6. I am thankful for. . . GRANDPARENTS!

I have been blessed with a great family and I absolutely love my grandparents. They have all blessed my life in so many ways.

Grandma Grace Ida Houghton

Grandma Grace has taught me a lot about strength. She has taught me that during those hard times you have to laugh. I love to hear Grandma’s laugh. It is a beautiful sound to me and a familiar one at that. Grandma is a tough woman. She is also very talented in her taxidermy, cooking, and her staff making. Grandma is also very artistic. When I was younger I remember her babysitting us and I always wanted “Grandma draw me a rose.” I remember her telling me to draw a rose and I would always come back with the line she hated, “but grandma you are the artist.” She would always draw me my picture and I would take it away, admire it and come back for more. She would patiently fulfill my requests and continue until I was satisfied. I treasure her drawings and paintings. SHe also makes beautiful staffs out of diamond willow drift wood. You can see some of them pictured with her above. Arthritis has slowed down her work, but it is still as beautiful as ever. I have always thought of Grandma as a hardworker. She is constantly working to do things for other people or gardening or fixing something else. I remember one time when she was babysitting and we were hanging in Mom and Dad’s closet. The bar that was holding the clothes fell off and made a mess. Grandma took the pieces of wood and cut a little dip into each of the two pieces of wood so that the rod would sit in place and couldn’t roll out of it. I thought she was a genius! I also have to laugh as I remember her watching us and she had peeled the skin off of an apple for us to eat. I bet she regretted that action because after that we refused to eat apples with the skin on them. I remember Grandma coming over to can with Mom or to help Mom with skinning something or cooking something or whatever it may be. Grandma makes the best pumpkin pie! She always “whistled as she worked” and I always knew where Grandma was in the house because she would be humming away. It is something that has been passed down to Mom because I will catch Mom doing the same thing. Grandma always tried to find uses out of everything. It would humor me to see what kinds of ideas and functions she could come up with to go with her object. She seems to always put her kids first and she cracks me up as the little country girl she grew up as. I love my grandma and it always brings a smile to my face when somebody will say, “You must be Grace’s granddaughter. You have her smile.” She has taught my Mom a lot and helped to make my Mom the person she is today and because of that I have a great Mom. I love you Grandma!

Grandpa and Grandma Vaughan

Grandpa Thayne G Vaughan

For most of my growing up, Grandpa was a truck driver and his visits and stops home were always special. I remember always being excited that Grandpa was home. I also remember climbing on him like a jungle gym as we would hold onto his hands and walk up his legs to flip ourselves around. Haha. He would always be happy to give us tons of hugs. One of the things I enjoyed growing up was to watch Grandma DiAnn get her “love jewlery” While Grandpa was out in the truck he always brought back jewlery for Grandma and he would always put a little note in the jewlery box for her. I just thought it was so cute. Now that I am older and he has retired I have grown closer to him and been very grateful to have him home. He is always a pleasure to talk to and he is the SWEETEST man! Grandpa has such a kind heart and he is always a true gentleman holding the doors open and he is constantly using chivalry. He would help me when I had problems with my truck and he was always patient with me when I needed a ride. He is always willing to help those around him. I love having Grandpa around and to hear his memories and experiences as he has lived his life. He has always had a good sense of humor and a smile on his face. Although he is a quiet man he is very important in my life. He has come from a very fine line of men in the Vaughan family and I especially love to hear stories. He always gives me a hug and a kiss goodnight before I go home from work if I come over to visit and he always makes sure I am home safe. I may have only one grandpa but I don’t want any other because the one I have got is the best! I love you Grandpa!

