So maybe I'm a little slow on the bandwagon in discovering great bloggers, but I did not discover Kelle Hampton through her blog. In fact, I stumbled across her, her beautiful story, and her equally beautiful blog at work.

Yes, that's right, at work. Her book "Bloom" was on the "New Books" display across from the circulation desk. And as I stood there, on desk duty, not much to do, I noticed the cover of her book staring me in the face. The beautiful, simplistic cover with blue sky and the word "Bloom" written in red. It looked interesting. I went over, picked it up, and gasped when I saw the beautiful pictures inside. No doubt about it, if a book has pretty pictures, I'm taking it home with me. The not-so surprising part was looking in the back and seeing that Kelle Hampton was a photographer. That definitely sealed it...a book with pretty pictures from a real photographer, who also apparently has a blog? Pff yes, I'm going to read it.

I didn't know quite what I was expecting, but as soon as I started reading, I was hooked and could not put it down.

 Kelle Hampton's life was suddenly changed by the birth of her daughter, Nella, who was born with down syndrome. This book is about that journey and the changes it brought: the sadness, love, happiness, and joy that it all included.

And the story was beautiful.

I grinned, sighed, and laughed over the beautiful photographs; teared up over the sweet story; and I immediately went to check out Kelle's blog. And again, I was hooked. Her blog is just as beautiful as her book.

Kelle has a beautiful writing style. It paints pictures, is emotional, real, and captivating in every way. Her bright and colorful photographs (the very style of photography that I love best!) just adds flavor to her book, as well as to her blog.

It's definitely one book I would not mind adding to my personal library. And her blog is one I now follow faithfully. Check it out! You won't regret it! kellehampton.com