1,656.
That’s the number of days I have prayed for my little sister to become a mother.

Since the first day my daughter Mallory was born, and I saw her wrap my sister around her little finger and become so absolutely in love with her, I knew she was built for this role.
When my sister found her soulmate Rob, my goofy brother-in-law, she got her wish for the first time when she gained my amazing niece Emma, and I am so incredibly happy that I gained my first niece - she is a doll! Alyssa and Emma have a special bond that I get to see grow every time we see her, and it is the sweetest! However, I knew Emma came into my sister’s life for a special reason as well, so that she could know that if for some reason she was not able to have children of her own - God found a way to tell her that all would be as it should be, and she would get to be a mother no matter what. Being a mother-figure to my daughters has come so naturally to Alyssa, that being a second mother to Emma fell right in place as the next step preparing her for “this parenting thing”…until 7/20/2018…at 1:30 PM when I get a text message asking “You got a chalkboard?”

My mind immediately went to I’M GOING TO BE AN AUNT!!! This is not because I am gifted with psychic powers, my mind has went to this place for about 2 years every time I get a random text from her. I immediately think of the ways this could be a segway into telling me I’m joining Club Aunt and I usually come up empty. This time, however, I had just been talking about doing a pregnancy announcement with another woman I had met in my college days and we had been talking about this kind of shoot. I read my sister’s text message and even though I knew subconsciously that is what it was, I responded with “why?”

Sorry Rob, I KNEW FIRST!! :) The perks of being a big sister! :)

Anyway, so we cunningly pulled off a big ole lie and thought we were pretty smooth, we advised my brother-in-law that I required a couple to model an idea for a '“couple’s mini shoot” I had dreamed up and wanted to have them be my advertisement models. I may have promised a lasagna supper or something of that nature, but nonetheless he agreed! I was more nervous than I was for my first wedding job, seriously. I even vented to some of my photographer friends on ideas to keep myself calm and collected when doing a shoot that holds emotional ties so I don’t screw up the focus or emotional captures.

Are the shots perfect in every technical sense? Nope. But guess what - I don’t care. Because

I GET TO BE AN AUNT IN MARCH OF 2019!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!