Hi!


I'm Shay! I’m a cookbook author, lifestyle blogger, travel agency owner, wife and mama who loves making every day special for my family.

Read more

Mix & Match Mama

Andrew, Shay ·

18 years and 18 fun facts!


Happy happy Monday, friends!

I’m back.

I’m a little tan.

I’m tired.

And I’ve now been married one year longer.

Yesterday, Andrew and I celebrated 18 years of marriage 🙂 .

Two babies got married on March 13, 2004 and today, two 40 year olds are happier in their marriage than they’ve ever been.  We totally do not have a perfect marriage (far from it!), but I can honestly say that I’m a better woman today having been married to this man than I was the day I married him.  Being with Andrew Shull for the last 18 years has only made me a better version of me…and for that, I’m super grateful (and I’m super grateful to God who has continued to give us grace, mercy and love towards one another as we screw up time and time again).

So, in honor of our 18th anniversary, I thought I’d share 18 fun facts about Andrew and Shay.  Maybe you know some of these, maybe you don’t…but as I sat here typing, these were the 18 that sprang to mind.

#1: He’s slightly bigger than me 😉 .  In selfies or bigger family pics, you can’t really tell, but that’s one of the things people almost always say when they meet us in person…”Wow!  He’s so tall!”.  Ha!  Andrew is 6’5″ and I’m only 5’3″.

#2: Andrew likes to eat dinner early, and I like to eat dinner late.  Any other marriages struggle with this?  I prefer to eat at 7:00 or later (as I want to eat and then unwind) while Andrew likes to eat closer to 5:15 and then “do all the things” after dinner (light yard work, sports stuff, etc).

#3: We are polar opposites when it comes to lighting early in the morning and late at night.  Early in the morning, I want to wake up, open the shutters and turn on the lamps.  Andrew legit sits in the dark reading his Bible and gets super annoyed when I turn on the smallest lamp (hellllllo…I need to see to make my coffee!).  That being said, when it’s time to take a bath or shower before bed and wind down, I want minimal lighting to get me in the “get ready for bed” mood and quiet.  Meanwhile, Andrew comes into the bathroom like a bull in a china shop turning on every single bathroom light, the TV, the fan…it’s a like a tornado coming through.

#4: Speaking of bathrooms, one sure fire way to stir up a fight with Andrew is for me to tell him I wish we had separate bathrooms.  He gets super annoyed that I don’t want to share a bathroom with him (please see above) when the truth is that I don’t want to share a bathroom with ANYONE, so I often joke that I wish I had my own…he does not care for this joke 😉 .

#5: If he wants to annoy me, he shushes me.  If you shush me, I get much louder. 😉

#6: Andrew loves talking about his dreams.  I don’t love hearing about people’s dreams.  I mean…it was a dream, it didn’t really happen, I don’t want to talk to you about it for 10 minutes.  Is that crazy?  I would rather hear you talk about what really happened for 10 minutes.  Andrew loves to talk about his dreams.  It’s a running joke around our house all the time.

#7: I’m really good at coming up with ideas.  Andrew is really good at making them happen.  I’ll say things like “I wish we had a path that went from the garage to the patio” and he says “Yeah, that’s a great idea!”…and builds it.  I can’t make or create anything, he’s super gifted in this area.

#8: We don’t study our Bibles together.  Maybe that’s normal?  Maybe that’s odd?  For us, it’s always been this way.  He studies his every morning and I study mine, and when things are on our hearts, we share them with each other.  We both find our quiet times extremely personal.

#9: We’re both Enneagram 8s.  I think people who don’t know Enneagram think that makes for a hard combination…we can’t imagine having it any other way.  We both like strong opinions, strong leaders, and decision makers…we complement.  That being said, when we argue (and we do argue), it’s extra spicy since we’re both 8s 😉 .

#10: Andrew is the dog whisperer, but I’m the dog person.  Andrew’s voice and presence always gets the dogs attention.  He speaks, they listen.  That being said, he’s not mushy and in love with them like I am.  He’s the leader of the pack, but I’m the one who they know will walk and snuggle them.  They respect and listen to him, they follow be around all day long.

#11: We both really love Ted Lasso.

#12: Andrew will stick to his schedule at all cost.  I will hit snooze if I’m really tired.  He will never hit snooze.

#13: We both really love Mexican food.

#14: He doesn’t like mac and cheese.  I don’t understand that sentence.

