Katherine, you are the best!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BEST FRIEND!

I love March 21. It was the day Katherine Suzanne Young was born! In case you somehow managed to forget, Katherine is my best friend/sister. I have known her since I was a tiny tot – I think it’s safe to say 5 years old --… somehow we were separated for 6 years and reunited when I moved houses and our ward switched to Denton 1st ward. I’ll never forget my first encounters with her. Katherine and Heather stocker were sitting in Primary in t-shirts, long black skirts, and their hair was slicked back into ponytail buns. I thought they were SO cool. Over the next month, after a few sleep-overs and Wednesday night activities, we knew we would become a trio.

Growing up, Katherine and I lived our lives in parallel - and we did so much together. We shared core best friends, and so many tween, awkward experiences were shared, SO many EFY’S (I’ll never forget when Katherine picked BJ out of a crowd of boys and said “that guy’s so cute” and together we found a way to approach him), teenage heart break, Student Council, cheating in Geometry (whoops!), so many Girls Camp experiences, laughing laughing laughing… the list can go on and on. She’s been one of the very few that has always stayed with me through thick and thin. She’s one of those rare friends that you can not talk to for months, but when talk again it’s as though no time has passed at all. Katherine has never passed judgment on me (or really ever on anyone), only loving me for who I am.

Katherine is seriously a wonderful person. One of the things I have always loved about her is her ability to laugh in any situation. One of the greatest lessons I learned in life is that making light of heavy situations is the best way to get through them – you know that quote from Steel Magnolias, “Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion” – this concept is something I learned to love from Katherine.

Not only does she know how to flawlessly handle a heavy situation, but she knows how to make anyone laugh. Her sense of humor is warm and contagious. One of the more recent ones was when I had just gotten married. The ceremony was over, and I had to change back into my wedding dress, which was NOT easy to zip up. At first just my mom and older sister were in the dressing room, helping me zip it up, but I knew Katherine needed to be there to make the experience complete. So I think Heather ran outside and asked her to come in. As they were trying to help me into my dress, someone, accidently pricked her finger on a safety pin and got blood drops on my dress. My instant reaction was tears, but luckily Katherine was there to crack a joke about and make us all laugh…I know this story doesn’t do what happened justice – but the point is that she just makes every situation better.

She’s also always been a sort-of moral compass. She is always my go-to person for level-headed, unbiased advice, and I can trust that her opinions are given from a righteous, loving place.
Katherine is also one of the most selfless people I know. She has always been the person to take care of those in need around her – especially her friends and family.

These two pictures are a pretty good visual description of how we are when we get together.
I know I’ve already listed a few things that I love about Katherine, but here is an official 25 reasons why I love Katherine for her 25 years of existence:
1. Her laugh is contagious!
2. We can talk for hours and it feels like minutes.
3. She has such a strong testimony
4. She is one of the least judgmental people I know
5. Her sense of humor is my favorite
6. That we can communicate without even having to say anything
7. He love is unconditional
8. Our friendship is unconditional!!
9. She is my sister, and is like a sister to all my siblings
10. She really has great taste in decorating (lance says I could learn a lot from her, rude. Haha)
11. She is seriously so beautiful, inside and out.
12. Like I said, her moral compass is reliable
13. She’s SO thoughtful to how others might be feeling
14. She is the best secret keeper.
15. She knows me better than most, and still loves me for me.
16. She is an AMAZING wife
17. She is going to be the best mother
18. She’s SO brave for so many reasons
19. She likes to drive and I like to entertain (this applies to the many road trips we have taken. It worked out quite well)
20. She knows how to laugh at herself
21. Her heart is HUGE
22. She is SUCH a loving, caring, encouraging sister
23. If I ever need her for anything, she is ALWAYS there
24. She’s always got some amazing recipe on-hand
25. Because she exists!

I LOVE that we were all in each other's weddings!

I really just feel so blessed, so fortunate to have been given someone as special as Katherine. From the bottom of my heart, I love you Katface! Thank you for everything.