Downtown St. Charles | St. Charles Missouri Travel Photographer

History has always intrigued me. Not just the history that's written in books, but the kind that you can see, touch and experience. Colonial history in particular is a chance to step back into a scene of the past and pretend that I, too, took part in churning butter or grinding wheat, hitched up the horse and buggy or lived next to Laura herself. Little House on the Prairie, if you're not sure what I mean. It's probably one of the reasons why I love historic cities and old buildings.

St. Charles, Missouri, is the place where Louis and Clark embarked on a journey that would change our country forever. It's a city so rich with history that a visit would not be complete without a walk downtown along the cobblestone streets. 

Our morning started out with brunch at Miss Aimee B's tearoom and then a quick reenactment of Louis and Clark's adventure up the Missouri River.

And then off it was to the historic downtown, where history has been preserved for centuries. If you've never been, I'd encourage you to add it to your list of places to visit. What a beautiful city.

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Marcy + Nathan | St. Charles Missouri Couples Photographer

Marcy and I were destined to be friends. Really, we were. In fact, the other day I told her that if it wasn't for a last minute decision to attend a birthday party in hopes of reconnecting with friends from college, my life would have significantly less weekly phone calls, less accountability and, most importantly, less photos from the photo booth at Chuck E. Cheese hanging on the wall. And I'm not kidding about that last one.

This is the kind of friendship that stories are written about. I've been completely blessed to have Marcy in my life and even more so to have been able to walk with her as she and her husband Nathan embarked on a journey neither of them quite expected. And a little over two years after they pledged their lives to one another, I was finally able to spend a weekend with them in St. Charles, Missouri, and see the life they've made together.

Downtown St. Charles on an early Sunday morning is gloriously deserted. With the exception of a few coffee shop patrons, we had the historic downtown to ourselves. Because it was so early, some caffeine was certainly a requirement to start the day.

Mayme and Shadey are a big part of the Bursac household, so a family photo wouldn't be a family photo without them. It's too bad that they didn't fit in my bag, otherwise I would have taken them home with me. I've missed my Shadey-girl and Mayme completely stole my heart on this trip.

Downtown St. Charles runs right along the Missouri River and the morning light was beautiful. One of the things I love about Marcy and Nathan is their ability to communicate with each other. It's apparent to anyone who spends time with them.

While we were shooting, we  - Nathan, really - made a delightful discovery. A bridesmaid must have left her bouquet from a wedding the day before, and we were happy to put it to good use.

The morning was quite chilly, but there was one last stop Nathan wanted to make. And I'm so glad we did, because these are some of my favorite photos of the day.

I absolutely love these photos. Marcy and Nathan are a beautiful couple and wonderful friends. There's no question why they work so well together. They balance each other out perfectly, challenging each other to succeed and to be present in their marriage. And I'm so thankful to be a part of their lives.

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The Butchers | Franklin Family Photographer

I was going to wait to post these photos until later this week, but I changed my mind for two reasons:

1) I'm spending so much time looking at them over and over again that I just have to share them with the world

2) Today is such a dreary day outside that I feel the need for a ray of sunshine. And that sunshine has chubby cheeks and gloriously blue eyes. 

Wouldn't you have made the same decision?

It's hard to believe that Graham is already four months old. It seems like just yesterday I was shooting Julie's maternity photos. And now look at this face. I love seeing the beautiful smiles he gives me every time I see him.

When Julie called me to see if I'd take photos for their Christmas cards, she and I struggled to decide on a location for the shoot since daylight savings time has made any sort of after work weekday shoot completely impossible. But we found one. And it was perfect. All of it - the light, the colors, the seclusion...even Franklin's notorious rush hour traffic was more than happy to cooperate.

I just want to say that the image above is hands down one of my favorite images ever. I can't stop staring at it and there's just no way to express how it makes me feel.

Christmas can't come soon enough. I can't wait to get this card in the mail!

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The Baynes Family | Thompson's Station Family Photographer

I look forward to Sundays for a number of reasons. The worship is great (and I'm not saying that because I'm biased), the message always tends to speak to me in just the right way and the fellowship is always much-needed after a long week. On Sunday mornings, there are also two little faces that I just love to see. And I usually get a hug. Sometimes multiple. And then I get to see them again on Sunday nights.

Nate and Mallory - or Mally, as I find myself calling her more often. I like to think that they both take after me since Mallory has a great sense of fashion and Nate is a math whiz. This family has been a great source of friendship for us for the last three or so years. Ed and Amy are an incredible couple and in all honesty, have been great parenting role models for us. Both of their jobs revolve around serving people and they do so with a passion, but then they turn around and give so much love to each other and their kids. And the kids, well, they just light up my world whenever they're around.

I. Love. These. Kids. Seriously, I do. And if you ever met them, I think you'd agree with me. These beautiful faces just capture my heart every time.

 
I can't wait for Sunday.

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