The Fathers in my Life

The thought occurred to me that I should post about all the amazing Fathers in my life. Wish I would have thought of it before Father's day, but that's ok!

My Dad - My Dad's name is Guy. I love his name. As a kid we always joked about how Dad was such an "amazing...Guy" or a "Cool Guy", yeah, we weren't too witty in the joke department, at least I wasn't. I passed along his name to my youngest...Evan Guy Leishman. He is a very dear man to me. As a child, he was always there to come talk to, and it seemed to me that he genuinely cared about what I had to say. Although, looking back, I'm sure there were moments when he could care less about my girly troubles, but if he felt that way, he never made me aware of it.

Some things that I've learned from my Dad

He taught me to believe in myself and dream big dreams
To work hard
To listen to other people
That you can become whatever kind of person you would like to become despite your challenges, where you come from, or your circumstances
He taught me that it's ok to be wrong sometimes and to apologize
He taught me that you should support your family in the things they do
He taught me to be committed to your wife, your children and anything you pursue
Be Passionate about your work

I'm sure I can come up with many, many more if I think longer about it. I think we learn SO many things from our parents, some of which, we don't even recognize.

My Father-in-Law. Brad's Dad is Clare. He is a good man. I have learned many things from him. At the beginning of our marriage I actually didn't know what to say around him, because he didn't talk too much. But I feel very comfortable around him now and have learned SO much.

Some things I've learned from Clare

To work hard
To look for and serve those who don't have anyone else
Life is short
An argument is a two person thing
Enjoy nature and animals
Speaking softly is how you get people to really listen
To always respect and care for your wife and children
To take care of your elders

My Husband - Brad is the best Father. I know I'm biased, but I want him to know that I do think that. No, he's not perfect, as I've unfortunately made him well aware of throughout our marriage! ha ha. But he is truly the light of our household. I can't tell you how much more complete our family feels when he is home and we are all together. Everyone...Laya, Eli, Evan, the dogs, just light up when he arrives. Whatever he is doing, he has 5 shadows. He is my love, my rock, my everything and the same for our children.

Some things I've learned from Brad as a Father

To be respectful
To have fun
To see the bigger picture
To be gentle and kind
To work hard
To be patient
To see the funny
The look at things from the child's perspective

I'm so grateful for the amazing men in my life and their Fathers. I'm also thankful for my Mother's Father and his Fathers. Fathers are important...they are essential.

This Last Week

Evan has been sick the last few days. He cried hard ALL morning off and on throughout the day yesterday. I took him in today and he has an ear infection. He is doing better today. He is starting an antibiotic to help clear it up. He never lays down and just rests like this, ever!

Eli had a rough day last week, I found him in his bed hyperventilating. He was breathing really loudly and fast, rapid heart beat and blood on his pillow. The instant I saw him I knew something was wrong. He had coughed up blood and had a fever. The nurse came right away and helped me with him. We weren't exactly sure why he coughed up blood. We are waiting to hear back about some blood work he had done to see if he is loosing a little blood anywhere internally. I don't think so, but we are checking. He finally calmed down and did a little better the next few days. He was put on an antibiotic because of all the congestion in his upper lungs and nasal passages. We think an infection may have caused the fever. His lungs are almost clear today and he is doing better.

Laya is 11 now! She had a blast during her first week up in Utah with my Family. They had a party for her! She loved spending time with each family and she lived in the pool! Her cousins and all our family, truly adore her. So much fun :)