Jill: age 27

Today is my cousin Jill's birthday. Not really a cousin though, way more a like a sister. We grew up very close, and usually wearing matching outfits. She is a little younger than me, so naturally she went along with any idea I ever had. Many summer days were spent meticulously setting up Barbie's house, which Jill had EVERY Barbie they sold and all the coordinating playsets, or we'd be baking in her mom's kitchen. (That's where it all began for me. Susan would always let me bake at her house. No matter how big of a mess I made, she'd say "go ahead" and then proceed to clean it for us afterwards. Thanks Susan.) We'd make our own cookie dough ice cream, No bake cookies, chocolate chip cookies, pancakes, whatever sounded good.

Fast forward about 10 years. Jill was there when I first met Dan, and was practically our third wheel (not in a bad way) the majority of the time we dated. She went with me to all his baseball games, and worked for us at our espresso stand. She was by my side when I discovered Dan's "ring money" was gone. And that could only mean one thing. What a sweet and exciting memory that is to me. She helped me with our wedding, scoping out the venue, crafting together the invitations, and even took our engagement pictures for us, ha ha.

Now we're all grown up, not really spending summers playing Barbies, but still close. She makes it a point to come over after church on Sundays to see the kids, and excitedly eats any left overs I have in my refrigerator. My kids adore her and I'm pretty sure Dan does too, he turns into World's Greatest Host when she visits. We all love you Jill, and hope you have a great birthday today.

YES, I have a black eye