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Twenty years ago today, a spirited whirlwind of a girl blew into our lives:

Watch out, world – this one is loaded for bear…..

….and we have never been the same.  Where has all that time gone?

God has a wicked sense of humor – ask any family that has more than two kids, and they will tell you that the third kid threw them for a loop.  Just when you think you have the whole “parenting” thing figured out – you’re thinking you know everything there is to know about raising kids – the third one comes along, and you realize that you don’t have the first CLUE…..

By the time Sarah came along, we had been parents for 6 years.  Poor Sarah got the “leftovers” – we were a lot calmer about things, but we were also just plain tired.  Rachel was starting kindergarten and Michelle was only a year old, so Sarah got whatever energy we could muster up at the end of the day.

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She’s always been a “pistol” – I can still remember the time that we were heading out on some errand or another, and I insisted that everyone go to the bathroom before we left.  Sarah said she didn’t need to go, and we got into a minor battle of wills.  I finally told her she had to go into her bathroom and try – so she did.  She slammed the door, then stood right behind it and made a “tssssssssss” sound –

I can laugh about it NOW…… 😛

While we didn’t have as much one-on-one time to spend with Sarah when she was little, after Rachel and Michelle left for school we had an opportunity to get to know her as a young adult.  It has been a wonderful experience – we didn’t have that chance with the other two, but Sarah has been living at home the past couple of years, so we have been able to see her grow into the most delightful young lady (just like her sisters).

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We know that it won’t be long before she leaves to start a new life across the pond with her beloved “V” (his name is Vincenzo; “V” is his nickname), so we are cherishing the time that we do have with her while she is still here with us.

We will miss her terribly, but we know that she and V are as happy together as we have been all these years. What more can parents ask for?

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Happy birthday, sweetie – we are so very proud of you, and we love you very much!

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(This is one of my all-time favorite songs – I couldn’t choose between these two versions, so I included both of them)
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