OUR SWEET SARAH

Sarah turned 9 years old yesterday...9 YEARS OLD!!! Where has the time gone? I know that sounds cliche, but seriously, it seems like just last year we were celebrating her 3rd birthday. Except then we were having a party with ponies and princesses, and now it's all about Hannah Montana. I so wish I was able to post the video of her playing her Hannah Montana guitar with her headset on, singing her heart out..."This is the life, hold on tight, this is the dream, it's all I need" Oh, it is so adorable. And reminds me way too much of myself at that age.Since the day she was born, Sarah has brought Jon and I so much joy. She is truly a blessing. She always has a smile on her face and is so excited about something, anything! She's excited it's time to go to school, she's excited it's Saturday, she's excited it's morning, she's excited it's dark outside, she's excited it's time to get in bed and read books...she's just always happy. Sarah has always loved those around her unconditionally. She just accepts everyone, and has never given thought to who they are, what they look like, or where they come from. She just loves, and show kindness without even thinking about it. One of my favorite memories of Sarah was when she was three. My brother Nate and his wife Margaret were staying with us during the week of Christmas, and we all decided to make a bunch of cookies and fill socks with toiletry supplies and go hand them out to the homeless. The picture below is Sarah frosting the cookies that we handed out that night. Well, we were down at the park handing out the plates of cookies and toiletry items, and there was this one very gruff looking man who wouldn't accept anything that Jon or I tried to offer him. He angrily went over to the curb and sat down. Jon and I were always within arms reach of our kids. But all of the sudden, little Sarah looked over at that man, walked away from Jon and straight over to the grumpy man. She held out her plate of cookies for him to take. Right as Jon and I caught up to her we saw the man slowly take the plate and then he asked Sarah, in a low, quiet voice, "can I have a hug?" Jon took a protective step closer to Sarah, but then, without hesitation, she just lunged forward and gave this dirty, not so nice, nor nice-smelling man a big hug. And he just held her for what seemed like a long time. He hugged her so tightly, his eyes were closed and we could see he was starting to cry. And Sarah just hugged him. As my own eyes filled with tears, I knew that this man had been through more then I could imagine. And Sarah's willingness to show love unconditionally blessed this man more then anything else could. She was truly showing him the love of Christ....And that's my Sarah. I know the name Sarah means princess, but some definitions say Sarah means "of noble blood" and Proverbs 31 is a description of "the noble woman" and that is why we decided to name her Sarah. Our desire and prayer for her since the first day we held her in our arms is that she would grow to be a woman of "noble character" and as Proverbs 31 says:

"She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all." Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised."We love you so much Sarah, and are so thankful for the gifts God has given you. There is no one else like you. You are truly becoming a young woman of noble character. And we pray that you will continue to grow as someone who is beautiful on the inside, with a kind and loving heart, desiring to please God and show His love to everyone around you. I can't believe you are 9!!! You're half-way to 18! We hope your birthday was special, and we love it when you dress up like Hannah Montana and sing for us. You are OUR superstar!