Hickman House

Last weekend was a big weekend for us Hickman's. Action packed for sure- but oh so fun! Being that I have some time off this evening I wanted to get caught up with my blogging! We had the honor of hosting our sweet friends an "I Do BBQ" shower. Since I am close with the bride, and Sam is close with the groom, it was only fitting that we threw them a party for the both of them. We wanted it to be relaxing, super casual and fun. Not your typical shower with the shower games. Just a time to spend time with their friends. Other than it being ridiculously hot- I think we accomplished just that! Here are some pictures from the shower:

Let me preface this by saying this is just MY opinion. I mean it is my blog, I can write about whatever I choose to. With that being said, you are more than welcome to disagree with me, and click the red x in the corner. It will not hurt my feelings. With 50 Shades of Grey coming out, my facebook has been flooded with all things Christian Grey. Some bad, mostly good. Here is the problem I have with the whole dern thing. Is that us as Christians are setting a double standard on this topic.

I am a lover of all kinds of movies. One of my flaws (gasp, I'm not perfect?!) is that I love a funny movie. If it makes me laugh I am all.about.it. Rated G, PG-13, or R. I understand I need to work on it. As a Christian, walking into The Hangover 3 is NOT a good look for my witness...(that's why I watch it a home....I kid, I kid.) I am fully aware of this. That is why you will not see me condemn anyone for what they read or watch. My timeline is full of people posting that we shouldn't watch this film, but I bet they have no objections to watching a marathon of the Kardashians, or buying the new Beyoncé album. It is honestly no different. SEX sells. Whether it be a movie about it, or its in a song. It is everywhere. No I am not a 50 Shades fan, but no, I am not going to tell you not to watch it. That is between you and the big guy upstairs. It also ticks me off when people say that we shouldn't watch it because we're "Christians".....yeah well there is a lot of things we should and shouldn't do because we're Christians- but I don't see any of yall (myself included) posting about that either. We shouldn't cuss, worry, or get worked up over money because we're Christians but you can bet your bottom dollar I do this on a daily bases. We concern ourselves with telling people what not to do- that we are not sharing with them what needs to be done. As Christians we should be more concerned with praying for Israel than a movie. I don't see anything about that flooding my timeline? My own fault as well. The world is getting worse and worse. There are far more important issues to spread around.

Another problem I have is that people are saying it is making the women lust after someone that is not their husband. It is making a fictional world in which our husbands will never live up to.....

Did anyone watch The Notebook?



I step off my soapbox now.

What a crazy, but fun weekend. It has kind of been a crazy month, if we're being honest. I feel like I have been a little behind with the blogging lately- so I am kind of playing catch up. It is full swing wedding/engagement season. Which is so exciting! A little over a week ago we celebrated my dearest friend as she married her love. The wedding was BEAUTIFUL. I had the honor of being her Matron of Honor. Needless to say I was a little emotional all day long. Can't believe my Ellie Pooh is a married woman! She was the most beautiful bride ever. The wedding was romantic, soft and elegant, with a rustic feel. Lights were strung over the dance floor, and tables were placed out on the lawn under the stars. It was fabulous. Here are some pictures from their big day:

To say that I am exhausted is an understatement, but the exhaustion is so worth it. On Thursday night we brought our new precious pup home! We were so excited to finally get our hands on our sweet bully. We knew going into this process that it was going to be just that, a process. A long, tiring process. But I am excited to report it is no where near as bad as I was expecting it to be. Little man is so stinking good to be so little.

On Thursday we got him home at about 8 p.m. He did really well the first night with only two accidents. We took him out at 10 p.m. put him in his kennel, then proceeded to take him out at 12, 3, 5, and again at 7. He slept really well in between breaks. The first night the kennel was not his favorite at all. He would whine for a few minutes before falling asleep. After his 7 am trip- I let him snuggle with me until we got up at 8 for breakfast.

On Friday Sam and I both had to work so we took him to my parents house. We are trying to keep him on a routine as much as possible. His eating schedule is 8 am, 2 pm, and again at 8. So since we were working we put him in his kennel, and he stayed in there until it was time to eat again at 2. He got to hang out with my dad and Mumble until Sam got home. He played and slept and did really well with only one accident inside and none in the kennel the entire night! He is such a smart dog. Now as for the chewing- I have a feeling something will be destroyed here soon.

