****My close friend is surprising her sister with senior photos of her GORGEOUS niece so I asked her to say some nice things****

I remember the first time I met my niece in 1994; she was seven months old and looked like a china doll. And I never met a baby with such intelligent, inquisitive eyes.

I can’t believe she’s 18, graduating, and heading off to Scotland for college in a few months! She is an amazing artist, writer, and poet. She can knit like lightning and design the coolest Halloween costumes. She’s always creating something . . . her request for Christmas last year was a gallon of latex so she could build a full-sized and functional mermaid tail.

But her vast creativity is nothing compared to her strength of personality. She has always known who she is and won’t be swayed by what others think (granted, this trait made her difficult to deal with sometimes as a child, but it will serve her well as an adult).

When Austen was seven, she stayed with me for a weekend while my sister was out of town. Among our many battles of the wills that weekend was a trip to the bookstore. I took her to Borders and was promptly told that Borders was no good—she refused to look at books until I took her to Barnes and Noble. When we got to Barnes and Noble (can you tell who won all of the battles that weekend?), she asked for chocolate milk from the coffee shop. But it was too chocolatey and she refused to drink it. Come Sunday evening, I thought my relationship with my sister would be permanently damaged due to the fact that I secretly wanted to strangle her daughter.

Okay, so she’s matured about five thousand percent in the last 11 years, but her strength of personality remains and she won’t easily be swayed by others. I pray that she will use this trait to seek God’s will in her life and not be pulled off course by the world. But I also pray that she will be humble enough to accept where He guides her. I love you, Austen!

Austen, I’m close to my aunts. It is such a special relationship and I hope you always stay close to your aunt. Best of luck on your first adventure in adulthood. You have brains, beauty, and a supportive family – you can do anything you want.

And friend – you looked beautiful in every photo. I seriously can’t pick a favorite.

I think it was my freshman year of college when I realized that life just goes by fast. There is always stuff to do, places to be, and dreams to make. And somethings just never change. I hope these beautiful ladies grow into adulthood together. The best friends in life are those that are with you when you grow towards becoming a better person.

How about a fun black and white photo from a South Congress senior session?

Go check out some other fun B+W’s at I Heart Faces (and anyone can enter – they are giving away an awesome prize this month).

A decided to split up her 2 hours so she can do curly hair one day and straight hair another.  I can only have straight hair, but I understand the importance of options.

A, you are wise beyond your years.  You know what you want for yourself and you know the only way to do it is by hard work, commitment, and making healthy choices.  You are incredibly pretty, but it is your intelligence, compassion, self awareness, and diligence that make you beautiful.  Thank you for babysitting the hometeam kids and being part of the reason why we love our neighborhood!