turtle on a fence post.

Alright, yes, blogging has resided on a very cold back burner as of late. There's just always something that needs to be done! Schedules, buses, cleaning, laundry, homework, food, sleep...

and then I would like to have a social life. Juggling it all is going to take some getting used to.

Classes started Monday; I'm learning to love it, despite the ever on-coming stress and exhaustion.  

I live in a high rise dorm, in a cubby of a room, with a smidgen of a closet. 

It's becoming cozier with time..

My roommate, Laura, sleeps and studies on the left side. Me on the right. 

Pictures and posters help the cozy factor a lot.. 

And see that blanket on hanging on the bed? 

I knitted that. Yes, I did. Nathan and Grayson, yours are coming, in time. 

I've been told that I'm the clean roommate.

A little scary, I must admit.

So there is my room! Tour is over.

Yesterday, I went out and bought a fish!

His name is Oscar. 

I'm missing my menagerie of pets at home - and the dorms only allow us to have fish. So, Oscar is my attempt to fill the void. He adds a little something to the room. We have name tags on our doors; we plan on making one for him as well. 

I'm loving being an art major. 

Like in my Drawing 1 class, all we've drawn so far is cups.

Simply awesome. I can't even begin to explain.

I should probably explain the title of this post, though.

I'm a turtle on a fence post.

Basically, if you see a turtle sitting on a fence post, obviously, you know that the turtle did not get there by himself. Someone had to put him there; he couldn't do it on his own and can take no credit for it.

By His grace, God has put me here - for His purpose. 

I know that I will never fully understand the gravity of His blessings.

But I can't wait to continually find them anew and abundant in my life. 

-Mary Catherine.

tomorrow's the day..

... I leave for college!

My brother flew in from Athens on Friday, so we've had one last weekend - all of us together again.

It's a very strange feeling, knowing that I start college next Monday. 

I've looked forward to it for so long, and now that it's here I wish I had more time. 

My parents keep telling me I don't have to go; that there's still time to change my mind and stay. 

Tonight, we watched home videos from 1996. How I wish I could go back, and be that little girl again, with my chubby little face and hair bows. 

Saturday we took a trip to Baton Rouge. Grayson had too much fun playing with my camera.

We finally got to see Mike the Tiger! the LSU mascot.

Baton Rouge has some very pretty lakes. We stopped, and I got out and harassed some ducks.

My family then locked me out of the car and made me dance to get back in. 

We adopted this method from America's Funniest Home Videos years and years ago..

And it's still one of our favorite things to do to one another. 

"Dalrymple..sounds like a pimple."

what we heard whenever Grayson saw a Dalrymple sign.

goof.

My brothers are the type of people who are always making everyone around them laugh.

I love them to death, and am so glad to call them my brothers. 

I now have to go finish packing the car..

University of Georgia, here I come.

-mary catherine.

rewind and freeze.

There's a family in my church that have lived in this little old town for the past two hundred years or so. 

My dad visited their farm a few weeks ago and came back raving about how much I would love it. 

And then he arranged for me to go take pictures. 

Be still my heart - it was like taking a step back in time. 

I could've stayed there for hours and just happily wandered about. 

{a pigeonnier}

{all things old = love}

{I really wanted to go in this slate roofed barn! but a warning about the frequently seen snakes, and my immense fear of them, quickly stopped me.}

{banana spiders}

{oh cows. love love love}

{I think I've got a new favorite picture}

-mary catherine.

happy birthday, my dear friend!

Today is my darling friend Sammie's eighteenth birthday!

Happy Birthday, my dear!!!

I've been blessed in knowing her as one of my best friends for the past five years,

and I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for our friendship in the future. 

Unfortunately, I'm not able to share this day with her in person.

So, Sammie, here's a post just for you - just a reminder of how awesome I find you. 

And a little way for me to say, yet again, 

thanks for being an incredible friend, and my sister in Christ. 

For those of you who don't know Sammie, let me introduce you. 

Yes, I do have an utterly gorgeous friend. I agree wholeheartedly. 

She's very passionate about many things. 

First and foremost, her relationship with Jesus Christ is the most important thing in her life. With Sammie, we aren't just friends as teens sharing their lives, but as sisters in the faith. It's such an encouragement to have such a friendship in a world as fickle and shallow as the one we find ourselves in today. God has truly blessed me through her!

Her lovely blog is His Hand Holds It All. And you should visit her there.

Our friendship is very versatile. We can have the most serious conversations one moment, and then act like children the next. 

We love happy meal toys, tie-dying, gummy bears & swedish fish, galavanting through Toys R Us, Josh Duhamel & Matthew McConnaughey, polar bears, Piggly Wiggly employees, Australia, having our toes dissed by Asian women, ducks, pigs, and so so much more. We even went to a Jonas Brothers concert together at one point. We also went through a Justin Bieber phase. It's okay, we're sane now. 

We dyed our hair together (mine didn't take, and hers was a mistake.) 

Sammie is my favorite person to photograph. hands down. 

Sammie is also addicted to music. 

Not in just loving it (although yes, she does adore it, especially John Mayer,) but hers is a passion that is personal, and completely her own. Her youtube channel is one of the most visited sites on my computer.

She has been so blessed with beautiful musical talents: singing, piano, guitar -  she's exceptional at all. 

Here's just one of her many gorgeous videos. 

I can't wait for her to become famous.

At the end, you'll notice, she mentions something else she and her wonderful mom are passionate about, invested in, and dedicated to - the abolishment of human trafficking, modern day slavery. Human trafficking is real, it is everywhere. Now I can't even begin to explain this extremely important issue to you all. Sammie, however, makes up for where I lack in this department, and can educate you.

Five years..

not too much has changed..

and if things do, which they will, since we're big now..

lets always stay the same. 

be in my wedding, please?

Happy Eighteenth Birthday, Sammie!

(Stacy Hillary Whitman, Daisy) 

I love you and miss you and hope your day is spectacular!

Love, 

Mary Catherine

(Audrey Icantremembermymiddlename Lansen, Jewel of Persia)

two loves - Art and Africa.

Originally when I started this little blog, I had planned to include my art in my posts in addition to my photography. Sadly, that has been grossly neglected. 

A couple months ago I started an African zoo - in my sketchbook. 

I just finished and perfected it over the past couple days. 

(a result of my circus outing, no doubt)

Yes, I do love Africa with every fiber of my being. It's number one on my travel wish list. 

I love how different it is - the culture, the landscape, the people, the animals. It's like another world, which I desperately want to experience for myself.

The main reason I want to travel to Africa is not for the animals or the culture, though. 

It's for the orphans.

My older brother, Grayson, went to high school with a girl named Simone Plimpton. 

She founded an incredible organization called Simone's Kids.

[via]

This organization is dedicated to the needs                  

of orphans in Africa - to give them a future.

Right now, Simone's Kids is raising money

to build an orphanage for the School of Hope 

in Nakseke, Uganda, where these beautiful children 

will be provided with their educational, physical,

mental and emotional needs.

This is Simone's Kids Mission Statement:

"The way children grow and develop today will heavily impact the future of our world. Children who grow up without proper housing, nutrition, or education have no hope, and therefore have no future. Simone’s Kids is dedicated to bringing hope into every child’s life, giving them and our world a future to look forward to."

[via]

So hey, go visit Simone's Kids and read about the amazing things this organization has done.
God is using this organization in such incredible ways!

And watch the video - it'll melt your heart. 

or better yet, donate :) 

I used to want to study abroad in college. 

Now I want to go to Africa and work with Simone's Kids. 

Hopefully one day I'll be posting about what I did, 

rather than what I want to do.

-Mary Catherine.