Last night it was Sam's turn for night duty. (I had the first night) We put him in his kennel around 10 and he only whined for about two minutes. Heyward will sleep and then bark just loud enough to wake us up and we take him straight outside. Last night we got a tad bit more time in-between breaks. He took him back out at 1 and again at 3 and then at about 6. We got our morning snuggles in and then it was breakfast time again at 8. Sam has the day off but we still wanted him to get used to the kennel since we work during the day, so we put him back in for just a little bit when I headed off to work. Sam is looking forward to spending the day playing with him and I am so excited to spend the night with him when I get home.

He is doing so well and we are absolutely in love. He already recognizes when I tell him to come to "mama" and when I tell him to go find his daddy- he starting turning in circles to find Sam. He sure is precious. We take him to the vet next week for his 6 week check up. As for Sam and I? We'll be living off of coffee the next few weeks!

I am a horrible blogger- I write posts and then never publish them. Here is one I wrote a few days ago on surviving your wedding day.

With quite a bit of friends getting married this year, and next, I have been asked many questions about wedding planning do's and don'ts. When it comes down to it, there are a BILLION different websites, books, and blogs telling you what to do on your wedding day. Some of them true,  some of them pretty silly. So with that being said I have compiled my own list of tips to surviving your wedding day. Hopefully this will help someone on their big day!

1. Get PLENTY of sleep. You are going to be exhausted at the end of the day. Don't plan to spend the night before your big day out. You want to be well rested to enjoy your day, call it a night pretty early.

2. Have a coordinator. I can't stress this enough. I literally have no clue how I would have survived without mine. She kept us on time, on task, and organized the whole day (the whole year, really). Thanks a million, Jami!

3. Surround yourself with energetic people. My girls kept me upbeat, hydrated, and fed all day long. Every few minutes one would ask me how I was feeling.

4. Have a buffer. This might seem silly, but it really will help your stress level. The bride doesn't need to know what is wrong, or who is late. The buffer is usually the coordinator. Let them deal with the issues, that is what they are pros at.

5. Find quite time in your day. I sat down with my bible, and my computer. I enjoyed the calm moments before the festivities started.

6. Do NOT, I repeat do not try to do anything on your wedding day. Hire people to do it for you, or ask super awesome family members that are willing to help. Wake up, eat breakfast, and get ready. That is ALL you need to be doing that day. You do not want to get overwhelmed.

7. Ask your friends and family to kindly wait to post pictures until after the ceremony. Of anything wedding related, not just you in your dress. That probably goes without saying, but you never know!

8. Have a wedding day survival kit ready. You just never know who will need a safety pin, lip gloss, or an old credit card to break into the house that you're getting ready in..hehe.

9. Be comfortable. You don't want to put your dress on until you are about to head out, so wear something that will be comfortable while you're getting ready. Also- reception shoes are a must. Heels will kill your feet all night long.

10. Last but not least- leave your phone in your bag. You have everyone you need there with you, use your phone as less as possible. Be in the moment.

You want to really be present in the day, remember every moment, and enjoy it!

What a weekend it has been! I have been going nonstop all month and I finally had a little bit of a break this weekend. It has been nice and relaxing! Just what I needed. Lots of big things happening for us Hickman's lately! So excited to share what is happening with us within the next few months. God has blessed us tremendously and we are so grateful.

One of the big things that have happened this weekend is another one of my sweet friends has drank the koolaid. Super excited to announce that my dear high school friend is getting MARRIED! We are so excited for you, Hanna and Ethan! Marriage is fantastic and so much fun. We chatted that morning about her date (I just had a feeling it was happening) and I told her to call me if anything happened. Sure enough a few hours later- she called! I love getting these texts!! He took her to the top of Cape Hatteras Lighthouse and popped the question. (Que the awww's) I am hoping you'll get to read her engagement story as soon as her blog is up and running.....hint hint.


Also this weekend we met our new furbaby! We don't get to bring him home for a little while, which makes me sad- but we are so excited. We decided not to renew our lease at the place we are staying, which has been the sole reason we haven't been puppy looking already. Our sweet Olde English Bulldog will be ready right after we move so we knew it was perfect timing. I have had my heart set on a bulldog forever and as soon as we found a litter and checked the pick up date we knew it was meant to be! We are over the moon! Pictures to come! Also- for puppy parents, tips would be greatly appreciated!