when's that baby due?

I am going to be an Aunt!!!!

I cannot even fathom that I am sitting down to write this post tonight... is this real life?

Yes, you heard me, an real AUNT to a real BABY Nephew or Niece in the next real year.. I dont care what it is... I am just too ecstatic to even make full intelligible sentences.

My older sister, Lanie, and her husband Bret are expecting their first baby next June!!

that means, the formally known "parents" Rex & Gwen can now be formally addressed as Grandpa & Grandma, Gramps & Granny, Papa Bear & G-mama... it doesnt matter, they will be grandparents for the very first time! as for Uncle Wade and I... we couldnt be more ready!

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I feel like you need be in on something... story time! Lets go back... 2 years ago... Its Christmas morning at the Barker Household. There we are in our matching PJs and my mom is cooking an incredible breakfast feast that is life-changing BUT that is not is the life-changing back story I will be sharing... unfortunately. 

 my sister Lanie is just awesome. I mean, whatever comes her way, she conquers like a champion. For example, at Christmas, she wraps presents like no one else I know and lovessss to do it. So , of course, thats why I "let" her wrap mine! ha. Her Christmas gift giving is always super thoughtful, meaningful and memorable... and boy was this year memorable.

Lanie had worked super hard to get our family tickets to sit in on the popular Alabama radio show, Rick and Bubba! We love those guys! It was a perfect gift for the whole family to open... except for Libby. Libby opened an ultrasound. uh huh... you heard me correctly. Libby froze. Could this really be happening? Libby looked around... and as expected, there might have been a small amount of moisture building up in the eyeballs... just as Libby was about to just lose it... Lanie shares that it was just a joke! She thought it was be funny for Libby to open an ultrasound (with a photoshopped "Lanie Walters" at the top) while everyone else opened tickets to a radio show.Props to her for the effort! I really mean that, I love a good joke. Heck that might be the Christmas she wrapped up and gave me a copy of "Liar Liar" that I already owned. I still squealed in excitement! Guess that just proves my middle name really is gullible... Ill accept that...But lets just say, Libby did not find the "baby" prank quite as humorous.

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So, two years have passed and maybe the bitterness has worn off. But I sure did take it upon myself to nag about when I was going to be an Aunt. for real. can you blame me?

Back to the Good News:

One weekend in Nov, Bret and Lanie came up to Nashville for the weekend. In usual Lanie fashion, there was a master plan to share the big news! But... our weekend plans got all mumbo-jumbo-ed (yeah, I just wrote that) and we have to improvise. So, at the famous Couser's restaurant that my family has eaten at for over 20 years... the day final had came. Bret got up to "take a photo" of us (aka a video, see below) and he yelled "When's that Baby Due?" Lanie said, "June 21!"...

as you can tell in the video, none of us really caught it the first time...whoops.

and of course I cried. Good grief, i am a basket case these days. kinda pitiful... but in this context I am dont care, im gonna be an aunt!!!

Mo-Mo got the news via Skype! How cool is my 70-something year old Mo-mo for that right there? She is such an angel and an amazing grandmother! I bet an even great-grandmother!!

Then, the Enlow crew found out right before our Thanksgiving dinner!
*It took everything I had NOT to post the big news on my Turkey Day Post! I give myself a pat on the back for that. 

Lanie and Bret, Thank you, thank you, thank you to the moon and back 1000x! You two are going to be incredible parents... I cannot wait to see how beautifully God is going to bless your family and your sweet new addition! oh oh oh oh I cannot wait.

dear blog readers, I am not even sorry for how often I will post about this baby and how incredible it is. I will be obsessed... guaranteed!