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