#15: Andrew is big and strong and always the alpha in the room…but he’s a pile of mush on the inside while I always hold my cards in tight. He’s the one with the most tender heart towards adoption (I have a big heart, he has a tender one).  When he visits my grandparents now, he gets choked up each time we leave.  When he said goodbye to his friend Manda, he was the only one in the room with her…their relationship was super special and when he talks about her to this day, you would have thought she was one of his besties.  He’s got such a big heart.

#16: Andrew and I love having a charcuterie board and unwinding at the end of the day.  It’s absolutely one of our favorite things to do when we can do it.  We especially love it when we can sit on the patio.

#17: Andrew loves fall and Christmas just as much as I do.

#18: I know we tease each other about the Red Sox and Yankee stuff, but please understand, we seriously mean every bit of it and nothing can get the other one more fired up than too much trash talking…

Eighteen years of being Mrs. Shull.

I’m thankful for every minute. xx

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

You’ll Also Love

The Perfect A-Fair
#mandastrong
Fun Out Front

Comments

  1. Erika Slaughter says

    Happy 18 years to two of my favorite people! Eighteen?! Time is flying because you’re having so much fun!!

  4. Emi says

    Loved this post! This is REAL love and real life! #3 had me roaring with laughter! Thank you for sharing and Happy Anniversary!!

  8. Melissa Terry says

    Happy Anniversary! We just celebrated our 18th this year as well and like you, I can honestly say I’m a better person now having been married all that time to my husband. No marriage is perfect, but I do recognize what a gift we have xo

  9. Theresa says

    Awe….I love this. It is like your own little version of US Weekly’s 25 things you didn’t know about me and you are like a celebrity to me ?. Happy, happy 18th anniversary to such a lovely couple! ❤️

  10. Diana says

    Happy anniversary! I totally hear you on the bathroom thing…we just spent the first 7 years of our marriage not sharing a bathroom and now we are finally together and things are rocky lol

  11. Jennibell says

    Happy Anniversary!!!
    Praying for another 18 that is just as adventurous for the two of you 🙂

  12. SS says

    Happy Anniversary!!! Thanks for the 18 on 18. Fun to learn and say yes that is how my hubby & I are. Lol!!!
    Andrew… I would get choked up when I left my gparents and even my parents as they have gotten older. It is tough to think about these important people in your life and as I have been saying my story is them not being there.
    Keep laughing and loving hard is my advice!!!

  15. Wendy Hicks says

    thank you so much for doing this post. U2 are the best and I just love all the things that you say about each other. Happy anniversary and many blessings for years to come.

  18. Anna says

    YES!!! People telling me about their dreams is one of my biggest pet peeves. I automatically zone out as soon as someone says “I had the craziest dream last night…”

  20. Donna Mason says

    Happy Anniversary Shay and Andrew. You are a beautiful couple inside and out. Such loving and caring people who are raising an incredible family. Couldn’t be happier for you!

  22. Lisa D says

    What a great list to celebrate 18 married years together! Thanks for sharing. (BTW, it drive me crazy when my husband of 39 years shares his dreams with me too ?)

    • Mix and Match Mama says

      Who cares?! Share some reality, Andrew…not your long dreams about weird stuff. 😉

  23. Meagan Ruse says

    I was laughing when I read through these. Y’all are the perfect pair! You two do anything for your friends♥️ Love you guys! Happy 18!

  28. Alison says

    “Meanwhile, Andrew comes into the bathroom like a bull in a china shop..” made me LOL. Thank you for sharing these, I loved reading them all. Happy 18th!!

  29. Sharon in Seattle says

    I can’t imagine having to share a bathroom with anyone. That would drive me nuts.

  35. Robin Lewis says

    This post just made me smile and laugh. Great “tribute” to your marriage. You guys are awesome!

  36. Kim says

    The cutest post, I smiled my way through it. I think you feel about shushing the way I feel about interrupting, it makes me crazy and makes me talk loud and fast!! ? I love that you don’t walk on eggshells around each other, you’re all in good or bad. I will reconsider sharing my dreams with my hubby now that you mention it he’s not listening anyways!!! ? Happy Anniversary!! ❤️❤️

  37. Hope says

    Happy Anniversary ?. Andrew is very much like my hubby in many ways. The dream telling?, the bull in a china shop at bedtime, the eating early and often?. We celebrate 30 years in November and are still having fun!

