Friday Photo

whitelilacbuds, originally uploaded by DanielleSuzanne.

Also, these guys go around the country fixing typos, and they came to Erie. Weird.

"I Wanna Singa Jeesa"

Loosely translated: "I want to sing about Jesus."

Candace has been coming to church with us for a lot of weeks months (wow) now, and she really loves it. I started by putting her in the nursery while we attended the service, but when I came back to pick her up, she was standing in the same spot I left her in (sucking her thumb with her bunny). Don't get me wrong, I do not think nursery is bad...I think it's a WONDERFUL ministry. With Candace, though, she has abandonment issues, so it's difficult for her to socialize with unfamiliar people/kids because she's obsessing about whether or not I'm coming back for her. I decided a while back to try and keep her in the service with us until she feels more comfortable with the process as a whole (or gets old enough to be disruptive to those around us).

Being in the service has been amazing for her, I think. She absolutely loves standing and trying to sing the songs. She also has a crush on Brian (Briwahn), which helps. Lately, she's been really interested in singing outside of church. Her favorite is "Christ the Solid Rock." I know, right?

Last night, I was trying to teach her a song ("Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus"), but I couldn't remember the words. Dave looked it up on iTunes and she was immediately captivated by the melody line. She looked at me, held up her hand, and said, "Jeesa?" I almost lost it, but was able to explain what putting your hand in the air means when you sing to "Jeesa." She eventually went to sit on Dave's lap (that was a big step with me still in the room) to look at the computer and sing.

Dave came across a video from the India Children's Choir and played it for her. The choir came to our church a few weeks back and she loved it. At one point, they perform a slower song with the lyrics, "the name of the Lord is a beautiful sound." During that song, Candace closed her eyes, and lifted her hands and looked like she was singing it. It was a crazy moment. My mind was flooded with thoughts of her listening to horrible gangster rap music and that if she wasn't with us, she wouldn't be learning these "Jeesa" songs. I felt some comfort thinking that, when she does go back with her mom, she will have these words hidden in her heart. It's incredible what a 2 year old can pick up.

Right before bed, I started a little tradition called "Thank you Jeesa." Basically, I say "thank you Jesus for ______," and she repeats me and then adds some of her own (Rachel's cat, Tycho topped her list last night). It was a nice way to end the day (for all three of us).

Niagara-on-the-Lake

Rachel and Brian invited us to go to Niagara-on-the-Lake with them last week. It was a fun couple of days. I really love it there. I highly recommend it for a weekend stay. It's really cute. After a week of catching up, here are some pics (finally):

Happy Birthday, Amanda!

emmanakedcake, originally uploaded by DanielleSuzanne.

It's my sister's birthday. Yesterday, Emma and I got together and made some awesome chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter icing for her. It was a really fun time. Above is Emma with the almost-final product. You can click it to see more. And here is the recipe. Thank you, again, Ina!!

Coffee

I have never really loved coffee. I'm more of a tea / chai / hot cocoa girl. HOWEVER, I think I'll be ordering some samples from this place. I mean, we do have a coffee maker, after all.





Ugly Mug Coffee (thanks, design crush) looks really good. I do judge books by their covers, by the way, and I'm not ashamed of it in the least. I bet their stuff is good. Has anyone tried it? I'm gonna try it. Maybe I'll get some for the office, that way I won't feel like I have to drink it all.

Perspective

I don't know why it is so difficult for me to maintain a healthy perspective on life (relationships, struggles, faith, money, etc.).

I was going to write more, but I think that says it all.

Cara and Alan

caraopen2, originally uploaded by DanielleSuzanne.

Wedding season rocks. Cara and Alan have been so great to work with. I've loved every minute of the process with them. Their invitations have arrived at their guests' homes, so here they are for you to see. I'm sorry they are so dark. I need to re-shoot them for sure. Eek.

(click the picture to see more...dark and horrible photos...what was i thinking?!!?!?!)

Rest and Work

treesky, originally uploaded by DanielleSuzanne.

On our staff retreat, Derek spent some time talking about rest and work. I've been thinking about it ever since.

My Idea: Work as long and as hard as possible to the best of your ability, then rest to make up for it (a.k.a. crash).

God's Idea: Rest THEN be productive in your work. Times of rest should feed your ability to be productive.

Derek talked about creation and how man was made on the 6th day. What happened on the 7th? Rest. The act of resting shouldn't be the result of work. Rest should prepare us for work. This might all sound very elementary, but it seriously changed my whole outlook on the subject. I've always been a "run myself into the ground" type of person. I usually try to have a day off, but it's never to prepare for working. It's always to make up for time I've already worked. Total mind shift.

I guess I don't know how to break the cycle. I almost feel like I need a vacation in order to get on the right track. I'm going away next Sunday-Tuesday, so that might be a good time to start.

What do you do on your day(s) off? What constitutes "rest" for you? I need a new regimen.

Staff Retreat and Photoshop

gracestaff08, originally uploaded by DanielleSuzanne.

We had a lot of fun. I really loved the time away, even though it was only 24 hours. Aren't we such a cute group?

Also, I've been trying to embrace Photoshop lately. Here is me playing with layer masks and actions. I feel like I'm opening up to a whole new world:

Fun at the Park

emmacandaceslide1, originally uploaded by DanielleSuzanne.

Oh man, what a great shot. This was the most fun I've had in a while. I love to see the look of pure joy on their faces. More uploads on our flickr page (click my name below the picture to go there).

I'm off to a 24-ish hour staff retreat. Good luck to me and all those involved. ;-)

How He Loves

He is jealous for me.

Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree.

Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.

And all of the sudden,

I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,

And I realize just how beautiful you are,

And how great your affections are for me.

And, oh, how he loves us so,

Oh how he loves us,

How he loves us so.

Yeah, he loves us,

Oh how he loves us,

Oh how he loves us,

Oh how he loves.

We are his portion and he is our prize,

Drawn to redemption by the grace in his eyes,

If grace is an ocean, we're all sinking.

So heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss,

And the heart turns violently inside of my chest,

I don't have time to maintain these regrets,

When I think about, the way

He loves us,

Oh how he loves us,

Oh how He loves us,

Oh how he loves.

-John Mark McMillan