their good receives:
By objects, which might force the soul to abate
Her feeling, rendered more compassionate;
Is placable - because occasions rise
So often that demand such sacrifice;
More skilful in self - knowledge, even more pure,
As tempted more; more able to endure,
As more exposed to suffering and distress;
Thence, also, more alive to tenderness.
`Tis he whose law is reason; who depends
Upon that law as on the best of friends;
Whence, in a state where men are tempted still
To evil for a guard against worse ill,
And what in quality or act is best
Doth seldom on a right foundation rest,
He labours good on good to fix, and owes
To virtue every triumph that he knows:
Who, if he rise to station of command,
Rises by open means; and there will stand
On honourable terms, or else retire,
And in himself possess his own desire;
Who comprehends his trust, and to the same
Keeps faithful with a singleness of aim;
And therefore does not stoop, nor lie in wait
For wealth, or honours, or for worldly state,
Whom they must follow; on whose head must fall,
Like showers of manna, if they come at all:
Whose power shed round him in the common strife,
Or mild concerns of ordinary life,
A constant influence, a peculiar grace;
But who, if he be called upon to face
Some awful moment to which Heaven has joined
Great issues, good or bad for human kind,
Is happy as a Lover; and attired
With sudden brightness, like a Man inspired;
And, through the heat of conflict, keeps the law
In calmness made, and sees what he foresaw:
Or if an unexpected call succeed,
Come when it will, is equal to the need:
He who, though thus endued as with a sense
And faculty for storm and turbulence,
Is yet a Soul whose master - bias leans
To homefelt pleasures and to gentle scenes;
Sweet images! which, whereso`er he be,
Are at his heart; and such fidelity
It is his darling passion to approve;
More brave for this, that he hath much to love: -
`Tis, finally, the Man, who, lifted high,
Conspicuous object in a Nation`s eye,
Or left unthought - of in obscurity, -
Who, with a toward or untoward lot,
Prosperous or adverse, to his wish or not,
Plays, in the many games of life, that one
Where what he most doth value must be won.
Whom neither shape of danger can dismay,
Nor thought of tender happiness betray;
Who, not content that former worth stand fast,
Looks forward persevering to the last,
From well to better, daily self - surpast:
Who, whether praise of him must walk the earth
For ever, and to noble deeds give birth,
Or he must fall to sleep without his fame,
And leave a dead unprofitable name,
Finds comfort in himself and in his cause;
And, while the mortal mist is gathering, draws
His breath in confidence of Heaven`s applause:
This is the happy Warrior; this is he
Whom every Man in arms should wish to be.

By William Wordsworth

"It is my prayer that perhaps we can all become happy warriors." -JTL

MVI_2466.AVI

2010-06-03T19:56:00.000-07:00

Two quotes.

2010-05-13T08:16:00.003-07:00

These quotes feel eerily familiar, as if we are living them today...

"Tyrants have always some slight shade of virtue; they support the laws before destroying them." -Voltaire

"The tyrant always talks as if he's preserving the best interests of his people when he actually acts to undermine them." -Ramman Kenoun

Vader Doing the TomTom GPS Voice

2010-05-07T10:42:00.005-07:00

This one is classic, maybe I'm behind the times, but I think this is hilarious!

Commitment to America

2010-05-06T14:23:00.002-07:00

Sounds like a good way to enhance our ability to offer feedback to the GOP! Exciting!

Why Glen Beck converted to the LDS Faith.

2010-04-29T14:01:00.001-07:00

Glenn, Tania, and his two daughters from his previous marriage began attending every kind of church they could find. When Pat found out about their church tour, he insisted that they give The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints a try.

“Mary [Glenn’s oldest daughter, who has cerebral palsy] was the first one to feel the Spirit,” said Glenn. “As we were walking out of the chapel, there was a Dunkin Donuts coffee calling my name. The girls didn’t like the church tour at all, but Mary asked, ‘Can we go back there?’ It stopped us dead in our tracks. She said, ‘I just feel so warm inside.’” Glenn agreed to keep going until someone said something that made him mad, which he thought was sure to happen.

But it didn’t happen, and soon Glenn was seriously investigating the Church. “There were bodies of missionaries at my front door,” he laughs. “I think for seven months they were coming. The second, maybe the third discussion that we had, they turned white because I walked in with Mormon Doctrine. I had been reading it like a novel, and I was making notes because I wasn’t going to join something I didn’t firmly believe in. I really had turned over the stones and had really looked.”

Then came the moment Glenn knew he was going to become a member. “I was sitting in Priesthood, and a guy who I had dubbed ‘The Amazing Mr. Plastic Man’—because he was the happiest guy on the planet—was teaching the concept of Zion. It wasn’t a concept that I had really seriously considered before. He asked, ‘How can it happen?’ Tears started to roll down his cheeks and he said, ‘It can only happen if I truly love you and you love me.’”

