MY FAVORITE GIRL IN THE WHOLE WORLD

Dress: Target (under $30!!) | Sandals: J Crew | Earrings: old, J Crew (love these yellow ones) | Watch: Michael Kors | Handbag: Amazon | Lipstick: MAC Snob | Haddie dress: old | Sandals: Target | Hair Clips: Target

SO I know, I know.. picture overload. 

I can't help it. Having a girl is just one of the MOST fun things ever. She seriously makes me smile all day long and the things she is saying back to me now are SO funny.

Yesterday we were in Target, and I started to veer off the path and go look at a shirt, and she said, "COME ON MOMMA!" lol

Like, how does she know to say that? Who taught her that?

And the other day I was leaving for cheer and she yells, "Be Careful!" ha

Her eyes, face and hands all tell her stories but I think my absolute favorite thing she is doing recently is her cheerleading.

She honestly has pretty great motions for a 2 year old and a WHOLE lotta spirit! She was practicing libs last night and it's killin me.

I love this little light colored hair baby more than the whole world!

xo, ash

LIFE UPDATE

Swim Top: J Crew | Swim Bottoms: J Crew (one piece version here) | Hat: J Crew (only $34.99!) | Sunglasses: Prada (identical here for $22!) --- Haddie Swim: J Crew (love this style too!)

so BIG NEWS: We are officially out of the apartment and into our new house... and our neighbor has a POOL! haha BEST DAY EVER for Haddie.. and Louie! They were obsessed. They didn't notice the fact that the water was literally super warm because it was so hot out and when you sat down in the pool long enough the heat from the concrete started burning your buns! haha

But for real... Seth and I literally have SO SO SO much to do...

-finish painting the kitchen

-repaint cabinets (I didn't love the first color I chose (HUGE eye roll emoji)

-get the fridge delivered so we can actually keep food in our kitchen

-UNPACK AND ORGANIZE EVERYTHING. (this will take weeks, mainly because I have 2 little babes and they need my attention 99.9% of the time)

-Start on the bathrooms. We just ignored them the past few weeks trying to focus on everything else but now they need our attention asap!

Basically, there is just stuff EVERYWHERE and it feels like a bomb went off inside. It's really overwhelming, esp when you can't unload ANYTHING into your kitchen because your painting the cabinets. But we will make it. I'm sure of it. :)

Yesterday we just decided to take a break and have a family swim party. Yes, all four of us eventually made it into the pool on Haddie's orders. haha She's the best, as long as no water gets in her eyes.

But, onto the most important news of the day: 

MY HUSBAND IS 30 TODAY!!

Oh my gosh. I know he's turning 30 but to type it out makes it feel more real. I am NOT going to say he's old or anything but 30 feels like a big deal! Right babe? 

There is no one else that I know who should be celebrated more today! Seth is loving, loyal, kind, sweet, caring, hand's on, smart, a go getter, and an amazing teacher. He exemplifies Titus 1 & 2 of what a husband, man, and teacher ought to be. He is SO SELFLESS, disciplined, and upright. He is a man of his word and his character is what draws people to him. He is funny. He makes me laugh more than anyone I know (even though I don't laugh at some of his old jokes anymore lols) He is the best dad you could ever imagine and the most amazing friend to do life with. He loves the Lord with all his heart and pushes me daily to do the same. I love having a man who leads our family in word and action. I couldn't be more proud to be married to such a guy! 

Seth,

I have loved watching who the Lord has made you to be the last few years I have gotten to be married to you Seth babe and I cannot wait, Lord willing, to see who you will become over the next 30 and more! You are going to be amazing and I can't believe that I get to be by your side to watch, help, encourage, and cheer you on. You make me the best version of myself.

I LOVE YOU and celebrate your life today and all the joys you bring me and everyone who knows you! Your my everything!

xo, ash

LIKEtoKNOW.it

Jumpsuit: Free People (more sizes here) | Heels: Dolce Vita (this color on sale; love these super similar for $34!) | Handbag: Amazon (under $30!) | Earrings: Sam Moon (similar here & love these) | Sunglasses: Ray Ban | Bracelet: Anthropologie (similar) | Lipstick: MAC Pink Nouveau

I am SO so so excited to share that I am now apart of LiketoKnow.it! This was one of my goals this year as a blogger (see my 2017 goals post here) and I am thrilled to get accepted into the program! So.. what is it? lol Let me tell you!

LiketoKnow.it is a service that allows you to shop different products you see in your Instagram feed.

Instead of having to head to my blog and my 'shop' page to shop products you might see on my Instagram feed, now you can literally just “like” the post, as usual, and get an email sent to you with all the info you need to shop or peruse the products.

So, how do you sign up!?

1. Register your email at liketoknow.it

2. Like Instagram products that mention LiketoKnow.it

3. Automatically receive an email with ready-to-shop product links.

I have used LiketoKnow.it for 2 years now and I love it. It is such a great way to easily find something you see another blogger wearing that you love and want to shop for yourself!

Also, you can control how often LiketoKnow.it sends you emails. So if you don’t want one for every single post you “like”, you can receive your emails daily or weekly. You can even turn off the emails all together and just login to LiketoKnow.it to get info on the posts you’ve liked.

