Fathers

 I found this quote on lds.org and I wanted to share it:
"Second only to the title of husband is that of father. Next to eternal life, the greatest of all gifts that our Father in heaven can bestow on a man is the opportunity of being blessed with sons and daughters."

(L. Tom Perry "Father-Your Role, Your Responsibility" Ensign, November, 1977)

I have some great father/grandfathers in my lives. I can't think of anything better for Father's day than to share a little bit about each one and why they're amazing and why I love them.

My dad my dad I love my dad. He is an amazing man, he makes me happy and is one of my very favorite people in the world. I have so many great memories with him, one that I know I have mentioned many times is when I would go and do papers with him in the middle of the night. It was fun, we'd have a lot of good talks and I got to form a great relationship with him. Another thing I love is that when I was living there he'd ask my opinion on things for what to get for my mom for her birthday, anniversary, Christmas etc and I'd also sometimes wrap his presents to her for him. I just thought that was fun and I liked that he'd appreciate my opinions. My dad always supports me, even when I've done things that weren't the smartest he always let me know he loved me and he wouldn't get mad or frustrated he'd just be supportive.

My Grandpa is the coolest. Anyone agree? Yes I thought you would. He is. . .I want to say 87, am I wrong? Anyway, he's 80 something and he still competes in the Senior Olympics, and he get's all the golds. He says his strategy is to outlive his competition. Which he's doing a good job at because last year when I went to go see him compete, he was the only one in his age group! I have some great memories of him, he's such a fun person and loves to joke. When he lived in Utah he would come over for dinner most Sundays and that's where most of my best memories of him were made. He is a great man and a fantastic grandpa!

Louis Dad Joel, and Grandpa grandpa to Avery. Joel is a lot of fun, he cares so much about his children and will do everything possible to help them out. I have benefited many times from this in just the two years I've been in the family. He can also always get a killer deal on things. Louis has called him many times to have him go somewhere or call some place to get a better deal than he could have gotten on something. It always works! Ever since Avery was born she's had a special bond with Joel. When she was tiny tiny and wasn't even smiling yet she would still respond to Joel so much! He made a comment that they must have been friends in the pre-existence and I think he's probably right. Avery loves her Grandpa grandpa and I'm glad she has such a great grandfather.

This is Louis' grandpa Brandley. He is always looking for the chance to serve people. In fact we have helped him move dozens of people. One of which we moved three different times. He knows every one. We can hardly go anywhere without him stopping to talk to some acquaintance. Whenever you need him he'll be there. Even if you just need a ride. That was from Louis and I want to add something in here too. I agree with everything Louis said about him, he's such a wonderful person who absolutely loves to serve. He is always willing to serve, he loves doing missionary work, I'm pretty sure most of the missionaries in Ogden know him. I loved Grandpa Brandley even before I was a part of the family, some of you may know that I met Louis through my good friend Katie Brandley who is Louis' cousin so I knew Grandpa Brandley before I even knew Louis. He makes you feel very welcome and loved.

And of course my Louis, the father of my beautiful daughter Avery. It's only been 7 months, but he's a great father. It has been great to see him change into a father. It happened the very first day Avery came into our lives. Those of you who know Louis well you know that he really doesn't show his emotions. Well if you know him like I know him you know what his emotions are, but he can be hard to read for some people. When we were in the hospital about 20 minutes after Avery was born I caught him doing a little dance. This is remarkable for Louis, and it showed just how EXCITED he was and how much he loved that little girl. He is so great with her and helps me out so much. Louis is such a fun person and loves being silly and just has such a fun loving spirit. I just know when Avery gets a little bit older she's going to love running around with him.

Happy Father's Day