Happy Birthday, Katie!

Today is Katie's birthday! Katie is my little sister, and she would have been 29 today. She died 9 years ago due to a skiing accident. She was in her freshman year at BYU, and I was a junior. She was fun, happy, beautiful, smart, and full of life! It was kind of a running joke between us that all the guys wanted to be friends with me, but they all wanted to date her. Yes, I was even a little bit jealous of her at times - who wouldn't be! Every year on her birthday I have the same thoughts: What would her life be like now? Whould she be married? How many kids? Whould she be rich and famous as she always wanted to be? I'm sure in some way she would have had it all - she was Katie after all, and things always seemed to work out for her. Regardless of how her life would have been, I know she is happy now, and I know she is watching over us. I know she will eventually have everything she ever wanted and will not have missed out on any of life's wonderful experiences. She was special, and wonderful, and I love her more than I can say! Yes, we had our fights and our arguements, we were sisters after all, but of course I loved her despite our differences - those differences are what made us special to each other. You can always count on a sister - you know the good and the bad about each other, and still know they love you no matter what and will always be there for you. Of course I still miss her and think about her often. Life is never the same when you lose a loved one, it just takes on a little bit of a different perspective. Some days are better than others, and most days you can smile at the memories left behind.

So, today, in honor of Katie, the kids drew pictures for her that we mailed off to Heaven, and we sent her a balloon for her birthday. We sang happy birthday before we let the balloon go, and by the end, Sam was the only one singing - the boys were distracted by then, and mom was crying. The kids had fun doing it, and it made the day special for them - and a little healing for mom. It is important to me that they know who Katie is and how wonderful she was - that way they will know exactly who she is when we all see her again in heaven!

This is one of my favorite pictures of my sisters and I from a very long time ago. Luckily I have 3 sisters, and I love them all!
Happy Birthday, Katie! We miss you!

The Third Footprint

One pair of footprints, or should there be three?
One for the Lord, one for you, one for me.

Three sets of footprins were seen in the sand
When we walked by the Lord and he held our hand.

When only two footprints were washed by the tide,
The Lord carried you and I walked by your side.

And then there were times when just two pairs you see,
That you did the walking and the Lord carried me.

And whether you carried me, or I carried you,
The Lord was with us all the way through.

But when only one set of footprints were washed by the sea,
Where were you, and what happened to me?

Those were the times, and you know that it's true,
That you carried me, and the Lord carried you.

(Katie wrote this poem as an adaptation of the poem "Footprints". I have always loved this poem and think about it often. It demonstrates just a small portion of her many talents!)