SuperMomSpotlight: LeIla Leamaster

Hello SuperMoms, I am going to be very vulnerable right now.  I can talk to just about anyone, I love to act on stage or on set.  I love to connect with people.  I love to tell stories to youth.  I can draw anything that I choose.  I am a mother of 3 children ages 14, 12 and 10 plus two bonus sons (22 and 18).  I have done hard things in life.
So why am I so nervous about spotlighting the most influential examples of my growing years?  Because she is the woman I call MOTHER.

 It is my desire for anyone who reads this to be able to embrace who she truly is.  And without your opportunity to physically be in her presence to see, hear, feel and learn for your self what blessed daughter of God she is.  It will solely be up to my words to paint the picture of this woman I get to call my best friend, councilor and MOTHER.
Who is LeIla Leamaster?  What does she love? Where did she grow up.  Why is mothering such an important part in her life?  Who was the greatest example of the kind of mother you hoped to become? These are just a few of the thousands of questions I could ask and I would get true from the heart answers.

So, I am honored to introduce to you with the best of my abilities, LeIla Leamaster.

 (Left to right, LeIla, sister Stacie SuperMom of 9 (new born baby), Sister Jessica SuperMom of 3, Stephanie SuperMom of 3 & 2 bonus sons. The babe in arms, grandchild #17)

Leila was born in December after Christmas and before New Years.  She is the 3rd baby girl of the 4 girls that graced the home of Gladys and Lyle Graham in Murray, UT.

She describes her self as being just like "the little girl with a curl in the middle of her forehead.
When she was good, she was very very good....but when she was bad, she was horrid."

She claims she had a temper as a young girl when things were not going her way,  but I have a hard time believing that my mom was ever a scene to be reconciled with.
She can be head strong, but only for the right reasons.

She attended Hillcrest High and then went to college in Price, UT. 1974 where she met Lynn Leamaster and later that year they married.  Nine months later she was holding her first baby girl, and lovingly  they named her Stephanie.

"The kind of Mother I want to become,"

My Mother tells me often of sitting early in the morning with the soft breeze gently playing with the silk curtains.  Holding in her arms a real life baby girl.  And being just AMAZED at her creation of her very own.  her daughter.  Being in awe at the fingers and toes, hair and eyes, tummy and legs everything perfect, and wondering what she can do to give the best to this tiny individual.

I am certain that there we many times in her life that she wondered if she was doing the right thing.  Or if she wasn't giving enough for her first baby girl to grow and develop into who she was supposed to be when she came into this world.

In the next 6 years 2 girls and 1 boy graced their home in Utah.  Growing up there was always something cooking in the kitchen.  I remember my friends in school would ride their buses but then walk from school just to come pick me up.....because they knew something good was always baking in our home.  (And not just because I was so incredibly popular )  I was always feeling picked on that she would make french toast, or pancakes, or waffles for breakfast because everyone else got to have cereal.  ( I look back on that and ask forgiveness for my picked on ways)

Our cousins lived near by and would come play at our house.  We would put on full plays for her to watch.  She was always very engaged with our plays and I am certain they went on and on and on.  But she never complained. 

She was a wizard at keeping us entertained when we where in the car for trips to Grandma's house.  We sang folk songs, we told "add on Stories" we played road bingo.  She is so creative when it comes to activities. She has a skilled hand to sew, she loves gardening and cooking.  And patience to teach anyone who wants to learn.

I loved being sick, only because my Mother would give us the most loving nurturing attention.  My head would be gently massaged, my face softly wiped with a cool wet wash cloth, and she would dip the cotton end of a q-tip into lotion and gently swirl it over my skin. Or she would play with my hair for hours.   My favorite was playing the "guess what I am drawing on your back" game.

I saw her constantly reaching out to others,  being a friendly, loving and kind.  We delivered many cinnamon rolls to neighbors for various reasons and sometimes no reason at all. I enjoyed being with her. I always felt accepted and cherished. I loved seeing how other's days were brighter because of being touch by her presence. 

   "Things can change in an instant"

One morning when I was in Junior High, I woke up to seeing an Ambulance outside of my home. My mother had a seizure and later they found a blood clot on her brain the size of a golf ball.We nearly lost her twice. Once after the surgery and second when blood clots passed through her heart. Yet she held strong to life and even tough she had to reteach her left side how to talk, walk and hold things with her fingers again. I can only imagine how difficult that would be to live through.   She still suffers loss of feeling in her hand. Yet she kept optimistic, cheerful and full of Faith. 

 She raised all of us to be close siblings and to enjoy and appreciate us as a family.  We have graced her with 17 grandchildren including 2 bonus sons.  As I look to raise my children I often find myself doing as I know my mother would do.  And for that I'm grateful. Thank You LeIla Leamaster for being a SuperMom in my life. Because of you I am a SuperMom to my own children.

By:Stephanie Goodman

SuperMom of 3 children & 2 bonus sons