Also, if you wanna make it real easy, LiketoKnow.it just came out with "shop your screenshots." All you have to do is download the LiketoKnow.it app on the app store, and screenshot a liketoknow.it picture on Instagram, and open your app and the products will be featured there so you never have to use your email! 

If you have any questions, let me know! I would love to help you!

xo, ash

(oh.. and how amazing is this jumpsuit!! I'm obsessed!!!!) 

5 YEARS BABY

I cannot believe we have been married 5 years!! OHMYWORD time flies by. We have done so much in 5 years as well.. quick recap... We got married the weekend after I graduated from college, we moved to Tyler, TX and spent 2 fun years there without kids, moved to Branson, MO  for 2 years where I got pregnant with Haddie, and now we are in Fort Worth, TX with 2 kiddos. Dang. Life is moving fast and I wouldn't want it any other way!

I met Seth Higgins through mutual friends at an AdvoCare event in Fort Worth. I'll let Seth tell you the story...lol He's way better at it...

"Ash is the only reason why I went to the AdvoCare conference. I had been in KC interviewing for a Link Year internship position and staying at a mutual friends house. Our mutual friends had been wanting me to go to this AdvoCare conference for some time but I wasn't having it. I wasn't interested in selling AdvoCare, but I loved the products. While I was at their house in KC, Ashley's mom had come over to drop off some AdvoCare product (she was the one that got our friends on AdvoCare) but I didn't think anything of it. Then that night, as we were just hanging out and looking on Facebook, I saw a picture of Ashley. I was like, "Hey who is that?" Steph, our friend, said, "That is Ashley, Cynthia's daughter." I asked, "Will she be at this conference thing?" Steph replied, "Yeah I think so." To which I said, "If she will be there then I am coming." 

The first night at the conference I met Ash for the first time and I was sold. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. We talked briefly but it was nothing major. At the conference my whole goal was to get Ash to go get some coffee or have an intentional convo. On Saturday night after all the activities wrapped up, I asked her to walk down the street and get some Starbucks (funny thing is neither one of us likes coffee.) We ended up talking for three and half hours. After I walked her back to the hotel, I got in my truck and called my parents. I told them that I found the girl I was going to marry. I think at the time they thought I was half kidding and half crazy but I was nothing short of serious. It took ash a little longer to realize that I was the one for her but she finally came around.

The next morning I cooly got her number and the rest is history!"

The first thing I noticed about Seth was his confidence. He was who he was and didn't try to be anyone else. He was outgoing and he was funny. He made me feel easy and made me laugh. It wasn't long before I noticed how strong he was in his faith as well. He spoke of God easily and I knew that he was serious about his relationship with Christ and was a leader, which was really important to me. 

Seth and I dated for 6 months before he asked me to be his wife and then we were engaged for 6 months. It was all fast but it was perfect. When you know you know! I'm so glad I married this man and I tell him everyday how much I love my life with him. He's the best.

Seth and I don't have a perfect marriage but we both serve a perfect Creator. When we both spend time with the Lord daily, (reading the Bible and praying) and when we seek to be like Jesus on a daily basis, we grow closer to Him, and also in our relationship with one another. 

I thought I would also share some bullet points of the best marriage advice we received during Pre-Material Counseling from our dear family friend and pastor Doug and Adam & Steph Donyes:

• Biblical Love is 3 words: Unconditional, Sacrificial (laying down my wants and life to Seth to help Seth be all God created him to be) & Servant
• Love is not a feeling, it's a decision
• The more you fall deeper in love with Christ, the more I will fall in love with Seth
• Compliment your spouse. Seth is called to love me and I am called to respect him.
• Know each other's love languages! (You can buy the book here to understand them all) but there are 5: Physical Touch, Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service, Gifts, and Quality Time
• Selfishness Destroys/ SelfLESSness Builds

One of our favorite things about celebrating our anniversary every year is answering the 4 questions we made up for ourselves to ask each other every year. We each grab a notebook and a pen and write down the questions again and answer them separately and then share what we wrote with each other.  We keep these pages in a book. It's such a great way to reflect on the year and get excited about the year to come. We also love browsing through the previous year's questions and answers and seeing what we thought. It's one of my favorite things and I truly treasure it!

Here are Seth and I's 4 questions we came up with: (If you have already been married a few or a lot of years, it's not too late to start! You will love looking back on it!)

1. Top 3 favorite memories this past year:

2. One thing I learned about you this past year:

3. Our biggest obstacle was...

4. One thing I am looking forward to this year:

I'm excited to answer our 5 year questions again with babes this weekend. We have nothing planned and right now that sounds perfect. For our 1 year anniversary I had the great idea to go to Six Flags over Texas in Arlington, because I'm obsessed with rides and roller coasters and had been there numerous times growing up. Seth had told me that he got sick when he rode too many rides but said if we took it slow that he should be fine. 

So. Not. Fine. haha

We got there early, because I was so excited, and went straight to the Titan, my favorite roller coaster. We rode it once and I was loving it! There was barely any line, so I suggested we go again. Seth agreed and we rode again, and then he was DONE. Like hanging over a trash can done. haha 

Needless to say we spent the next few hours riding around on the moving train that takes you around the park. 

Making memories with babe are my favorite. Can't wait to make 1000's more.

xo, ash

(the last few pictures are just some more favorites from the wedding day!) We got married at The Old Firestone Building in Downtown KC. 

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 BEST DAY EVER <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3