Sarah

Friday was Sarah's birthday.

Sarah was our 6th child.

and our grand finale. 

Sarah is a very important part of this very large family.

And a very important part of this very beautiful family.

I wrote about Sarah on her birthday last year in this post and visiting there will show the links to all her previous posts.

And those links will take you to many pictures and stories of how she's changed over the years.

So I'll just post a few pictures here.

And talk a little about what's been going on in her life during the past year.  To begin with, she started a new job perfectly fitted to her and her current situation.  With three kids in two schools, this job is part-time and has flexible hours plus the opportunity to work some of her hours at home!

For the first time she has a child in middle school,

And all three of her kids have passed out of the pre-school/kindergarten eras and are on to regular grade school.  And, all three are involved in sports.

But probably the biggest change for Sarah this year is training for a half marathon which takes place next weekend.  A few months ago, she was just starting to learn to run....

 and now she's ready to go for 13.1 miles!!!

All in all, Sarah has had a busy and productive year.  As always she's organized, hard-working, and dedicated to her family.  Even the four-legged member.  

And she cheerfully buys crickets for Mary's lizard, Chance.  (Well, maybe not cheerfully but she does buy them.)  And her household also boasts two fish, Zeus and Frank, and a snail named Stripes belonging to Ethan.  So you can see that it's a very busy household.

The year wasn't without it's heartaches though because Sarah recently and unexpectedly lost a beloved friend/co-worker when he died of a heart attack a few weeks ago.  But being Sarah, she's soldiered through and instead of wallowing in her own sorrow she's tried to be as helpful and supportive as possible under the circumstances.

She's never been one to put herself first and she's always been kind, thoughtful, and loving.  I'd never expect less from her.  So Sarah, Happy Birthday, a little late but just as heartfelt.  I hope the coming year is your best one yet but not nearly as great as the many more to follow!

Dave

Tuesday was Dave's birthday!

Dave is our 4th child - missing 3rd place by only ten minutes.

And they were right in the middle of our six kids with two older sisters and two younger sisters.

Dave is a very important part of this very large family.

And a very important part of this very beautiful family.

I wrote about Dave on his birthday last year in this post and visiting there will show the links to all his previous posts.

And those links will take you to many pictures and stories of how he's changed over the years.

So I'll just post a few pictures here.

And talk a little about what's been going on in his life during the past year.

To begin with, he also graduated from a school in Pennsylvania that kept him away from home except for weekends for an entire year.

 and lived in a very old building that may or may not have been haunted.

His oldest son, David, graduated from high school and started going to school in Pennsylvania.

He has remained active as a Boy Scout leader and went to Philmont for two weeks with his second son, Matthew.

He has enjoyed being home during the week and only having occasional trips of short duration for his job.  He's caught up on some projects around the house and has plans for several more.

He's dedicated to and loves his family very much including the four legged members like Charlie here.

But he seems to have a special bond with Scout.  You can see that they even share emotions together.

And he's very much enjoyed attending the kids' sporting events and just being home with the family.

All in all, it's been a busy but fun year for Dave.  As always he does his job with integrity and purpose which results in his working long hours but that's the way he rolls.  He just doesn't do anything half way.

We are incredibly proud of him, of all he's done and all he's doing.  We're proud of the dad and husband that he is and the son who has always been there for us.  We couldn't ask for a son as incredible as him and we got two of them.  (Dan's post is just before this one.)  So, Happy Birthday, Dave, a little late.  We're so happy we got to be there to help you celebrate and enjoy a visit with you and your amazing family.  

Dan

Tuesday was Dan's birthday!

Dan is our 3rd child followed ten minutes later by our 4th child, Dave.  His post follows.

 And they were right in the middle of our six kids.

Dan is a very important part of this very large family.

And a very important part of this very beautiful family.

I wrote about Dan on his birthday last year in this post and visiting there will show the links to all his previous posts.

And those links will take you to many pictures and stories of how he's changed over the years.

So I'll just post a few pictures here

 And talk a little about what's been going on in his life during the past year.

To begin with, he finished school and moved from Colorado (his residence) and Virginia (where he went to school for a year) to Florida.  And after a career filled with long deployments, he's enjoyed a year of short trips (a week or two at a time) and finally spending quality time at home with his girls.

They've enjoyed the pool that came with their new house far more than they expected,

walks in their beautiful neighborhood,

and visits to the many nearby theme parks.

Another big change this year is that his sons now live, work, and go to school almost 2,000 miles away.

but they visit often and in a year, Grant will be done with school and there's always the chance that they'll both move to Dan's next location which will be in the south but not as far south as Tampa.

All in all, it's been a busy but fun year for Dan.  As always he does his job with integrity and purpose which results in his working long hours but as I alluded to before, it's preferable to those long deployments he's dealt with in the past.  He's also enjoyed some fun visits from his family and we even got to see the Dan's three times while we were in Florida.

We are incredibly proud of him, of all he's done and all he's doing.  We're proud of the dad and husband that he is and the son who has always been there for us.  We couldn't ask for a son as incredible as him and we got two of them.  Dave's post follows.  In the meantime, Happy Birthday, Dan, a little late.  It probably could have been better since you were many thousands of miles away for it but you'll be home soon.  And then we'll all celebrate that!