The Grandma Jar

What was your childhood home like?  How many different homes or apartments have you lived in throughout your life?  1.  I was born in Richfield, Utah, in the old Sevier Valley Hospital so I guess that the hospital was officially my first home--but hospitals don't count as home and most of us look forward to leaving the hospital and taking our new babies HOME. So my first real home was in Central, Utah at Grandpa and Grandma Porter's house. Granpa and Grandma Porter's house (rear view) Dad was serving in the US Army and was completing basic training at Fort Ord, California so Mother moved in with her parents until Dad had his first official post.  Although Grandpa and Grandma's house was only my "official" home for 5 weeks I've loved this home my whole life and cherish the memories created here. Grandpa and Grandma's house was our favorite vacation spot. In fact, John and I took our first  vacation together to Grandma's h ouse. It w...

Yesterday was a big day for our family-- Andrew David Hastings was baptized and confirmed by his father Jonathan David Hastings. It was a special rainy day (Sister Debbie Welch, in her talk about the Holy Ghost, reminded us that the earth feels clean after rain). Andrew and Hailey Brixley, Savanna Welch, and Jaycee Young--three beautiful young women from his ward--became the newest members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and started on their journey back to Heavenly Father--to live eternally with Him. Andrew's grandfather's Floyd Hastings and Linel John Larsen served as witnesses for this special ordinance and Grandpa Hastings noticed that Andrew's toe might have come out of the water so Andrew got to be dunked twice. He was then confirmed and given the gift of the Holy Ghost by his dad, supported by his grandpas, his Hasting uncles, and his Uncle Sheldon. After the baptism, we went back to Andrew's house where we enjoyed great company and de...

Yesterday was the Riverton South Stake Relief Society Social. The social commemorated the 175th anniversary of Relief Society. Sister Sharlene Harsh took our theme "Anchor Your Faith in Christ" from a President Monson quote that reads, "We must develop the faith necessary to survive spiritually and to project a light for others. We must nurture our testimony until it becomes an anchor to our lives." We started planning this event six months ago and as March drew near I started to worry "what if no one comes?" We had a few last minute challenges when Katherine had to work and Becky came down with a whopping case of the flu; But, yesterday was a resounding success and because I'm celebrating the completion of a huge RS task I've been thinking a lot about my relationship with Relief Society. Mom used to say that she was a "Mutual Mormon." She meant that most of her life she served with the youth in Mutual or now it would be called Young ...

I love the #52 stories question for this week. It is "Do you like to dabble in lots of different hobbies? If so, what are they? Or do you have one primary past time that takes up most of your free time and energy? I'm a hobby purest. I generally choose one hobby and pursue it exclusively, and passionately until I move onto something else. When I was first married I loved to crochet. Crochet was a great way for me to relax and still feel that I was being productive. I usually crocheted as John and I watched TV in the evenings. The first year we were married I crocheted a beautiful granny square afghan in yellow, brown, and orange for my new father-in-law Keith (I will try to find it and post a picture). I crocheted prolifically! I was in Mormon Handicraft one day and noticed the crocheted baby clothes they sold. Eureka! A light went on--what if I could make money doing a hobby I loved. I made a crochet baby dress and a pair of loopy booties and approached the Mormon Handicraf...

Jim and Garry Porter 2017 This week we said goodbye to my Uncle Garry. My mom's younger brother  passed away on February 15, 2017. The funeral highlighted a life well lived. It was fun to learn things about my Uncle Garry that I didn't know. What I do know about Uncle Garry is that he has always been so good to me and to my family. My kids love to walk down and visit Uncle Garry and Aunt Rula every time they visited the mountain and they always knew they would receive a warm welcome. Uncle Garry gave the best hugs. It seems strange to say that a funeral is fun--and maybe "fun" isn't the right word, but Tuesday, February 21st was a wonderful day and an awesome reunion. I spent the day with some of the choicest people on this earth: my cousins. Porter Family Reunion 2017: Cousins picture Back row: Mark Black, Neil Porter, Wayne Porter, Mariann Taylor, Teb Black, Ryan Porter, Troy Porter Front row: Kathy Cowley, Me, Carol Howell, Susan Crawford ...

Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver, the other is gold. A circle is round, it has no end. That's how long, I will be your friend. I grew up with the best friends in the world. We lived in Highland, Utah when it was a small farming community (unlike the thriving metropolis Highland is today). We went to school in American Fork and rode the bus to school each day--miles on the road bonds friendships. We learning to cross stitch, knit, and crochet together in Primary. We loved to go to Girls camp together. One year (and I'm not sure who can up with this crazy idea) we decided to cut my hair--what a fiasco! I loved the party's we had. One day we were partying at Layna's house and her mother taught us how to make "parched corn." After harvest, they husked and dried the corn on the cob. We took the corn cobs and popped the kernels off and fried them in an open pan. The parched corn tastes like Corn Nuts! Yum! The night we ...