Candace Cameron Bure is reflecting on how truly grateful she is for her family, friends and her faith amid a "difficult year."
The "Full House" star exclusively shared with Fox News Digital that she's experienced "a lot of loss this year," including the unexpected death of her TV father, Bob Saget. The beloved comedian died in January at the age of 65 after accidentally hitting the back of his head following a stand-up gig in Florida.
Saget's sudden death sent shock waves throughout the entertainment industry, including within his television sitcom cast who became real family. Bob, along with most of the "Full House" cast, recreated their famous characters from the '90s show for the Netflix series "Fuller House," which ran for five seasons and ended in 2020.
"I've had a very difficult year on a personal level, which has really shown me who my true friends are. From the loss of Bob this year," Bure said before detailing a damaging fire in her office to various health issues from within her close circle. "It felt like a lot of loss this year. When you have those friends that are there and show up; I'm grateful. I'm so grateful to my friends, my true friends and my family, of course."
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"Just seeing what so many of us and our loved ones have gone through over the last three years … I'm so, so grateful for my health and my family's health," she said. "And I am grateful for true friendship."
In addition to unwavering encouragement from the people she's closest to, Bure's devotion to a higher power has kept her focused and continues to give her strength.
"My faith is so the core and foundation of who I am that sometimes I don't verbally acknowledge it because it's just my assumption," she said. "It's like, well, ‘If you get Candace, you get faith.’ It's one and the same. It is with me all the time. It is in all that I do.
"I'm very grateful for God's protection and love."
Bure caught the acting bug at a young age and followed in the footsteps of her older brother, Kirk Cameron, who starred as Mike Seaver on "Growing Pains." She's now become TV's unofficial queen of the holidays with a host of Christmas movies under her belt.
"I never imagined that I would be known for a Christmas movie career," she said while reminiscing on her first film with the Hallmark Channel, thinking it would be a "niche" project. "It wasn't a thing back then, and then we made it a thing, which was pretty cool.
"Since that, it's like, I've done one every year. I love it. It truly is [my] favorite time of the year. I love all the things associated with Christmas and how it makes people feel. Warm and happy and merry … and also emotional, depending on what's happened during the seasons or loved ones that have you've lost. It just brings up a lot of emotions. To be associated with something that is so beautiful has been an incredible part of my career."
Her first movie with the Great American Family network, "A Christmas... Present," is not only a classic holiday tale, but also a reminder to focus on being with the people you care about the most.
"It's absolutely about being present in the moment because that's so often what we miss, because we're actually worried about buying the presents and being tied up in the business of the season," she said.
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"When we all got locked down for two years, everything slowed down and that re-prioritized so many lives. It really put the focus on what is important in life for a lot of people. It certainly did for me and my family. So I thought, Oh, what a beautiful story that I feel will be very relatable to so many people, to talk about that very subject, because it really impacted my life, to think of how busy I've been. When you're forced to slow down, you really do. Things become so clear. There's a focus that comes right in front of you."
Bure revealed last year she was leaving Hallmark's Crown Media to develop, produce and star in content for Great American Family. She recently faced backlash for comments made about the networks' possible plans to focus on "traditional marriage," and responded in a lengthy post that she refused to fight hate with hate.
"I've never been interested in proselytizing through my storytelling, but in celebrating God’s greatness in our lives through the stories I tell. The God we serve is a wildly creative and loving God. He didn’t just capture a small part of my heart, He has captured all of my heart," she wrote.
Similar to her on-screen holiday characters, Candace is a Christmas connoisseur.
"We always go to our Christmas Eve service. It's always a candle lit ceremony, which is just phenomenal," she said of their family's ritual which begins with worship and ends with Beef Wellington. "The Christmas message itself is just this beautiful reminder … and it's a night where it's very easy to invite friends to church."
On Christmas morning, Candace, her three kids and husband wake up early to watch the sunrise on the beach before heading out for their longstanding tradition of serving breakfast to unhoused members of the community at a local homeless shelter.
"We bring all the food, and then we cook, and we sit down and eat, talk and share stories with about 50 to 60 people that live at this specific shelter that we always team up," Bure said.
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After serving others, the family goes home and opens gifts before heading to her brother Kirk's house where Christmas dinner is served. "We sit around the fire pit, and we sing Christmas carols," she added.
Throughout the holidays, she's also reminded of the gift of love and how she's been fortunate to have a partner by her side. Candice and her husband, former hockey player Valeri Bure, celebrated their 26th wedding anniversary earlier this year.
"He makes me laugh … that's the best quality. Someone that still makes you laugh and smile that you want to be around," she said.
"He's a strong voice in my life that's so supportive of our family. He's a really good leader. He's beautiful and gentle and strong, and I just so appreciate the man that he is."
