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Two sisters. Two years apart. Yeah, sometimes there's tension between the Hemstreets, especially when they compete with each other.

"Sometimes I try and copy how Christy does her hair," big sis Stacy admits. "And I'm always taking her clothes."

"Well, Stacy just makes friends so easy. I get jealous of her," says Christy.

This rivalry, they say, often leads to conflict.

Like when it came time to organize their youth group's winter retreat, both girls wanted to be on the planning committee. Stacy, a senior and three-year veteran of the committee, didn't want Christy to be part of it. "It was my thing," she explains. "I knew if we were both on the committee we'd compete with one another."

When they disagree about stuff like this, it usually results in a yelling match. That's when they know they need to give each other some space. "It'll usually go away in a couple of hours," Christy says. "Then we just move on. We don't hold grudges or anything.

"I think things are getting better, though," says Christy.

Stacy agrees. "I think we're realizing that we're our own people."

"Yeah," says Christy, "now, instead of comparing myself to Stacy and finding out what I don't have, I'm starting to look at the things I do have."

They're also learning to appreciate one another's gifts.

"I really love Stacy's personality," Christy says. "She always makes me laugh. And she's very knowledgeable. She always gives me good advice. I also like that she doesn't have to follow the crowd."

"I really like Christy's openness," says Stacy. "It's hard for me to be open sometimes, but Christy shows me that she wants to know about me, and that means a lot to me."

Both know that to love one another, they have to learn to look past the tension and the things that annoy one another. It's a challenge, but they think it's worth it.

"God has put us in one another's lives for a reason—to help us grow," Stacy says. "Without each other, we'd really be missing out."

"Close" is not a word Catie and Pat Phelan would've used to describe their relationship a year and a half ago. "I was too busy with my own stuff to care about having a relationship with Pat," says Catie. "But a lot of things changed after I became a Christian. I realized where my priorities needed to be."

Around that time, Pat was really struggling. He had broken his back wrestling, and was facing months of painful recovery—both physically and emotionally.

"I kind of put wrestling above everything in my life," Pat says. "So when I broke my back, I got really angry because I didn't feel like I had anything else."

"It was really tough for him," says Catie. "He had to go through all this physical therapy, and he was missing lots of school. And it was hard on the rest of the family because he was so bitter."

But at the same time, good things were happening for Catie. She was going to a youth group with some friends, and was learning a ton about her new faith. She was also starting to have some pretty big talks with Pat.

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