Porter's Blessing

On Sunday, May 22 Porter was given a name and a blessing- a tradition in our church. Nathan was able to give the blessing and did a wonderful job. Porter's Grandpa Roy and Uncle Tommy were able to stand with Nate as well as Nate's best friend, Jay. We had a little gathering at our house before church to celebrate and visit since we knew everyone was busy and likely wouldn't be able to stay for all of our church meetings and through the evening. We had a really nice time chatting with our family and friends before and after church. Our church meetings were very nice and we felt a special spirit when Porter was blessed. We bought Porter a cute little white outfit for the occassion and he looked very handsome. Here are a few pictures from this special day.




I love Porter's name. Of course his middle name, Ralph, is after Nate's father who passed away in 2008. Nate and Ralph were very close and we both miss him very much. We feel honored to give his name to Porter and hope that bearing that name will help Porter feel some connection to his grandfather. We had quite some trouble deciding on a first name we liked for our little guy, but when we came across the name, Porter, we both loved it. Porter is a family name in Nate's family and there is an interesting story that goes with it. Nate's great-grandfather's family was aquainted with Porter Rockwell, a Wyatt Earp-y figure in Mormon history. When the mother of the family was in labor with one of their children, Rockwell was visiting the family and told the father that if they had a boy and named him after him, he'd give the man a horse (the version of the story I read said he offered the finest of his horses). What man could pass on that offer? A boy was born, and he was named Porter. Now, I had never hear of Porter Rockwell before and I wasn't too excited about naming my kid after someone I knew nothing about so I did a little research on him and, I'll be honest, the more I learned about him, the less sure I became about naming my child after him. There are some interesting accounts from Rockwell's life; he has been accused of murder as well as plotting to murder a governor and he even showed up at the doorstep of the Prophet Joseph Smith Jr. drunk (at least once that I've heard about). He was, however, close to Joseph Smith Jr. who considered him both a trusted body guard and friend. I finally agreed to name our little boy Porter because I came to respect Rockwell's loyalty to his friends and willingness to stand for and protect what he believed was right- qualities I hope my son will also have. I also felt inspired by Rockwell's imperfections and quirks and how he was able to use those to serve those he loved. I hope my little Porter will not face the same challenges as Porter Rockwell, but maybe having his name will give him hope and strength when he needs it. We are so happy to have Porter in our family and love him so much.