What a thrill it was for us to realize that we would still be in California when Summer and Clint were blessing their baby girl, Paige. It was only 2 hours away from Bakersfield in Fresno, which was on our way back home at the perfect time we needed to start making our way back to Washington. Clint gave a beautiful blessing and after church we all gathered at Yvonne and Andy's house, who are long time friends of our family. Yvonne put on this amazing lunch for all of Summer's extended family.
The luncheon was at noon and we were going to head back to our hotel in the early afternoon, but Yvonne got out her bracelet making kit and insisted we stay until she made Kate, Ginger, and I the bracelets she had been wanting to make us for a long time. They were special bracelets for mothers with charms for each child. We had so much fun and my girls even got to make bracelets of their own.
Don was being such a good sport about letting me stay there with all the girls, and it ended up being after 9pm that night when we all finally left. None of us wanted to leave. We would be heading back to Washington and Kate and Ginger would be returning to their homes in Moorpark. Our extended vacation was coming to an end and we were all sad! We had cried when Summer left, knowing she was heading to Virginia and that we wouldn't be seeing her for quite a while and now it was time for US to say good-bye, not knowing if we would be seeing eachother before our annual Girl's weekend in February or not. It seemed like such a long time away! We said our good-byes and drove off, only to get a call 5 minutes later from Ginger asking us to come back to the gas station and pay for her gas, since she and Kate had both forgotten their wallets! We cracked up about that one. But, it was there at the gas station that Ginger hugged me tight, then went to get back into her car, but turned around and came back for a second good-bye hug. I will never forget that hug because it was the last time I would see my sister on this earth. I can still close my eyes and feel the tightness and sadness of that embrace. The entire day is a sweet memory for me and one I will never forget.
7 comments:
That picture is perfect for Holly, since we all decided that she should get the bracelette that Ginger made. Very sweet.
Those are so pretty. I love jewelery!
I love that story about the gas! So I know who to call when I "forget" my wallet! It was a good thing that y'all didn't get to far away. You are so cute!
Those are so pretty. I love jewelery!
I love that story about the gas! So I know who to call when I "forget" my wallet! It was a good thing that y'all didn't get to far away. You are so cute!
The pictures of your girls holding the baby are precious. I bet they were loving it! :)
And I love the gas station story, it made me laugh and a little choked up all at the same time.
dang you! i cannot stop reading and cannot stop crying! i'm in love with every tear. love you heidi.
The more I read, the more I cry. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with each of us. It wasn't an accident the wallets were forgotten. Because of that you had lots of hugs from Ging before she left this earth. What a perfect last memory.
You really can't beat that for a last memory. I'm totally crying here! I hope you don't mind me reading your blog!
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