The Plan of Salvation

Wow, it always is way too long between posts! Well, we have had an interesting couple weeks! On July 8 we were so excited, getting ready to go to the Ipson reunion up Beaver Mountain to a place called Timid Springs. I was excited to go for a few reasons! I LOVE to camp and I was excited to share that love with Jaycee! I love camping food and was excited to make it! I also love Tom's family! My parents have always taught me that when you are sealed to your spouse, you are sealed to their family, so you better like the family! I have to tell you that I have 2 great families now! I felt in a funk though all day that Thursday but I thought it was just the stress of getting everything ready. We got to the camp and got to bed around 3 or 4 on Friday morning. The next morning I woke up and was still feeling weird, and still couldn't figure out why. Around noon our time Jaycee just started to cry and get really fussy. I was sad and a little embarrassed cause she is never like this and I wanted the family to see what a good baby she is! I am even more embarrassed about how prideful that is. Well, we thought maybe she had a tummy ache cause she got some formula she isn't used to the night before. So I tried to rub her belly to get the gas out. She didn't feel gassy, so I didn't know what was wrong! Our little family all decided to take a nap since we didn't get much sleep the night before. All of Tom's cousins went out shooting, something that he LOVES to do! He felt like he needed to stay with us though! I felt bad but it was so nice to lay next to him and just get some rest! Later that evening Tom wanted to show his cousin DJ something on his phone. So he turned it on and noticed that he had a voicemail but he couldn't check it cause there was no service. All of the sudden a text message from my brother came through. It said something like, "Grandpa Henrie has had a stroke and is not doing well. Call us when you get this!" I was walking across the camp toward Tom and he said, "Nat, your grandpa had a stroke!" I didn't need to hear anymore. For some reason I knew it was bad, and the reason for my funk all became clear! I kindof fell on the ground and started bawling! My cousin Bree all the sudden noticed what was going on and she ran over to me and asked what was going on, I blurted out something about my grandpa having a stroke and she tried to comfort me saying something like let's figure out what's going on and people recover from these all the time but something inside me told me that he wasn't going to get better. All I can remember is saying no, no! Tom came and just held me, and I told him, "We need to leave right now! We need to get to Vegas!" DJ let us use his truck to go get service to find out what was going on. I called my poor mom who had been trying to get a hold of me all afternoon! She said that 11:00 that morning (12:00 our time, right when Jaycee started getting fussy!) Grandma called and asked if my dad was there and that there was something wrong with grandpa. My parents got there and my dad knew he had a stroke and called 911. They had done the CT by the time my parents and grandma got to the hospital. The prognosis was not good! It was not a clot stroke that they can fix within 3 hrs, it was a hemorrhagic kind where he was bleeding and all they could do was do surgery to drain his head, but he would never walk or talk again! He would not have wanted that! So they decided to take him home on hospice. They said he had anywhere from 2 hrs to a week and he would pass away! At this point I was in shock! This couldn't be real! Linda let us take her car and Tom and his cousins packed it as fast as possible and we were on our way to Vegas at 10 pm. Good thing Tom could drive cause I was kindof a wreck! Thank goodness he took a nap instead of going shooting! We got there at about 1 am Vegas time. Grandpa wasn't responsive really, but he did squeeze mine and Jaycee's hands! That was a sweet experience! Most of the family got there by Saturday night. The next few days were a blur filled with both laughter and tears, but no sleep! There were many times we thought it was close and we would all gather reverently for the impending Spiritual event. The Spirit was truly strong in my grandparents house! The angels were close! On Tuesday my Aunt's family got there. They were the only ones left in the family that were planning on coming, to get there. My cousin's husband and 3 year old were truly missed. Well, Grandpa waited for Uncle Jeremy and the kids to get there and then passed peacefully with the whole family standing by! Once again, a very Spiritual experience! The funeral and burial were hard but good! All of the people who came showed just what a great man my Grandpa is! I am glad to call him mine! There has been so much support freom people I have never met as well as friends and family! I am so grateful for all your prayers andam grateful for all the little things people have done like Bree coming to the burial! I was sad that Tom had to come back home on Monday and wasn't able to be there for the funeral! I was so glad he could come be my support person and shoulder to cry on for the burial. He is my rock! Every time I think about Grandpa being gone, it still doesn't seem real, although I know it is. I am so grateful for his service throughout his life. When he died he was the first counselor in the Las Vegas Temple Presidency. Those days they spent there were long and hard but he and Grandma wanted to serve! I miss my Grandpa but am comforted in the knowledge that I will see him again! I am so grateful for the Plan that allows me to be with my family forever!