... Contest Winner #2 ...
Naomi & Michelle
Naomi & Michelle
This is the second winner from my contest back in the winter! Most "winners" wanted to wait until the spring for their shoots... and I happily agreed with them!
You can see Naomi's winning entry at the bottom the post. She wrote about her sister, Michelle, who had her baby right when I had my contest! For their shoot we did all the girls in the family - three generations! They are a pretty beautiful group of ladies!
"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine"
"You make me happy when skies are gray"
"You'll never know dear, how much I love you"
"Please don't take my sunshine away"{the light is all a mess in this one, but I just LOVE this little face!}
"The other night dear, as I lay sleeping"
"I dreamed I held you in my arms"
"But when I awoke, dear, I was mistaken"
"So I hung my head and I cried"
"You are my sunshine" 
"My only sunshine"
"You make me happy when skies are gray"
"You'll never know dear, how much I love you"
"Please don't take my sunshine away"I love her little baby face :) :) :)
Congrats Naomi on winning!
I wanted to take this opportunity to honor my sister, Michelle. We basically became best friends on the day I was born. She was so excited to have a baby sister (being surrounded by our three, crazy brothers J) that she even took me in for “show and tell” when she was in kindergarten and I was just a baby! I can always remember wanting to be just like her, whether it was eating the same thing she was, dressing the same way she dressed, playing “house” the way she played, etc. I just wanted to be with her all the time and imitate everything she did. Being the only two girls in the family, we also got to share a room together, which meant late night talks and lots of laughs!
Michelle was there for me when I needed her to be. She always had a comforting word or a shoulder to cry on or willing ears to listen. My sister has always been a very faithful Christian and that wisdom and love for her Savior would continually spill into the wisdom and love she in turn gave me. She exemplifies the Savior well which leads me to the main reason I want to honor her.
Now that the excited bride has been married for over three wonderful years, to the sweetest and best friend, the Lord has blessed her with a baby girl that is due to come into this world any day!
I remember the morning she found out she was pregnant; the proud soon-to-be parents came over to our house at 6 in the morning and tip toed up to my room and jumped on my bed! First of all, I’m not a morning person and she knew that from sharing a room with me, second of all, I was very confused as to why she was at our house at 6am! I had to think for a moment, “Wait, does she still live here?” But when she told me she was pregnant, I jumped out of bed and gave her a big hug. I was sooo excited and this was a big answer to prayer since I’ve been waiting to be an aunt ever since my siblings got married.
Sovereignly, the Lord has used Michelle’s pregnancy to bring her to her knees and rely on Him for extra grace. Unfortunately she has been sick throughout her whole pregnancy. I remember thinking, “This girl is definitely pregnant!” because her personality was always full of energy, but during the first 3 months she just had to sleep and rest when she wasn’t working. She just wasn’t her typical “go get ‘em” girl self. We were all praying that this sickness wouldn’t remain with her the whole time, but the Lord has allowed that. And Michelle has done exceptionally well in dealing with it! I never heard her complain throughout this whole trial.
Her humility and joy have been such an example! I remember when my tired sister would call on the way to work and ask me to pray for her because she didn’t think she would be able to make it through that day. I would ask, “Do you have grace for today?” she replied, “I do for the next five minutes!” Moment by moment Michelle had to rely on the Lord for strength. She knew that if there was any way she would make it to work, it would only be by God’s amazing grace! Another area of grace in her life is being others focused. I was always amazed when she would ask me about my life because I knew how uncomfortable this pregnancy has been. But she never put the attention on herself; her focus was to always draw others out.
I knew that it was only by God’s grace that she was able keep working more than full time which included crazy hours, as well as cleaning the house, making dinners, serving her husband, help lead a Care Group and have a challenging pregnancy at the same time! The scripture that comes to mind when I think of how Michelle has walked out this trial is in James 1:2-4, “Count it all joy my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” I have seen my sister count it joy walking through this trial of sickness for 10 months. Dave’s joyful wife has had much faith and trust in the Lord as she has carried this baby. What an example to me and all who know her! I also love the hope and promise the Lord says later on in James 1:12, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him.”
Michelle, I just want to tell you it has been such an honor to walk by you through this trial. Thank you for trusting God with this pregnancy and for leaning on Him for strength. Your humility and joy have been such an example to me and our family! We all look forward to another addition to our big family and I can’t wait to have a baby niece!!! I love you lots! Ni :)
Now that the excited bride has been married for over three wonderful years, to the sweetest and best friend, the Lord has blessed her with a baby girl that is due to come into this world any day!
I remember the morning she found out she was pregnant; the proud soon-to-be parents came over to our house at 6 in the morning and tip toed up to my room and jumped on my bed! First of all, I’m not a morning person and she knew that from sharing a room with me, second of all, I was very confused as to why she was at our house at 6am! I had to think for a moment, “Wait, does she still live here?” But when she told me she was pregnant, I jumped out of bed and gave her a big hug. I was sooo excited and this was a big answer to prayer since I’ve been waiting to be an aunt ever since my siblings got married. Sovereignly, the Lord has used Michelle’s pregnancy to bring her to her knees and rely on Him for extra grace. Unfortunately she has been sick throughout her whole pregnancy. I remember thinking, “This girl is definitely pregnant!” because her personality was always full of energy, but during the first 3 months she just had to sleep and rest when she wasn’t working. She just wasn’t her typical “go get ‘em” girl self. We were all praying that this sickness wouldn’t remain with her the whole time, but the Lord has allowed that. And Michelle has done exceptionally well in dealing with it! I never heard her complain throughout this whole trial.
Her humility and joy have been such an example! I remember when my tired sister would call on the way to work and ask me to pray for her because she didn’t think she would be able to make it through that day. I would ask, “Do you have grace for today?” she replied, “I do for the next five minutes!” Moment by moment Michelle had to rely on the Lord for strength. She knew that if there was any way she would make it to work, it would only be by God’s amazing grace! Another area of grace in her life is being others focused. I was always amazed when she would ask me about my life because I knew how uncomfortable this pregnancy has been. But she never put the attention on herself; her focus was to always draw others out.
I knew that it was only by God’s grace that she was able keep working more than full time which included crazy hours, as well as cleaning the house, making dinners, serving her husband, help lead a Care Group and have a challenging pregnancy at the same time! The scripture that comes to mind when I think of how Michelle has walked out this trial is in James 1:2-4, “Count it all joy my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” I have seen my sister count it joy walking through this trial of sickness for 10 months. Dave’s joyful wife has had much faith and trust in the Lord as she has carried this baby. What an example to me and all who know her! I also love the hope and promise the Lord says later on in James 1:12, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him.”
Michelle, I just want to tell you it has been such an honor to walk by you through this trial. Thank you for trusting God with this pregnancy and for leaning on Him for strength. Your humility and joy have been such an example to me and our family! We all look forward to another addition to our big family and I can’t wait to have a baby niece!!! I love you lots! Ni :)