Sisters and More

Jo, Jess, and I (Please, ignore my crooked necklace -- it bothers me too!)

This post has been on my mind for awhile. (School, work, busy weekend stuff just really slows me down!) Over the last few weeks, I've been running through my head the types of posts I want my blog to have. As we all know my blog hasn't exactly been very active for quite some time and the posts I've shared up to this point were only surface posts. They didn't dig down, they didn't expose who I really am. I believe there are multiple reasons for this 1 - lack of time/effort and 2 - I'm not someone who really share beyond the surface. Sure there are my few very close and dear friends that know the gritty details, and I by no means plan to share the grittiest of my details. (yet...) However, I think that for me I need to jump past my comfort of the surface and dive in deeper. Not for anyone else to know, but simply for myself.

This really all came home to me a few weeks ago. When I was home in March, I had the chance to get together with my brother, a classmate, and oddly, an ex-flame. It was all very last minute and I thought about pulling out the "It's too late, I better pass" card as a way to avoid what was surely going to be an awkward situation. However, my brother assured me it would be fun and off we went. We ended up having a great time. We talked and remembered and laughed. It was enjoyable. (Somewhere during the night, I made a comment about knowing lots of girls that think dark men are attractive -- case in point, Taye Diggs! Yes...please!) Fast forward to a few weeks. I get a text message from said ex-flame letting me know that he had asked a few others about the dark men (Taye Diggs) claim and he was not coming up with the same evidence. I, of course, assursed him he must not have mentioned Taye Diggs name or was asking too small of a group. Needless to say the next few text messages were something a long the lines of...I've learned more about you in this little detail then I've known. At first I laughed, then I cried. He was right! (Sadly...one does hate to admit such things!) I was the queen of being friendly and nice to others, but I was not great at sharing who I really was.

With all that said...I'd like to welcome you to what will hopefully be the first of many posts that dig deeper into my being and thought process. As a side note, this could get messy and scary, mostly for me, but maybe for all of you also! And as a disclaimer, I don't promise that I won't slip in a few "surface" posts every now and then. I really can't help it...it's just how I am!

Without further adieu - My Sisters

Jess

First off, is that not the cutest Senior picture of her? Jo and I love it, she isn't sold on it, but it's just so her. That's how cute she looks when she laughs. I think I just love how natural it is...quite different from my very stiff and rigid senior pictures, but that's not all that surprising!

I've been thinking about Jess a whole lot lately. This girl is a mere weeks away from being done with High School. You can tell that she is ready, but it's been so great to listen to this girl all year. She has grown up in so many ways. For those of you who know her, you know that she has a knack for bring funny. As much as I do hate to admit it, she knows how and when to be funny. She's also about as random as we Ohlmann's come. She could be singing and pretending to direct a choir song like Prof Reim one minute and then belting a head banging and screaming to Sweet Home Alabama the next. You're never quite sure what you're gonna get.

That is what I love about her. I love that she is random. I love that she laughs at herself. I love that she doesn't care who's watching or listening, she just does. These are the times that I look at her and think about how it just doesn't seem fair that I can't be even a little like her.

One of the ways that I've watched her really grow this year is in connection with her friends. Jess has been always good at making friends, but these year, I have watched her stretch herself. She has finally taken a chance on people she had written off for the last 3 years and oh how amazing it has been. It's fun to listen to her and how she goes on and on about how great these people are and how she wishes she would have given them a chance sooner. I think part of this comes with age and maturity, but what a great thing to see in her. It makes me look at my friends and value my closeness with some and makes me want to rekindle or build on what I have.

Out of everything, the way that Jess has grown in her leadership abilities is beyond my comprehension. It still stops me dead in my tracks when I hear her say, things about how she loves getting a chance to see the campers come to campus. Or how she has taken the stand-out freshman basketball player under her wings to protect her from being the one the team is jealous towards. How great it is to see the Lord continue to fashion and mold these gifts in her.

Jo and baby Cooper

My sister, Jo, has always been the sweet, little sister who would do anything for anyone. But more than that she is the sister that never fails. You can count on her. I know that if I call her, she will call me back as soon as she's able. (Jess...not so much, but her live is quite hectic!)

One of the things that I love about Jo is ability to just be. She doesn't have to be the center of attention, she doesn't have to have a comment for everything, she doesn't have to be funny, she's just there. And more often than not, it's exactly what you need. She's the one that will give you a hug or even just sit with you when you need it. Her quiet and protective presence is all that you need for her. And what I love is that she doesn't give off the need to say anything. She doesn't make the quiet time see awkward, instead it feels right. Oh for a gift like that!

I think Jo would agree that this has been the hardest year of her life. Going to Immanuel was uber difficult for her. She would call me daily for the first month and just cry. Slowly it turned to a few times a week, then weekly, monthly, and now it's gone. I can still remember her at Christmas break...she was only a week into her 3 week break and she was ready to go back!! I couldn't believe it. Change is hard for Jo, but I love the determination that she shows. I, also, love that she isn't afraid to show that it hurts. I was homesick for much of my first months at school, but I did all I could to never show it! (Hmm...not much has changed)

The Lord has blessed me with two great sisters! I love how different we all are and yet how we just know each other so well. I can't wait to continue to grow with each of them and see our lives develop! God is great!