High Hampton Wedding!

(I went back and added some images to this entry.....I couldn't resist because when I was editing, I came across more and more pictures of sheer HAPPINESS and I think we could all enjoy a little of that. You think this was a great day for them or WHAT?! Check out that vulcan death grip they've got on each other.....they ain't going anywhere without each other anytime soon.)

"Wow!" is all I can say after this weekend. Kim and Dan got married at High Hampton Inn in Cashiers, North Carolina. This is, by far, one of the most peaceful and beautiful settings that I have ever shot. I can't decide if the green, lush and mountainous scenery set the laid back tone for the weekend....or if the bride and groom's comfort and joy set the tone......but between the two, it was a fantastic celebration surrounded by close friends, family and perfect weather. I must admit, when Kim told me she was getting married in August, all I could think was "MUGGY".....but not so in the North Carolina mountains.

The ceremony was followed by a rockin' reception where the Blue Dogs played to a room full of fans. This wasn't one of those weddings that takes 10 songs to get the grandparents to finally dance......they had people ready to roll with the first song.

I promised Kim and Dan I'd get a sneak peak up by Sunday night, so I need to apologize that I didn't make it......that mountain air causes one to sleep late and gettin' down the mountain takes a little while ;) Thanks for a great time.....

Oh, they are big golfers and he proposed to her on their favorite hole with that Caddy outfit as a present....and put her new last name on the back and a ring in the pocket.....sooo it made sense to let who was there to celebrate the nuptials to sign it....I love those stories.

(Sorry, I couldn't resist the "Fluff-N-Fold")

Cashiers, North Carolina

I am lucky enough to be in the mountains of North Carolina this weekend to shoot a wedding. Fortunately for me, my sister has a place up here so I am staying with her. Since my sweet husband is so busy, I've got the children with me......and oh how wonderful it is. We are having a ball hiking around picking blackberries in the 65 degree weather....overlooking the lush green, foggy mountains. (Look through the doorway of the front door....you can see through the house and then the mountain picture is taken from the back porch.)

We've already had hot chocolate around the fire this morning (yes, we needed a fire...and wanted one) and we are about to have soup out on the porch...by the fire. Could it get any cozier?

(I LOVE catching a sweet moment like this between any of my children....a little arm of support...)

Incredibly beautiful up here!! ....Check out the sunset with the clouds over the mountains.

Count your Blessings....

One thing I've tried to instill in my children is... you can always find a blessing in any situation.  Most of the time getting angry accomplishes nothing so I've tried to really work on finding the blessing in any not-so-great time.  

Sometimes....it's not that hard to recognize the blessing, yet through the hustle of our daily routines, often we neglect to truly appreciate what's right in front of us.

I went down to the MUSC Children's Hospital today to capture some sweet moments with a family that's been there way too long.   Take a breath, hug your family members and enjoy the moment in honor of sweet, little sassafrass SB and her love for play-dough, bubbles, Nemo and lipstick.

Rome, Italy

Tuesday afternoon we arrived in Rome by train from Spoleto.  We had a hiccup on the Rome side of things when one of our group was separated from her parents.  She is 15 so luckily, she had the wherewithal to go to the police station......and all was good but not before her mother lost about 10 years off her life.

Rome has been very interesting in that we are back to the fast, hectic pace in a large, confusing city.  Truthfully, either we are all wearing down and are just worn out - or the hard, uneven stone that we are walking for miles is taking its toll on our bodies.  Everyone is tired.  

The first night, Randolph and I went to the Spanish steps and the Trevi Fountain.  The restaurants here are great and we've had one yummy meal after another.  Yesterday, we toured the coloseum and walked around a little before resting up.  The children sang the 5:00 mass at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.  Incredible.  St. Peter's is the largest cathedral in the world and just beautiful.  The service was performed from THE alter that the Pope conducts his service and the priest was kind enough to acknowledge the children during the service....he thanked them and told them they are welcomed back any time.  It was an emotional moment.