Grandma Ruby DiAnn Hawkins Vaughan

Grandma always makes me laugh. She has a sense of humor that even just the way she handles some things makes me laugh. Although I can sometimes tease her for her lack of hearing I always am grateful to have her as close to me as she is. Grandma has taught me the importance of scripture reading and journaling. She was always faithful in journaling and in her scripture study. I remember when Grandma and I joined Grandpa in the truck and we went up to Alaska. That trip in itself is full of fun and funny memories haha, but while we were there, every night we would (together) read our scriptures, read a chapter from Jesus the Christ, have journal time, race to finish a crossword puzzle (Grandpa cheats) and we would have prayers together. I look back on that trip constantly and I always think about it before I journal. It helped me to establish my habits of journaling especially. Sometimes after work I will wash my laundry at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. While I am waiting for the load I go upstairs and sit on the edge of Grandma’s bed and visit with her. She always greets me with a “Do you know what time it is?! I want you to know Miss Muffet that you are the only one who gets away with jumping on my bed at 2 in the morning!” It always makes me smile because I know I am loved. Grandma has always been able to be very intune with my feelings and I appreciate that. She always knows when she needs to call me and just let me know that she loves me or that she is there when I want to talk. I don’t think I give Grandma enough credit for what a great person she really is. I usually will harass her or give her a hard time, but I really admire her. She has such a testimony for the gospel and she is very knowledgeable in the scriptures and the teachings of the church. If I have a question she can always answer it for me and she is always teaching me things. Her testimony strengthens my own and I am always grateful when she shares her experiences with me. Grandma is also a very patient person. I think of when I was growing up. Grandma always took the time to sit with us kids, under her crooked tree, and have us read to her, or learn calligraphy with our feather pens and ink bottles. She taught us to tie quilts and she would attend a lot of our school functions. She always supported us in our fundraisers and any other silly event we were in. I think of some of the things she would endure and I see her doing the school functions with my little brother and I am grateful for her support. I remember sitting on her porch or under the tree reading The Twits by Roald Dahl and Wendy the Witch. I also remember memorizing I Know an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly. In elementary school Barrett and I knew that Grandma would come eat lunch with us on our turkey and gravy days. When she was the ward organist I remember going and practicing with her while she would play the hymns and I would sing them. Grandma taught me the beauty of music and the importance of having it in your life. When Grandma got her hair permed I knew I was to meet her at The New Do and then we would walk to Penny’s Gourmet to Go to have our fun talks and lunch. She would include me in hers and Mom’s retreats and I loved the memories I got during those times. I also remember getting up early in the morning to go with Grandma to set up for Relief Society dinners and any other thing she was involved with. I watch her dedication to the scouts in our ward now and I am truly grateful for all that she has taught me. Grandma has taught me the enjoyment of a good book, and she always says to only read that “which is worth repeating” or that you “wouldn’t be embarrassed if caught in the middle of it.” She has taught me the importance of good and quality literature and if you were to open one of her books you would find her star ratings inside the covers. In high school Grandma would help me with my summer reading by reading some of the books with me in my wee hours of the night because I had postponed it til the night before school started. My Grandma is a wonderful person and one of the kindest, she always seems to see the good in those around her and I love that about her. She also cracks me up because she always keeps stock of chocolate, chocolate milk, and People magazines for when I come to visit. We always seem to laugh because when I leave and give her a kiss and hug goodnight her glasses always catch my hair-ouch! I am happy to have her and Grandpa right next door so I can visit them at anytime! I love you Grandma!

Grandma Carole La Mont

I feel like I should also include Grandma Carole. She is Jake’s grandma and what a joy she has been in my life. I have only known her a little over a year maybe two and she just brightens my day as well. She is a strict Catholic woman, who reminds me of a proper English woman. She carries herself with such grace and dignity and all her words are filled with love. I have enjoyed getting to know her and to hear her stories. She will let me and Jake come and visit her at anytime and she is always fun to visit. Her grandsons will joke about how they have been booted out of the favorite list when I came around. Haha. She told me that “I told Jacob that he could borrow my car only if he got ice cream and brought you back with him.” She always greets me with a hug and even though she lives about a block away from me, I would have possibly never met her if it hadn’t have been for Jacob Dean. She is always pleasant to be around and she has been a huge support to Jake and me. She is also funny in her mannerisms. I think they are so cute! When we went to visit her one time she disappeared for awhile. We were kind of wondering where she had gone to and when she arrived she informed us that she went to “have an icecream cone with her neighbor.” Jake and his Dad were harassing her about how rude because maybe they had wanted one too. She seemed oblivious to their comments and just responded, “It was very good.” After Thanksgiving Jake and I came to visit. She had offered me a moolatte and told Jake that we could share it. I told her no thanks and then she said, “Well there are pumpkin bars in the freezer if you would like some” Jake answered, “No thanks I am good.” In all seriousness she said to Jake, “I was asking Jessica. Not you Jake.” We both started laughing because she was so serious about it. Jake and I had gone to the Christmas stroll and we ran into Grandma Carole. She was in Amazing Toys, which used to be a dollar store. She told us that it was the weirdest thing because she had been in there for awhile and had looked that store up and down and couldn’t find an extension cord. Jake told her that it was now Amazing Toys. She was like, “Oh. Well that could be why I can’t find one.” She is such a sweetheart and such a joy to be around. She also helped a lot and brought good memories to Jake’s childhood and he always seems very fond of those memories when he speaks of them. She also has been a great help with helping Jake and I to learn more and more about his family history! I enjoy our visits and am grateful for her welcoming me into her home so graciously each time I come to visit! Love you Grandma Carole!