lunchtime in haiti is some serious business. the littles are full of love and excitement,
moving together in one blob they follow me wherever i go, poking and prodding all the way.
i work my way through the moshpit of tiny bright smiles and a constant tugging at my shirt,
and with little hands rubbing my white arms these children become my muse.

as the food was prepared and set, they sang us cheerful songs and danced their best moves.
they pet my hair, and i pet theirs - little puffy braids and fun barrettes and ribbons are 
enough to make my heart melt into a puddle. they shout, "AY-YOO!" and i return, "AY-YOO!"
with a big fat smile plastered to my face. the pasta makes its rounds and soon the chatter
is quieted as they fill their mouths with food and fight each other for the last noodle.
just like supper at my family's table growing up.

wharf jeremie is a zone heavily effected by the haiti earthquake in 2010.
good neighbors built a school in the middle of it to provide education to these
otherwise marginalized children, who hail from an area many won't enter.
they come from families who live in tent cities racked with violence
and led by a group of gangsters. the area is said to be so dangerous that even locals
won't go inside - and as a group of humanitarians, we had to get special permission
from the gang leader himself to enter. because his child was among the students,
we were permitted to film here. we are grateful to our liaison for making it possible.
i am so excited to share these short documentaries with you in the future.
filming in haiti was among my greatest challenges, and i feel so blessed
to have had such a unique experience in story telling.

a few words on what to expect when filming humanitarian work at my videography journal | spritz visuals

the relationship of mother to child, father to child -
is something so beautiful sometimes even the heart can't comprehend.

more photos from my session with a loving family | flickr, my portfolio

everything was so bright! painted in neons, i couldn't help but smile when i looked at them.
these are the shelters where victims from the haiti earthquake have been relocated by
the humanitarian organization i was filming for, good neighbors. these happy homes are filled
with people who otherwise had nowhere to go and now live just feet away from a water pump
and are safe and comfortable. what a true blessing it is! and quite a humbling sight to see.

kids ran freely, but very decidedly as when the temperatures rise so high they
take care not to waste their energy. each takes its turn at the pump, and with an
upward downward motion the littles bounce on their tip toes as they try to keep rhythm.
they're curious beings, always staring into our foreign faces with questioning eyes.
everywhere we went, a pack of children followed and we dropped pieces of candy
to dusty hands and watched as they quickly unwrapped the taffy,
popping it into their mouths in a matter of seconds.

the heat bore down on the back of my knees as i climbed up, up, up.
finally making it to the top, we followed our eyes to a small turquoise house.
there we found several women weaving each other's hair, ironing their clothes,
and washing laundry in a bucket. they warmly welcomed us into their home
and with wide eyes we watched as they toasted fresh coffee beans over the fire,
transferring them to a hollowed out tree to pound into a powder.
they giggled and smiled as we excitedly observed what coffee making
really looks like up close. i watched as their lean biceps flexed and relaxed with
each pound, and within minutes the sticky beans were a fine dust.
haitians pride themselves and their coffee making, and for good reason.

if there’s one thing i’m good at, it’s eating. food always tastes better 
when cooked outside, and nothing says camp grinds like cheesy eggs 
and bubbling bacon. wrap it in a buttery tortilla with a few of your 
favorite things and put it over an open flame and you’ve got a winning 
combination. eating while camping is all part of the outdoor experience – 
always a priority, always an adventure.

short film i shot for wisconsin cheese | full recipe here
see also | spritz visuals

five years with this guy. can you believe it?
june 5th marked our 5th, and throughout the years
we've been weird, fun, happy, sad and everything in between.
as the song says, "i'm always pretty happy when i'm kickin' back with you."
i think it's safe to say that sums up our marriage. i guess i'll keep
him around a while longer. happy anniversary, spencey. i love you.

so i'm 25 now. on may 25th i celebrated my 25th year of life, which meant i had my golden birthday. it feels good to be 25! being a triplet and all, the birthday started at midnight where we all sang to each other on facetime and tried to beat each other to the punch. "make me chocolate cake!" and "i get to eat whatever i want all day, i don't care how many desserts i inhale!" and various restaurants to eat at were among the few things we patiently demanded that weekend. we like to drag things all the way through memorial day and really milk it for what it's worth...i suppose it's a bit overboard but we quite fancy the idea and one of my favorite things about birthdays is eating till my tummy pops.

it's our mother to whom we owe thanks for this special day. my mumsy always reminds us how we came to this earth, and how we are her triple miracle babies. it really is miraculous that we all turned out healthy and normal (for the most part...wink!). she retells the story of when she went into labor and was wheeled off to surgery and in a matter of hours was holding three tiny babies in the palm of her hand. i've always loved what charlie said in one of my favorite books 'the perks of being a wallflower,' "i think on my next birthday, i'm going to buy her [mom] a present. i think that should be the tradition. the kid gets gifts from everybody, and he buys one present for his mom since she was there, too. i think that would be nice."

there's something honest about being outdoors -- which, we believe, 
makes us better and more wholesome people. simple. raw. easy. 
people sometimes ask us, "do you even have a home?" 
laughingly, we reply, "we try to avoid it."

published! in off switch mag | pg. 24-25 

they lived in a tent city with nothing more than a tarp tied to a sheet of metal.
a family of ten; a family of survivors; a family without a dad, and without an income.
crumpling into a ball, i ducked through the tiny triangular entrance to peek inside their home.
sweat dripped down my back and beaded on my forehead, and a wave of heat exhaustion
combined with the overwhelming stench of the surrounding sewage left me feeling drained.
the kids looked up at my pale face and with their piercing eyes told a story all their own.
i had never seen such poverty. never seen such hardship. and certainly never felt so overwhelmed.

for those who survived the earthquake just three short years ago, life has not been easy.
even before the disaster, haitians struggled. having lost the little they once had,
families are left to fend for themselves and often end up living in tent cities and slums
that are incredibly dangerous. rape is rampant during the late hours of the dark nights,
and women often end up having one baby per year with no support system.
children raise children, and families rely on each other the best they can and
continuously fall short of providing basic needs like food, water, and shelter.

my heart goes out to these people. the UN, NGOs and missionaries are a main source of support
in places like these, and relief efforts from the earthquake continue today as the people
slowly rebuild their lives and communities and regain hope for the future.
haiti was a hard place to be, and even through the thick of it all kids will be kids.
they love to smile and laugh and play, despite what life deals them. they arise
from the dust and trek to the water wells, feed the livestock, and more than anything,
they fight to survive and they don't even know it.