Last year, my birthday looked different. My husband didn't go to work at all. We spent the whole day together and had amazing food for each meal. Today, he had to go into work for a bit. Last year, I felt the tiny life within me move for the first time (at least the first time I was sure it was her). This morning, I'm trying to get my daughter to focus on eating her breakfast. Last year, I got to sleep in. This year, Hannah woke up happy at six, ready to start her day.

Some years, the changes between birthdays are huge. Some years, I could barely tell anything had changed. This year, so much has changed as I have entered motherhood. I'm finding it hard to fit in writing time at all. I'm finding that even though I've cut out a lot of sugar and have changed my diet some, my body is just holding on to the weight I gained during the pregnancy as fiercely as I hold onto the people I love. I've found motherhood so much better than I thought it would be (and I have wanted to be a mom since I was a kid). I am amazed at some of the ways I've grown, and I miss some things about my eighteen-year-old self.

Hello friends!

How is it almost the end of May? This time last year, I was entering the second trimester and had begun to think I might possibly get to hold this little one after three losses before. Now, my little girl fills my days with joy, smiles, and a lot of work. 

The Arctic chill has hit central Texas. Freezing rain is expected to make roads impassable for a while. I am sitting here, catching snatches of writing time between nursing my little girl. My sweet husband is watching our little girl off and on, so I can write. I am also just soaking in the coziness of knowing that I get to have my husband with me for almost 48 hours without anywhere we need to go.

As we start 2026, I am thinking back. I'm thinking back to 2024, when I entered the year with a tiny life inside of me, only to be told before the end of the month that our baby had died. Here I am entering 2026 with a two-month-old in my arms.

I'm thinking back to entering 2021, struggling to navigate my single status and stressed about a lot of things, and exiting the year, married to my best friend. Here I sit, watching my husband of four years, playing with our little girl.

I enter 2026 with so much to be grateful for. So many hopes and dreams from my early days have been fulfilled. I always wanted to be a wife and mom, and now I am. Yet, no life is ever perfect. Sin will mar everything in this world until Christ returns and all is made new. I told the ladies of my community group I entered this year, tired of praying for a situation and wondering if anything would ever change. 

I feel like I have so many words bottled up inside of me. Since my daughter seems to wake up the moment I set her down (or start crying), my time to spill those words out is very limited. I'm excited because my mom is planning on coming once a week to help with my little girl and give me some writing time. My first priority is to finish editing the last Kate's Case Files book. My second priority is finishing The Weekly Mercies of Pam Ellis. 

I am looking forward to more blogging too, though it will have to be while my little girl is being held by others, or she is sleeping. 

 I have two announcements. One is a big sale...

 Hey friends,

Well, I didn't mean to disappear again from here for so long. I just had some challenges with the pregnancy, but before you worry, they had to do with my health; our little girl has been and continues to do great!

It started towards the end of July. I had some congestion that was making it hard to sleep lying down. I started spending about half of each night on our couch. Then pregnancy heartburn hit, and a UTI. What I ended up with was a perfect recipe for severe insomnia.

I didn't sleep for two days straight.

I went ten days with less sleep than I thought it was possible to actually cope with.

Scott missed work.

My Mom and one of my sisters were taking turns staying with me.

It took me almost a month to get back on my feet sleep-wise, but it hasn't returned to normal. I still spend some of each night on the couch. I still am struggling to get my needed sleep. Yet, God has been so gracious through it all.

It has been far too long between updates, hasn't it? I honestly think one of the hardest things about maintaining this blog is wanting to share everything with my readers, but having to be sensitive to the fact that there are a lot of things that aren't appropriate to share online. I'm not going to lie, in the last year, my family of origin has been going through some tough stuff, but it isn't the kind of stuff you can share with on the interent. While I have always wanted my life to be an open book before people, I know that I have to be cearful of the feelings and expriances of others. 

Honestly, the last few months have been a stressful as wonderful time. Wonderful because God has sustained our little one. After three losses, we grow more and more hopeful each day that we will hold this little one in our arms and get to see them grow up.

It's been hard because I've had to walk through a difficult season with my family. One that has required a lot of patience, forgiveness, grace, and wisdom. I often see my sinful nature coming up, and it has made me run to Jesus for strength, wisdom, and, yes, a lot of confession and repentance. 

"So, why has Sarah been so quiet of late?"

A very good question my friends and one for which there is a very good, beautiful gift-from-God answer. But, because I am a storyteller, I of course am not going to just blurt it out, but tell you the story.

Have you ever noticed it is easy to make life sound hard? I mean, yes, life is hard. But as I was thinking about writing this post, the first thing that came to mind for me to put in here is that allergies have been making everything harder this month. Yet, starting with that would give you the wrong idea. Allergies isn't what this month has been about. Yes, there have been things that have made gaining my goals more challenging, but you know what this month has been full of?

~ Laughter

~ Tasty food experiments

~ New state parks visited

~ Excitedly seeing spring bloom

So let me share about my month:

I'm the kind of person who happy eats the same kind of foods over and over again. I'm not very adventuresome... or so I thought. Scott has helped me to try new things and I've found whole categories of food that I love. Some things I thought  were for restaurants only, I've found myself making and loving.

My writing has been a struggle of late. A lot of that has to do with allergies, but God has blessed me with some adventures.

Hello friend! Welcome to my home. I'd love to show you some of the spring/ Easter decor I've just put up. I was so excited!

Photos from the month:

Books I read:

Promise Me This by Cathy Gohlke Kindle

Cloak of the Light by Chuck Black Audiobook

How to Memorize Scripture for Life by Andrew M. Davis Audiobook

Things Pondered by Beth Moore Kindle

The Honor Girl by Grace Livingston Hill Audiobook

They Were Single Too David M. Hoffeditz Paperback

Where Hope Begins by Michaela Bush Kindle

The Meeting Place by Janette Oke and T. Davis Bunn Kindle

God's Missionary by Amy Carmichael Paperback

Single Isn't Second-Best by Philip Wilder and C. E. White Audiobook

The Fisherman's Lady by George MacDonald Paperback

A Garland for Girls by Louisa May Alcott Hardback

The Key by Christy Miller Kindle

To Live Is Christ by Beth Moore Kindle

The Sacred Shore by Janette Oke Audiobook

Your Husband Your Friend by Bob Barnes

Writing goals met:

0

Yeah, while I made progress, I didn't meet any of my writing goals.

Projects completed:

0

Again, while I made progress on many projects, I didn't finish any. 

Favorite Sermon:

This one was so good and convicting.

Favorite memories: 

Our trip to Lake Brownwood.

Telling my mentor, Beth, how much God has used her in my life.

Going to the Temple Library Sale with Mikayla

Meeting Rose in Waco and getting to see my nephew.