meet abby.  when I think about what a happy person looks like, she is one of the first people to come to my mind.  she…is just a giant ball of sunshiney joy no matter what is going on.  and I adore that about her.

we joked about having her fly over from the states (like Seattle area the states) and doing her senior photos in Europe but I figured that was all that it was.  a joke.

nope.  on a visit out to see her sister (who lives a few hours from me) we actually made arrangements to do her senior photo shoot!  talk about making me feel special!  what a blast to spend the day with her family, seeing the sights AND photographing such a lovely soul!  Stuttgart looks good on them, dontcha think?

I first met Abby at youth group at our church when we lived in the seattle area.  the middle school and high school kids met in a darkened gym that was full of sweaty young uns all ready to rock out to some Jesus jams after some semi-awkward socializing before hand.  but Abby stood out, even on the first day.  she bounced between groups of friends, hugging and smiling and making everyone feel welcome.  she was infectious.  in a good way.  me, being the new mom of 3 that was wanting to help out with the youth, felt like I was three layers of deodorant short of working with all these teenagers, who would most likely find me to be the biggest nerd.  I pushed my nagging urge to talk about Saved By the Bell out of my head and just took Abby’s lead.  And over time…

I was privileged to get to know her better than just a hug on Sunday mornings!  between occasional baby-sitting of my kids to having her be their leaders during Sunday school or at camp, we got to know Abby much better!  and she is nothing short of amazing!

seriously, isn’t she just the cutest thing ever?!

she is a writer, a photographer, an actress and gets voted up for all types of princess things by her peers!  her love for Jesus is just as contagious as her smile and I swear the room grows 10 shades brighter when she steps in it!

she even looks like a Disney princess!!!

thank you abby!  thank you for making the trip out to see lil ol me and for putting up with my ridiculous requests all day!  thank you for being patient with me as I took for-ev-uhr to finish your photos.  and thank you for being such a lovely, glowing, sunshiney ball of joy.  I am so thankful to have you and your family in our lives and can’t wait for our next adventure!