all hallow's eve.

happy Halloween from the Bargerons!

also referred to as Maverick and Charlie.

I hope your Halloween was as wonderful and candy-filled as ours was!

sidenote: how handsome is this guy? I'm so thankful for him that I could burst. :)

"Once in a young lifetime one should be allowed to have as much sweetness as one can possibly want and hold."

-Judith Olney

her twenty-third year.

That's right, ladies and gentlemen, one of my very best friends has officially begun her twenty-third year. Caitlin Sarah Davidson is her birth name, but I just prefer to call her Cait Cait. There are a million things I could say about her. Literally, a million. But the most important thing is that she's my best friend.

I think back on the very first time we hung out often, after having several classes together before finally noticing each other. You see, Caitlin and I are probably the most opposite two girls can get in many ways. She enjoys dressing up and looking her best; I am perfectly content with wearing a t-shirt and jeans every day. She's the life of the party; I don't even know how to party. She's got dark hair and dark skin; I'm a blonde with pasty skin in every month except the summer ones. People look at her and say "Whoa nelly, that girl is fiiiiiiiiiine;" they look at me and say "Aww, she's cute." And the list just keeps going.

Yet even with all these reasons against why we should be best friends, we somehow made it happen. God knew I needed her in my life, and he knew she needed me back. His timing is perfect, and our friendship was orchestrated before the beginning of time. It really blows my mind sometimes to think about how much we've been able to share together over these past two and a half years. Now that I have her, I am quite positive that I'd never be able to live without her.

this is where it started.

and this is where we are now.

There isn't enough room to share all of our captured memories together. And, truth be known, my favorites are the ones where our cameras were nowhere to be found. But, don't you worry, I've got still frames of all of them stored away in my heart and mind forever.

I wouldn't trade anything in this whole world for my Cait Cait.

Nothing at all.

Caitlin, you are a gem. And not just any gem, but the most special gem that can be found. I'm blessed to call you my best friend yesterday, today, and tomorrow. THANK YOU for all the little and big things you do to make sure I never stop smiling. You've got more determination and heart than anyone I've ever known, and your will to keep pushing forward through all the difficulty you have faced blows me away. YOU are MY angel, and there is no way I could have anymore love for you in my heart than I do at this very moment.

And, now, let me present you with a small gift from the kiddos of Ms. Anna's K-3 classroom.

I hope this makes you smile as big as it made them smile to get to do this for you!

"If I had one gift that I could give you, my friend, it would be the ability to see yourself as others see you, because only then you would know how extremely special you are."

-B.A. Billingsly

mmmm, autumn.

putt-putt just isn't putt-putt without a nitty, gritty game face + Walk for Water 2011 + we love International Water Missions + 115 people walking the streets of Fountain Inn, South Carolina to bring awareness to the need for clean water for all people + my handsome husband picking his very own pumpkin out + our dining room table is decorated with all sorts of autumn + pumpkin guts + two very proud people + our finished products shining in all their glory.

this weekend was just an overflow of all things wonderful and inspiring. what's not to love about a weekend filled with friends, people gathering together to make a difference, pumpkins, wins by both of your favorite teams, and a perfect man to experience it all with?

"Autumn burned brightly, a running flame through the mountains, a torch flung to the trees."

-Faith Baldwin

cooking with friends.

On Tuesday night, I went to a two-hour cooking class hosted by the magnificent Cindy Marlar. She and her precious family go to church with us at Capstone, and I've had the wonderful pleasure of getting to know them very well over the past few months. When Teesh and I were going through our marriage counselling, I put in a request with Chris (the awesome man who married us) to make her domestic abilities part of it, because she is THAT good. I can't even begin to tell you how excited I get when I find out she is the one who baked all the yummy goodies out in the cafe for us to eat. Mmmmm, scrumptious.

It was a fun "girls night in," and I even made several new friends in the process. Cindy made us ten different dishes to try while we were there, and gave us a cookbook filled with 115 different recipes. She referred to this as a "labor of love," because not only did she show ten women how it's done in the kitchen (not to mention the other twenty-ish that she has hosted in other classes), but she's doing this with for the noblest of reasons. Our church is hosting a never-done-before event this Saturday called "Walk for Water," and this how she is raising awareness/funds to do her part in helping us meet our goal. See, I told you Cindy was awesome.

If you're curious about Walk for Water, please click the link and find out more about it. We've been anticipating October 22, 2011 for several months now, and we are all SO excited about how the Lord is going to change lives in a matter of just a couple hours. Haitians (along with many, many other third-world countries around the world) are diseased and dying for the lack of clean drinking water. It's easy for us to shoot up a couple prayers for them and feel pity or sympathy for them, but it goes a level deeper to trust God enough with our finances to help them monetarily. Raising $25,000 is a simple task for our God. Do you believe it?

Capstone does.

I am blessed and honored and overwhelmed with joy that I get to play a small role in all the things my church is doing through the power of Christ. 

SATURATE 2011.

I got to hang out with the youth this past weekend in the mountains with the youth from four different churches, and it was SUCH a treat. Some of the kiddos (well, not so much anymore) from TUMC who were too young to be in youth group when I was are all about to graduate. Yepp, it absolutely blows my mind. They have all grown up to be beautiful young ladies and handsome young men, and I'm so proud that I get to see how far they've come.

This was also the first time I've really spent time with the youth from Capstone. I'm usually up on stage for the beginning of The EVENT, and have to run out soon after to make it to PC on time for FCA, so it was awesome to really pour into them, especially the girls. We worshipped our Creator, had way too much food and snacks and sodas, asked tough questions, listened to the hearts of our youth pastors, competed against each other, and they even taught me how to play corn hole. It was the best thing I could have done this weekend.

Pictures never compare to having been there, but these sure do make my heart happy.

orange.

We saw pleeeeeeenty of that glorious color on Saturday. I didn't think it was possible to miss a place so much, but 'tis true. I feel so shameful that it took us so long to finally make it to a game, but it was the perfect one to come to thanks to all the wonderful reunions I got to have with some of my very best friends. From the orange-themed foods and spirits to the unbelievably beautiful sunsets, there are few places that make my heart beat fast like this place does.

I'm blessed to call myself a graduate of the best university in the world.

GO TIGERS!

"Where the Blue Ridge yawns its greatness,

Where the Tigers play,

Here the sons of dear old Clemson

Reign supreme alway.

Dear old Clemson we will triumph

And with all our might,

That the Tigers roar may echo

O'er the mountain height."

#TEAMDAVID

Last year, I walked in the Buddy Walk for the first time to support my best friend's little brother. It was SUCH an incredible experience that I decided to add this to my calendar every year. Teesh was excited to join us this year an make it a new family tradition.

It has been an honor to walk beside and support our good friend, David, for the past two years. He is one heck of a guy, and I know I speak for everyone he's ever met when I say he's touched more lives than most of us can even dream about. One life is can change the lives of many. It's easy to forget that with all of today's distractions, but it's true. Days like this prove it.

let's hear it for the man of honor...Mr. David Pineros.

isn't he just presh? :)

"Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does."

-William James

october.

this was our Saturday afternoon walking the streets of downtown Fountain Inn.

we went into stores we never knew existed, visited the cutest consignment shop my eyes have ever seen, ran into folks we haven't seen in years, donated blood, made plans to go to Scarowinds next weekend, ate too much cotton candy, and had the best time celebrating the first day of October.

and later? well, it's really no big deal, but we watched our TIGERS kick some booooooo-tay. I've never been prouder to be a graduate of Clemson University. GREAT game, boys!

don't you wish days like these would last and last? I do.