Sneezing While Driving...Soooo Dangerous!!

Okay, so there is a story that we all like to tell about my mother. When we were all learning to drive my mom would often ride in the passenger seat instead of Dad. I wonder if that was because he was trying to be a gentleman even when he wasn't the one driving, or if we really scared him that much. Either way, we all liked to drive with Mom. Well, one time, when Dava Lynn was learning to drive, she sneezed as the car was in motion. My mother, in all of her wisdom, looks over at DL and says, "That is soooo dangerous!"

Okay, so it doesn't seem as funny when I write that as when I tell it, but you get the picture. It was hilarious!! I mean, who really controls their sneezes! So, we all like to tell that story, poking fun at Mom.

So, the other day, Travis comes home and tells me this story:

"So, we were all riding down in the elevator to go get lunch and Donna says, 'So, I don't know if my car is totaled or not.' And Travis responds, 'You were in an accident? Well, what happened?' Donna explains very matter-of-factly, 'Well...as I was pulling up to a stop light...I sneezed. And my foot must have missed the brakes.'" HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

I couldn't believe it!!! "That is soooo dangerous!" Apparently, her car is so badly damaged, that it could be totaled and she could be without a car. Thank goodness she is okay...but wow!

I told my mom this story and she said (while trying to talk through tears of laughter), "You will be finding out for the rest of your life that Mom was right!"

And of course, Dava Lynn's response was, "You didn't tell Mom did you? We will be hearing about this for years!"

If no one else appreciates this post...I know the Bridgwater girls will! :)

Tagged Again!

I have been tagged by my beautiful sister Jenny so, here we go!
**Here is a picture of Jenny and me...10 years ago:
I was a 17 year old junior in high school. I was the Captain/Treasurer of the Dalworthington Gardens Junior Police Explorers and competing in Dallas, TX.

Things on my to-do list today:

1)Update the budget and pay all outstanding bills for the month of February
2)Send out pictures of the Skateboard Rescue to family (see yesterday's post)
3)Eat lots of food (Jayden is stealing it all so I'm constantly hungry)

Three of my bad habits:

1)Biting/Picking at my cuticles (getting a lot better...but my fingers bleed during stressful times)
2)Biting my bottom lip with it is dry
3)Thinking I'll come back to something later and totally forgetting about it for 5 days!
4)Taking up the entire bed while sleeping at night (Travis woke up this morning and said, "We are getting a king size bed..." Oops! I would blame the pregnancy, but I can only claim that it got worse because of it.)

Five jobs I have had:

1)After school kid-sitter
2)Secretary at James Martin High School
3)Student recruiter for Oklahoma Christian University
4)Training Coordinator for a credit union in Colorado
5)Soon to be Mommy! (I think this will be my favorite!)

Things people don't know about me:
**I'm not sure how many people don't know everything about me. I pretty much tell all, but I'll try! :)
1)I have a freckle in my right eye
2)I love cross-stitching (it is relaxing and it is counting...so my OCD is satisfied)
3) I am copying Jenny on this one: I get a weird amount of pleasure out of guessing the exact number of hangers I need to hang up a pile of clean laundry.
4)I can name all the states in alphabetical order in less than 90 seconds
5)I have been to 12 of those states and 4 foreign countries

Now I tag: Juli Beth, Kima and Amy

Back from Cali!

Fair Warning: this is going to be a fairly lengthy post.

We are back from California! It was a great trip! It was my first time ever to visit CA and it was beautiful. We stayed in Newport Beach, visited Dana Point, Laguna Beach and Laguna Niguel. I got several pictures, but I will only post a couple on here. We came away with several great stories too, but I will try to keep this lengthy post as short as possible!

Story #1: Getting lost with GPS!

The trip started out Friday as Judy, Pop, Travis and I flew in to LAX. We landed and still had a couple of hours to kill before we met up with Mark (T's brother). So, we all went to rent a car and grab a bite to eat. After we picked up Mark, back at the airport, we all headed down to the hotel. Travis has a new phone on which he has GPS. Well, before we left Houston, Travis had plugged in the hotel address so that we would be ready to go and have instant directions, once we were in CA. Pop drove as the GPS lady told us exactly where to go. About 45 minutes later...we arrive at our destination. 500 Bayview Place, Laguna Beach, CA. One problem...it was someone's house...not our hotel!! So, Travis quickly plugs in the correct address in Newport Beach. Let me just inform you that Newport Beach was about 15 minutes from the airport. That is right...we literally passed the hotel on the way to this random house in Laguna Beach! It was quite an adventure as we nearly drove off a cliff (or it seemed that way to us in the back seat)! Listening to the boys go back and forth with their endless wit and humor was very entertaining and Judy and I were nearly in tears by the end of it all! So, yes...you can get lost with GPS...

