the full steam ahead, can't catch your breath kinda crazy.

hiiii, friends! long time no talk?! i can't believe it's been so long since i've blogged and i've not been consistently blogging since like before christmas?! ahh, life has been such a wild and crazy ride lately! later last year and earlier this year, it felt as though my life was on hold and i was on the edge waiting for something to happen. and spring has come with new life and adventure in almost every moment.

here is just a small peak into the past two months and all the adventures and love and laughter and new experiences and friendships it's held. (seriously though, look at all those pretty faces I got to meet!) hopefully i'll be blogging all about these in the very near future. i have so many stories and photographs to share!

xoxo. -marcia
also: you guys!! i finally got to meet sweet grace for the first time after knowing each other through blogging for the past four years. we spent three and a half hours together talking nonstop and she is even more lovely in person than she is online. such joy!

ordinary life (and i'm okay with that)

   i've been in such an inspiration rut of late. 

   i don't know how many times i've started a post but ended up starring at the blank page with that little      blinking cursor. it's not that i don't have anything to say; my mind has been spinning with all the things i want to say and do. but i just haven't been able to get it from my heart and mind to my fingers. 

    lately, my life right now has been just ordinary. 

this summer has been rather lazy. it's the first summer in the last few years that i've had important to do. in   previous summers, i've was busy babysitting full time and doing a year extra of school. this is the first summer   i've technically had nothing to do. i've been busy doing things i've been wanting to do for a while. and that's   been good. but, i feel like i'm holding my breath- just waiting.

i have no clue what's on the horizon; but i know who my Jesus is- and that's enough for me.

(i'm not gonna lie though, i'm dying for winter and school to start again.)

xx. marcia

p.s. i have two absolutely darling little girls that will be appearing on here in a few days. ;)

summer-ness + a new look

(post idea layout via carlotta) 

one.  summer is here. it's been in the high 90*'s all week. we've been drinking large amounts of ice coffee and sweet tea. (and hiding out in the basement where it's cooler)

two.  my brother brought home a birds nest from the job where my dad was working.

cons: the jobsite was too busy and it's scared the mama bird off.

pros. birdnests are my favorite.

three.  i made chocolate chips cookies the other day. (and I actually didn't burn any this time. :P)

three.  pulling out my camera in the greenhouse in walmart.... because i'm awesome awkward like that. ;)

five.  the new look is up. i actually was working on an entirely different design until a few days ago; i got a sudden burst of inspirations and... well this happened. (i also updated all of my pages)

six.  since apparently gfc / google reader is shutting down (seriously, it's the most confusing thing since algebra ii.), everybody is switching to bloglovin. i haven't made up my mind whether i like that or not. but, a girl's gottta do what a girl's gotta do. (ya'll can follow me on bloglovin'  >>here<<)

xoxo. 

marcia. 

sweet tea + my canon rebel t3i!!

"friday night football is king, sweet tea goes good with anything

and the peace and quiet makes such a beautiful sound,

nobody eats till you say 'amen' and everybody knows your mom and them,

you can see who loves who for miles around...

in a water tower town." -water tower town (scotty mccreery)

GUYS. GUESS WHAT CAME AT APPROX. 10:19am TODAY?!?! IT'S HERE. MY CANON REBEL T3i IS HERE. It's so amazing!!! Everything about it. I've been on cloud nine ever since. Seriously, THE COLORS ARE INCREDIBLE. I am in love. 

xx. more photos coming soon. I believe summer has arrived to stay this time.

marcia

an update of sorts + a quote

  oh hey, remember this post? well, I've been wanting to read Crazy Love by Francis Chan ever since I read an article about it. and this last week I happened to log into my amazon account and I realized it was on my kindle shelf. I'm not much for reading books online, the real version is so much better. But I decided to at least start on it. Once I got started there was no stopping, I read the entire thing in less than an hour. It was so so  good. and the quotes are amazing.

 (nah, me? a quote addict? never. okay, maybe yes.a lot. ;)) 

ever since I've read it, I have been processing and praying about some things. that's one of the reasons for my absence around here. also, I've been lacking some inspiration lately. I don't know how many times I've started a post, but ended starring at the wide screen with the little blinking line. I've also been a bit stressed with school, and just normal life. Most of the stuff I am stressing about will be over this week though, so I can get back to blogging. 

so basically this is a post telling you to go read Crazy Love and that I am not dead. :)

xxx

marcia

p.s. thanks for all your comments on my last post. you guys made me laugh and it was basically a big homeschooler party. 

