Happy 1st birthday to our sweet Sarah! You are strong and sweet, lovely and so adored! You have been a soothing balm to others from the day you were born and as your mama I ponder what it all means... I just know you have a significant gift and I'm so very thankful to have a front row seat to how God uses you. ...1 year old, but ministering to others already...
I love you, you are so precious, sweet princess.
The day you were born you surprised us by waiting all the way until your due date. 8th babies come on their due dates??? Well... YOU did! Weeks before your due date I remember sending a message to my precious friends, Vicki and Tommy Johnson. The calendar was approaching the date of the one year anniversary of their daughter Kelsi's death, which would fall on your due date of August 10th.
I recalled in that message how much of a struggle the month of August could be for many of our loved ones. I have to share this message that I wrote to them, because otherwise what I have to say might not make sense to you when you are old enough to understand.
"Just wanted to let you know I think about your Kelsi nearly every time I think about my approaching due date of 8/10. I’m so aware that while I anticipate the arrival of a new life, there is also much grief concerning the tragic loss of another. I think dates have a lot to contribute to emotion and grief. A day before the 10th (8/9/2004) is Isaac’s diabetes anniversary and I remember how hard I cried and mourned when his 1st anniversary came up. Just a little while after the one year anniversary of our son’s dx, the Robinson wreck [that took the life of John Miller (age 7) and Kaleigh (age 10 months)] occurred and I remember feeling so bad that I was grieving a kind of loss, yet had a sweet 4 year old who was still very much alive that I could hold and kiss. It woke me up and helped me get through that grief, but I never think of Isaac’s diagnosis month that I don’t also think of the Robinsons and now the Johnsons too. The same feelings of sorrow will somehow (Lord willing) also be combined with joy because of the birth of a new Bradberry baby. How can it be both!? But somehow it is. Makes me think of Proverbs 13:14. 'Even in laughter the heart may ache and the end of joy may be grief'.”
All sweet day of your birth, I had Facebook messages back and forth with Kelsi's mama. She wrote, "It's very significant to this momma's heart that Baby Girl Bradberry will be born August 10, 2018." I was honored that your birth was a blessing to her because the timing of your arrival was certainly a blessing to me too! She was anticipating your arrival with me and somehow your birth shined a bright spot on a very difficult day.
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| Sarah Elizabeth Bradberry 7 lbs. 17.7 oz; 19.5 in. long 9:40 p.m. |
You've grown so much and have broken the mold in many things "Bradberry," at least in regards to your size! You were the largest of your siblings at birth, and didn't do a typical Bradberry plummet off of the growth chart at 6 months. You've just stayed steady!
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| Picture is of you laying on the quilt your Nana made while wrapped in the blanket from your parents. |
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| Blankey from Auntie Amber and Uncle Justin |
The following pictures are of you meeting Vicki and Tommy Johnson for the first time, at Snyder Christian School's orientation:
At some point after I handed you over, you lost your umbilical cord! We looked very hard, but we never did find it!! I was sure someone would go home with it in their pocket and laughed at that thought! So funny!
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| Kelsi's son, Vicki and Tommy's grandson, Kooper |
When you were 5 weeks old, Vicki blessed you with such a gift. I've pondered it deeply in my heart for almost a year now! A week before her daughter Kelsi died she had picked out fabric to make Kelsi a quilt. After Kelsi's death she never could bring herself to make it, but she used some of that very fabric to make you a beautiful quilt and gave it to you on Kelsi's birthday, September 18th. What deep love and I'm sure bittersweet tears were graced in every stitch. Sweet Sarah, in our deepest agony it is only the grace and tender mercy of Jesus that beckons us to give from our brokenness. The lessons here are endless. I never want you to go through pain, but because we live in a broken world, I hope that you always ask Him to fill you no matter the circumstances... good times and bad. I'm including a video of a small part of Vicki's explanation when she gave it to you.
It was Kelsi's birthday, as I already mentioned, so we were wearing our #lovelikeKelsi shirts of course!
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| 2 months |
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| 3 months |
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| 4 months |
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| 5 months |
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| 6 months |
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| 7 months |
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| 8 months (sweet bonnet from Barbara and Arlie Eicke) |
For 9 months you get two pictures because I simply couldn't choose! You got to go with your parents on our 20th anniversary trip to the Ft. Davis Mountains! It's a blog post I still need to work on, but both you and your daddy in these just melt my heart. They were both taken on your 9 month day. One in the morning and one when we were dressed up for our very special dinner that evening! We got to spoil just you, not a bad deal when you are kid number 8, right?!
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| 10 months |
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| 11 months |
These are her two babies she's missing:
Thank you God, for sharing this baby girl with us. Thank you for opening my heart to how you have given blessings to others through her in a way I couldn't calculate if I had wanted to. If there's anything I've learned from these strong women I've written about today as I've also talked about Sarah, it's that our loved ones aren't really "ours."
You are always His, Sarah Elizabeth.
We cherish you!!
ONE Year!!!
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