mysterious ways

You may remember the amazing woman I've referenced a few times over the past year, kelle hampton.

her precious blog about her family is poignant and inspiring and has moved me to tears more than once (well, pretty much every day).

apparently i am not the only one inspired. when kelle's daughter was born six weeks ago with down syndrome, kelle shared the raw, powerful emotions she experienced, resonating with moms the world over.

literally thousands of people discovered her blog and have fallen in love with kelle, baby nella and the whole hampton family.

CNN has picked up her story, and she will be featured Tuesday, March 16 at 3 pm CST. Read more here at CNN's homepage.

UPDATE: The interview is on CNN International (CNNI) Tuesday at 3 p.m. Central (The actual interview doesn't air until 3:35, and it will be live). If you don't get the CNNi channel, it will be available online soon after here.

there's just something about kelle

i've been reading kelle hampton's blog for the past year. she's my sister charlotte's neighbor in naples, florida, and is a gifted photographer and mom.

when she's not photographing kids, babies, couples and families, she is hard at work documenting every moment of her two-year-old lainey love's life, from her tea parties to her precious little toes.

i love how kelle goes wonderfully overboard on being a mom. loving every minute of it and capturing it for us all.

it was surreal this past weekend when i met her for the first time, met little lainey and saw the house and people and surroundings i've only viewed by way of the computer screen all these months.

i must admit i was a little bit star struck. and best of all, she photographed my sister charlotte and me, AND my cupcakes and put them on her blog.

it's kind of a dream come true, actually.

Oh, and the cupcakes, the cupcakes! Charlotte (the real baker in the family, besides my mom, i mean) and i experimented with a buttermilk cupcake recipe and it was a complete success. We made a buttercream icing (with more buttermilk, to give it tang) and topped the cakes with crushed oreos and milano cookie gravestones.

And you know what? they were good. really good.

we're on a boat, y'all.

one of the highlights of our south fla. trip was riding on sis's bf's boat.

we took an excursion from naples to isles of capri, about a 90 minute ride.

here's captain john. what a sweetie.

along the way we went tubing in the gulf and basically luxuriated in the piercing blue skies, gorgeous waves, cavorting dolphins, and lady gaga tunes (we're on the edge of glory, baby!).

the kids were over the moon about it.

twinnie's hubz rupert was the bravest rafter of the bunch. the boy and i opted to stay portside.

here's capri fish house from the boat's vantage point. they have a buffet on sundays. you run a tab and just basically eat all day long, whenever you're hungry.

i like saying "put that mojito on my tab." it has a nice ring to it.

this is twinnie with her older boy and mine.

grouper fingers. the best in south florida.

maybe the world.

i think i ate about a million and a half of them.

the noted blogstress kelle hampton was there as is her custom (see her weekend recap here), and i couldn't help snapping a shot of her sleeping nella-bean.

here's sis and her older boy.

we sure do have a lot of boys in this family.

kelle hampton sighting: she's right behind them. love her.

and speaking of boys, there was a lot of co-bro love being spread around.

gotta love the cousin-brothers from L.A.

i'm ready to go back. seriously.

more tomorrow, my lovelies.

be still.

i got to see my sister's friend kelle hampton at vanderbilt beach on my first night of vacation ... along with her friend heidi (left) ...

... and heidi's little sweet bundle: baby ivy.

so cute to see them captured in a moment of quiet amidst the stormy skies. ivy, by the way, seemed unfazed by the wild winds.

kelle, on the other hand, was all about it. she wanted to capture those waves, even if it meant wrecking her giant, expensive camera. she was unstoppable.

and then. we got a tiny sliver of a sunset.
not the majesty and glory a naples sunset usually serves up ... but it was beautiful.

