Happy Birthday and Random Videos

First, I wanted to say a huge  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY 

to our dear sweet 

Danielle Rose Skorich!  

Danielle, I remember when we met 12 years ago (WHOA that's a long time).  I was a senior in high school and you were a freshman at ND.  I remember thinking:

"A Danielle who's goofy, has long hair, loves Jesus and sings? 

She's totally going to be a soul sister."

And you know what?  Twelve years and many memories later, you are a sweet sister in Christ.

This is making me miss my girls!

 I thank you, Danielle, for your constant yes to God, for accepting His gift of music and having the courage to share it with the world.

I thank you for your generous heart, for your desire to help others see that they are loved, that they are children of God.  You are an instrument of grace, and a conduit of Jesus' love.

Thank you for keeping our Cecilia Rose in your heart, for being a namesake and the first messenger of her quiet beginning in my womb.

Thank you, Dan and Rosie for being co-creators!

For those of you who don't know, Danielle is an incredibly gifted music minister.

If you want to hear a snippet of her music, and purchase any albums, you can go to Amazon.  Here are the links:

http://www.amazon.com/Defining-Beauty/dp/B000QZR0A2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1297794292&sr=8-2

http://www.amazon.com/Mysteries/dp/B000QZPH2K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1297794292&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/I-Thirst/dp/B0017IF7IY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1297794292&sr=8-3

http://www.amazon.com/Pursue-Me-Danielle-Rose/dp/1584594403/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1297794292&sr=8-4

If you are interested in booking her, visit her website:  http://www.daniellerose.com

Love you, D.

~~~~

Tonight, we heard a woman tell us about her 2 week endeavor helping the Olive Tree Campaign.  It's a non-political human rights initiative to re-plant olive trees.

"When the campaign was launched in 2002 it objective was to replant 50,000 olive trees in the Palestinian Territories through the sponsorship of individuals, YMCAs, YWCAs, churches, church related organizations, human rights organizations, as well as solidarity and advocacy groups around the world. Through replanting olive trees, Palestinians will be encouraged to keep hope alive and to reaffirm their commitment to work constructively toward peace-building."

Source:http://www.jai-pal.org/content.php?page=1

When learning more about realities on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it can get very overwhelming and frustrating.  This is a constructive attempt to bolster those who, for many reasons, may not have much reason to hope.   Please visit their website if you feel so inclined, and email me if you have more questions.
~~~
Last night I talked for almost an hour with Erica about her upcoming visit.  [We grew up next door to eachother and have remained friends through the innumerable phases of life].  She is coming to visit for TWO AND A HALF WEEKS, and I can't wait.  I feel like it's a perfect time for visitors, as we are really starting to feel like we have a handle on the area, or at least know who to ask for guidance. What fun it will be to show her around, and share our everyday joy.  HUZZAH!!
~~~
And to sign off, I'll share a few videos of late. 
First is Ceci and her adorable new skillz.  She's all about animal noises lately, and here she is displaying her talent:

The second is a view from our living room of pouring rain amidst bright sunshine:

Jacob in his sugar-addicted glory, oblivious to everything around him as he hunkers down:

And lastly, the howler monkeys I promised.  Hi to the larious: