Seven

So, on March 13, Andrew and I will be celebrating our 7th anniversary.  It has gone by sooooo fast!  It's hard to believe that 7 years ago today I was finishing off the last details for the big day. 

Recently, my friend Sheaffer questioned the legitimacy of our marriage since she hasn't ever seen any photographs (I'm not one to keep old photos up at my house...even wedding photos).  So, here's your proof girl! 

Three things you should know:

1. these pictures are horrible because I just grabbed my wedding album and took pictures of the pictures to post...very poor but you'll get the evidence that we were indeed married

2. For some reason, several pictures published the wrong direction even though I corrected them beforehand.  Excuse that, just tilt your head to see :) 

3. Andrew was just 4 weeks away from being in the NFL at this point, so he is a VERY big boy in these pictures.  Very big.  Just a warning.

 My maid of honor was my cousin Brooke, my bridesmaids were Liz, Kara, Erika, Carrie and Becky and my flower girl was Ellie Kate.

 Me with Ellie Kate and Ethan

 The 4 Higginbotham cousins

 See Sheaffer!  We're at the alter getting married!

 Waiting for the church to clear so that we can go back and take group pictures.

 The best part, cake.  Some brides are so pre-occupied with the day that they don't eat the cake.  Whatever?  I'm not that kind of bride.  I had two pieces of the bride's cake and one of the groom's.  Best part of the night :).

 Grooms cake

 Everyone blowing bubbles on us while we danced.

Leaving the hotel under sparklers!

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While Mom's away...

...the kids will cuddle up with Dad and watch TV together???  What the heck?!  I came home on Sunday afternoon after being gone a few hours and this is what I found.  I'm with these little guys 24/7 and they NEVER both cuddle up with me and do ANYTHING.  Andrew was just sitting' pretty with his babies in his lap. 

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Finally! Relief from the noise!

Andrew and I have been using the fleece swaddle blanket to wrap around Smith's legs for warmth at night since birth.  Well, we finally decided he was old enough to have an actual blanket in his bed to keep him warm.  Last night, we went to check on him before we went to bed and this is what we found...

It's almost like he's saying "Geez, I'm so glad they finally gave me something to muffle that dumb sound machine they turn on every night thinking it makes me sleep better".  I went to unwrap his head (after I took a picture of course) and he had a firm grip on that blanket.  He wanted it around his head and to be left alone (I did manage to remove it but I'm sure he put it right back into place).  Silly boy!

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Things you might not know...

Today at Stroller Strides, we had several new girls in class, so the instructor asked us to go around and say one thing about ourselves others wouldn't know.  Well...girl number one had a hidden tattoo and girl number two has 3 kidneys!  How do you follow that?  I immediately started racking my brain.  Ugg...since I'm chatty Cathy and blog all the time, most people know all my business!  I have very few secrets. 

When it was Rachel's turn, she couldn't think of anything, so I reminded her that she once told me in confidence that she had waited tables at Golden Corral (a low point in her life...whether she knows it or not...that's low) and then Helen has more food issues than a one year old, so that was a no brainer...anyway, my answer was lame because I couldn't handle the pressure of all the good answers (seriously, three kidneys...come on!). 

Since this morning, I've been reflecting on some random things people might not know about me (I'm going to have a better answer if ever asked again), and here are some random facts (still not as good as extra organs but it's all I've got).

1. I love reading magazines.  Yes, I love reading books too but magazines are my favorite.  I subscribe to several and when they come in the mail, I get giddy with excitement. 

2. When I was 12, my mom made me get my ears pierced.  She said I was being wimpy and proceeded to drag me to Claire's to have them pierced (she'll deny the dragging part but I remember being dragged).  Well, well, well, turns out I LOVED having my ears pierced and proceeded to do it several more times.  I have 2 holes in one ear and 4 in another.  Before I turned 30, I always told myself I would get at least one (or two) more holes in my right ear so that I would have 6 total in one ear (my mom is now going to try and drag me away from Claire's now...I know it), so we'll see.  I don't wear them all the time...just when I'm in the mood.  Maybe you'll see me with some fresh holes soon.