(I should have made cupcakes! ;))  >>hugs<<

oh yeah, I'm a homeschooler

so, if you are a homeschooler, you probably know exactly what this is like. 

today I had an eye doctor appointment, and this is what happened:
(him being the eye doctor of course)

him: so, I'm guessing you are a sophmore, right?
me: yes, I am. I'm homeschooled actually.
him: *raises eyebrows* OH, homeschooled? what's that like?
me: uhh, it's normal. I just do my school at home instead of at school. I have my favorite subjects and some subjects that are more difficult for me.
him: homeschooling classes are difficult!?
me: yesss.... I am still doing high school.
him: wait, what! how does that work?
me: there is a school in florida that video-tapes their classes and then I stream it online. It's just like I'm there in the class, except I'm watching from a computer.
him: so, do you still have to take tests? are you graded on a normal grading scale?
me: yes, I am. it's just like normal school except I do it at home.
him: so, do you sleep in till 10:00am and skip your homework?
me: uh, nope. I get up the same time as normal school kids, and I still have homework.
him: wow. so, do you do anything else for school?
me: oh, I go to a co-op once a week.
him: do the mom's come in and take turns teaching you guys or....?
me: oh no! they are certified teachers that teach us!
nurse: so, how long have you been homeschooled?
me: my entire life.
him: WHAT!?
nurse: WHAT!? WOW.
him: why do you do that!?
nurse: well, *insert dr. first name here* I guess some people just decide that.
me: exactly.

for the rest of the appointment, he was kinda in shock.

I really felt like asking him if he lived in a hole, but I decided to refrain from that. ;)

this, my friends, is the life of a homeschooler. 

and I'm lovin' it, btw. ;)
xxx,
marcia

it feels like spring today.

honestly, the month of February was one of the worst and the best months in my life. it had it's ups (golden birthday, YEAH!) and it's downs (dealing with change), but by the end of the month I just felt drained emotionally. but last week, something changed. 

maybe it was the crazy splashes of warm weather we have been having, but I feel like spring is coming. winter has passed and the signs of spring are bursting forth in my heart.  

 I AM ALIVE.  I am alive, in Christ. I am daily reminded that I am a new creation. 

AND I AM ALIVE. living and breathing. alive. 

I am actually looking forward to spring and summer which is rather surprising. 

(I've said it before and I'll say it again, summer is my least favorite season! oh the horror, I know.;)) 

I was doing some spring cleaning in my photos, and I found these shots from last summer. I must say, though summer is my least favorite season, summer light is the best.

 I've also been trying my hand at editing a bit more. All of the photography you have been seeing on here is all SOOC for one particular reason. I want to know how to create a photograph first, I want to learn the in's and out's of a camera before I start editing my photos. I don't want to become one of those "oh-i'll-just-fix-that-in-photoshop-later" types of photographers. Photography is an art, and I want to learn it. But I am also learning that a little touch up in editing goes a long way, this post showed me the power of just a tad of editing. I tried some things out, and I kinda just love the results. So, you will probably seeing some photos that are slightly edited around here more. :)

xxx, 

marcia

p.s. I was interviewed by Maddie a few days weeks ago and I forgot. This girl is amazing, I'm pretty sure she is my long lost twin or something. We are so similar it's rather freaky. So, go show her some love and you can read the interview >here<. 

p.p.s. if you are one of the people who are just dying for summer, I have a special inspiration post coming up. :)

a collaboration of our New Years

our Christmas present was a get-away to a condo in Estes Park. we hadn't had a break since the boys came last May. It was so beautiful. Estes Park has always been on of my favorite places, especially in the winter. 

Winter has always been a favorite with me. I love the cold, the snow, the hot drinks, the Christmas lights, and cozy fires. 

*inset rabbit trial here*

||  I have determined that I need to find a town tucked away in the mountains, where it is always snowing and Christmas and I can live in a cabin with books that reach to the ceiling and drink tea and coffee.  that would just be the best. ||

*end of rabbit trail*

 it snowed a little bit, we walked the shops, read books, watched movies, went to the library, and slept late. And we went shopping. There is this leather store where everything is below $30. and I found the bag of my dreams. I could have actually stolen all of the bags there, they were absolutely gorgeous. 

((and I was finally able to take a picture of the stars. I was super happy, it isn't anything super glorious, but it's a step in the right direction. ))

HOW WAS YOUR NEW YEARS?