nonnie.

Our precious Nonnie turned ninety-two years old today, and you can bet that we had a huge celebration in her honor! The Lord blessed me with a big family, and our reunions are always filled with more laughter and smiles than you could even begin to imagine. Birthdays have always been one of my favorite Phillips traditions, and it was such a treat to commemorate the lady responsible for all us being the happy family that we are. I think I speak for the whole gang when I say that we are all more than grateful for all the love, wisdom, and joy she has been giving us since the day each of us were born.

We love you, Nonnie!

"When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses."

-Joyce Brothers

table rock.

I was blessed with a lifelong partner-in-crime who enjoys trying new things and creating memories that won't easily be forgotten, just like me. One of the things I love most about our always-an-adventure relationship is just that: it's always an adventure. This one, in particular, is something that we hope to make a habit. Our current goal is to hike a new trail for each new month, and I couldn't be more excited about it. The more to-dos we have crossed through on our bucket list by the end of our life together, the more we traveled and saw of this beautiful planet we get to call home. It may not be possible to see it all, but we're going to give it our best shot.

Today's adventure even had a splash of memory lane mixed in with it, since I, along with Melly and our best childhood friends, was once a frequent visitor to the swimming hole. Table Rock Trail is no joke, but we made it up to the top and back down in four hours. All those professionals out there may chuckle at that time, but I was pretty proud of us considering we (mostly I) wanted to die for the entire first half of it. I can't think of a time I've ever been more thankful to survive walking 7.2 miles, and I can promise you that I will never underestimate the description "strenuous" ever again.

My favorite part of today? Well, I've got two. The first would be the opportunity to be overwhelmed with the beauty of God's creation, which has been and will always be my preferred place to be. The second is also God's creation, only this time in human form. I just really love me some TJ Bargeron, that's all. :)

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable."

-Helen Keller

my heart, as of late.

The more I learn about Jesus and the closer I get to living as if I am, indeed, created in His image, the more burdened I become. This week, in particular, I have felt like the weight of the world was resting on every prayer I prayed. It's a tremendous blessing to feel this way, really, because it pushes me to draw nearer and nearer to the heart of Jesus, but I would be lying if I told you that it wasn't exhausting. Over the past few months, I've learned a whole lot about two things: my inadequacy and His sufficiency. As scriptures promise, His power has, indeed, been made perfect in my weakness. The new challenges I face create need for new submission, and reminds me that my only hope is to trust in Him.

As much as I wish I could, I know I can't save the people I love. I still have hope that one day someone will say the right thing at the right time, and that spark in their eyes will ignite for the first time. I have faith in my Almighty Father which leads me to love with an unconditional love which, then, leads to an everlasting hope that my Jesus will come through and save the day. Every day. I believe that my God is a god of the impossible, and I refuse to give into my flesh and choose a less enduring path to follow as I continue to live this life that He has given to me. Instead of trying to do everything by myself, I must decide every single morning to partner with Christ for His kingdom come. My flesh hates it, but my spirit thrives on it.

I will live a life that can be explained only by the existence of a God who is infinitely great.

I will not choose a life of complacency.

I will not live by the approval of others.

I will not settle for less than I was created for.

I will choose compassion.

I will not focus on my failures, but on His forgiveness.

I will maintain a heavenly perspective, knowing that He wins.

I will care more about His name than I will about my own.

I will be profoundly committed to my Jesus.

I know what it means to be burdened for a need. I, also, know that there is a huge difference between giving up and surrendering. My ability to embrace that difference, on the other hand, depends solely on my dependence on Him. My prayer is that I will devote my entire existence to crying out to Jesus in the midst of my anguish and despair, and still praise and elevate His name. Even though the pleasures of a life at ease beckon my flesh to settle, I'd rather take the heartache and pain that will come my way through living a life of obedience to Jesus. Just like Peter and John in Acts, I can't keep all of the miraculous things I have seen and heard to myself.

"The best prayer is not for God to change our circumstances, but for God to change us."

-C.S. Lewis

"Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."

-Romans 8:18

"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things."

-Philippians 3:7-8

daddy's day.

We celebrated Father's Day a day early, and it was a big partay with the Bargerons and the Hendersons. There was lots of fun + food + fellowship, and it made for quite a memorable evening. I pray that I never get tired of thanking Jesus for my family, and I pray even harder that more days like this come my way more often. On days like this that are near perfect, and even on the days that feel like the ground is falling beneath me, may I choose to be thankful. May I choose to love with every ounce of my heart. And may I choose to smile in hopes that others will be encouraged to do the same.

Also, may I never forget that being blessed with this man as my daddy was one of the most wonderful gifts the Lord has ever given me.

Happy Daddy's Day, Daddy-o!

May you be blessed on this day, just as we are every other day to be able to call you ours. Know that you are loved, appreciated, and a more-than-frequent topic with Jesus as I constantly beg for blessings and love and hope to be showered your way.

"Be kind to thy father, for when they were young, who loved thee so fondly as he? He caught the first accents that fell from thy tongue, and joined in thy innocent glee."

-Margaret Courtney

professional in the making.

It was a beautiful, sun-shiney Saturday afternoon at the ballpark watching my baby brother show out on the field. I don't know if it's possible for me to love this kiddo any more than I do, but there will never be a day when I don't try harder than I did the day before. It really amazes me how grown up he's become all of a sudden. Most of me loves it, but there is a small part of me, however, that wishes I could still pick him up and throw him up in the air like I used to and hold him in my lap for hours. I know, I know, I've got to learn how to be content with this for when I become a mommy one day. Regardless of how I feel about him getting bigger, one thing won't ever change: I'll always be outrageously proud that William Michael Henderson, born on February 13, 2002, is my little brother. Especially when he's a professional baseball player, single-handedly supporting the rest of the Henderson clan, of course.

pick up the pieces one by one.

This was no ordinary Wednesday night, let me assure you of that.

Not only did we stay out late (well, for a grandma, at least), which is a treat in itself, there was big purpose to our outing. In honor of two very special gals, we wanted to do something that was right up each of our alleys, and P. Sawyer (being the musical expert that she is) suggested we check out Fitz and the Tantrums at the Handelbar. Shame on me for never listening to them prior to a week before the concert, because they were phenomenal. Absolutely phenomenal. Not only that, but their opening act was the jam, too. Seriously, we were smitten. We even ran into Dougie Doug! It was the perfect way to celebrate the two girls that we have been so blessed to form such a fantastic friendship with, and this was just another incredibly fun adventure with our twinnies.

Happy birthday to our thebomb.com Pace sisters. We love you so much!

If you've never heard anything by Fitz and the Tantrums or Royal Teeth, you're missing out big time. You should check them out. Now. Okay, go!

"Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."

-Berthold Auerbach

mrs. and mrs. page.

Our yesterday was spent in Hilton Head Island witnessing the beautiful marriage ceremony + the beginning of an even more beautiful marriage for one of our very own ladies of ABS. Evan and Stephen tied the knot, and it really was a picture perfect evening. The weather was flawless, the decor was gorgeously stunning, the company was the best of its kind, and the newlyweds were glowing with all sorts of brilliance. I was so blessed to be a part of this dazzling union of two beautiful souls.

Congratulations, Evan and Stephen!

May all your dreams come true. Plus some.

"Love is a symbol of eternity. It wipes out all sense of time, destroying all memory of a beginning and all fear of an end."

-Author Unknown