Hi's and Good-Byes.

This week has been a whirlwind for me. It's consisted of some "hi"s and some good-byes, so it's been bittersweet.

Tuesday at 2:36 PM, my aunt Maryam and her husband Shahyad welcomed a beautiful baby girl, Ava, into the world. She is the most amazing beautiful baby. Even at just hours old, she was so alert, listening to everything that was going on around her. Her tiny little 6 lb 11 oz, 19" long body just lays there with her eyes moving in all directions, as though she understands everything you're saying. I couldn't be happier for my aunt and uncle to have this new amazing addition to the family.

Isn't she beautiful?

It's also been a week of good-byes. I finished my internship on Wednesday. It's been a great experience working there. All my colleagues were so nice and helpful with me, and just so fun to work with, so I definitely enjoyed my entire time there.

Since I'm leaving tomorrow, it's been a week of saying good-byes to friends and family. It's been hard. I put up a strong front and leave with a smile, but in my heart it's really hard knowing that I won't see them for another 4 months. Tonight we celebrated my cousin's son's 1st birthday with the family. It was great to see everyone, yet it dawned on me that it'll be another 4 months until I have a happy gathering like this with my family. I'm going to miss my friends and family very much.

The hardest part of this week happened yesterday..... we got the unfortunate news that my grandmother in Israel passed away. My "savta" (meaning "grandmother" in Hebrew) lived a great life for over 90 years. She lived to be married (still to the day of her death), have 4 children who all got married, have 12 grandchildren (some of which are married) and have 4 great grandchildren. She always had the kindest heart, asking about how everyone was doing when we skyped and spoke on the phone. My family over here has been really supportive. My dad left for Israel early this morning. I'll be going there tomorrow. It's been hard... I was supposed to see her the night I got there... now I'll never have that chance... This week in Israel will probably be the hardest week I've experienced to date, so please just keep me and my family in your prayers.

RIP Savta

I love you very much.