The big moment had arrived. I was on the edge of my seat, ready to stand up. Fortunately, I was patient enough to wait for everyone else to stand up. But no one did.

“Let us pray.”

I looked in confusion as the pastor bowed his head. Um, pastor dude, I think you have things a little mixed up. Everyone is supposed to stand up because the bride is about to walk down the aisle! I glanced at my brother, but he had his head bowed. So did Aaron. So what did I do? I turned around to protest! And just when I did, I saw my beautiful sister-in-law to-be being driven down from the club house to the aisle in a golf cart, where she met her father. And just as the prayer ended, they were walking down the aisle towards my brother.

I knew her father was sick, but I realized at that moment just how ill he really was. TJ shortened her aisle walk so that her father could do it with as little discomfort as possible. A few months after her wedding day, he passed away.

This May will be their third wedding anniversary, and it comes with a lot of mixed emotions. Not only has TJ lost her father, but her mother came down suddenly with a case of pneumonia over Christmas, and in a few days, she was gone. And on top of that, she discovered that she was pregnant with her first child. God works in mysterious ways indeed.

This baby will be the first grandchild for my parents. And our first time being aunt and uncle. I thought that this blog post would really be about my adventures into aunt-hood … but it really is about TJ. She has handled the most difficult circumstances with incredible grace and candor. She is always so honest about her feelings, but she never draws attention for herself, even throwing out a joke to lighten the mood if needed. Not only has she stolen my brother’s heart, but she can totally hold her own with him AND my dad. With one hand tied behind her back. She’s the perfect addition to our family.

They arranged for their good friend Jason Huang of Table 4 Photography to do a post-wedding shoot, and I think it comes at such an incredible time in their lives. I had the pleasure of meeting Jason at the Photog Shootout where he was a teacher. Actually, I saw him walk in, and I was like, OMG, I think that’s Jason from Table 4!!!!!!!!!!! If you haven’t checked out their work, you are seriously missing out on some talent.

Here are a few sneak peeks that I stole from FB.

And ending with my favorite.

Baby Poon will be coming sometime in September. I personally think it’ll be a boy – I don’t think my brother knows what to do with little girls.