Happy Birthday, Sarah!

Guess what? TODAY is my best girl friend's birthday. Today. The 29th. Not the 28th. Are you catching on here? Leap day! Every year, Sarah has to celebrate her birthday a day early, on February 28th, but not this year! This is cause for extra celebration!

I've known Sarah forever, really. I mean, she moved to Des Moines in 3rd grade or something like that, but we didn't really become friends until 2003. Our youth group took a missions trip to Jamaica. Our youth pastor encouraged us to pick a prayer partner for the trip. It was supposed to be someone that we might not normally pick right away and we were going to be rooming with them and checking in with them during the trip. Sarah & I paired up & I'm so glad we did. We became good friends that week. The picture above is from our first night in Jamaica. That bed was bigger than a king size! For some reason, I couldn't find our more awesome pictures from that week. You know, the one with our hair in braids and snorkel masks on our faces? It has disappeared...

When we got back from Jamaica, we just never stopped being good friends. We started spending time together regularly. If I remember right, I would pick her up from her school every Wednesday and we'd hang out until we had youth group that night. At some point, while spending so much time at each other's houses, I took notice of her brother. Or he noticed me. Those details are fuzzy. Either way, Matt and I started AIMing each other (remember that?!). I remember afraid that Sarah wouldn't approve of Matt & I and would think I was just her friend because of her brother. One Wednesday afternoon, after Matt and I had declared our "like" for one another, she asked me straight out. "Do you like my brother?" terrified, I said, "A lot. I like him a lot." Luckily for me, she was happy about that.

A few short years later, we officially became sisters...in-law, but sisters none-the-less.

&She stood beside me as my maid-of-honor while her brother & I pledged our lives to each other.

I got to return the favor a few years later when Sarah married her best friend. The guys are not pictured because, obviously, this post is about us.

We have gotten to serve together,

laugh together,

cry together,

&grow & pray together.

Basically, Sarah, you are the sister that I never had. I'm so thankful for your friendship &am grateful that we truly are family, in every sense of the word. I love you! Happy 6th birthday!