ONEderful nella.

remember this little pumpkin?

i met nella last year on a trip to south florida to spend time with my sisters.

well, little nella is turning one and her mom kelle is raising funds for the national down syndrome association in her honor.

the response has been overwhelming so far. her original goal was $15,000 and in just a week or so, donations are more than $50,000!

donating is quick and easy. do it now!
visit kelle's gorgeous and inspiring blog here.

revelations.

i never put much stock in the importance of santa claus.

so a couple of years ago, when the boy (then 4 years old) asked me, is santa real? or is it really just the parents buying all the presents?, i didn’t hesitate to tell him the truth.

i never liked the idea of lying to him in the first place, worrying about the indelicacy of one day undoing all the untruths i’d told. i dreaded the gruesome task of dismantling the gleaming façade that is a child’s most precious holiday.

i had imagined the scenario a hundred times – the ugly truth revealed by a schoolyard friend and my boy racing to me for an explanation, the hurt and distrust welling up in his eyes.

how could you lie to me for all these years?, he would ask, how could you do it?

and so he asked me one day and i told him. and that was that.

i was, in a way, relieved.

but then he told his pre-school friends and they told their mothers, and boy, was i in trouble.

all the groundwork they’d laid to ensure good behavior all year around was for naught.

i’d rendered worthless their meticulous efforts to maintain the myth: the hours spent positioning that crafty all-seeing elf on a shelf; the scrawling on gift tags “from santa” with their opposite writing hand; the wee hours spent fabricating hoof prints in driveway snow and positioning plates of half-eaten cookies on the hearth; the elaborate late-night bedside explanations of the physics of flying reindeer who are able to deliver their keeper to every home in the world in just one night.

despite the other parents’ reactions to my faux pas, i was not too deeply bothered, once again crediting my child for his exceptional level-headedness, and me for my practical thinking.

but in time it occurred to me that I was a rat.

and a complete failure at the one of the most important tasks entrusted to me as a parent:

to nurture in my child his wild, natural ability to believe in what cannot be seen.

so brief is the time children believe anything is possible; that love is unbreakable and that dreams come true. who was i to take that away?

i suppose in the moment, i said what was best for me. i didn’t want to take the chance he’d be angry with me when he got older. i couldn’t face breaking the news later, so i did it now.

but in my self-righteous truth-telling, the truth I forgot is that magic is not only important, it is real: by believing in it we make it so.

i now regret hurrying us both past that dreamy state in which mothers and sons share bedtime stories about jolly arrivals and magical deliveries, and goodness is rewarded for goodness sake.

for all my parental blundering, the boy seems no worse for wear.

he is pleased to know exactly who has possession of his wish list, and to have access to her around the clock for last minute reminders and additions.

but as he transforms in size and maturity before my eyes, I often wonder ...

what was my rush?

* * * * *
here's a charming book, kristin and the santa secret, that tells you the right way to share with your child about santa - go buy it today and share it with your clueless (like me) mommy friends.

and to see a mommy thoroughly enjoying the heck out of the holidays (and every day!) go see what kelle hampton is up to. she inspires me daily to let go of my fear and just enjoy this crazy thing called mothering.

although, even kelle has a bad holiday moment every once and a while.

that's it for today, my lovelies. counting the days until i travel home, where magic will be in abundant supply!

hit the road, jack.

My blogger slash photographer slash mommy friend Kelle Hampton is on a road trip from Naples, Fla., to her home state of Michigan with a friend and three kiddos in tow.

Let me just tell you, nobody does a road trip (or anything in life, for that matter) as big and bold and amazing as Kelle. You can be sure there will be magical moments every step of the way. Follow her beautiful adventure here. And turn it up!

PS her traveling buddy also is keeping a blog here.

just dance.

photo (c) kelle hampton

this video by kelle hampton made me cry. but cry in a good way.

just watch it and you will see. she started a dance night for kids with special needs.

it's awesome.

happy friday, y'all.

be good to those who need it most, won't you?

bloom.

photo of nella by kelle hampton (c)

kelle hampton's book bloom is coming out soon on harper collins.

i so very much admire her ability to transform life's challenges into joy and gratitude.

her blog makes her life look like it's 100 percent magic. i'm sure that's not the case; that there are many trying times as well.

having met her i know she is not in denial about life's hardships. but her unfailing pursuit of joy has been very inspiring to me during difficult times.

how many people do you know who work this hard to see the good in life?

i hear bloom is going to get some major national exposure, so look for it soon.

happy friday, my lovelies. i am thankful for you and the beauty you bring to my world.

j

Kelle is on CNNi today

Check out my blogger friend kelle on CNN's web site today. she was selected as "today's connector." other connectors this week include the black eyed peas, eva longoria parker and hugh hefner. wow.

since i don't get CNNi, CNN's international TV channel, i won't be able to see her live appearance today at 3:35 central time via skype.