3. I hate tuna fish.  Yuck.  Hate it.

4. Andrew and I met while living in different states, got engaged while living in different states, and spent the first 5 months of our marriage living in different states.  Then we spent 2 years working together and were NEVER apart.  We've definitely run the gamut in our marriage.  (Right now, we have the perfect balance.  Live in the same state, he works, I stay home :)).

5. I get extremely sea sick.  I get sick just looking at a boat.  I practically get sick in the bathtub.  If you ever invite me out to the lake to get on a boat, I will pass.  Trust me, you want me to pass.

6. I have to watch at least 20 minutes of TV before I fall asleep at night..  It doesn't matter if it's 9:15 pm or 1:00 am when I get home...I can't go to sleep without watching a little TV.

7. My friends all go to consignment sales.  I went once.  I almost passed out.  There are soooooo many people pushing and fighting for clothes.  Oh my gosh!  It was awful.  My friends don't ask anymore.  They know I will be breathing into a paper bag at the thought.

8. I saved money all through college (working two part-time jobs as a babysitter and for my dad's business) in order to buy a car when I graduated.  Well, silly me, I fell in love with a poor boy who wanted to marry me yet had no money to take me on a honeymoon, so we spent my car money on our honeymoon.  Don't worry, a few years later he made it up to me and bought me my new car :).

9. When I was 22, I got married and my cousin Brooke was my maid of honor (because no one is more like a sister to me than her).  The day before my wedding, she was playing high school soft ball and as she was day dreaming in the outfield about how beautiful she was going to look in her bridesmaid dress, a ball smacked her square in the face...so she walked down the aisle with a huge black eye and tons of makeup.  Oh Brooke...on Wednesday, she turns 22 :).  Below are the pictures of her birthday party this past weekend.

 Me and our newest addition Miss Paisley

 the birthday girl and her Aunt Sherry (my mama)

 Me, Brooke and Casey

 She stood here for three minutes while I said "smile" and this was the best I got.  Pitiful!

 Smith on the other hand, is all smiles.

 On our way home

That's all you need to know about me!

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Where in the world?

My parents have a map of the world at their house where they track the places they've been with straight pins.  I've wanted to do the same for some time now and was even more inspired when my friend Aubrey did the same with her kids, so today we did it.

We're those super crazy people who love, love, love to travel and gasp...travel with our kids as well.  So now, we have an official map with colored straight pins marking where we've been.  It was fun to write down all of the places I've been and "pin" them on my map.  (By the way, it doesn't "count" just because you land in an airport.  You have to really travel there with purpose for it to count on our map...we're kind of funny about the specifics :)).

Andrew and I have each been to three different continents and over 25 countries.  Our kiddos have made it to 5...with 7 more in their near future.  Where in the world are the Shulls????



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A summery winter day

Since today felt like summer and not winter, Erika, Manda and I decided to head to the park after we picked the big kids up from pre-school.

 I woke him up from his nap to go get K and head to the park.  He was all smiles.

 On our way to the park, we all stopped at Sonic for drinks.  What's so cute about this picture is that the girls' drinks were in different spots, so they got their drinks and went to sit next to each other.  Kensington loves her some Ebby Lee.

 Thanks to Lovie, Smith has become obsessed with his Capri Sun Water.  He can suck them dry.

I knew his buddy Nixon needed to get hooked too, so we brought one for him as well.  This is Nixon's first Capri Sun.  I think he was a fan :).

I'm not quite ready for winter to be over...but today was super nice to be outside.

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Be mine

 Yesterday, Kensington received a Valentine's Day card in the mail from Lovie and Papa Jay that plays the theme to Beauty and the Beast.  Needless to say, it's now her favorite toy and we've heard the song 1,345,456 times.

 Watching cartoons with her card.

 Playing "school" with her card.

 

 Giving her rocking horse a kiss.

I love my little Valentines.

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