Do you guys know about a singer song writer named JJ Heller? Well she has the most beautiful voice and she plays along side her husband David who plays the guitar all the while she sings AND plays the harmonica! Did I mention she is out of this world ADORABLE?
I first discovered her around 2007/2008…give or take. I was having a relaxing weekend at our family cabin and we always shop at the village. The village had a really tiny Christian bookstore that I always liked to visit. Did I mention I have a tiny obsession with magazines. Like really pretty magazines? There was a magazine that caught my eye called Life Beautiful. It was a Christian publication and based on the cover alone I had to get it. As I fully enjoyed the issue of this newly discovered magazine, I also discovered they had music suggestions towards the back. One such suggestion was J.J. Heller and so when I got back home and had access to the internet, I looked her up. The very first song I heard was called GROW. I fell instantly in love with it.
If you have just a little more time, check this one out from her latest album. “this year” You will see what I mean about ADORABLE.
Okay so, a while back my Aunt and cousin whom I loving like to refer to as Moon Mama and Miss Moonspinner told me about a women’s event that JJ Heller would be performing at and it was relatively local. Like 5 minutes or less from my mom’s house. I invited my mom because I knew she would have a good time too. And our fellow moon friend Miss Moondaisi also got to go who also is a super fan of JJ. So you see we realized it had come FULL circle. I introduce Miss Moonspinner to JJ via a handwritten letter, she then introduced JJ to her mama and Miss Moondaisi and it was Miss Moondaisi who discovered JJ would be in Irvine and let all of us know about it. See full circle. SO AMAZING.
When we arrived I walked straight to the JJ Heller table, it was full of her C.D.’s and a gorgeous children’s book written by JJ and David, they make really great things together. The book was titled “The Golden Feather” HELLO! The little tiny girl on front even had red hair and not only that, there was a unicorn pegasus inside the book. I absolutely couldn’t pass it up. I had to buy it on the spot. Okay so besides coffee mugs and obsession for pretty magazines, I have a tiny obsession with children books…sigh and chairs.
After the event was over there was an opportunity to meet JJ and David but it was really, really crowded and I figured they would be inundated with people because there was indeed a sea of people. I said, “nope, I don’t have to meet them, the line is long and the people are so many, let’s just go” But the really great thing about mom’s are…they will give you the courage to do things one wouldn’t normally do. My mom smiled and said “come on Tracie, go have them sign that book, you are here and you may really regret it if you don’t just do it now” She even moved me in that direction and placed me in line. I love my mom, I really do.
And let me just explain one thing here. I had a long day. A really long day. I went to work and then did some things for the kids after work then drove 45 minutes to my mom’s and well, I didn’t do my hair (I since have had it cut by my other cousin and it turned out really adorable, if I must say so myself) and I didn’t retouch my make up and even if I did retouch my make up I would have cried it off during her concert. Listening to her CD’s is one thing, seeing her in person is quite another. So yeah, I had tears. And my mom, she took these pictures of us three mega fans. And if you know Miss Moondaisi the bunny ears are so totally something she would do to a “celebrity” upon meeting them and taking a photograph with them. I call them celebrities but they are real people and we were awe struck with these real people and practically speechless and David tried to make us comfortable by asking questions we could barely answer because we were too busy grinning ear to ear. But anyways, turns out the bunny ears were totally appropriate considering every single page in the book has a hidden bunny in the illustrations.
This is really long but I hope I was able to maybe introduce you to someone you may not have previously known and if you do know her then you can probably agree that she and David are very amazing and their two little girls are mega adorable and her oldest read aloud this new children book on the big screen at the women’s event and one word. MELT.