girls only.

Early on Monday morning, I picked up my sweet Abbe for a long-awaited girls' day! We watched a movie + walked down to Chick-fil-a for breakfast + adventured through Gower Park where we met some neighborhood friends, Robert and Jack + ate cereal for lunch + snacked on watermelon + worked on our coloring skills for a while + chatted about all-things-girly + ended the day with a trip to Krispy Kreme for a doughnut. Sounds like the perfect day, doesn't it? Well, it was for us!

Abs was in my class two years ago at City Kids, and I have been so blessed to have remained friends with her and her family since. It's hard to believe that she's already lost five teeth, and that she will be in the first grade in the fall. I can't wait to keep watching her grow up + have many more girls' days in the (near) future!

father's day.

The third-annual Bargeron + Henderson family cookout in honor of Father's Day was our best one yet. Yes, the first-annual + second-annual were great, as well, but every year is better than the last. The food was delicious, the company was fantastic-as-usual, and the smiles + laughter were unstoppable. Everyone's evening ended with full bellies + full hearts. I think I speak for the whole gang when I say that we're already looking forward to the next family gathering so that more memories can be made!

"You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them."

-Desmond Tutu

asbury hills.

On Saturday morning, the three amigos went out exploring on a trail that has become like Melanie's second home for the past two summers. She led us like a champ, and even provided some entertainment for us when she put a new spin on the "Cold Water Challenge" by cannonball-ing into the cold river. It was a beautiful morning of being out in creation with my two favorite works of our Creator, and I loved spending time with my long-lost sisterfriend. (Yes, only seeing each other once a week for the last month counts as being long-lost). It's always the best time when Teesh + Melly + I get together, and this was yet another "best day ever" to add to our list of "best days ever."

math class.

I mentioned last Sunday night at Whitney's surprise party how I met both of these two beautiful people in math class, and how they're both the most faithful friends I have. I don't know what I would ever, ever do without my Teesh + my best friend not bestie. The memories I share with them are some of the best memories ever made by anyone in the whole world, and I delight in thanking God for giving them to me. Math may not be my favorite subject by a long shot, but it's been the means used to introduce me to the people who I love more than most, and I'll gladly praise Jesus for it every chance I get.

surprise!

On Sunday night, many of Whitney's friends + family gathered at The Delta in Simpsonville for a surprise of the best kind. In just nine days, Whitney will be moving to St. Augustine, Florida with her husband, David, for the next two years. Instead of her traditional last-night-of-the-weekend plans, she walked up the stairs to see everyone standing around yelling "Surprise!" + me snapping as many pictures as I could. It was a beautiful evening, one filled with barbeque + cupcakes + sharing our hearts with Whitney, and we were all reminded, yet again, of how long these next two years will be without her by our side. Though there were tears, there was also plenty of laughter + smiles to go along with them, making it a night to praise Jesus in abundance.

Make the most of these next nine days? Absolutely, positively!

emiliecarol.

I said "see ya later" to my sweet EmilieCarol on Sunday afternoon as she headed down the road to her new home in Raleigh. It's been a huge treat to have her minutes from me for the past two years, and it will be an adjustment to not be able to randomly call her up for a quick girls' date to Chick-fil-a for lunch. Though she won't be as close anymore, I have no doubt that our friendship will continue to grow + blossom for the rest of our lives. Greenville will certainly love having her come into town for occasional visits!

weekly visit.

The days I go visit my kiddos at City Kids are always the best days of my whole week. Last week, I made two trips to see them, because I learned on my first trip that Friday was the last day for two of my handsome boys. Ms. Anna came back prepared with her camera around her neck + lots of hugs + kisses to be given out. The closer it gets to August, the closer it gets to my big boys + girls going to big school, which means that I have to try a little harder each time to savor every moment.

The thing I hope I taught them while I was their teacher + hopefully continue to show them with every visit is that they matter, that they are precious to so many people. What a blessing it is to love so many kiddos with every beat of my heart.

"Children are great imitators. Give them something great to imitate."

-Unknown Author

faces.

"Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work."
-Ephesians 4:15-16

yardsalin' for Haiti.

This time last week, many of us were at Capstone Church in hopes of raising lots of money for Hope Vision Ministry in Port-de-Paix, Haiti! Half-past six o'clock came early on a Saturday morning, but we didn't mind, because it enabled us to love on our friends-who-are-more-like-family from afar with the intention of being used to bless them. Eight hours later, the leftovers were sent with Home with a Heart, the building was back to normal, and we had raised $1,500! We may have been exhausted (and some more than others), but it was a blessing to be the hands + feet of our Lord Jesus Christ alongside of so many brothers + sisters in Him.

Scenes from the beginning, before the madness began:

Scenes of shoppers digging through to find treasures:

"Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its parts form one body, so it is with Christ...Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it."

-1 Corinthians 12:12, 27

our own way.

Instead of walking back the way we came, we decided it was a good idea to walk back to our cars along the roads of Connestee. Sure, the hills added to our workout, the sun was extra hot, the bridge was high + not totally safe, and we were dodged by several cars, but it added to our adventure + made for a more exciting story to tell once we survived.