My sweet girl,

Every year around this time, I find myself getting emotional as your birthday approaches. I can hardly believe how quickly these eleven years have flown by.

I look back at the person I was then and hardly recognize her. Already a mom to a toddler, I was so anxious about how I would balance work and home life with two little ones. Daddy was working overnight shifts, and the four of us were just trying to find a rhythm in our 900-square-foot house, all on different schedules. People would tell me, ‘The early years are the hardest, it gets easier as they grow.’ If only they knew…

What you’ve taught us in these last eleven years is more than most people learn in a lifetime. Through your quiet strength, you have captured so many hearts. You have found your village, and you’ve held it close. The way people instantly fall in love with you is proof of the joy you radiate. Ella girl, you are truly magnificent. Without saying a single word, you have this beautiful ability to bring out the very best in everyone around you.

As I lie here beside you in this old hospital bed, watching you sleep through yet another stay, I can’t help but wonder if these admissions are life’s way of reminding us to pause, and shift our path to remind us what truly matters. We have a full birthday week planned. Aunt Krissy’s coming in from Vegas, we’re celebrating your birthday, I’m off to Boston for a quick trip, and we’ve got our third foundation brewery fundraiser. If there was ever a week we needed things to go smoothly, it was this one. Safe to say, that didn’t exactly happen.

Instead, we were given the gift of time. Time to snuggle a little longer and love a little deeper on the sweetest pre-teen we know. As we prepare to raise funds for the special needs community this weekend, life reminded us once again that you are the reason, the spark, and the inspiration behind everything we do. With the right support, what could have been total chaos turned out to be a small storm we weathered together. You somehow managed to create chaos and calm it all at the same time.

These eleven years have been a journey of twists, turns, and unexpected moments. We have met new challenges, celebrated and said goodbye to countless friends, and opened our hearts and home to those who needed a safe place. Through it all, one thing stands true, the love we give and the lives we touch are what make this wild ride worth every moment.

Time and again, you remind me that a single smile can brighten an entire day, and one person has the power to change someone’s world. I can’t wait to see what the next eleven years brings.

Your biggest fan,

Mom