But the session will be available online after the fact.

check it out. she's a real inspiration.

sister-palooza part 3a

day three was so action-packed it just won't fit into one post. so i broke it up for you.

thought you'd appreciate that.

chardie's neighbor tim took this group shot before we left for the isle of capri. it took all of five minutes and he was soaked in sweat by the time he was through.

did i mention the heat is off the charts?

thanks, tim. you're a good sport.

the isles of capri are a cluster of tiny unpopulated islands between naples and marco island.

people gather there with family, friends, kids and dogs to eat, fish, kayak, camp, swim and play.

the capri fish house is about as "old florida" as you can get.

it's run by a bostonian named mike. you've probably heard it mentioned by famous blogstress kelle hampton.

her pictures are much better than mine.

if margaritaville were a real place, it would look like this.

i like how people sign their dollars and staple them to the beams.

here's ours: yordy girlz rock!

the grouper fingers were epic.

out of this world.

after lunch we took a boat ride with owner mike.

he's just nice like that.

he took us to see where the dolphins feed. look closely.

and showed us around the islands.

i kept expecting to see gilligan and the skipper.

only if they were marooned here, they'd never want to leave.

paradise.

when the weather changes, you can see it coming a mile away.

quick, crazy rain showers blew through about once a day, giving us short breaks from the brutal heat.

the only thing that would have made the visit any nicer, is if kelle hampton had been there too.

she couldn't make it, so we stopped by her house the next day.

we're just pushy like that.

and yes, i got to hold little nella bean.

more on that soon ...

part 3b
part 4

need inspiration?

look no further than kelle hampton. she inspires me every day.

and ps: i so, so want to get a tiny tutu and fairy wings.

not for the boy, silly, i'm not that loco.

for ME! no, just kidding.

for my friend's little girl. it's just something i've got to do.

you know how it is.

happy tuesday.

photo by kelle hampton.

sister-palooza part 4: final thoughts

our final day was a pool day.

could this be anymore fabulous?

i think not.

a little poolside feast was in order. these fish tacos knocked my socks off.

and then my dears, a little baby love.

here's blogstress kelle hampton's precious little nella cordelia.

the cuddliest, sweetest baby ever. (except for my own, of course.)

kelle never fails to inspire me. so it was super fun to get to see her.

read all about her adventures here.

and speaking of inspiring ... what a cool nephew i have. ashford is only 14 and already working at publix just to keep busy during the summer.

here he is pretending his aunties and mom aren't standing there pointing, smiling and taking pictures.

we are cruel. what can i say.

there's a smile.

later ashford's brother drake gave us a ride on his new golf cart.

i must say, he's a very careful driver.

and he didn't text even one time.

chardie, are you listening?

wait, what happened? weren't these two babies just a minute ago?

now they are looking suspiciously like almost-grown-ups.

they're going to love me saying that.

and lastly, the piece de resistance ... we topped off our amazing time together with a visit to my favorite naples eatery, sea salt.

be still my heart.

you get fresh bread to dip in fine olive oil and three kinds of sea salt.

we are all pretty nuts about salt.

chef fabrizio aielli's cuisine is divine.

we shared small plates, including this crispy calamari with green olives, pancetta, manchego, and spicy lime sauce.

this is the pizza of ahi tuna tartare, with wasabi cream cheese and sweet jalapeno truffle sauce. delish.

my favorite was the jumbo lump maryland style crab cake with mustard sauce.

please, may i have another?

it was the perfect ending to a fantastic sisters weekend.

truly, words and pictures cannot do it justice.

we were blessed with sunshine, amazing food and beautiful scenery, for sure. but that wasn't really the point.

it could have been cleveland in february (no offense, cleveland) and we sisters would have rocked it out.

there was gut-busting laughter, girl-talk that went long into the night, recipe-swapping as we chopped and sauteed, and singing at full volume in the car ...

it was magic.

we are sisters.

nothing could be better than that.