  38. Jenny says

    Random question- I am new to your posts and reading this am curious if your husband played football at K-State ‘99-‘00??

    • Mix and Match Mama says

      He did! If he dated you, I feel like I should apologize in advance or something. Agh!

  39. Julie Bradford says

    Loved this!!!! #3 had me laughing out loud… I can so relate but time of day is opposite.. I try to turn very few lights on late at night when I am taking my bath to unwind however my hubby is a bull in a china shop in the early morning… lights on… feet stomping and all kinds of noise 🙂

  40. Rho says

    I love your relationship, it’s so inspiring!! I’m single and praying for my husband (pls pray for me ;), so this gives me great things to pray for. I talk about my dreams as well, but I so see your point that it didn’t really happen! So true! Praying that God gives you many, many more years together!! Your faith and family are such a bright spot on the internet

    • Diana Holguin says

      Is it almost time for another Q&A with Andrew and Shay video yet?! Those are my very favorite! You guys are so freaking funny!! ?

  43. Danna F says

    Happy 18 years of marriage! I LOL’d at the ‘bull in a china closet’ comment! I have one too and it’s not because he is tall (5’11 1/2)! Most of our fights comes when he is driving. Oh and we fight over how many blankets and thickness every single month. I need the weight; he sleeps hot! The journey is what it is all about! Cheers to many more years of happiness and blessings to you & Andrew.

  46. Amber says

    Oh my goodness, I feel you on the listening to dreams! But in my house it’s my kids and not my hubby. Both my kids are vivid dreamers who dream a LOT and will take 15 minutes to tell me their long, drawn out dreams. ? I often tell my husband that my least favorite part of parenting is listening to dreams. ? If it’s a dream that might be significant I’m all for leaning into if God was telling you something, but listening to drawn out retellings of crazy, silly dreams just makes me want to pull my hair out!

  47. Jana says

    #14: He doesn’t like mac and cheese. I don’t understand that sentence.

    THIS made me laugh out loud. I’m with you, Shay! How can you not like mac & cheese?

  48. Alison says

    Happy 18th Anniversary guys!! I love your list, and I cracked up over a lot of them listed. Cheers to many more!

  50. Carol says

    Whenever someone asks me what the secret to a long marriage is I ALWAYS say* separate bathrooms*

  51. Lisa N says

    Happy Anniversary!! Love that you dream up the ideas and he makes them happen. I dream up the ideas, my husband balks but if we do make ideas happen, you’d have thought he dreamed it up himself??
    BTW I hate Mac & Cheese?

  52. Cynthia says

    What a beautiful couple, inside and out!

    My husband and I will be married 19 years this coming September….marrying the right person makes such a huge difference in our lives 🙂

  53. Mary Dollar says

    Yes ma’am!!! I think everyone should have their very own bathroom!!! ?
    Happy Anniversary Shay and Andrew!!! ♥️?

  54. C says

    You are so cute together! I hate the dream retells as well, so annoying! Just imagine how many dreams I have heard since we have been together for 52 years, 48 of them married years! Trials and tribulations!

  57. Farryn Bussa says

    My husband constantly talks about his dreams too. So I’m super glad I’m not the only wife who isn’t interested … haha

  58. Kristy Moore says

    This was the cutest post! It makes me love you guys even more!!!
    Happy 18th!! ❤️

  59. Claire says

    Love this post! Such a cute idea! But yes, what is it with men and lights?? ??‍♀️ I gave up on trying to understand. Bahaha!

  60. Kacey says

    Ohh man, #15 got me! Now I’m sitting here crying as I finish my coffee and type this out. Wishing you the best year yet – Happy Anniversary!

  62. Cynthia Solomon says

    Shay, what a sweet and fun post!! I really got to laugh when you said that Andrew comes in ‘like a tornado’…ohmagoodness! I can so relate!! Sometimes it’s my hubs, but I have to admit, sometimes it’s me!! 🙂
    Thanks so much for sharing!!

  63. Debbie says

    3/1 We celebrated our 48th. It is like fine wine….gets better with age. Happy 18th Anniversary!

Subscribe via Email

Copyright © 2024 Mix & Match Mama | Privacy Policy

svg{display:none !important}img{display:none !important}.pf-content img{display:block !important}.pf-size-full, img { max-width: 25% !important; } li svg.detail-icon{width:55px !important}svg{display:none !important} svg{width:55px !important}