It’s strange to think that not even a year ago, Rose had put on her wedding dress to pose for my styled bridal portrait shoot. And now, here she is in her third trimester with Baby Oh! Crazy how so much happens in a year!

We’ve had the date set for this session back in September: after family birthdays and before it gets too cold. As usual, the typical Midwest weather changed everyday; the forecast showed snow one day and rain the next. I was supposed to drive in on the Friday following Thanksgiving and our session was planned for Saturday, but with chances of rain higher on Saturday (and snow in Iowa Friday morning), I opted to arrive at night on Thanksgiving. Thankfully, my family did Thanksgiving lunch so there was no conflict! I also missed Rose so much, I was okay with foregoing normal Thanksgiving traditions to see her.

I woke up early (for me) Friday morning to scout a few locations that I found through a Google search the day before. I checked a couple parks and local areas, but was dissatisfied with the lack of barriers that would be able to shield us from the wind temporarily. With it being late November and most plants dead from the cold, it was hard to find any color, especially with the gloomy clouds looming over our heads and casting gray onto the earth. However, as I was driving from one park to a location on the main street, I passed by Rotary Park and found, to my delight, some color! Mostly orange and yellow because of the dead plants, but better than no plants! Plus, there were quite a number of willow trees that, despite being bare, still looked lovely with their hanging branches. So this became the unexpected location! We also got a few shots in an area near an apartment complex that had a small pond. It was slightly flurrying during our session, but thankfully it wasn’t full on snow. Props to Paul for braving the cold; he was the one who felt the most cold out of all of us!

I’ve never done an indoor home session, so I thought I’d give it a try with Rose and Paul, and they were gracious and patient to let me try! The lighting wasn’t ideal being how dark it was outside and not being able to turn on lights in fear of mixing temperatures (lights at home generally are warmer in color), but the pictures turned out well and I liked the challenge! Here are a few from the indoor part:

I was thinking about how crazy and overwhelming (in a good kind of way) to think about the deep friendships you form with people, sometimes later in life than you think. Rose and I grew up together, but seeing how she was older than me, we never ran in the same friendship circle; at one point, she was my leader for small group when I was in high school! Once I got into college, the age gap didn’t seem as big anymore, and we grew closer as friends rather than as a leader-student. That friendship started with me visiting her almost every other month when she was in grad school at Wheaton and extended to spending hours planning and preparing for VBS and the annual youth church camp. We cried together with tears of sadness and joy, celebrated birthdays, holidays, and an engagement; we prayed together and for each other as we shared our struggles and successes, interceding for the other. I stood by her as she vowed to spend the rest of her life in pursuit of Christ with Paul as a married couple, and words cannot describe how ecstatic and humbled I am to take part in her life as a mama-to-be. If you had told me ten years ago that I would be friends with that super cool and pretty unnie (respectful Korean term for females to call older females that are of the sister age range), I would have certainly been puzzled and possibly laugh. Yet, here we are, one of my closest friends and confidantes.

Although we are not related by marriage or blood (except the blood of Jesus Christ hehehe), I consider Rose my sister, Paul my brother-in-law, and this baby my nephew (YES, IT’S A BOY). He’s not yet here, but he is already so loved. Seriously, you have no idea how many times I think about getting to hold my nephew, teaching him to play soccer, and spoiling him when his parents aren’t around (enter fun aunt Sarah). There’s only one thing that I want the most out of this kid and it’s this: I pray he will have a heart for God and become a joyous servant for His kingdom. Even more than health, I hope for this.

Rose, thank you for always supporting my dreams, cheering me on, praying for me, and overall being a great sister-in-Christ. I know you’re going to be the best mom ever. This kid is so blessed to call you mama, and I have no doubt that you will raise him to be a strong man of the Lord.

Paul, I knew you were going to be a great dad when you married Rose. I’ve seen the way you interacted with kids at church when you visited, I’ve listened to the answers of hard questions about what you would do if this or that happened to your child, and even the example of how you treat your friends, young or old, demonstrates how caring you are and will be for Baby Oh.

I’m excited for you both, so happy to be able to be a part of it, and can’t wait for this kid. BABY OH, AUNT SARAH LOVES YOU SO MUCH!