Today, the children sang in the Pantheon (...and, just to make my husband cringe, I'll openly admit I keep calling it the 'Parthenon') then we toured the Sistine Chapel.  Although it is beautiful, it is a very long tour and anywhere from 18,000-25,000 people tour it A DAY.  And I tell you, we could tell.  Tons of people....huge amount of information to cover hardly any place that was air conditioned.  We were tired and ready to bolt by the end of it - so we did and went to have our last meal at a little sidewalk cafe.

We fly home tomorrow and both of us are anxious to see our family.  I cannot imagine doing anything different on this trip for Randolph and I have had a blast.....we've had a great time bonding with this concentrated 1-on-1 time and I am so very grateful for that.  We head to the airport very early on so I will sign out from Europe for now.....once I settle in with my family and recover from my jet lag - I am hoping to add video.  (The hotel's wifi didn't provide enough band width) - for now, here are some shots from our typical Italian breakfast, the coloseum, Romulus' She Wolf, St. Peter's Basilica and the choir.  (These guys range from about 10-18 years old.....keep that in mind when I post a video....you won't believe it.)

Spoleto, Italy - CONVENT!!

We arrived in Spoleto from Florence on Sunday night after they sang for mass at the Del Duomo.  Each place just as charming as the next on this trip.  Spoleto is quaint, hilly and full of little alley ways and steps....little bitty cars whizzing down the hills.  The convent was a source of apprehension for many.....Randolph described his expectations as "stark white sheets with thin, black spread, small bedside table and carafe of water - and a crucifix over the bed."  Makes sense, kind of seems like what a convent would be like.......well - for many it's been our favorite place so far.....nothing like what we anticipated.

BEAUTIFUL monastery placed right at the foothills of Spoleto.  The sleeping arrangements were different than our usual hotel stays in that we were paired up with others to place 5 or 6 per room....so we were paired up with the Dixon family - Beaumont, Savannah and Dictator Dixon (a nickname to be explained later!)  Elizabeth and I are kind of loud and boisterous so we figured that must be why they put us in the dungeon (see picture)....no kidding.....but it was FANTASTIC - Huge space with 6 beds and old barrel-vaulted ceilings.  The courtyard was covered in red geraniums and every once in a while a little nun would surface with a broom or some laundry.  We were to keep the noise level down - literally to a whisper - which was a strong recipe for a SERIOUS CHURCH-LAUGH - especially with the Dixons.  Trying to be quiet when you are in a room with 4 others is about as successful as a teenage spend-the-night party with a direction of "no talking" - the mere instruction of it almost made any one of us crack up under our breath.  Not out of disrespect.....by any means......just human nature.....or mine at least.  I laughed a full month's worth in two days.  

Breakfast was served by Sister Pilar serving a hard roll, butter and jelly, croissant and coffee or tea.  As drab as that sounds.....it was delicious.  I'll post a picture of Sister Chiara who was kind of the one in charge....as she continued to "check us in"....I noticed a little "BLING" on the side of her glasses.....couldn't resist a photo.  You go sista!  Of course, THAT, in and of itself caused some giggle....

We toured the city the next morning and went to see the famous 10-arched aqua duct.  Unfortunately, just prior to our getting up the hill - and I mean like maybe 30 minutes before - someone had decided to take their life off this beautiful structure.  It was very disturbing to be there knowing what was below us....and what an unfortunate decision for that poor person.  Needless to say I was deeply affected for a little while afterwards.  Randolph and I headed back to the convent to get lost in a book for a little while to get our minds distracted - and I watched a storm come over the hills and the bottom dropped out - INCREDIBLE.  In one of the pictures.....if you look carefully, you can see I caught a shot of a nun hiking her skirt and sprinting up the steps through the rain......go sista!

The children sang for mass last night at ?(sorry, can't remember anything at this point...will fill in later) and it was so beautiful.  (The picture of the cathedral is NOT the one they sang in...)  The best concert from them so far...the acoustics were fantastic, unlike the Del Duomo, and I cried through every single song.....couldn't help but to.  I'll try again to post a least one video.....if it doesn't bring tears, it will bring chills.  

Arrived in Rome today around noon by train - will update later......exhausted from the laughter, hiking all over the hilly city and the traveling.  If my bottom half doesn't look like Giselle's when I return....I'm going to be shocked.  I've burned more muscles walking these big cities and hilly towns these past couple of weeks that my caloric intake is surly negative.

