10 things

Years ago, when I was in middle and high school, I used to go to a church camp for a week in the summertime, and my mom would write me a letter of 50 things that she loved most about me.  I always thought these were fun, and meaningful letters.  Some of you might read my sister Janssen's blog.  If you do, good for you, because it is awesome.  She and I have lived in the same apartment complex for almost 2 years, and 2 weeks ago, she moved away.  And far away.  Like, over 1,000 miles away.  So far away that we can't share closets anymore :(  So, I wanted to share, in list form, a few things that I love about Janssen and a couple of things that I have learned about her since moving to Texas.

1.  Janssen is a great host.  She loves having people over and is great at making people feel welcome in her home.
2.  She is very smart and constantly learning and trying new things.  I learned lots from living by her.  She shared new recipes with me (like this new favorite), new books (like this life changing one), and sometimes we just talked about life.  I loved it when I meant to go over for 10 minutes to drop something off and stayed for a few hours chatting with her.
3.  She is a great cook and makes lot of yummy snacks that she is always willing to share (this is the real reason that I like hanging out with her... ;)
4.  She is a very supportive and helpful sister.   She has helped me lots of times with formatting issues on this blog, or gave me advice on how to make it better.
5.   She is a great mom and because of it, her girls are so sweet and kind.  Seriously.  Her girls so darling.  You should wish that you lived by them. A few days after Janssen moved, Adam and I were looking through some old videos that we had taken of Ella singing nursery rhymes, and we just laughed and smiled through the whole thing (except I kind of wanted to cry too, because I will miss her sweet, happy self!) because she is so stinking cute.
6.  Janssen and I were far enough apart in age (4 years) that I always felt like she was moving on to a new phase of life just as I was starting one (high school, college, marriage, childbearing, etc.), so I love that while living in Texas together, I felt that we were on equal footing because we are both adults now.  She never made me feel like the little sister.
7.  She tries really hard to stay connected with Merrick and me.  I love how although we each have our own separate ambitions and loves, she was very instrumental in starting "Raiding my Sister's Closet" so we can all connect and share where our interest overlap.
8.  She is a wonderful example of being happy for other people.  She is so excited when good things happen to other people.  This is hard to do, and I really respect her for it.
9. I love that Janssen loves books.  It is amazing how many she can get through in a really short amount of time, and the variety of books that she reads.  Sometimes, I think, "what made you pick that one up?" More often than not, I end up wanting to read whatever she has just been reading after I hear all about it.
10.  I love how Janssen is always up for a new adventure, whether it is trying out a new restaurant, or moving halfway across the country. She is always willing to try new and fun things!

I was looking for an awesome photo of us, and very seriously, this is the only picture that I could find of the two of us... And it was taken about 1 hour before Janssen moved away... Clearly I need to work on incorporating picture taking into my life.

Janssen, I hope you know that you will be greatly missed in Texas!  Love and miss you!