Kiki,

First off, please let me tell you how much you add to our family. You add so much life and laughter into our house! There is not one day that goes by that you do not make us smile. When the house it quiet, or clean for that matter, it does not seem right because a big piece of our puzzle is missing. Hearing your beautiful voice singing just because you love to sing, brings tears of joy to my eyes. Hearing you play your flute just because you love to play, fills my heart with thankfulness.

Your ability to be yourself anywhere you go is a skill that is hard to come by! It does not matter if you are at home or in an aisle at Wal-Mart, you will talk in your Russian Accent or start dancing around just to get many laughs in return. Your Snapchat pictures never cease to amaze me and make me laugh. I know the bunny filter is your favorite one, but I think you look adorable in every one! (No, I will not stop screenshotting them!)

You are a role model for so many young people that you may not even know. You are a woman who possess confidence, joy and strength. Your strength, especially this past year, has blown me away! You have been handed a difficult hand recently, however this did not stop you from laughing and moving forward. Many people would have taken it hard and probably given up, and you did exactly the opposite! You were knocked down a few times and time after time you jumped back up with a smile on your face. When you were told you would not be able to play basketball your senior year of high school because of your knee injury, yes you were heartbroken but you stood by your teammates and your passion for the game increased. When softball was pulled out of the picture, you stood back up and kept going. When Powerlifting was taken away, this is when your strength and trust in God really came apparent. You showed so many people that even though life does not go as planned, you get back up and keep trusting in God. Most of the time you were uncertain of what God’s plan was but you never lost your faith in Him. This is something that many people see and admire, even I do.

With everything you do in this life I pray you never lose your joy and strength. These are the traits that will take you far. You are capable of accomplishing greatness. I hope that even when times get hard and you get knocked down in the future that you will lean on God and look to Him for guidance and direction. Remember that you have a family that is behind you, always.

Making memories with you is one of my favorite things to do and I certainly hope you enjoy it too. It has truly been an honor watching you grow throughout the years. I cannot wait to see what other crazy adventures you go on in your life. I am blessed to call you my sister.

Love,

Sarah