I heart Justin and Brittany

See why I heart them?


It was a little chilly when I met up with Justin and Brittany at Tower Grove Park. They were walking around holding hands and sipping lattes from Starbucks. So cute. It's perfect timing that I am posting their photos now because, brace yourself, I am slowly weaning myself off coffee. I know. It's a shocker. I saw how much money I lost and pounds I've gained because of the yummy caffeinated beverages and I knew I had to stop. I was doing pretty well for about a week... and then I cheated. 5 times. So I started over this week. My head is pounding as I type this, like my brain is throwing a temper-tantrum because I've withheld too many tasty lattes. But I can do it. I've been clean for three days now.

So without further ado and with the help of my new friends Justin and Brittany, here is my ode to sbux, my long lost bff.

Justin and Brittany got engaged inside the original Starbucks in Seattle.


Is it just me, or does this make you want a white chocolate peppermint mocha?


And when I look at this photo, I can almost taste the pumpkin spice latte.





And now for the decaffeinated photos. I was already booked for the date Brittany and Justin will be married, so I won't be able to shoot their wedding, and I couldn't be more bummed :(. My trusty assistant and I had such a great time chatting it up with them between shots. They're a really genuine, easy-going couple, and photogenic to boot!

I just love the romance in this shot.




Aren't they so cute together? They were so easy to photograph!



Coolest tattoo I've ever seen. It's Phillippians 4:13 in Greek. Brittany, if I could stand the pain, I would so copy off you!







Brittany and Justin, I'm so happy to have met you both! Blessings to you as you continue with wedding plans and begin your life together. Keep in touch!

Chad and Robyn

Chad and Robyn are so much fun! They're getting married next year in Mexico. Mexico, Missouri, that is ;). Since their wedding will not be in St. Louis, we tried to incorporate the city into some of their photos. What better place to start than Busch Stadium :).


This guy is new to the stadium decor. And he talks.




And then we headed over to Lafayette Square for some more pics. And wow. Take a look at Robyn's eyelashes... AMAZING!


Can I get some sunflare


sunflare and bling





Aww. So cute.

Scott Family

The last time I got together with the Scott family, we were on the sunny beaches of Jamaica for Jason and Lindsay's wedding. It was so great to catch up with them again to do some fall family photos at Queeny Park not too long ago. They're such an easy-going bunch, they made my job of photographing them easy! Here are some of my favs:




non-posed AND sunflare?! Love it!


They're such a photogenic family, I literally could have posted all of the pics I took at this location.


And of course I had to post some of the newlyweds!





Gotta love this one. They all brought their sunglasses so they could do a fun pic with some attitude.


Grandpa and Hayley. So cute!

Black Friday

My mom got up at 1:30am this morning so she could be at work when the doors opened at 4am.
My husband left this morning before I had finished my breakfast so he could help his parents Christmasfy their house (and then some).
My friend shopped all day and bought her husband a way awesome Christmas present.
My brother is visiting his girlfriend in Texas... I have no idea what he was doing today, but I'm sure it involved some sort of caffeine overdose and cute craft (because his girlfriend is so dang cute and crafty).
I got lost downtown in what is lovingly refered to as "the hole." And I almost ran out of gas in said hole. I should explain. Let me start at the beginning.

Meet Luke (he's the one on the left in the gray coat).


Luke is a college student at MBU and he lives in our dorm. He's a little bit of a smart alec. Just a smidge, but I like that. Two exciting things happened to Luke this summer. 1). he spent quite a bit of time on a mission trip in Africa and 2). he saw "The Pursuit of Happyness." Missions is where his heart is and instead of waiting till he graduates or until his next overseas mission trip, he decided to do something now. Since the school year started, he's been going downtown a few times a month to bring food to the people living on the streets of downtown St. Louis. More importantly, though, he listens to them. They've all got a story to tell, and Luke wants to hear it.

So he organized a day-after-thanksgiving feast and asked some of his fellow college students to help him out. And I decided to tag along. I was so intrigued by this whole thing. Luke and his friends didn't wait until the school or the church organized a food drive. They did it all on their own. It wasn't part of any program. And that impressed me. Who says there's no hope for this generation. wow.

I arrived at a church in Soulard where all the food was being prepared. The students preparing the food had already been there for about 4 hours by the time I arrived. That was partly because I took a very wrong turn. Well, two very wrong turns. Yikes.

I think there were like 8 turkeys and tons or green beans and corn,



plus some extra yummy looking mashed potatos (it was all I could do to not dive into them with a spoon and spend the day gorging myself). And the desserts. Oh wow.


And of course there was some fun. I mean, when you have 4 people trying to carve 8 turkeys with only one knife, how could it not be fun!


My mom was little (a lot) nervous that I was going downtown to hang out with homeless people. But really, there was no reason to be scared. Everyone was so nice. I mean really nice. and Thankful. Really thankful. I chatted with one guy about sports and my love for the Kansas City teams (go Chiefs!), and I talked with another lady about how hard it was to try to get into a shelter.




This guy told me he thought I looked like Jennifer Love-Hewitt. I heart him.


And this couple was really in love. They've been married for three years.


Another guy I talked to - Rico was his name - asked me to pray for him. Right then. He said his wife was in the hospital and he just wanted to be with her. He cried a little. And so did I. Please ask for God's blessings, he said softly through his tears. I stopped my job at the water station for a moment to pray with him. I put my arm around him and was shocked by how thin his arms felt. Pray for Rico if you think about it.

After I left, I just couldn't get warm. I turned on my heater full-blast and flipped on my seat heater to get my leather seats a little toasty. I still wasn't very warm, so I sat there to let my car warm up while I played for a while on my iPhone. Still cold. I started driving west and decided to stop at a starbucks in west county for an over-priced latte. But I still couldn't shake the cold.

And I guess that taught me something. It really is cold out there and the longer you're outside, the harder it is to get warm. I was only there for about 2 or 3 hours. More than anything, I guess I got a little more thankful. I thought I was pretty thankful yesterday on Thanksgiving, but when the seats in my car finally warmed up, I started to get a little teary eyed. Rico and his friends don't have cars, let alone leather seats with heaters in them. And an iPone? Yeah, no way. I started fealing a little bad when I handed over my four dollars for a white peppermint mocah, but the point of the day was not to feel guilty. It's not wrong. There's nothing sinful about a car with seat heaters or an iPhone or Starbucks. I guess they are just thing to be thankful for. Really really thankful.

I'm so thankkful

Every Thanksgiving, two things are constant: 1. I eat so much that it's practically uncalculateable and reeks of gluttony and 2. I make a mental list of the things I'm thankful for. This year, I am not doing the overeating thing. I started a diet two weeks ago and I WILL stick to it (I'll let you know how that goes :) ).

But, in all seriousness, I do have so much to be thankful for. So so much. This year has been so full and I can't even begin to tell you how much I've been blessed. Just a few that come to mind

How could I not be thankful for this guy. He's the most supportive best friend I've ever had, and I wouldn't be who I am if it wasn't for him. Watch out, because he's going to do some great things. He's also my trusty assistant at most of my shoots, and he's just the most lovable, most handsomest guy ever.


My amazing church and community group. You all have been nothing less than geniune in such an ingeniune world. So refreshing.

To all my clients, I can't tell you how priviledged I felt when each and every one of you asked me to photograph your wedding. The fact that you would trust me to capture the images of your most important day is an honor that I don't take lightly. And I mean that. It's truly an honor.

And to all the people who regularly give my blog some love, thank you so so so much! I know it sounds silly, but I get so excited everytime I see a new comment pop up.

And how could I not mention my friends who keep me company while I'm editing photos




Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!