I Think We're Gonna Be Friends

listen
The light dripped out of the sky, painting the warm ground with colors so bright that it lit our hearts. Or maybe it was the fact that eight months had passed since she had been here, and weeks since we've skyped and now she's here and that made smiles stick to our faces more than the light. Our names are the same, except my H is stuck in the middle and hers is pushed out on the end. She's smart and sweet and ridiculously funny. Pretty and nice and kind and caring. She's positive and virtuous and infinitely wise, and I just love her a lot and I'm glad my Joannah is here, even if it is only for such a short time.

xoxo Johanna Grace
P.S. I guest posted on The Cupcake Dictionary this week, while darling Jocee is out of town. I tell you how to waste your life. Interesting, right?
P.P.S. THIS IS HOME - Town is taking longer than usual because I've had company for 10 days and also my health wasn't doing so well. It will come soon, I hope. Don't forget you can join anytime you want!

You're Beautiful

Dear little girl with your head in the clouds, a smile on your lips and doubt in your heart: you're beautiful. You  might think that you laugh too wide, or that your hair isn't right, but sweet child, you're beautiful.
Dear little boy with your hands in the dirt, laughter in your eyes and a gash in your soul: you're beautiful. Your nose is cute when you're happy, so try not to frown. The teeth you think so crooked that you don't want to laugh are adorable. And you know what? You, good sir, are beautiful.
Dear child with chains around your ankles, a blessing in your hands and a heavy crown on your head, you are not alone and you are beautiful.
Dear man with calloused hands that no one wants to touch, you're beautiful.
Dear lady who's hurt and been hurt so many times that you can't see the light at the end, you look at yourself and see only the past, you're beautiful.
Dear young man with your skinny arms and hollow chest who doesn't think he's good enough, you're so beautiful, and more than enough.
Dear young woman with the painted face and bleeding heart, you're beautiful. Whatever you do, you're beautiful.
Dear boy with the cuts on your wrists and a twitching smile stuck to your face, you are beautiful.
Dear mother of many with a song filling your mouth who doesn't know which step to take, you're beautiful.
Dear father of few with tired feet from moving, you are beautiful.
Dear old woman whose heart is so young and you stare at the mirror and wonder where you went wrong, you are beautiful.
Dear little boy with a video game in your hands and a wish that you were better, you're perfect and you are beautiful.
Dear girl who stands on a scale and cries because those numbers aren't telling you lies, don't listen to them, because you're beautiful.
Dear man with the broken back from caring too much about others, you're beautiful
Dear person, who ever you are, whatever you whichever label you're placed under, whichever box that's put on your head, you are beautiful and loved.
Dear humanity, for all you've done wrong and the mistakes you have made and the choices you changed, you are beautiful.

You're beautiful no matter where you go, what you say and do. You're beautiful because He said so. And He knows a thing or two.

xoxo Johanna
p.s. This is dedicated to you, dear reader. The frail, the brave, the cold hearted and all. To the jokers, the depressed, the ones who smile at grass. Whoever you are, this is for you.

A story is what you make of it. // Photography

It's been what feels like years since I've last posted and I have no proper or new or even slightly inventive excuses for my behavior so I'm just going to say sorry. I've been a rather terrible blogger lately. School is basically done, however so I'll be doing my best to start posting at least twice a week again. What fantastic news, right?

A few weeks ago I scheduled a shoot at an old mansion in Huntsville with a friend of mine, unfortunately she had some things come up so I had to change my original plan. I have this really gorgeous red-haired sister though, so we rushed and made it happen. There were some complications but I'm happy with the final results.

Off to see Iron Man 3 now and take a short break from the craziness my life has become. Great things have happened recently and I can't wait to show you all.

xoxo Johanna Grace
P.S. June's THIS IS HOME theme is TOWN. Whether it's simply the place where your house is, where you buy your clothes or food or even where you work, join me! Remember, it can be in any form, a small story, a poem a picture, a piece of art. Anything you'd like to do that makes you feel home.

THIS IS HOME - Neighborhood

I've lived in a handful of neighborhoods over the years, I remember our little one in Cluj, Romania. We lived in a huge, old house with grapes growing up the front and what seemed like endless windows with balconies. There was a park across the street where we played almost every day with a bunch of kids we couldn't communicate with in a spoken tongue, but somehow we managed to get along just fine, even if I was pushed over many times. There was a lady next door who lived with her elderly mother, who scared me, who would take my sisters and I to the bakery occasionally and would always rip off the rind off the end for us to munch on. There was a lady and her son who lived in a basement who were my friends and always chickens in the yard who would chase you.

Then we moved back to the U.S. and lived with my grandparents for half a year while we adjusted to the crazy life American's favor. They lived in the house that they live in now, it was on a curb and we would ride our bikes up and down the street while people were at work. We played in a big, pink, plastic house in the backyard for hours and swung on the swings that Pawpaw hung up high in the oak trees that have since been cut down. We'd play at the park a few blocks away sometimes and did school on the patio when it was cool enough in the oppressive Houston humidity.

Soon after we found ourselves with a home of our own, a tiny house in a not so great part of a little town, but it's where some of my fondest memories were made. Countless hours of playing with my sisters in the backyard, making mud soup and other delectable entrees. We had a church half a block down the street that we'd ride our bikes to and draw chalk pictures on the parking lot. Our little house was always filled with too many people and it was amazing. My best friends at the time were people who hardly spoke english and my our mangy dog called 21 that I loved.

But then in 2005, we moved on. Grandma bought a farm and it became our neighborhood. My neighbors of people living in houses were replaced by chickens living in houses and trees. And goats, soon came cows, a few donkeys, a bunch of ducks, geese... the works. What do you even say about your neighborhood, while you're still living there? There's a saying that goes something like "We tend to romanticize the past" and that's so true. While we're living in a soon to be memory, it just feels like, well, living. There's nothing amazing you can point out and say "Oh, that is going to be my favorite memory some day." It's only when it's all over and you've moved on to the next thing in life when you realize how magnificent the past was.

So there's my neighborhood. I think it's pretty neat.

xoxo Johanna Grace
p.s. I told you guys about my health worries a while ago (I'm too lazy to find the post and link it, shh) and a lot of you have been praying for me, and it means a lot. I got my latest LAB tests back today and my super low cholesterol is out of the danger zone, finally, and things are generally looking better. At least, they look better judging from my very limited health knowledge. We'll see what the doctor says. Anyway, thanks for praying for me. ♥