Staycation, staycation. What you mean to me. Last week, I shared what staycation meant to me this year. I shared what it was really about: enjoying the special moments and creating memories, especially with my mom.

I shared that with Self-Love Summer approaching (today is the last day to join), I was more excited than ever to just be present and enjoy what was right in front of me and not worry about the smaller, petty things that may have stolen my attention in previous years.

I shared what staycation wasn’t about: this year it wasn’t about sitting in a bikini poolside, getting the perfect tan, and worrying about having a “flat tummy” (not that flat tummies are bad, they aren’t, but this just wasn’t a focus).

The staycation I just had with a few close family members and my mom in Ventura was definitely one to remember. When I got home, my husband asked “What were your favorite parts?”

Here’s what I had to say:

• Walking slowly in the backyard with DotDot each morning in a circle around the pool just to get her body moving
• Literally, stopping and smelling flowers with her outside, her hand in my hand
• Sharing a bed with my mama each night, because it reminded me of elementary school when my dad would be gone (firefighter) and I got to sleep with mom
• Waking up, and pouring that first cup of coffee, all of us together each day
• Laying down on a twin size blowup mattress with my mom in the living room, snuggling while we all visited, laughed, and talked
• Waking up to that 3:00 AM alarm to help mom take her medicine and write down what she’d taken
• Watching my moms sisters come around her and love her like dedicated, loyal best friends who love her
• Taking the most ridiculous face swap photos and laughing so hard that we’d nearly pee our pants more times than I can count
• Playing HeadsUp and re-watching how RIDICULOUS we all looked on video –  those deep belly roll laughs where your jaw hurts you’re laughing so hard
• Those little moments where my mom would wake up smiling and say “Hey! Did you guys see me smiling?” we’d say no and she’d say “Sometimes I wake up because I’m smiling, but then once I wake up I forget what I was smiling about.” 

THOSE are the moments that counted for us this weekend. Little memory nuggets that I’ll never forget, especially because I have the incredible privilege of sharing them here – thank you guys for letting me share this here, and being so invested in my mom.

These are the moments that made up the weekend that I loved SO much. Especially that last one. My mom has been falling asleep lately, and waking up because she notices herself smiling.

Through all of the pain that she’s been experiencing, she somehow still finds herself waking up smiling, and she has no idea what she’s smiling about. What could explain this?

To all of us, when she tell us about this, it’s a little glimmer of hope. A little moment of feeling God say “you don’t know what I’m doing, but I’m here.” 

God did something big and surprising last week, and I want to share it with you all so that you can be praying.

I got a phone call from my auntie last Thursday telling me that my mom had been approved for one-year of immunotherapy. The same one that healed President Carter and other incredibly miraculous stories we’ve been hearing about.

Why this is such a huge blessing for us? Let me share… 

When we first went to the doctor and were talking about starting chemo (which, by the way, my mom did three rounds of and decided to stop), we had asked about immunotherapy and were told it wasn’t an option for my mom.

So, to get the news that she was getting it felt like a new road paved that we didn’t know would ever be opened to us. We have so much hope and anticipation for what we know God can do here.

We trust Him no matter what happens, and we KNOW He’ll do what is best for my mom ultimately. He gives me/all of us permission to rest in this, be with our DotDot, and trust that He’ll take care of the rest.

So, how you can be praying: The immunotherapy isn’t supposed to show any real changes in my moms body for the first six treatments. Since she only goes every three weeks, that’s about 4.5 months from now. Please pray that in the meantime, my moms body will strengthen. That her spirit will be made strong. Please pray God will give all of us the wisdom to help care and be there for her. Please pray that God would put little things in her path to encourage her, and that we’d all lean on Him and each other. Please pray for God’s will in this situation, and that we’d all continually let go and trust Him. And in exchange for letting go of any worry, that we’d get to be even more present with my mom, make more special little memories, and love on her hard.

I want to end with a THANK YOU. Thank you for letting this blog be a place where I can share about DotDot and have you listen. I’ve always had a supportive family, and so when my mom was diagnosed I never thought I’d be alone, but the support I have received here has been something that has deeply encouraged me. It’s shown me that people are willing to stop, pause, and care for someone, even when they don’t know them. You guys are GOOD people.

So, THANK YOU. I hope you’ve enjoyed this post, and before you close it, send my mama some love & light, and please pray for her to be strengthened.

And just a reminder before I go, today is the last day to join Self-Love Summer – so join now if you want in. I’d LOVE for you to join – I’d love to get to know more of you, and connect within this loving community. We start next Monday!