By Sheila Williams
They say behind every good man is a woman, but I think in this case I'll change that to next to every good man stands his "rib" and in this case the woman that stands beside Cory Bivens is his beautiful and lovely wife Mrs. Leslie Bivens.
Meet Life of Pie's very own "Pie Lady"
Leslie is the other half of this wonderful team that owns the Life of Pie, and if you have had any contact with her the first thing that stands out besides her amazing huge smile is her bigger heart. She has so much joy to share that it's easy to see why God blessed her with this vision of a place for all people to come enjoy good food in a comfortable environment, and thus Life of Pie was born.
She is always on the go making sure that everyone is taken care of; I remember asking her one day what do you do when you stop....besides probably fall out. She laughed and said that when she gets to spend some downtime, she enjoys snuggling with her puppy dogs and doing gardening in the spring and summer. And she has shared some of her pictures with me. She definitely has a hidden talent with a green thumb.
If you've had the blessing of spending any time in the cafe and witness the laughter that goes on, I'm not surprised that one of her favorite shows to binge watch is Shark Tank. Seems that she has taken and learned several great tips from the show -how could she not when she's watched all the seasons 3 times! (Shh...don't let the secret out but she hopes to be on the show one day).
Leslie has so much energy, she goes and goes! I asked her what was she going to do when she retired she laughed and said "NAP." she then said just joking, I plan on taking Life of Pie as far as God has planned. Her comment remind me of the scripture Habakkuk 2: 2 & 3 which says: **2-Then the LORD answered me and said: "Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. **3-For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
A funny and very interesting fact about Leslie was that she has always loved cake, not pie, before she became "The Pie Lady." I asked her what was her favorite cake she said it was Italian Cream, and now her favorite pie is The Sopapilla.
Before I had the privilege of working with her it was so very easy to see that one of her favorite parts about LOP was the customers and the smile that she gets as she interacts with the customers and staff whom she loving calls her "Pie Family." Then with a twinkle in her eye she told me that working with her husband is a pretty cool gig too. Can't beat that perk!
Although she doesn't have children she makes sure that her fabulous fur babies Cabo, her Jack Russell, and Londyn, her Shih-Tzu, get get a huge piece of her heart and her love.
Leslie has such a warm and loving heart. Not only does she display her love for her customers, her LOP staff, her family and of course her husband, she NEVER fails to let you know that with God she would have not made it this far. One of her favorite scriptures is 2nd Chronicles 15: 7 which says But you, be strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded!
