Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy!
Lemons to Love
The Little Lemon Stand was created by my wife, Chelsea, in 2022. She originally started painting her cards for our families, serving as her outlet during her battle with cancer. Everyone who received one fell in love with the beauty that she created with them. Our families encouraged her to create her own small business so others could enjoy her cards as well. So with some family-help and a copious amount of painting hours from Chelsea, she built up an inventory of cards for various occasions, all with their own style and charm. She started selling her cards on her Etsy store and word of mouth kept spreading as orders from all over the country were pouring in to get their hands on Chelsea’s cards.
One of Chelsea’s bucket list items for The Little Lemon Stand was to participate in the annual Chula Vista Lemon Festival- growing up one block away, Chelsea would attend the event with her family nearly every year. Chelsea achieved her goal in 2023, taking part in the Lemon Festival and exceeded expectations by winning “best decorated booth” that year!
Shortly after the festival, Chelsea’s health started to decline, and she passed away in January 2024. Chelsea has 24 items on her 2024 New Year’s resolutions list to accomplish. One of the items was to continue to do the Chula Vista Lemon Festival, and another one was to volunteer or donate every other month. To continue to keep her spirit alive, I, along with her family, are accomplishing her list one at a time.
In honor of Chelsea’s 2024 bucket list and her generous heart, all of the proceeds from Chelsea’s cards will be donated to help others. One of those groups that will benefit from the sale of Chelsea’s cards will be our church’s women’s cancer support group that Chelsea got to be a part of in 2023. These amazing women get together multiple times a year and make support bags for newly diagnosed cancer patients. These bags are filled with essential items that the patients will use during their journey. Chelsea was thrilled when she received her bag, was welcomed and supported by a resilient group of women and was even more excited when she had the opportunity to participate in making these bags as well, putting a touch of Chelsea (in the form of bracelets) inside each bag.
Chelsea’s story
As a Chula Vista native, Chelsea loved all things San Diego and dancing. She started dancing ballet at the age of 4 and danced with the Ballet Conservatory until she was 18, performing key roles in many of their shows, such as Swan Lake and the Nutcracker. Chelsea attended high school at Bonita Vista, where she participated on the dance team as well as the cheerleading squad. It was at Bonita Vista that she met the love of her life (yes, me, Sean Ruiz) and graduated in 2010. Her love for dancing and performing brought her to the University of California, Irvine, where she made the cheer team her freshman year and led the Anteaters as a captain her senior year. ZOT ZOT ZOT.
Chelsea’s next chapter in life was her title as Miss San Diego 2016, which led to compete for Miss California. This allowed Chelsea to display her heart of gold, as she used her platform to highlight Autism Awareness, taking part in fundraisers and events during her tenure as Miss San Diego. Even after she passed down the crown, she still took part in these events to raise awareness.
Chelsea couldn’t ever get rid of the dancing bug she had in her. She found herself performing with various San Diego sports dance teams, such as the San Diego Sockers and the San Diego Seals. Chelsea was in her element when the spotlights were on and the crowd was cheering as she performed, always having the biggest smile on her face.
Chelsea’s love for her family, her hometown, and helping others was always visible, no matter how much time you interacted with her. She had a zest for life and an energy that was contagious to be around, always leaving a lasting impression on everyone whose paths crossed with hers.
Our story
This was always Chelsea’s favorite story to tell…
Chelsea and I met in September 2008 in our high school chemistry class: she was a junior and I was a senior. We ended up sitting next to each other, and it didn’t take long for me to find excuses to turn around and talk to her, hoping that I could make her smile. As we grew closer, I worked up the courage to ask her to the homecoming dance, and by the end of the dance, asked her to be my girlfriend.
Chelsea and I dated for three years going into college, trying to make the long-distance relationship work with everything we had going on in our lives. Realizing we simply didn’t have the time to devote to our relationship as we would have liked to, we decided to end things while we were still friends with one another. We quickly saw that our friendship was just as important as our relationship. Over the next six years, Chelsea and I would remain in contact with each other, often getting together for lunch back home during holiday breaks.
I would often pray, telling God, that if he gave me the opportunity for Chelsea and I to be together again, I would hold tight and never let her go. In 2016, God answered my prayers and Chelsea told me that she was moving back to San Diego, putting us in the same city for the first time in over six years. We continued to bond as friends, going to Padres game, country concerts, and going out dancing with her friends. It didn’t take long for us to see that our feelings for each other after all these years were still there, and strong as ever.
We got engaged in January 2020 in Oahu, with our family and friends in attendance to celebrate this special moment with us. After enjoying the engagement phase, Chelsea and I got married on May 9, 2021. It was the most beautiful and special day that I will never forget for all my life. Eight months later, Chelsea was diagnosed with Stage 4 Colon Cancer, turning our world upside down. The following 22 months were the hardest times of our lives, yet even through all the chaos, Chelsea and I still let our love continue to blossom and grow into something beautiful, leaning onto one another for strength and hope.
Our love doesn’t just stop because Chelsea is no longer here with me. Our love continues to grow and change, and time goes on. Whether it’s seeing signs from Chelsea throughout the day, or seeing Chelsea in my dreams at night, she’s still with me. We’re both still holding on tight to one another, not letting the other one go.