Florence, Italy

We arrived yesterday in Florence by train - the train ride was pretty hectic at times seeing how we all got on in Venice and occupied 2 cars.  We were all settled in when we got to the next stop and other people got on saying some of us were in their seats.....it finally settled down but Randolph and I ended up in two different cars and he was with an Italian family.....

We got off the train in a hurry (wanted to make sure everyone got off before it headed to its next stop) and then walked with our luggage to our hotel.  Not bad for a group of 80, huh?  Hotter than you know what...like triple digit hot - we arrive at our hotel to discover that the check-in is on the 4th floor!!!  One elevator about a quarter of the size of ones we're used to.....but we all made it and we were all hot trying to get in and take a shower and let down after the travels.....Randolph and I soon discovered that our air condition didn't work...but it's all good.  We're in Florence, Italy having the time of our lives....and I figure we've all been to camp before so 2 nights without air condition ain't gonna kill us...except now that I think about it the convent doesn't have air either....but who cares.

We hit the Galleria Dell Accademia where Michelangelo's David is displayed - wow - much larger than you think.....pretty awesome to see it in person.  This galleria is also the home of Robert Mapplethorpe's provocative photography exhibit....culture, Randolph, culture.  It's art.

I haven't gotten out and taken many pictures here in Florence but I have a few to share with you.....our hotel (large building with archway - Hotel Pendini) is right on the Piazza Della Repubblica which is a nice little hot spot in town and we are just a couple of blocks from the Piazza Del Duomo.....the beautiful dome that Florence is known for....and that is where the children will be singing mass tomorrow.  Crazy, right?  We leave from mass to head for Spoleto by bus where we will stay in a convent (yes, I said CONVENT) and I am doubtful that there will be any internet access there so I probably won't get on again until we hit Rome.....

The bronze doors are the famous doors on the octagonally shaped Baptistry that sits across from the Del Duomo - there are three dimensional pieces in each panel depicting scenes from the Old Testament.  The beautiful cathedral is the Del Duomo...you just can't see the Dome in this picture.....this is where they will sing tomorrow.

Moving out - going to try to go find the Ponte Vecchio bridge - it's the only bridge in Florence that wasn't destroyed in the bombings of WWII.  (Found it....at night...great culture scene - street music and lots of people.)  The bridge still has several market-type jewelry stores lining the bridge....they are locked up at night with beautiful, large, wooden doors.....each one different but charming.

Imagine what all the old nuns will think when 84 of us squat at their little place for a couple of days.....crazy Americans!

Ciao! from Venice, Italy

We have really had a tough time accessing internet so I am sorry for the lag in posts......but WOW - we have done and seen some incredible things.  We flew to Venice, Italy from Canterbury, England on Wednesday (I think!! - lost track of days and time).  We landed to much warmer weather but that was all forgotten when we got on the water taxi..... what a beautiful way to enter the city....

We stayed at an old monastery which sounds not so appealing but it was great.  It was spotless, the rooms were large and breakfast served every morning.  

The children were so fortunate to be able to sing in a 6:45 mass at Saint Mark's Cathedral in Venice.  By now the older children have joined us and the harmonies made the choir sound like angels....seriously, it brought chills to everyone.  If you have a chance, you should google this cathedral...my pictures will not do it justice.  If I've got enough signal, I'll try to post a quick video of them singing.

We travelled by train yesterday from Venice to Florence....I must say the travel has been smooth considering there are 84 of us at this point.   The food is incredible...just as expected.  Prosciutto and melon is our new favorite little snack.  

The children are rehearsing right now in a public square because the hotel didn't have a spot that wouldn't wake the guests......I'm going to head out and take a peak before they are done.

There are pictures of the interior and exterior of Saint Mark's Cathedral, the canals of Venice (we took a gondola ride night before last - the gondolier sang Karen Carpenter songs!!  I guess those are the american songs he knew....and he threw in "killing me softly with his song..."  The water/sunset picture is from our ride into the city of Venice after getting off our flight....the children rehearsing in the courtyard of our hotel...and other beautiful spots around the crazy little city of Venice.  No street signs, twists and turns of alleys and canals.....most of the time you find your way by accident.