life as an aunt

One of my favorite parts of being a girl is getting the opportunity to be an aunt. Coming from a girl with 4 wonderful aunts, aunts are awesome. As an aunt, you get to invest in the lives of your nieces & nephews (or in my case, just nieces) without being the parent. In other words, you get to hang out with kids and are still viewed as "cool" in their eyes :) or maybe that's just what I think? 

Luckily for me, four of the cutest little girls in the world are my nieces. Each one of my nieces are already different from each other. That's what makes it fun :)

This is Alexis. She was my very first niece ever to be born. What a special little girl. She has such a tender heart. She's very sensitive and always has been. But she is the sweetest little girl. Don't get me wrong. This little Diva can spice up life every now and then. But she has a big heart for people. And she became a Christian this past summer! Praise the Lord :) I hope I have the opportunity to impact her life in the most positive ways. She's definitely at the age where she's starting to notice how we (her elders) react to situations.

Oh little Faith. So full of life and spirit. Faith was my second born niece. She loves to be outside with shoeless feet, running around and always getting into something. But don't get me wrong. She loves all things girl too. Make up, clothes, jewelry. She especially loves putting on my high heels and wearing them around the house. As Faith says, "Alexis said I was a tommy boy. But I'm a girly girl." Faith is known for her very funny sayings. Which is funny now, because when she was younger, she got so shy and would hardly speak. Now we can't get her to calm down and be quiet :) I love how the Lord has opened up her shell and let her personality shine through :)

My heart melts for Neela Kate. She is my third born niece. This little girl has been such a blessing to my heart. So far, I have seen lots of characteristics from her mom AND her dad. She can get a little high maintenance (just like her mom AND her aunt) but she is such a laid back baby (just like her dad). Neela loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny and Winnie the Pooh. (I like to think MickEEEy is her favorite!) As much as I love this little baby girl, I am anxious to see how the Lord works through her life as she gets older. We share a very special bond and I think it's because I am her unofficial "godmother." (I say unofficial since we aren't Catholic.) I could kiss and love on her every day of my life.

Little baby Addyson Claire :) She is my newest born niece. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to spend as much time with her since I've moved to Little Rock, but I hope that changes in the future. I can tell that she is going to be full of life and spirit just like her two older sisters (Alexis & Faith). She is cute as a button and she is always dressed to a T :) As she gets older, I can even see physical characteristics of myself in her... or maybe that's just me being full of myself since she's so cute? :) I can't wait to share her first couple of holidays with her. I'm excited to see what the Lord has in store for her! I'm sure He has great things waiting on her :)

My prayer for all four of my nieces is for them to grow up knowing they are beautiful, gentle-hearted, sweet little young ladies of God. I want them to know how much they are loved by not only me, but by their parents and  grandparents and their other aunts and uncles. As they grow up I hope I can be the aunt they can run to whenever they need anything, or something they might be embarrassed to talk to their parents about. I hope they know how much I love each and every one of them.