No Longer a Kid....

In case you arent completely familiar with my family - especially my sister - yesterday, August 8th, was my beautiful sisters birthday!!

This year has been a landmarker for all of us... My mom and Steve both turned 50! Im turning 21 next month! And Jordanna is now 25! Unfortunately, we grow older rather than younger... But it is exciting that we all have big birthdays in the same year! AND Jordanna is officially HALF of Moms age! Thats cool in its own way.

Well, just last month, I dedicated a blog to my mom in honor of reaching her 5th decade. I decided it would be best to dedicate another to my sister in honor of reaching a quarter of a century. And similar to my moms, I figured naming 25 things I love about my sister would work for this blog as well... Hopefully it works for Jordanna as well as it worked for Mom. ;)

1. She is absolutely one of a kind. There is none even remotely close to my sister... for so many reasons.

2. She has the kindest heart - warm and welcoming to friends and strangers alike. It doesnt matter if youve lived most of your life with her or if you just met her, she will make you feel special and important.

3. She is always there. She truly has a servants heart - never able to say no, even at the expense of her own sanity/sleep. She will be there for someone if they need her, whether it be to take some pictures, run some errands, set up/clean up from a party, the list goes on. She will be there.

4. Not only does she have a servants heart, always willing to serve and help, but she never ever complains. She performs the deed with a smile from ear to ear and the best attitude. This is probably one of the reasons shes a go-to person...

5. She always looks at things on the positive side. It could be the hottest day in history, walk out to find your tires have melted, slam your fingers in the door, trip over a stray cat kind of day, and yet she will still find something good that happened.... something my mom and I are a little envious of.

6. She is a breath of fresh air. There is a uniqueness, a rarity, a specialness about my sister. It is something that cannot be explained until you meet her.

7. She is incredibly creative and has the patience to wait for the perfection of her vision to be made.

8. She sticks to what she knows and likes. She may have 10 colors of the same shirt, but its what she likes and what she feels comfortable in. That is what is important.

9. She has her own sense of humor, but always makes me laugh. I always love spending time with my sister because I just never know what is going to happen.

10. She appreciates me and my humor. She might not always get me, but she appreciates me. I can tease her, but she knows I do it out of love. She is such a good sport in those instances... even when other family teases her, she still chooses to laugh along.

11. She will go to Padre games with me and be my buddy... eat anything we want, cheer and hollar with the friar on the "get louder" board, and share stories between exciting hits or outs.

12. She treats me better than husbands treat their wives. And she recognizes when I need a little girl time or pampering, and treats me so well... better than I could ever deserve.

13. She loves her dogs, bird, and husband unconditionally. She has so much adoration for all of them and will do anything for them and with them.

14. She has an appreciation for life, people, moments, experiences that nobody really understands. She never takes things for granted and remembers to be grateful for the things she has.

15. She gets excited about the small things in life, like a new light on her balcony or new blinds. And not only does she point them out to you when you visit, but she will blog about them. You may be thinking a light?? Blinds?? Only Jordanna can make you fully appreciate them and only she can word it in a way that gets you excited about it too!

16. She loves the little boy she takes care of. She is a pediatric home health nurse and talks about her patient as if he is her own son. I cant wait to see her with her own kids.

17. She is very intelligent. She knows a lot of medical terminology and medications and diseases and on and on. She only continues to learn as she goes to work each day. But shes like a sponge in the way she soaks it all in and can regurgitate it at any given time.

18. She loves ice cream. I dont think Ive met anyone who loves ice cream quite as much as my sister. But in grateful for that... she introduces me to new flavors almost everytime I visit.

19. She cherishes her friendships and only says wonderful things about the people she has created relationships with. Jordanna is the friend everyone wants - shes dependable, positive, accepting, loving, and so much more.

20. She loves the Lord with all her heart. She has a passion to pursue Him and seeks after Him each day of her life.

21. She is an encourager. She is a permanent cheerleader without the uniform at all times, no matter where she is and what shes going through. She can be completely down on her luck, unsuccessfully searching for a job, whatever the case may be, but she will be genuinely happy for anothers success and happiness.

22. She is the most supportive wife Ive ever encountered. I pray my husband (of whenever that happens) doesnt pick up on how encouraging and supportive, full of love and commitment my sister is towards her husband.... I dont think I could ever quite live up to that...

23. She is young, yet feels a call to walk the 3 day breast cancer walk alongside my mom. I cant say Im that motivated nor that strong.

24. She doesnt give up. She wants a job in the hospital and I believe wholeheartedly that she will get one. She is persistent in what she wants and has a drive to achieve it... going where she feels led to be.

25. She has the biggest heart of anyone I know. There are many things to characterize her heart as, but in general, she has a big, entirely selfless and genuine heart.

If I could choose any sister in the world to call my own, I would still pick my sister. For everything she is, all of her qualities and characteristics, her heart, her passions.... I love her with all my heart. I have no idea what I would do without her. Life would be so dull without her... and just not complete... not AWESOME. ;)

Happy 25th Birthday Sister!! I hope it was all you wanted and more! You deserve it!!