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!