This is Auntie Em.
She rocks. Ellie thinks she's the most amazing person on the planet. She may be right. Here's why:
1. She spend her days off at our house playing peek-a-boo, cleaning my kitchen and changing diapers when she could be doing much more awesome things- like sleeping in.
2. Ellie claps her hands when her car pulls into the driveway and giggles this amazing laugh that only Auntie Em can get out of her whenever she sees her.
3. She believes everything will work out. Always. And when she believes that, it does. She's awesome like that. I love that my kid will grow up believing that too, because Auntie Em does.
4. She gets "big ideas" at least once a week. She loves boxed Mac and Cheese from Target. She could eat frozen yogurt by the gallon. She says with certainly, "We will pray about it and it will happen". She is the only person who can convince me to purchase an item while in the dressing room. Or three. She makes all of my big problems seem not so big. She really, really loves the life God gave her and lives to celebrate it everyday. I am not the celebratory sister. She is good for me. And my kid.
5. She spends the night on Wednesdays to get up with my child after I call crying because I'm so exhausted I put my coffee cup in the freezer and spent an hour looking for it, instead of just taking another cup from the cabinet. She wakes up with Ellie at four, and they have a dance party in the living room and watch Darjeeling Limited because she loves India and Wes Anderson, and thinks Ellie should, too.
6. She pursues what she wants and what she believes God has called her to. No matter how ridiculous, difficult or even impossible it may seem to anyone else. And she'll do it, too. Like, starting her own business because of her heart for the street vendor artisans in India, and her desire to see their craft recognized. You can read more about it here.
7. She says funny things. Sometimes she means to. It's better when she doesn't. And then she laughs at herself.
Ellie is so blessed to have family who loves her. So am I.