To Sarah

Dear Sarah,

I miss you sis.

I thought of you when I heard about a man who died and went to Heaven and then came back. He told a story about how an angel had given him permission to play a piano and he said, "I don't know if I should.  I'm really bad at it and I don't want to ruin Heaven."  And the angel laughed.  

I could see you saying things about ruining Heaven and making all the angels laugh.  I'll bet Heaven has been a lot funnier since you got there.  But I'm sure you're not scared of playing music. In fact, while the rest of the angels are strumming their little harps I'll bet you pull out the electric guitar and show them how it's really done. 

I'm pretty sure you're having a great time there, but I still miss you here.  Sometimes when I watch a hilarious scene in a sitcom or when hear an amazing song on the radio I think about how much you would have loved it too. 

I miss our talks and our lunch dates.  Remember how you ordered the alfredo sauce at Olive Garden and I ate it all and you had to order more because you didn't get any?  Sorry about that. 

I want to thank you for what you brought to this world in the short time you were here.  You lived life to the fullest not wasting any of your precious time.  You loved fiercely and wholeheartedly.  You laughed freely and brought so much humor and happiness to this world.  You were a loyal friend to so many people and a wonderful wife and stepmom.

Thank you for all the gifts you've left behind, the music and the memories.   

You are my hero in so many ways.  And I'm still trying to be like you.  I'm going to miss all the funny things you would say if you were here and all the adventures you would take me on.

I love you, Sarah.  I'm sorry you had to leave so soon.

Love, Jens

Sarah's Birthday

Sarah's birthday was July 19th.  We got together as a family and everyone brought Sarah's favorite foods for the dinner.   Then we had a special program to honor her.  The nieces and nephews did awesome Sarah skits that totally made the night!!

"Funny Scenes with Emily"


"Funny Scenes with Katie"


"Funny Scenes with Jenny"


 Rosalie :)


"Funny Scenes with Jake"


"Funny Scenes with Casey"


"Funny Scenes with Shaun"


"Funny Scenes with Grandpa"


"Funny Scenes with Grandma"


Emily and I sang a song that we wrote when Sarah turned 19.  It's to the tune of "tradition" from Fiddler on the Roof.  We were on a trip that year - so we called and left it on the answering machine.  She listened to it like 15 times. So, we found it in my journal and sang it again.  No video but here is a pic.

Here are the totally dorky, inside-jokey lyrics:
<doo doo doo doo doo doo>  A girl turns 19 - sounds crazy no? You may wonder, how does the world keep its balance?  I can tell you that in one word ---
THE SARAH!  The Sarah.  And who is the one who always plays with Ani, makes us all some sushi, the one that's really funny.  And who is the girl who sings and plays the geetar.  gonna be a GREAT BIG STAR.  The SARAH! the Sarah...
And who is the one who always rubs her eyes and never flirts with guys especially the not exactly caucasian, you know what I mean we're two pods in a bean uh huh! The SARAH!  the Sarah....
And who is the girl that we call perfect ten and she gets all the men and she is our best friend and who is the one that is full of beauty, glamour, fame and charisma.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  happy birthday.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  happy birthday. 

Then Sarah's kids - Rachel and Jack talked about the things that remind them of Sarah the most:


And my mom did a birthday slide show of Sarah and all her birthdays.   It was the best!!

I echo what my darling nieces said "We love you Sarah and we will never forget you!"

Priceless

Here are some pictures and videos I found on Sarah's phone.  I finally got around to putting them on the computer.  I love them and hope you will too.

 

I absolutely love hearing her voice and seeing her interact with her kids and Maree's Lily.  She really was hecka fun. I think of the precious times when I was visiting and my kids got to interact with her.  She really focused on them - swinging on swings, jumping on tramps, sliding on slides and wrestling on the floor.  Even when she was sick, she would just light up every time Jack or Rachel would come in the room.  And all of us were worried that our kids were making too much noise or were bothering her but she welcomed them with open arms onto her lap with hugs and kisses.  I miss you Sarah.

To: Sarah

From: Casey, Jake, Jenny, Katie and Emily