Wiping tears from his eyes, Glenn continues his story saying, “During that Priesthood lesson I realized I was at a crossroads. There was no reason why I shouldn’t join the Church, other than I didn’t want to be a Mormon. And I thought, ‘Are you really going to let coffee, swearing, rated-R movies, and all that stop you?’”

Pat baptized Glenn on October 23, 1999—an experience that would be extremely emotional for them both. “It was the longest baptism ever,” Glenn recalls with tears streaming down his face. “We were standing in the water and he couldn’t get the words out. He had watched me struggle for so long. He’d waited for so long. And I couldn’t stop crying. I had seen just a glimpse of the power of the Lord and His promises if you walk in His footsteps. I thought, ‘If I do this, He’ll carry my load.’ I couldn’t wait for that to happen.”

By joining the Church, Glenn finally found meaning in his life and a new outlook. “The great thing about the gospel is that we know the end of the story,” he says. “That’s why I’ve changed. I still have high levels of stress, but not like before. As long as I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing, to the best of my ability, striving diligently to follow the Lord’s footsteps, I can lose my job. The money, the house, it’s a total byproduct. It’s an extra little perk, where ten years ago it would have been all about that. My perspective has totally changed.”

The Good News...

2010-04-29T11:59:00.003-07:00

Friends and Family,

So when I wrote that post a few days ago, I was exceptionally down. Frustrated and felt more or less useless.

I have great news that I am actually ready to share! I have accepted a new position with a company in Indianapolis that offers appropriate compensation for my skill and career level in addition to offering full medical benefits for my family.

I want to thank all of you for your prayers and publicly thank Heavenly Father for answering them. I am grateful for all that I have and excited at the fact that I am going to be able to take care of my family as I am commanded to. Now, the hard work of getting our lives in order can commence and I couldn't be more ready start it!

Look forward to hearing from you!

Sincerely,

John

Obama's blueprint to subvert the constitution...

2010-04-29T11:46:00.003-07:00

I don't like reposting video, but this scares me.

Updates...

2010-04-23T11:04:00.003-07:00

I'm not entirely sure what to post today. Life has been very challenging as of late, my family has relocated to Indiana and only has a home due to the kindness of Erica's Sister and Brother-in-law, I have taken a 60% paycut and am drawing gov't benefits while I regroup and attempt to figure out what to do to get back on my feet.

To say that I am not happy with that portion of my situation is an understatement.

To balance this I do want to say that I am thankful for my family and especially my Wife. She has been an anchor in all of this, doing her best to take care of the children and provide a proper education for them.

I have taken a lesson from this that you need to prepare in the good times for the bad, I did not do enough of this prior to this point and needless to say I have learned my lesson.

So in an effort to prepare for the next upswing I am working on my education, the same technical certification path that I have been on for years, this time I want to take it to the top, Microsoft has a Masters Program for career IT professionals, I am working towards earning the money, $20k for it and getting the technical requirements lined out. If you would like more info about this career transforming program, click this sentence. If you have any interest in sponsoring me on a financial basis for it, please email me privately.

To all of my friends and family. Please take my post as a warning to be prepared, start by putting some money in the bank in an emergency fund at least $1000, then pay off your debts, increase your emergency fund, do not go into debt again. Debt is slavery and we don't need it.

Hope to hear from you soon!

John

Happy New Year!

2010-01-04T12:51:00.001-07:00

To all my family, friends and acquaintances! Happy New Year! May this year bring you new friends, joy and prosperity.

-John

This is how I feel.

2009-07-11T20:22:00.001-07:00

My last day at my current place of employment is July 31st. Although the situation is different, the feelings are the same...

In Loving Memory of Margaret Mary Palermo

2009-05-06T12:43:00.003-07:00

Nana passed away this morning at about 7am. While I am sad that she is gone and I miss her. I can't help but be joyful in my heart that she is now in Paradise, meeting up with our family already passed. The reunion must be joyus, much like the joy we feel when a new child comes into our mortal world.

To the woman...

...who drilled me in my multiplication tables until I got them right.
...who I loved to play cards with on Saturday mornings.
...who I told that I was going to get married first.
...who loved my wife like her own granddaughter.
...who I shared my new faith with first.
...who shared my love for Jesus Christ.
...who loved me unconditionally......

I love you and adieu.

Your Grandson,

John

Word of Wisdom.... Anyone?

2009-03-30T16:54:00.003-07:00

Scalding Beverages Increases Risk of Throat Cancer

Imagine that... what other tidbits of wisdom can we find in modern this modern day scripture...

The Word of Wisdom

C O L O R B L I N D

2009-03-15T16:04:00.002-07:00

I look at society, I look at my coworkers, my family and my friends...

