holy.

This. is. legit.
It is on repeat in my house this afternoon.
Watch. 
Listen. 
Worship. 
Be moved.

It's a new season...

This past week was an exceptional week. 

God has been so evident in our lives; His peace abounding in our home. 

And we are incredible thankful.

We took this photo in the car, about to make our weekly Publix run after church on Sunday. It was a gorgeous day, and church was awesome. Pastor Alan brought it! This thought hasn't left me all week: "In order to experience true worship, you must start with a moment of surrender." Mmmph.

Last weekend we had our first break from the heat. At night, there was even a nip in the air! (We love chilly nights, when we can open all the windows upstairs and are forced under our down comforter!)

 To celebrate the first official day of Fall last Saturday, I decided to decorate our mantle in its fall wardrobe. I spent the afternoon with my cousin Kristi...she is an amazing crafter. Her talents make me look like Shrek standing next to Martha Stewart herself, but I'm learning. :) I so enjoyed just hanging out with her and her adorable baby bump! (So sad we didn't take any photos of the day.)

This is a Kristi-ism...cheap but super cute fall decor? Why, beans! Green snap, white, red kidney, and the best of all...popcorn kernels! This super easy/affordable trick makes a great filler for my dining room candles.

Also, under Kris' guidance, I created my first burlap wreath. I found a pic on Pinterest, of course, and was determined to make one to adorn our townhome. What do you think? (Thanks for ALL your help, Kris!)

And with the coming of Autumn also comes brownie cupcakes with homemade peanut butter icing and a Recee's cup hidden inside. Goooolllleeeee, these suckers were amazing, if I do say so myself. I baked them to serve at our church's "Invisible Children" event.

(If you haven't heard of this movement, click here. Warning: you will be moved.)

Thankfully, I've gotten to see more of these guys than I expected. I am ridiculously proud of them. I could not have cuter, more talented brothers. And leading worship with them once a week is pure joy.

(See...P and J like my brownie cupcakes and ice-cream...perhaps a bit too much...)

 Celebrating GREAT news! I had my annual eye exam this past week. (P.S. If you're looking for an eye doc in the Nashville/Brentwood area, I've got a great one I'd be happy to recommend!) Anyway... did you know Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in people under 50? Yep. It's true. Every time I used to visit the eye doctor, I found myself holding my breath waiting for the scan results, almost anticipating the inevitable bad news. Not anymore. 

I've learned to claim God's goodness and protection over my life, and this includes my body. And you know what? My eye doctor sang my favorite lyrics this week. He said after studying the photos of my eyes, he can't even tell I'm a Diabetic, much less one who has had the disease for 16 years!" 

Booyah, Satan. 

Praise the Lord!

On the same note, I am trying to take care of my body. This week, I did pretty good! Thanks to my hubs for grilling me some succulent chicken to add protein (and taste!) to my salads. Nom nom.

Time flies, but we are closing out the first quarter of the school year already. Yikes. These stacks of papers? They're kind of taking over my life right now. And these aren't the only ones. I want all grades finalized before next week.  Come on, fall break!

 Of course I have some stinkers, but majority of my students really are awesome. We went on a field trip to the Adventure Science Center this week, and Mrs. Darcy's homeroom sang Justin Bieber and Once Direction the entire bus ride. No, I wasn't beaming with pride. :)

(P.S. Does it mean you're old when the planetarium movie makes you nauseous?)

Jon's favorite thing right now. He says he needs a treat after dinner. 

And I'm beyond happy to make it for him.

Also...I don't have a photo for this, but it's worth sharing.

Our "new" car has been reeking of gasoline. It's been bad. And smelling gas from your car can't be safe. And it must be expensive, right?

Well, one mechanic quoted us almost $900 to fix the crack in our fuel pump. Gulp. BUT...my ever-so-intelligent and computer savvy husband did some research- found out there was actually a recall on our model car for this very thing. He called the people, contacted the right people, and let's just say long story made short... Chevy fixed the problem for FREE. I'm talking, we didn't even pay for the diagnostic test. Wow!

The coolest part about this is, not only saving a hefty amount of cash, but in the past cars have caused a severe amount of anxiety for me. Severe amount. This time, though, I finally realized God's provision and grace. No matter the outcome of the car, it was just a car. And Jon and I would still be taken care of. And God is still great.

