By Way of Introduction.

I think we might have some new readers. And, I think those new readers may not be all that familiar with Big Sis and Little Sis. They might, for example, be wondering, Are these two really sisters (yes)? Which one is L.A. Baby and who is New York Lady (Courtney is the former, Emily is the latter)? and Is their red hair natural (gasp! of course! and thank you for not calling it orange)? and Why do they have that obscured photo of themselves at the top of the blog (We just like the Pacific, that's all)? and Who are all these family members they keep referencing (we'll get to that)?

So, this is a brief (re) introduction to Big Sister and Little Sister, Emily and Courtney:

Sis and I grew up in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. and somehow ended up going to college together in southern California. We shared some pretty special memories together in Orange County. Like, my graduation:

And, her graduation:

Now we live in two different cities, and we're sending e-mails and texts and packages across the country to tell the other sister all the news. And, yes, 3,000 miles is a big distance. So, we keep this little blog. To check in. To ponder. To laugh. To update. To cry (sometimes). To remember. To dream.

We're very different people, Sis and I. But, we love a lot of the same things. A college professor of ours used to say that the things a person loves and hates tell a lot about them. I've always liked that. What if we all quit beating around the bush with what we like, and just say what we adore and abhor?

Sis and I love the ocean. And, we love our family. We love coffee dates, and good movies, and girlfriends, and summertime. We love authenticity, and passion, coupled with a wry sense of humor. And, we're learning every day, every season of our lives, about loving Jesus more. We hate hypocrisy, injustice, and abortion. We hate the pain and suffering of eating disorders. And, we hate some not-so-serious things, too-like L.A. traffic (Courtney), and slow-walking New Yorkers (Emily).

We love adventure. Here we are in Lima, Peru on a missions trip. I feel the need to clarify that I was on the clown team, which is why my face is painted 18 different shades of red. And, Sis, she was on the disabled team. But she looks more normal than me. Something is not right.

Sis and I love a good laugh, too (who doesn't?!). A good laugh might have been the reason we performed this little number in a high school talent show:

It's another thing we love, White Christmas. Oh yes. We loved it so much we stood up in front of the entire Upper School and sang and danced our way through a most memorable rendition of Sisters. Was it a hit? Was it a hit?! Sisters in Montgomery County are still reenacting our encore-inducing performance.

We also love these little necklaces from South Moon Under. It is such a silly sister thing. Could you imagine brothers buying matching necklaces?

... my apologies go out to all brothers who have matching necklaces.

I promised some other introductions. These are the other family members. The BOYS. Hello, Brothers! Brothers, are you there???

We have four brothers.

Sis and I are shamelessly outnumbered.

And, Mom and Dad.

They're the ones who started all this in the first place- have to give them some kinda credit.

Now you know us. Now you've seen us. The cat's out of the bag, as they say. We hope you'll enjoy this blog along with us. We hope you'll laugh and cry and play Devil's Advocate occasionally. We hope we'll make you think, and we hope you'll make us think. But, really, we hope you'll laugh a lot.

"There's a time for joking around, and a time to be serious; this is not one of them."