What is the first thing you see when you look at a person?

Do you move away from people who are different then you?

Do you write off one persons actions to represent their race?

I propose that when it comes to race we must become colorblind. We must not judge people by what we see in popular media, we must teach our children that the substance of a man is in his character not his color or creed. It is not enough to "not" teach racism, we must instead teach love. We must become neighbors, go outside of our comfort zones, learn about different peoples and places. Respect the diversity of culture and the richness of the peoples of the world.

The time is near that all the things we have won't be enough, in fact, it has come. The only race we should all recognize is the human race. We must reach understanding, that can only be had through love and service to others.

So, to the world I say... Become COLORBLIND! It is long past time....

My thoughts on a Sunday afternoon.

A Journey Thirty One Years in the Making

2009-01-03T17:54:00.016-07:00

Shortly after I established contact with my birth mother Linda, I determined that I needed to go visit her. I thought about this for several days, then I contacted Helen (Linda's Mom) and told her that I wanted to make plans to visit Linda, but wanted to surprise her. She said she would get the message to Don (Linda's Husband) to call me. The in the next day or so I received a call from Don, got his blessing on the plan. Within a few days I had tickets to fly out to JFK late on December 30th, the red eye flight. Don agreed to pick me up at the airport, at 6:18 in the morning.

I spoke a lot to Erica about this, some friends, some colleagues at work. I spoke to my mom and dad, all asked if I was nervous about the trip. I had to say, "No", I have been at ease with Linda and Don since I first started talking to them.

I flew out to New York, arrived just before it started snowing at JFK, very tired and without much sleep. Don picked me up and drove me home. Linda still was not aware of what was going on. On our way home we met with several of Don and Linda's friends. As a welcome to me a number of Don's friends who are bikers got up early in the morning, met us on the Long Island Express Way. To honor Linda and I they they escorted us as far as they could, in what were slick and snowy roads.

We arrived home in a full blown snowstorm, I walked in, Linda was upstairs, Don walked ahead of me. He said to Linda, "Your Son." I then walked up the stairs and for the first time ever was embraced or even touched by my birth mother. I cannot describe the emotions present in me at the moment, the weight of 31 years of not knowing was gone. Linda was speechless.

In reflecting on this moment and the experiences I have had over the weekend. I will say that I am a changed man. For the love that Linda and Don have had for my brother and I over the last 31 years, I have to express my thanks to Heavenly Father. I am grateful for the decisions that were made, by both Linda, my mom and my dad. I am also grateful for Erica's support in this whole process and the patience she has shown me. I am also impressed and touched by the love that exists in Don's heart for Bill and I, he came into Linda's life after she gave birth to us, he choose from that point to love us as Linda had, as his sons.

I have much more to write, stories to share about my family, but I will leave off with pictures of both my sister Michele, brother Pete and me.

A Thanksgiving to remember.

2008-11-28T11:36:00.012-07:00

Well, as many of you know I don't post on a daily occurence like my wife. Usually I post about a political issue or something that is on my mind. This time I have a story to tell.

In 2004 my son Gabriel had a siezure, he was just an infant, as parents do, we panicked, we had dozens of tests run on him. After about 6 months of personality changing medication and consulting with his doctor, we decided to wean him off of the medication. Since that time he has not had any seizures, we have come to the conclusion that they were development and that he would grow out of them, and that he seems to have done.

At that time I decided that I should find out any medical information I could about my birth parents. So I researched and found out about a mutual consent adoption registry that the NY Department of Health has online. I submitted my information to it. What I got back was a form stating very basic information about my birth mother, her age, race, etc. There was no medical information of any value, so I believed I had hit a dead end at the time. The form also stated that if she registered we would both get a "final consent" form for identifying information to be exchanged, I held hope that perhaps she would register at some point.

At this time I was driven to find out more information, so I searched the internet, even went as far as to call the hospital I was born at, all led to dead ends.

So we fast forward to October 2008, I have moved several times, relocated to Arizona, doubled the size of my family. I received a final consent form in the mail. This could only mean one thing, my birth mother had registered and also recieved that form. I decided it was time to move forward with things. So my wife and I filled out the form, got it notarized and sent it via certified mail to the State of NY. I was hopeful that within days I would hear something.

On November 21st I recieved the information, my birth mother's name is Linda, she lives on Long Island, NY. (I am sparing additional details out of respect for her privacy.) I was in shock, almost 31 years have elapsed since I was born and given up. What would I find?

Late Sunday night I received an email from Linda. She told me a little about my birth family, she told me that she remembered my birthday every year, that she prayed for and worried about what happened to my brother and I. She told me that I have another brother and a sister, a niece and a nephew. She told me that her and her husband, who she met after giving birth to us have thought about us throughout the years.