Just another way to brag on my God!

Speaking of my cousin, Kristi... She introduced me to this new ministry she's a part of. Jon and I attended the Arise benefit in Nashville last night at Sambuca (can you say DELISH?), and it totally rocked us. 

ONEless is an amazing organization. Their tagline is "One less is one more." and their mission is to end human trafficking in the United States. Wow. What a mission. What a call. We heard from victims of human trafficking, right here in our area! For us, it's not a matter of should we get involved...it's a matter of what can we do. Click on the website and check it out. We were stunned.

As we enter this season of Autumn, we are already realizing how ridiculously blessed we are...even before the turkey and stuffing are on the table.

"It's a new season, it's a new day.

Fresh anointing is flowing my way.

It's a season of power and prosperity.

It's a new season coming to me."

Israel and New Breed

catch up..

I did it. 
It was inevitable.
I did the very thing I knew I would do when I started this blog. 
I let an annoying amount of time go by in between posts. 
Oops. 
I admit it... things have been a little cuh-razy around La Casa Darcy.
Blogging, unfortunately, did not take priority.

It pains me to even think about updating this blog by writing a much-overdue post, but, here goes. We've gotta start somewhere. 
I mean, I did mean for this blog to be a way of us to document our first few bits of marriage together, right?

Let me just summarize some of our happenings of late:

Take a breath.

Here we go.

 We'll do anything for free Chic-fil-a. Dress like a cow, get a free sandwich? Sure! Why not?! (Jon looks thrilled, I know, but we did have a great time.)

 Loving that my bros are back in Nash, mostly, after a busy summer on the road. This night in particular, we took them (and our friend Ted) put-put golfing. They sported their hand-made "bro tats". Duh. (For the record, I came in second place that night!)

 Jon was sporting a feaux hawk for a few weeks. I LOVED it! And now we find out, so did all of our friends! Jon shaved it off, but I have a feeling another hawk may be in the near future.) We are loving our grill and back deck. Now that the weather is cooling off, expect more cookouts, y'all!

 We bought a new car! In CASH!!! (Although, these are the keys of the first car we bought, then returned, then bought our new car. Long story. All you need to know is God is good and we got a dependable car.) Blessing alert: once we turned in the Altima, we were expecting one more payment of almost $300 and an additional $400 fee to ship the leased car to auction. BUT... Nissan told us EVERYTHING was covered! We didn't owe another penny!!! Can you say, "Amen"!

 Jon taking it back to his Panamanian roots... plantains... they were stupid good!!

 We are fiercely committed to our "Get Debt Free So You Can Have The Most Adorable Mixed Babies Ever" plan. This is a pic of our envelopes. This is a praise in itself, that I don't crawl into the fetal position once the bi-weekly "budget meetings" commence. Not gonna lie...we have a significant amount of debt. However, we have a plan. We are sticking to it. And we serve an unbelievable gracious and provisional God!!

 Life is BUSY these days. We are trying to MAKE, not find, time to study The Word together. This pic was taken one Saturday we spent at the park, laying on a blanket under an oak tree, reading God's Word and meditating on what He says. it was an awesome time for us.

 And, of course, we had to suck up the last bit of summer at Las Paletas... gourmet popsicles g0 straight to me heart.

 I am falling more and more in love with this man every. single. day.

 So, since Jon has a second job valet parking cars in downtown Nash on the weekends, I am giving a whirl at being a Stella & Dot Stylist. I adore their jewelry, think a lot of their company, and really am enjoying this side business! (Only, I've gotta make more time for trunk shows...) Anyway, this pic is of some treats that were served at one of my August trunk shows. Thanks, Kelsea!

 For the past few months, God has been prepping both mine and Jon's hearts by whispering, "Get ready". (I think I blogged about this earlier.) For what, we didn't know. But we both feel such a calling to enter the ministry together, so we have been praying for that opportunity. And here it is!! Our church has always loved its college students, but never had a ministry specifically targeted toward college students alone. Jon and I were asked to head up this ministry, and after prayer and consideration, we accepted! We serve with a fabulous group of people that teach Sunday School, direct a not-so-small small group, plan Sunday meals, and help with Wednesday services, and Jon and I are responsible for the mid-week service. We have been soaking this ministry in prayer, and we are both honored and humbled to be a part. These labels were placed on packages of Ramen noodles we delivered to college students on move in day!

