Two-year-old Kaleb smiles at his mother as we enter his bedroom. The interview is over and Kaleb, Laurie's youngest son, standing in his crib, reaching out his arms to his mother, just can't wait to be re leased from his captivity. The afternoon nap turned non-nap, as of today.

It's been said that the preacher's wife is a wearer of many hats and so it seems such is the case, and more, in the life of Laurie Cox of Emlenton. Her husband pastors a congregation of 100 or so at the Fellowship Baptist Church. Laurie is his right-hand woman. She is a mother of four (Kaleb being the youngest), an interior decorator, a Web site designer, a public speaker and teacher, and a source of energy and creativity for the church that sits on the hill and the household that sits beside it.

'' Can you say 'Hi?''' she asks Kaleb.

Kaleb signs back to her and smiles again, his blue eyes dancing, his blond hair rumpled. Born with Down Syndrome, he is not yet able to verbalize as other children his age can, but his signing is age-appropriate thanks to Blues Clues, a chil dren's television show that uses sign language, and to the loving support of family and friends. (Laurie took signing in college and is fluent in the language.)

He is expressive and, indeed, a '' man of many faces'' as Laurie describes him to be on her Web site. The Kaleb page, bordered by a curious picture, describes in more detail the events surrounding Kaleb's birth.

'' I feel like the woman in the picture,'' Laurie writes. '' As long as I keep my eyes on the Lord, I will be the best mom to Kaleb I can be! God is with me as I journey through this new experience in my life.''

As we sit in her living room, the endless drone of a ceiling fan in the background, the saga of this energetic, compassionate woman continues.

I'd entered this inviting abode only an hour earlier when we'd begun our interview. Laurie and her husband, Jeff, have been involved in this particular ministry for the last three years. It is hard to believe, viewing the many physical changes that have obviously occurred during that time period. Before this, they'd lived in Indiana and then Florida and even so, Laurie '' loves it here.'' Laurie's eye for interior decorating is obvious as one tours the new buildings that have recently been added on at the church. She designed with an attention to the purpose of each and every room, each and every potential visitor. Even the men's restroom, bordered with buck and turkey for the many hunters in the congregation, shows Laurie's sensitivity to the culture of this region, as well as her sense of humor.

Between therapies for Kaleb and home schooling her other children, Laurie taught herself last year to code Web pages from tutorials off the internet, staying up until 2 or 3 a.m. for three weeks in order to put together her own Web site, hoping it would become an informational resource for other pastor's wives and, in the long-run, an emotional support to those that may struggle with the physical aspects of '' ministry.''

Recipes, ideas for mother/daughter banquets, program plans for special events and the Cox family history, too, may help other women to breathe a sigh of relief. She hopes to eventually publish the information in hard copy, but until then, she continues to expand and develop her site -- presently teaching herself a graphics program.

The guest books on her site have been signed by respondents from across the nation. It is evident from the 10,000 hits since April 1999 and e-mails that many have found common ground in this woman in rural Pennsylvania, serving others, hoping in the future, and ambitiously setting goals for herself and the work that is set before her.

When asked about her house, the one that was built last year by an organization called Hosanna, the one that sits next to the church on the hill and is '' home'' to her and her family, the one that was an answer to prayer, a blessing from God, Laurie smiles and says, '' It was the neatest experience of our lives, watching 100 volunteers making a home for someone they didn't even know.''

Hosanna, a volunteer organization out of Rochester, Pa., helps families in need when certain criteria is met. Laurie has included a link to Hosanna on her site and pictures of the house going up. The volunteers worked side-by-side during last summer's grueling heat wave. They slept in tents or on the church floor. Community volunteers volunteered to serve and feed the volunteers.

The house, handicap-accessible for Kaleb's condition, was finished in four days.

'' I still sit here and am thankful everyday for it. Everything about it is a memory, each tile, everything,'' Laurie says. Her gratitude is obvious in the tender way she speaks of these people.

Laurie says she enjoys the ministry. Being a preacher's daughter, she always felt she'd like to be a preacher's wife herself. And so she is. Energetic, resourceful and ever thankful to God for the help and support of others in her life.

Kaleb's happy too. He avoided his afternoon nap, too full of energy to sleep. Too much to do, too little time A lot like his mom, I'd say.

Written by Debra Highland

Back to Kaleb's page.