A Short visit with Stephen, Candice and Family

The week before we left for California we spent some time with Stephen and Candice and their fab four. The purpose for our visit was two fold.  First of all we just always love being around their family, but also this time we had a secondary reason for the visit.  Stephen has had a bone spur on one of his heels for some time and it has been painful for him to walk and get around.  He is a very busy dad, husband and has a job that requires him to be up and about a lot of the time.  He is not one to shirk a responsibility and has thus endured the pain longer than he should have done in my opinion.  Candice also has a responsible job where taking days off is not something that can happen just anytime and besides that she is much the same as Stephen when it comes to dependability.  They love their family very much and it is always rewarding to feel the love they have for their children and us when we are together.  They are good examples to us all.  Anyway we stayed at their home in Lehi for five days while Stephen had an operation to remove the bone spur, have his Achilles tendon clipped and the reattached to the bone via a clamp or something like that.  I don't always follow all the medical jargon these days or ever for that matter, but assume that the doctors know what they are doing.  The operation went fine and he came home the same afternoon.  He suffered some pain of course and was medicated for that purpose.  He also felt the need to continue on, as he always does, whether or not he is feeling his best.  We stayed for five days and kept an eye on him while the kids were at school and Candice was at work.  He was hurting some, but recovering fairly well.  We left to go back to Logan and get prepared for our California trip.  While we were at home Stephen developed some complications, and was in more pain and not feeling well at all.  He got a hold of Candice who was at work and she called the doctor and her brother-in-law, Toby, who is also one of Stephen's good friends.  He dropped everything at his workplace and rushed home to help Stephen.  He put him in his truck and took him quickly to the ER at the Riverton Hospital as per his doctors instructions.  It was later found out that he had had a blood clot associated with the operation.  The term "blood clot" is a scary word for them, especially since Candice lost her mother just a couple of years ago to a blood clot after an ankle operation.  Anyway,  Stephen got the help he needed before it was to late and everyone is counting their blessings and acknowledging the power of Priesthood Blessings.

We love Stephen and his wonderful family.  They are such a joy to be around and are always so kind to us and one another.  We are so glad they live a little closer than they were when they were in Colorado and we are especially grateful that Toby was able to get to Stephen and see that he got the help he needed when he did. Sometimes these kinds of trials work together for our good and help us appreciate one another and our blessings a little more.  We are all so richly blessed and count Stephen, Candice, Mason, Halle, Gabrielle, and Sophie among our greatest blessings and sources of joy. Stephen asked me to give him a father's blessing while we were there.  It is an honor to be his father and it is an honor to give a priesthood blessing when one is needed.  I am very grateful.

 I didn't get many pictures, but we did stop by one more time as we were on our way home from California.  This time I at least pulled my camera out and got a few shots.  Below are just a couple of them.

Stephen, Candice and their sweet children pause for the Sandwich shop at Thanksgiving Point.  They share the photo with a chain saw carved ice statue of a snow man.  Other ice statues can be seen in the background.

Sophie decided she wanted to be a Christmas present with bows to go a long with the beauty.  Actually, Sophie does not need bows and tinsel to be noticed.  Take a look at those eyes and remember those big hugs and smiles.  She is awesome as is each and every one in the family.  We love you all so much and are so happy that you are together and that you are a part of our family too.