For as long as I can remember, I have always been a bit of an annoying brother. While I liked to think that my older brother was more of the prankster in the family, looking back, I must confess that I had my share of not-so-nice stunts when I was younger. I’ll never forget the time I convinced my sister to punch my stomach as hard as she could only to find that a hardback book was waiting for her under my shirt or the time I playfully pretended to cut her hair and accidentally took off a very small, but devastating strand that left her in tears. When I was younger, my little sister was someone to joke with, make fun of and laugh with, but this weekend, I realized something very different. As I stood at a distance waiting for the very moment for Andrew to pop the question, a part of me was anxious, wanting to make sure that I did a good job– to click the shutter at the very right moment, but the other part of me was still, calm and even a bit emotional. Here stood my sister who puts vinegar and lemon on everything, my sister who made personal pillows for everyone in our family during Christmas, and the one who treats my daughter as if she were her own. I began to see her in a different light. We were all grown up now and the one person that I could count on making fun of in the past, was now the person I could count on to be the Godmother of Sophie. It’s interesting how going away to college and starting a family of your own can make you see the precious things in life. Everyone always told me how beautiful my sister is, and I could never seem to get guy friends to stop staring or asking about her. But it was on this day, as she stood under the light, with tears of joy pouring down her face, that I finally realized what everyone had been trying to tell me all these years. My sister is beautiful…not just because of her nice smile or dark brown eyes (as my mom would say) but for all the times she gave me advice on how to be a good husband, for the faith she has in me as a photographer and for the unconditional love she gives my daughter. I love you Hazel and I pray that you and Andrew are blessed with the happiness that I have found with my beautiful wife and daughter…