I responded with my story and was thankful that she made the decision that she made. I told her about my wife, kids and my brother. She went from having 2 grandchildren to 10! She is thrilled!

I am truly thankful for the very adult selfless decision that Linda and her parents made when she was only 16. I believe that God put things in place so that we could all be happy and eventually come back together to heal a family. I have room in my heart for my birth mom, my new brother and sister, cousins, niece, nephew, uncles and aunts and grandparents.

I hope as you read this you think about your family's blessings and they bring a smile to your face.

-John

A open letter to our new President Elect, Barack Obama

2008-11-05T08:17:00.013-07:00

Mr. Obama,

First let me congratulate you for running a very long and hard fought race. You brought many Americans together for a common cause, for this I commend you.

I am a conservative who voted for John McCain. I disagree with you on many social issues, but as the President Elect, I will support you in your office. I sincerely hope other conservatives will join me in this. I do have some specific concerns of a very personal nature that I want to address.

I am an adoptee, born to a mother of sixteen years of age in 1977. I do not know the circumstances around why she got pregnant, but I do know that she made the decision to put the value of my life and my twin brother's life ahead of her own. She made a selfless decision to give up 9 months of her life to carry us to term, and then give a my adopted parents a the gift of something they could not obtain without her help, twin baby boys.

I ask you Mr. Obama, should we not be promoting this sort of behavior? Should we not have better programs to allow more young women to give the gift of life to another, instead of taking it away?

I'm not asking you to outlaw abortion, as I know that is not something your party will allow and it does not seem to be where your mind is, what I am asking is for you to take up the cause of helping to decrease the number of abortions every year by working with other lawmakers to develop programs that promote life by supporting young mothers who wish to carry their babies to term and give them up for adoption. We can provide hope for young mothers, show them that they aren't alone, give them the chance to give a gift of life.

I sincerely hope you or one of your staff will read this and consider my words.

Sincerely,

John T. Leschorn

John McCain and Sara Palin for President and Vice President

2008-09-07T13:13:00.003-07:00

I have decided to endorse the McCain/Palin Ticket. I have reservations about McCain, but his ingenious decision to put Sara Palin on the ticket has super ceded those.

He is a soldier, an experienced politician and I believe has the knowledge to do the job well. He has not always shared my views, especially on immigration. He is pro-life and has the wherewithal to shake up DC.

Palin is young and doesn't take crap from anyone. With her leadership, much of the corruption in the Alaskan state government has been flushed out. She is smart and shares most of my very conservative values.

I believe that judgement is a key factor in being president, not years of schooling, years in congress, even years as governor. McCain has shown sound judgement bucking his party many times when it was necessary, and he has shown resiliency in his multiple presidential runs. Palin has shown a tremendous amount of sound judgement in her career, she has made the right decisions at the right time for herself, her family and her state.

I believe Obama's presidency will actually harm our country, I believe he does not posses the judgement to make good decisions and thinks far to much of himself. He has no military experience, and while this is not a sole reason to discount one for president, in his case I believe his arrogant attitude would have been tempered by time in boot camp. He has less executive experience then anyone else on the field. His promises and speeches are great, you really want to jump on the bandwagon when you hear them. But then when you hear the same thing over and over again the good feelings disappear, you wonder if his message has any real substance.

Thoughts?

Struggling college students and food banks.

2008-07-25T15:27:00.002-07:00

I understand what it is like to be poor. But this quote:

"Now that I'm in the apartment, I have to pay for food, and I have to pay my cell phone bill. I don't make enough to pay for both."

I have one thought for this girl, drop the cell phone instead of using the foodbank. The school provides computer labs for emails, surely a few pay phones still exist.

That's my opinion.

America The Beautiful

2008-07-20T14:55:00.003-07:00

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for pilgrim feet
Whose stern impassioned stress
A thoroughfare of freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America! God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife.
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain divine!

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for halcyon skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the enameled plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till souls wax fair as earth and air
And music-hearted sea!

O beautiful for pilgrims feet,
Whose stem impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till paths be wrought through wilds of thought
By pilgrim foot and knee!

O beautiful for glory-tale
Of liberating strife
When once and twice, for man's avail
Men lavished precious life!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till selfish gain no longer stain
The banner of the free!

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till nobler men keep once again
Thy whiter jubilee!

I sung this song with my children last week, The words that I have put in italics really stood out to me. I wonder how far we are as a country from this vision. I wonder if the founding fathers are looking down on us with their heads shaking. Our union will fall apart if the majority of the people do not live godly morals and worship the one true God.

I am LDS, I profess the truth of my faith, but I will state that I believe that conversion to one faith is not needed for our country to stand, what I believe is that we must all hold to our mosaic of Judeo Christian beliefs, love our neighbors and serve our God. He will protect us if we do just that.