Story #2: Kelly's Hero!

On Saturday we went and had breakfast in Dana Point. We met some of the cousins there (Bruce and Kathy, and their two kids Kelly -10 and Nicole -8). After breakfast Pop, Mark, Travis and I hung out with Bruce and the kids while Judy and Kathy went to prepare for Grandma Bettes and Grandpa Lyle's memorial the next day. Before the girls headed off to run their errands we walked around a bit and talked. While we were visiting Kelly asked his dad (Bruce), "Do skateboards float?" Kelly had his skateboard with him and had been skating around ever since we had finished eating. Now, Kelly asked this sooo important question because at the time we were hanging around the marina, where all the boats are docked. (There is a railing all around the water that has about a 6 inch or more gap at the bottom. So, the railing keeps people from falling in, but isn't very effective at keeping rolling objects out.) Nicole had been joking about throwing Kelly's skateboard in, but Dad put a quick stop to that. As we were all talking and moving on in our discussions, I look back and see Kelly skate away on his skateboard, which quickly loses control and rolls right under the railing...landing in the ocean water of the marina! The look of shock and horror was enough to make anyone think that Kelly had just watched his best friend get shot! As everyone starts to realize what had just happened, Kelly is over the railing and begging his father to let him dive in after the beloved skateboard. With some convincing, Kelly climbs back over the railing to safety and after much investigation about high tide and low tide, Bruce decides that he will wait for low tide, at which time he will dive in after the skateboard and try to locate it. Now, this water is around 53 degrees (FREEZING) and the day is cloudy and windy. Bruce now has all afternoon to pump himself up and get ready for the freezing water and to get prepared with warm clothing to put on afterwards. The ladies have now gone to run their errands and the rest of us walk around the cove, hang out at the hotel pool, eat lunch and then borrow the pool net from the hotel to head down to the marina where we have some skateboard fishing to do!

Once we get back to the spot of the tragedy, Bruce climbs over the railing and tests the depth with the net from the hotel. Then he walks around the edge of the marina debating his point of entry and finally gets someone to just let him onto the dock between some of the boats so he can have a safe entry. Pop volunteered to go with him so that Bruce had some help getting out of the water and getting warm...fast! Here is the video of the heroic event...


After Bruce retrieves the skateboard (on the 2nd dive) he is welcomed by a loving and grateful son (and then we notice all the legal signs about unauthorized entry into the marina and No Skateboarding...oops)!Not every dad would be willing to dive into the ocean after a skateboard. Most likely, they would just buy the kid a new board. But Kelly will remember how his dad dove in after his skateboard for the rest of his life! Way to go Bruce!!! :)

Here is a picture of Travis and me on the beach at sunset...

The Memorial

The memorial service for Grandma Bettes and Grandpa Lyle was on Sunday and we had such a great turn out! That morning, we took a sailboat out and put their ashes out to sea. We dropped roses in the water and they just seemed to come alive! It was a great way to honor them and take the time to remember. That afternoon we had a service at the club house near their house in Laguna Niguel. So many of their friends came out to remember and visit. It was great to get the family together again and I finally had a chance to get to know the cousins. They had all been at the wedding, but I had about 2 seconds just get introduced to them at that time. :)

This was such a fun trip! :)

Update from Yesterday...

I forgot to mention yesterday that this will be the first McHam girl (born a McHam) since Pop's sister Elaine was born. Not to advertise her age, but that is a gap of 63 years! Wow...I sure hope Jayden can earn her place among the McHam boys! If she takes after her Momma....she won't have any trouble. ;)

Both grandpas are sooo excited to have girls to spoil! Let's just pray that she doesn't start acting like her Momma for a long time. The last thing this world needs right now is another Jana Kay!! I was a twerp! :D But I grew out of it...kinda...

Jayden Bridgwater McHam

It's a girl!

We went to the doctor today and had our ultrasound. The baby is healthy and right on target! The heartbeat was 152. We are sooo excited! She decided to cross her legs at the beginning, but with some proding and shifting, she opened her legs up pretty wide! The first picture is of Jayden's head and belly. The second is more of a profile view of the head and belly. You can see some of the cord and the cross section of the right arm toward the top of the picture. The final picture shows all the evidence that we have a sweet little girl! Okay...the sweet part is yet to be determined...but it is a girl! Dad is sooo happy! This makes #16 on the Bridgwater side and the 6th girl.

