asa lama lakum

We kicked off the beautiful holiday weekend with playtime and a lunch date in Seal Beach with a very sick Bebba on Friday. We had planned on heading to her Bon Voyage get-together at my dad's on Sunday, but after an urgent phone call from Stace who wanted someone to be with "Becca who looked like she was dying on the floor" while she left for a couple hours, Ryan and I packed up and headed to Riverside on Saturday instead. My mom took Becca to urgent care, where they treated her for severe dehydration and complications from her kidney infection, while I whipped up some homemade chicken noodle soup (labor of love making soup over a hot stove in 105 degree weather!) and get-well green juice (and coconut water to replenish her)... After several hours at urgent care, we were able to drop off the care package at my mom's and decided it was too hot to eat the rest of the soup, so Ryan, my dad, Jayme and I headed out for Mexican food (apparently Ryan had a sympathy craving and needed Mexican food!)
Sunday morning was a quiet family morning as Ryan, Jayme and I enjoyed church together before picking up a seemingly revived (but still sick) Bebba- apparently our Nonnie's "caffine-cures-all" cup of coffee helped alleviate Bebba's 3 day strong migraine enough that she was able to liven up a bit for her Bon Voyage gathering that afternoon. As much as we all tried to avoid the obvious good-bye and just enjoy the sunshine, pool, and BBQ... the tears started for her friends Sunday evening. She kept assuring them its not "goodbye," its just "see you later" (like possibly a year or more kinda later)...

Then came Monday. I am pretty sure God had His hand in Jayme acting a complete pistol to make it easier for Bebba to say goodbye to her prissy-pants-pistol of a Nugget (who clearly has the ignorance of a child and had no idea that saying good bye to her Bebba was more indefinite than "see you in 2 days" or "talk to you on the phone tomorrow" or "beach with Bebba tomorrow, okay?" ) As much as I am super excited to see what God has planned for her travel adventures south of the border, the part that makes me sad is to know that we won't be getting a random daily phone call from Bebba to talk to Nugget... or an impromptu family dinner night... or regular Laguna sugaring trips... or when Nugget just wants Bebba, she will be hundreds of miles away and when my sweet girl hands me the phone to call her Bebba, I have to tell her we can't call Bebba. I guess my sadness lies in not being able to see my little girl continue her special bond she shares with her Bebba... and knowing I have to pretend like its not a big deal that she won't be around for a long while. I know the holidays are going to be even harder, especially now that Jayme is becoming so aware of everyday, and the idea of a tomorrow or a yesterday, and her Bebba's absence at major milestones will be tremendously missed: the first Santa Claus experience- now that she's sorta old enough to enjoy the nostalgia that goes with Christmas; the birth of her little brother; (hopefully/prayerfully) moving into our first house... I am sure there will be more... and I know it is selfish to want her to stay, but she has been such a big part of our small family in the past two years as we have endured one hurdle after another, it just feels like a void we will have to cope with and pray she finds what joy/purpose she is searching for on her journey in Baja and Mexico.

No more sappy sadness... on to the highlights of her final weekend at home....

Happy Birthday Bebba!!!

"Don't mind if I high-jack your birthday balloons"

the fam