50 Things We Love About You!

Happy 50th, my beautiful sister! To celebrate 50 years, we are listing 50 Things We Love About You...youngest to oldest, so to start us off, here is Katherine, age four in her very own words:

1. I love her that she is so nice.
2. I love her that she gave us our fairies
3. (This is going to be awesome) And I LOVE being at her house!
4. And so, one more thing, I LOVE her taking us places!
5. I love her and I hope you have a Happy Birthday, and I love you. Happy Birthday!

From Emma, age six and a half, also verbatim:

6. I love Aunt Kim because she always gives us awesome presents
7. And because I love her house
8. She’s good at doing things like shopping for birthday things
9. And being nice
10. Because she always looks on the bright side of things
11. Her house is so nice and neat
12. And it’s pretty
13. She’s awesome
14. She presents presents nicely
15. She chooses awesome housemates
16. Because she didn’t mind when we built the fairy garden
17. Because she gave us our fairies and fairy boxes
18. And I like that big bunch of toys you bought for us to play with at your house last time we came.
19. And I’m glad she lets us watch movies, like Little House on the Prairie
20. She lets us eat sweets and have tea parties
21. She’s always willing to come and do lots of driving and flying so she can do fun things with us in Arkansas

Cody and Sophia have each written their own, so I will round off the list of 50 myself, in no particular order:

22. You took care of me when we were little. There is photographic evidence!
23. You continued to take care of me as we got older.
24. My strongest memory of that is running to find you on Western’s campus when I’d been horribly hurt by a Jr. High mean girl! You defended me so vehemently and comforted me so tenderly!
25. You continue to care for so many and have all your life!
26. I think of the children: Austin and Christian, Chanel, Hannah and Jun, and now our girls (but more on that below…)
27. And the elderly, especially Duke and Ruby.
28. You are an amazing Aunt to our three girls. You love on them, spoil them, model Christ to them, affirm them, celebrate them.
29. Last week you travelled longer than you were even here to support your nieces in their dramatic endeavors!
30. Because of all this, they are CRAZY about you! (See their entries above) :-)
31. You are a lover, creator, and sustainer of beauty.
32. Your home is a beautiful example of this.
33. As is your lovely garden.
34. And, as noted by my girls above, you give lovely, thoughtful gifts.
35. Like the time you replaced my sorely worn red slippers as a Christmas gift
36. And our recent “C” and “K” mugs which are our favorites!
37. You search for gifts all over the globe, and bless the receivers so much with your thoughtfulness!
38. You are so faithful in your love for our Lord.
39. You are an amazing servant of His Church.
40.  You are tireless in your service of people, pursuing them relentlessly with your love and service.
41. You are a lover of His Word, especially evidenced in your pursuing a Master’s Degree in Theology while continuing to work full time!
42. You are an amazing daughter to our parents, living near them, sharing life with them, caring for them.
43. You are an ardent evangelist. Only heaven will show how many know our Lord because of your witness, but I know several have told you.
44. You will certainly hear, “Well done, My good and faithful daughter!”
45. You have such a heart of hospitality, opening your home at every available opportunity.
46. You are willing to sacrifice time, money, vacation, and convenience to travel to be with us, in Arizona, Arkansas, and even Kansas!
47. You did that Kansas trip after travelling all the way to Israel and Ethiopia! You are amazing!
48. You are a faithful giver to the poor, as evidenced by your lifetime of giving to your Compassion children.
49. You are flexible in living with so many different people over the years and serving so many different kinds of people in your job.
50. No matter what you’re doing, you look lovely doing it, such attention to detail in your appearance as in every other area of your life!

I could go on, but we must get this blog published to celebrate you tomorrow morning. What a rich, wonderful life you’ve led in your half century! You are loved by so many and most especially by us! All our love, my dear sister, CKSEK