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Morgan Williams has known for her entire life that her sister, Maggie, has wanted to become a mother and have kids. When Maggie was married to Danny Paxton in June 2013, Williams was certain that the two would definitely start a family together.
But in January 2015, the Paxtons were given news that would change their family life forever.
When Maggie and Danny struggled to conceive their first child, they went to seek medical help – which was when Maggie was diagnosed with breast cancer. And because Maggie’s breast cancer had been triggered by her hormones, there wasn’t any way Maggie would ever be able to carry her own child without putting her life at great risk.
"Finding out I could not get pregnant was more devastating than finding out about the cancer," Maggie admitted.
Thankfully, Maggie was able to have her cancer treated after undergoing a double mastectomy and chemotherapy soon after her diagnosis. She was never, however, quite able to get over the fact that she wouldn’t ever be able to have children.
That’s where Morgan came into the picture.
During Maggie’s treatment, she and Danny talked about finding a surrogate mother, but it wasn’t until after everything was settled again that the plans officially took shape.
As it turns out, Morgan had also been considering this possibility. It wasn’t just that she wanted Maggie to find a surrogate mother; she wanted to be her sister’s surrogate. As a mother of a nine-year-old daughter, Morgan “knew the excitement of what it was like to be a mother and wanted nothing more than to see her sister through this journey to parenthood as well.”
Soon enough, the sisters had come to an agreement. Morgan would be Maggie and Danny’s surrogate mother.
In June 2016, two of Maggie and Danny’s embryos were implanted in Morgan’s uterus. The Paxtons had gone from realizing that they would never be able to have children to preparing to have twins.
The news of Morgan and Maggie’s story traveled quickly among their friend and family group. One of these many people ended up contacting Stevie Cruz, a photographer based in Orange Country who is known for giving photoshoots to expectant mothers and newborns.
Morgan and Maggie’s friend wanted to celebrate their touching story of sisterhood with a gifted photoshoot that would allow the family to treasure their unique story forever.
When Cruz read Morgan and Maggie’s story, it immediately “touched [her] heart” and she wanted nothing more than to honor the sisters with a shoot.
The twins should be born in just a couple weeks, and Cruz is happy to note that Maggie has already selected the girls’ names: Emery Layne and Deeanna Nicole. All four names come with many layers of family history and love – perfect for this touching family story.
Everyone in the family couldn’t be more excited for the arrival of the young Paxton girls – especially since Danny grew up in a family of five brothers.
We’re wishing all the best to the Paxton and the Williams families in the coming weeks!