 Planning/leading the "Overflow" mid-week service means I get to do my absolute most favorite thing- lead worship alongside my brothers. AND hear Jon bring The Word! It has been truly ridiculous- the way these college students worship. The Holy Spirit floods our sanctuary, and with hands raised we experience true, genuine worship. It really has been surreal to lead a service together as a family. Really, as I'm writing this, I'm realizing it's a dream come true.

*If you think of us, please remember to pray for us and for the Overflow Student Ministry. We want nothing other than what God has for this ministry. Come, Holy Spirit, Come!!

 Since our lives are stupid busy these days, we are learning we have to schedule time for just the two of us to be together, Sounds silly, right? But it's soooo true, I guard time with my man ike I guard my meal time. :)

One night, our friend Alyssa blessed our socks off by GIVING us her tickets to watch the Tennessee Titans play! We had SOOOO much fun going together! One of Jon's biggest passions is football. What can I say? I'm trying to convert him to be a Titans fan. :)

 This past Labor Day, we spent time on the water with friends. Again, much needed time. Time to be together and be with friends. It might have been ugly, rainy weather. But we had a blast!

 This was only Jon's second time water skiing. Get it, baby!

 So. I'm trying to learn to run. That's right. Trying.

Jon is an amazing runner. He's one that can run for like 10 miles at a time...for FUN! Who does that?

Anyway, I am determined to become a runner, or at least a jogger haha. And you know what? Since I have the best trainer, I am actually developing some skill! 

 Again, part of that MAKING time for each other... the dollar theater is just down the road from our house. Let's just say, I can't stand the thought of paying $10 to see a movie at the regular theater, but we love seeing the movie a few weeks ater everyone else saw it...and we only pay $2! This pic was taken after we finally saw The Hunger Games. It. Was. Fantastic. I didn't think I had any interest in this series. Now I'm reading the books!

 Jon traded in all of his Playstation games in order to purchase the brand new Madden 2013 football game. (He cracks me up!) After hearing him cheer, clap, stomp his feet, yell at the ref, etc. I decided it was time for me to play a game. Jon "trained" me on the game's workings...and...I beat him. (But don't rub it in his face; he still says I cheated somehow, ha!) To celebrate, we went out for a late dinner in downtown Nash. Oh yeah, another BLESSING alert: one night while Jon was valet parking downtown, a guy tipped him $40!! He said use $20 to put towards our college ministry and use $20 to take me out to dinner downtown. How awesome is that?! Thank you, stranger I'll never meet, You sure did blessed these newlyweds! (and not just with the money.)

Key phrase around our house: "We ain't got no babies!"

 The Love of My Life!

 The family I nannied for had ANOTHER baby! Baby number five!!! Jon and I took dinner to them one night. We toured their BEAUTIFUL new home, viewed "The Lorax" on their 3D TV, chased their monkeys all over the house, and cuddled with this brand new bundle of joy. I would be lying if I said I'm not tickled with excitement to have one of my own, but I can wait. All in His timing. And right now is NOT His timing, ha. :)

 Truth. We have become a little obsessed with Justin Bieber in our house. Just last night, he was the soundtrack to our dance party.

 Before Jon heads to work Saturday nights, we try to soak in the morning time together. Jon is the newest member of the Franklin Farmers' Market fan club. Local honey, organic veggies, fresh-cut flowers, live music, and food trucks?! We're so there.

This is what I'm supposed to be doing. Instead, I'm blogging. :) 

(Hey, the dryer is going!)

All in all, we lead exceptionally busy, yet exceptionally wonderful lives. Just this morning at breakfast, as we prayed over our omelets and crescents, I began to cry.

There are so many times when the feeling of debt tries to weigh heavy on my shoulders. Or I am weepy on a Saturday night because Jon is working ALL weekend, and I'm dying to see him. Or my insecurities creep in and make me feel "not enough". 

But. God.

He blesses. He provides. He sustains. He gives strength. He is faithful. 

He is Love.

And He is good.

Happy Saturday, everyone!