Ladies and Gentlemen!!!

Hi, my name is Andrea and I'm a Pinterest addict. When the site went down for three days, I seriously thought I was going through withdrawals.

You know you're an addict when you see things and think, "I bet I could find that on Pinterest."

I recently had one of those moments. I went to the coolest wedding. EVER. It was unlike any other wedding. It was a vintage carnival theme and I felt like we were in a magazine wedding even while we were there in the midst of it.

Diana is so beautiful. This is her natural hair color and she looks this stylish at church every week. She is just so striking.

Everywhere you look there was something jaw dropping and you couldn't stop staring. From the photo booth to the kissing booth, they thought of it all.

There were jugglers, stilt walkers, balloon dresses and hula hoop dancing...ya know, normal stuff you see at a wedding.

Diana's sisters sang, "Sisters" and it was choreographed and all. It was a huge hit and I loved how much you could see how much these girls love each other and the bond that they have. Made me miss my sis incredibly.

It was the first time my children have gone to a wedding and they must think that all weddings are this cool. They will be bored to tears at the next one we go to after this one. Sorry, it was a tough act for follow for sure. My husband and the boys dressed the part and fit right in.

 

My kids were so awe stuck by the whole thing, but then again, so was I. 

 

When you're invited to a wedding that's circus themed, I know my family will fit right in. 

Meet Trent, our amazing babysitter at church who is always roping and wrangling my boys. He looks like he belongs with us, huh?

The first dance and father/daughter dance get me at every wedding. Every time, it never fails and this was no exception.

And I even caught Justin holding on a little tighter to his Landry Kate during the father/daughter dance.

We staged the goodbye so we could actually see them before it got dark. We stuck with the bubbles instead of the sparklers since fire doesn't mix with my children.

It was one of those weddings that I will remember forever and not just for the decorations but because of all the love that surrounded them on this beautiful day.

Doesn't this wedding just scream Pinterest. Beautiful wedding, Diana, just beautiful! It was so perfectly...you!

Eight is Great!

Eight years of marriage that is! 

Warning: Please pardon the ridiculously grainy photos in the post below. These were scans from eight years ago and before the digital age of cameras. Wow, scary to write that!

Our wedding rehearsal was a mess and had me in tears. The organ was being renovated as the church was about to undergo renovation. The sound system was acting up and would pierce your eardrums with high pitch squeals, and the rehearsal dinner restaurant forgot to get the room ready for our dinner. It was a bride's nightmare.

But "the" day was perfect. There was so much happiness on that day for me. Sharing all of that love with our friends and family was so wonderful. It worries me that I'll be one of those that says, "I don't really remember," about my wedding day. Some of the details are fuzzy but this is what I'll always remember.

I remember my dad just beaming all day and telling me he was going to take his time walking down that aisle.

I remember that walk down the aisle still and thinking, "Soak this all in so you won't forget."

I remember thinking that was the longest aisle in the world

I remember how he cried when he said his vows. What I would give to have a picture of this.

I remember how he couldn't let go of me right after the ceremony.

I remember how I danced and danced until my feet hurt.

I remember how hard I laughed that day with my girlfriends and how beautiful they all looked.

I remember how adorable my nieces and nephews were and hoping that we would have children that cute some day.

And I remember not being able to wipe a smile off my face that entire day.

But it's the happiness that he's brought me SINCE that day that really counts.  Don't get me wrong, we've had our fair share of arguments, frustrations, grief and sadness. We promise to say we're sorry when things go wrong (even if I'm gritting it through my teeth sometimes). We've learned to accept the things that drive us crazy about one another…like how I leave the wet sponge in the sink and don't wring it out sometimes or how he puts his dirty clothes inches from the hamper.

I ran across a quote recently in my scrapbooking stash, "A wedding is a start of togetherness... of walks in the rain, basking in the sunshine, shared meals, caring for one another and sensing the love that a marriage carries."

That's us. 


Through all that, we've done it together and that's what I've remember the most.

Across the alley from the Alamo...

We just got back from a fun trip to San Antonio for one of my really good friend's (Courtney) wedding. Thankfully my parents came along to help with the boys. We owe them huge on that one. I don't think we would have had a good time if it weren't for them. They were real troopers. The kids did great in the car and were mostly good for the grandparents. Although, they finally saw the no- nap-cranky side of Nolan. All these years when I call them and tell them how much he's frustrating me, they think I'm lying and can't believe that he would do some of those things. In fact, it got so bad at one point, I had to bust out the Santa Claus card I was so desperate.

We were so excited to get to see Beth and Josh and sweet little Lilly Anna. Campbell was making some major moves on her. She pushed him away. I think her daddy gave her a real stern talk about turning boys down. Most of the weekend was full of wedding plans but we managed to squeeze in the Alamo, shopping and even a River tour! Talk about exhausted though.