Every Little Thing's Gonna Be Alright

 

Lucy Darling Prints 

 

Last weekend came and went and so did this week.  I sit here trying to remember what even happened.  It felt stressful to me only because I let myself be overcome by worry and anxiety.  The reality of our baby being born in about a month has come and taken up residence in my mind like a visitor I don’t feel prepared for.  I knew said visitor was coming months ago, yet he still catches me off-guard at his arrival.  The amount of things I feel still need to be accomplished before the baby comes seems insurmountable, and yet I know it’s not really the end of the world if they don’t get done before then.  The baby’s not going to know the difference if the closet has been cleaned out or if his nursery is fully decorated like I see it in my mind.  It’s just that everyone is telling us how much our life is going to change, and how in the world are you supposed to prepare for a life-change that you know has been coming but you’ve never done before?  And supposedly we will have no more time to do anything other than take care of our baby, which yes, is a joy in and of itself, but does that mean all those items that don’t get done, will never get done then?  Of course not, but it sure feels that way sometimes, especially since I’ve never experienced what’s coming.

So you can see why I’ve been a worry-wart this week.  I worried about being ready, physically, spiritually, and emotionally, about finances, about my upcoming baby shower, and so many other things.  On top of all that, it was one of my husband’s busiest work weeks of the summer, but thankfully it was his last super busy week before the baby comes.  He is a rock and such a comfort to me.  Any time I get worked up about things, he reminds me that everything’s going to be alright. He literally made me shake off the worry last night, even down unto my toes!  It was a sight to be seen I’m sure.

Then this morning, I actually read from my Jesus Calling devotional, and the scripture was the same one given to me on the day I was saved almost 10 years ago.  James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” I remember when the person first told me this scripture, he said that the devil doesn’t just flee from you.  You first have to submit to God, then you have to resist the devil, and then he flees from you.  When fear tries to come in, remind yourself to trust God.  Say it out loud if you have to.  Reminding yourself to trust God is submitting to Him, and it helps you resist the worry, fear, and anxiety the devil tries to distract you with, and only then will the worry actually go away.  Not by worrying about it more!  The devotional was also about trust, which has always been the main lesson I feel like God is trying to teach me, over and over again, ever since I got saved.  Isn't trust simply the opposite of worry?  Trials are opportunities to trust, to grow our trust-muscles, but it is our choice.  We get to choose whether we will trust or we will worry in the face of trials in our lives.

I was reminded of my salvation through the scripture I was given on the day of my salvation, and that alone is good news, but even better was being reminded that because I'm saved, I get to trust God.  I can trust God because He is faithful.  And so can you!  Just remember:  Every little thing’s gonna be alright!

Danielle

Weekend Expectations

Who’s looking forward to the weekend?  I know I am.  It should be a pedicure-indulging, prenatal yoga class-taking, baby-prepping, and cookie-making weekend for me, and that sounds pretty good in my book.  My only hang up is I tend to overdo it on what I expect I can get done over the course of one weekend.  There’s things like spontaneity, and you know, what my husband wants and needs to do too that change up that pretty little list I have going on in my head.  So here’s to realistic expectations and being happy with what does get accomplished, whether it was on my list or not!

The “D + E” cookies are from a recent batch of sugar cookies I made.  I had some extra cookie dough so I made these to practice for our upcoming baby shower.  I will hold off on showing the cookie I made to match our invitation until I make the real deal for the shower, but oh my goodness, is it cute, if I do say so myself.  I was kind of pinching myself that it turned out so much better than I thought.  Isn’t it nice when that happens?  I hope your weekend and whatever you do or don’t have planned turns out much better than you thought too!

Engagement Session - Part 1

This coming week my husband Elliott and I will celebrate our 2 year wedding anniversary. In honor of that, I'm finally sharing all of our engagement, bridal, and wedding pictures.  Was I going to try to share them all before our anniversary? Yes, of course, high-minded me sure thought so.  Actual me is thankful to be sharing this first installment with you, our first engagement session.  That's right, we had 2 engagement sessions. Why? Because our photographer was awesome sauce, that's why.  In case you're wondering, his name is Todd White, and he was so gracious to us throughout all of our photo sessions.  This first session ended up being on a dreary and rainy day in December of 2011 (was it really that long ago already?), and as such you may notice some Christmas decorations around us.  He got that we are most definitely outdoor people and offered to give us a second session since all these shots had to be inside.  It was a marathon of a day for sure though as we ended up at 5 different locations overall.  We started with these first few shots at Roots Bistro in Georgetown.  Then, we moved across the street to The Georgetown Palace Theater.  They were so kind to let us in the theater to shoot, and we had fun playing around on the stage.  You can't beat those pretty red theater seats either.

Next, we moved onto a photobooth of course! You may remember that Elliott proposed to me in a photobooth so we definitely wanted to include that in our session.  But of course, it was not any photobooth, it was a Blababooth, which is a photobooth that also takes video of you in between the photos and can be rather hilarious.  To see our video from this session, click here.

We headed back to Georgetown and played around in one of my favorite antique shops, The Gatherings.  So gorgeous and wonderfully curated inside. My grandmother was an antique dealer so it was very reminiscent for me, especially the picture of my ring on the bristle brush Christmas trees.  It's the little things, right?

Last but certainly not least, we headed to Elliott's favorite place, Starbucks, and Todd captured a few shots on film.  So great, right?

More random tidbits about us, my favorite holiday drink is the Carmel Apple Spice even though they have it year round.  Elliott's is a Peppermint Mocha (triple grande 190 degrees no sprinkles to be exact) which you can also get year round. We're rebels, I tell ya.

Here's to hoping I can get the other pictures posted before our 3 year anniversary! Then, maybe just maybe, I will get photo books printed for family, but as my Dad always says, better late than never, right? I sure do hope so!

Danielle

To Be Known

I originally thought to post this picture on Instagram with a caption something along the lines of, "My Mother-In-Law knows me so well, she gave me perfume and a purse for my birthday," and I may still do so.  However I started to ask myself why I hadn't yet.  Why am I so excited to share this little tidbit of my life in the first place?  It's not so much about bragging that I got a new purse or a new perfume for my birthday, or even that I have an abnormally healthy and enjoyable relationship with my Mother-In-Law.  I do so appreciate that my relationship with her is such she would give me a birthday gift I would not only enjoy but be thoroughly excited about, but I think part of the reason I hesitated to post this may have been because it seemed petty to me to share such a seemingly small thing with the world. Then during a conversation with my MIL about something else entirely yet eerily related, I realized that most of the time it's the small things that make us feel known by others and by God.  It was the experience of feeling known I was excited to share, and still I found myself not quite knowing how to translate it into social media speak. How do you fully express how much such a small thing made you feel so fully known in 140 characters or less? Hence, my frustration and my pause. I feared maybe they will think it's just a silly rolly stick of perfume; and yet to me, it's an unconscious outpouring of love reflecting a deep relationship making me feel seen, heard, and loved.

To be known is such an incredible feeling that sneaks up on you in unexpected yet simple ways. We search for it, strive for it, contrive it, and manipulate it to make it happen, yet it is one of those things which the more you force, the less genuine it becomes. The lesson comes in the giving-in to the giving-up, in the letting go to simply letting it be. Letting others know you. Letting others express their love for you in their own way, in their own time. And to think that when others do it, it is simply a reflection, a mere shadow, of how God loves you, sees you, and knows you.

So today, I offer you this picture of a perfume stick because it's the only visual I can display (for the moment) of what it means to be known. And I share this because I hope it may show that it’s possible, this thing we yearn for, to simply be known.