The Spring Travel Trilogy Part 3: Phoenix

All of the family that could be there to support!

I know we're a bit delayed here but that's ok! Over Memorial Day weekend Michael and I took the FUNNEST TRIP EVER to Arizona for Stephie's baptism (Michael's sister). The drive there was fun as we stopped in Beaver, UT on the way down to meet up with Grandma and Grandpa Murdock at Wendy's for dinner. It was a quick stop but SO GOOD to see them. The rest of the drive was... really long! We are used to maxing out our road trip time at the 9 hours it takes to get from American Fork to Irvine, CA so adding an extra 2 just about killed us. Either way, we arrived safely and were welcomed with open arms! Chad and Rachel (Michael's Murdock padres) had waited up and were anxious to show us around Stephie's new Arizona house. Apparently little Zoye (our niece) had waited up until 30 mins before we got there at 1:30am to try and see us but just couldn't make it. So cute!!


We slept like rocks until the next morning when we woke up bright and early for Stephie's baptism. We helped get the kids dressed and ready, Zachy all the while wondering why he was being forced to shower with this strange lady as he wasn't quite used to us again yet, then skipped off to the chapel. Stephie is such a sweet person. She has touched my heart so deeply and I am grateful to have her as a sister. She is proof to me that the stronger you are, the more you will be asked to face and has strengthened my testimony of the fact that a person will never be asked to take on more than they are able to. She is a terrific woman and mother, and has worked to become such. I loved seeing the peace in Stephie's face the day of her baptism. She had kids running every which way around her, 2 million people crammed into her home, food waiting to be piled on the table and still seemed to handle the situation with composure. I am so grateful that when I am a mother that I will have Stephie to answer questions.

At her actual baptism I was asked to give a talk on the Holy Ghost, which I felt good about giving and I think it went well. She is so ready for all of the blessings that the Lord has in store for her! After my talk and a talk by Chad on baptism I went with her to help her get into the font. You may have gathered from the pictures of Stephie that she was blessed with two beautiful legs - one is original and one came to her after a bout with cancer at age 7. Well we got through the doors and Stephie had her eye on the prize. Without thinking twice she started for the water. I stopped her and asked if she was planning on wearing her prosthesis in the water, as I knew I wasn't supposed to get wet! She laughed and unhooked her leg so that I could pull it down out of the leg of her jumpsuit. Well, Stephie is TINY TINY TINY. She is 33 and wore a 'child's large' sized jumpsuit. As the thigh of her prosthesis got to the ankle of the jumpsuit it was clear that the opening would not be big enough. We weighed the pros and cons and decided that trying to pull it through would be a good idea. We pulled and pulled and should've stopped pulling but we didn't... until her leg was wedged into that pant leg so tight that my fingernail wouldn't even fit between the two. We considered cutting the pant leg but were able to work it down far enough to break the leg free and bring it up through the top of the jumpsuit. It felt like an hour but Michael said it only took 3-4 minutes and ended up being a really sweet, and sisterly funny, experience.



Once zipped and ready, Stephie made her way down into the font and faced me as she stood beside Chad. I was overwhelmed by the greatness of the situation as I watched her listen to Chad's words and baptize her a member of the church. Stephie came up and got dressed before going out to see her friends and family. Michael confirmed her a member of the church and gave her the gift of the Holy Ghost. It was a beautiful blessing. After her confirmation the bishop of her ward welcomed her into the ward family and asked her to stand up and look around at the people that were there to support her. Stephie cried as she thanked everyone for being there and the spirit was so strong.

I am so happy to have Stephie, her kids, and her mother in my life. They have a huge part of my heart and I'm so grateful for them.

Little Zachy Buns!!