sisters

The Christensen girls, circa 1999(ish). Go Doc Martens. And please note that my hair has not really changed.

I'm very blessed to have three sisters. No brothers. And who needs 'em anyhow. I'm married with two chicklets, the next is in Houston living the semi-single life (she's got a boyf), the next is having a baby of her own any minute (and is also married), and the youngest is a freshman in college. We all look eerily similar, although Rissa doesn't match completely with her blonde hair. (The other three have dirty brownish hair - we all dye it dark.) Number two and number four look practically like twins, and I've thought one was the other on multiple occasions. With my mom, these girls are my very best friends. In. The. World.

The most current photo of all of us together. Sad, right?
I had bangs and Belle was just a tiny seahorse in my belly.

People often ask how difficult it was for our parents to raise FOUR GIRLS. Oh, dread! We think it's hilarious because we weren't very typical I suppose. There wasn't hair pulling or plate throwing. Of course, there were occasional bits of drama fueled by monthly hormones, but the fact of the matter is, there was more getting along and eating ice cream at midnight than anything else. We are the kinds of friends that only sisters can be, the kind of friend that lets you be angry or irrational without thinking twice. They're the most honest kinds of friends too, and the ones that you can be the most honest with. I love them so much. I love that I can be myself with them, more than with anyone else. I can be angry, sad, happy. Fat, skinny, annoyed. They don't care. In fact, they just understand.

We didn't know if Lou was a boy or girl until the minute she popped out of me. And in that minute, I remember sinking back onto my bed and saying with almost relief, "It's another girl..." It isn't that I don't want a boy (although raising one sort of terrifies me). It's simply that in that moment, my heart realized that my Belle just received her very best friend. What I didn't expect, however, was how early this friendship would begin. There must be something in us that recognizes something in our siblings. It's like the same instincts that govern development also govern love - I don't have to teach Lou to suck her fist, just like I haven't taught her to love her sister. She just does. I find it fascinating and lovely all at the same time.

When Belle wakes up in the morning, she asks first where her Daddy is (sometimes at home, sometimes at work) then where her sister is. She frequently shares her blanket with her by letting her snuggle in it, which is seriously huge as that blanket is her only earthly possession that she really cares about. She loves to {attempt to} hold her and hug her and give her kisses. Lou, in turn, is enamored with Belle. I'll often hold Lou on my lap while Belle runs around singing Sound of Music songs, and Lou's little head will rotate round and round, following that sister's wild dancing. When she comes near her to shout a lyric or two, Lou squeals with happiness. I often catch Lou just staring and smiling at Belle, hoping Belle will return the grin. Lou reserves a special kind of sister smile for Belle - it's so unbelievably adorable.

My friendships with my sisters mean the world to me, and I have every confidence that these girls will feel the same way about each other as they grow up. And that makes me so happy.