and now she's sixteen

In just a few hours, my little sister will be sixteen years old.

I'll never forget the day she was born. I didn't realize who she was and what she was going to be. Looking at her tiny, red face and her dark hair, I wasn't sure that I'd ever be able to understand why she'd come into our lives most unexpectedly.

But I know now.

Kati, my sweet, baby sister, I love you. Did you know that you're my best friend? That when you laugh, I feel the same joy rising up in me? That your story has changed my life and transformed my heart into something worth loving? 

Because you are...it does...and it has.

Happy sweet sixteenth, Kati Bug. 

Thanks for being the best of all of us.