Baby Poll!

Alright, so it is my turn to take a poll! We go to the doctor at 9:45 am on Monday to find out the gender of our baby! So, leave a comment and let me know what you think this little hooligan is going to be!

Boy or Girl

It was a good weekend...

Well, it was a great weekend! It was good to get together with everyone on the Bridgwater side of the family. There were 44 of us in the immediate family! All of the kids were so well behaved and we got to visit with the cousins that we hardly get time with anymore.
The service for Grandpa was perfect. All the stories that were told, memories that we shared and people who love him. There were so many people! Three rows of volunteers came from the hospital that he and grandma volunteer at. Grandpa made such an impact on this world that I don't think we even really know the scope of. Grandma said that she was told by a member of the church, "I wouldn't be a Christian today if it weren't for Emmitt." Grandma said she had no idea that Grandpa had gone to this person's house and sat with them for a long time, talking and finally invited him to the church. The next Sunday this man went to church and became a Christian...then his daughters followed.
It is amazing that even after 67 + years of marriage, Grandma didn't know how much of an impact Grandpa had on this person's life.

We all miss him sooo much!

Please be praying for Grandpa Jack (my mom's father). He is in the hospital. My Aunt Sandy took him this morning and he has severe dehydration and they are testing him for pneumonia. Grandma Helen (his wife) has been fighting some respiratory stuff, but Mom said that she sounded pretty good this morning.

Hoping all is well with everyone out there...

Floyd Emmitt Bridgwater 1.9.1918 - 2.7.2008

Grandpa Emmitt passed away yesterday. He will be missed. He was sooo LOVED! He had three sons who gave him eight granddaughters, who all doted on him and loved on him and just couldn't get enough of him.

He always had Cap'n Crunch for us. He always had ice cream for us. He taught us how to fish. He taught us how to love the Lord. He taught us how to have the ultimate marriage. He was the first man to ever fire a grenade rifle and the only man to fire it standing up. He was an elder in the Church of Christ since before I was born.

He loved completely! He laughed so loudly! And he is now living with our God for eternity!!

As I told my sisters..."He got to meet 20 great-grandkids. Now, he gets to meet my kids before we do!" Mom pointed out that we could be in for some rotten kids then..."Oh no! He is probably up there picking which ones he wants to send down!" I HOPE SO!!!

Travis and I were remembering Gpa Emmitt and I looked down at my belly and said, "Grow up to be just like him." Travis' response, "Me first!" Ever since we went to visit Gpa Emmitt for the first time, Travis has wanted to be just like him! I am so blessed to have had the perfect man in my life as an example and now to have my husband who wants to be just like him.

We are so blessed to have had our Grandpa Emmitt for so long! He passed yesterday at 90 years 29 days young!

Bump Patrol!

Okay...I finally feel like my belly has become "picture worthy". So, I have stolen my sister Jenny's title for the belly pictures...Bump Patrol! (thanks Jen!) We are just over 17 weeks along and I am feeling great...starving, but great!! They have me eating 6 times a day because I haven't been gaining weight. I had gained the first appointment, but the last two I have actually lost a total of 3.5 lbs. So now, I'm chowing down. And my baby is making it really easy to eat! No weird cravings yet...but I really want jalapenos...a lot!

I have started wearing maternity clothes...sorry Dava Lynn...I held out as long as I could. There are some really cute outfits out there for us fat (excuse me...maternally round) ladies! I love it! :)

Here are the pictures of the belly...

Things just got interesting...

So, my father & mother-in-law are out of town this week. Judy is in Virginia visiting her 1st and 2nd grandsons and Pop is headed to Fort Worth for business. Why does that make life interesting for us? Well, because they have a dog. Not just any dog...one of the cutest, sweetest and funniest dogs ever! He is so much fun. So, yes...we have three dogs in our house right now. We are dogsitting until Friday. His name is Redford "Red" and he is already having a good time with Nikki and Cooper. He has had a few moments in which he has howled or gone searching for Pop. He does not like to be left behind. He usually gets to go on business trips with Pop, but this time Pop had to ride with his boss, so Red stayed here. He is getting used to the idea. :)

We are having a blast. Here is a picture of Red...

Yay NY Giants!!

That was an awesome superbowl game! Little Manning pulled it off. But the best part of the entire game was the kickoff. Why would that be the best part? Because that is when Travis felt our baby move for the first time! This is so exciting and fun!

We find out two weeks from tomorrow what our baby is!! Yay!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday Amy Beth!

Happy Birthday to you!

Love you Amy! Happy 26th!