Sadie's birthday countdown: part 1

For those of you who may not know the back story, we added Sadie to our family on September 21, 2008. She was an abandoned, tiny stray (about three weeks old) who followed my nephew Jacob near my grandmother's farm.

My mom took pity on the small kitten and brought her to their house. Within a few days, she got sick and weak. I credit Jim and my friend Megan for urging me to make the drive (2.5 hours) to get her. On a Sunday afternoon, I picked her up. She slept between my legs on the way home.

The above photo was the first one I took of her. Looking at it now, it's obvious how sickly she was. She was about four weeks old and weighed 8 ounces.