At 6 am, I got up left to meet you.

You were born at 5:29 am. You weighed 7lbs 11 ounces. You were 18 inches long. You my dear, made me a mother.

We spent many days with your Grandma, Grandpa and Auntie. You loved spending time with the woman you were name after…when she spoke you looked at her with such amazement. She didn’t speak, she sang her words to you.

I can’t think of a stronger woman to name you after. When you were 9 months old, she passed away and became your guardian angel.

I couldn’t take you out of the house without people coming up and telling me how beautiful you were. You smiled at everyone and adored the attention.

(nothing has changed)

As you got older, you became the center of my world. You altered between wanting to be on stage where ever you were, to sitting quietly by yourself and play alone.

You were a lot like me. You created worlds of your own and was always happy no matter what was going on around you.

Oh the trouble you would get into! You took a blue marker to my computer keyboard. At the time, keyboards weren’t cheap! I was SO angry with you. You didn’t understand why. You were just drawing.

As you got bigger and bigger, your antics got better. We would argue and butt heads about EVERYTHING. You questioned everything I asked of you.

It was battle of the wills with you. Most of the time, you won.

Then something happened for us. We finally realized that each one of us was going to be in each other’s lives for a very long time and we better get along. It was then that we relished in our differences and our strengths.

I am still amazed at all that you can do. You never stop surprising me with your courage.

When it was just us 4, you stood with me and helped me keep my sanity. I would have expected the wisdom you had inside of you. You knew exactly when to hug me, hold me, let me be.

You could always make me smile.

When our family got bigger, you took it all in stride. Welllllll, you did your best.

You gave up a lot. You gave up some of my attention, some of your space, and some of your sanity.

I know it is because you have the love of your father that you allowed Shaun into your heart as well.

Watching you two makes me laugh.

And then Benjamin came along and a new side of you came about. You claimed this baby boy as your very own. Your unconditional love for Benjamin makes me want to cry sometimes. You speak of him as if he’s your brother & your baby. You give up things that are fun for you to spend time with him because you know that time is so short.

and Chuckie Cheese.

and Chip and Dale.

And smokey the bear.

and Mr. Pickles.

And Superheros.

and Aliens.

And Batman.

and Daffy Duck.

And your brother.

I guess you can say, “YOU LOVE” a lot.

You’re beautiful Kara….

You’re creative.

You’re daring.

You are down to earth and REAL AS HELL! I love that about you. What you see, is what you get.

Dorky, fun, giggling, emotional, dramatic, loving and a TRUE FRIEND to all the people that know you!

Thank you for being you, Kara. Thank you for letting me be a part of your life. Thank you for allowing me to jack your hair to Jesus for a 80’s party. Thank you for looking just like me, but better.

Thank you for being SO unlike me…being smarter, braver and more loving and understanding.