Baby Clothes!

My cousin Mary Ann sent Jayden a gift! It is sooo cute! Travis spent about 5 minutes just staring at it and playing with the snaps!












I am so excited to get my little one all dressed up! :) We are just over 21 weeks!

Weekend in Galveston!

This weekend was great! Friday night, Travis and I headed to Galveston (Bermuda Beach) to hang out with some of his friends at a beach house. I, of course, forgot the camera so I don't have any pictures of us hanging out. :( Sorry!

The dogs had a blast! We got up in the morning and took a walk down the beach after breakfast. We walked quite a ways and by the time we turned around to go back to the house Cooper was so tired! He tried so hard to keep up with the other dogs, but the poor thing just couldn't keep up the pace. He was so cute! After we got back we went upstairs and got our sun screen (yes, we forgot to put it on first thing...and yes I'm burnt!) and Cooper crashed! He slept most of the day (until about 3:00pm) and I mean...pretty much dead to the world! He wouldn't move for anyone and if someone sat next to him, he would just roll over as if he expected them to rub his belly while he slept! Then, at about 3:00 pm he popped his little head up and was full of energy again! It was amazing! Nikki, however, never stopped!

We stayed at the beach until after dinner Saturday night and then headed home. We haven't been to our church in about 4 weeks, so we were really looking forward to seeing everyone and worshiping with our church family. When we got home Saturday night Travis gave my anniversary present to me. I know it is way early, but because of logistics and stuff, he wanted to go ahead and give it to me. He bought me a FISHING POLE (and himself one)!!!!! I LOVE MY HUSBAND!!!! Okay, I know that I am probably one of the few women who would accept this as an appropriate gift, but you know what....it means that he knows me! It means that he wants to share in my favorite activities even though he has never officially been fishing before in his life! (He had a couple of experiences that don't really qualify...dropping a line on a bamboo stick and just waiting for a fish to set itself doesn't count...sorry...) And, he did stick with the 1st year paper present by getting our fishing licenses too. So, here they are:

When we got to church on Sunday, we were surprised to see our cousin Jill was there! She had little Nicholas with her and Uncle Danny passed him off to Travis! What was he thinking?! Although, I can't really complain...watching Travis play with babies and to see his love for them is really encouraging and just precious. After church we went to lunch with Aunt Norma and Jill. It was good to visit with them! Then I found out that my other cousins, Mary Ann and Dana are coming down with Grandma Mary for Spring Break! I'm so excited! I am probably going to take a couple of days off so that I can spend some time with them. It is such a treat to be able to see this side of the family as much as I have lately. We usually see each other once a year, if that much!

So, when Travis and I got home from lunch we went to Home Depot to pick up some lumber for Travis to do some work in the garage. As he was working in the garage (my manly man):

I was elevating my feet and relaxing...because of the new and wonderful (can you sense my sarcasm) developement in my feet...swelling!! Yes...major swelling of the feet is not comfortable. So instead of laying down inside and being a bum, I made a nice little set up in the back of Travis' truck and encouraged my husband while being a bum. Here I am:

I had to have my coffee because it wasn't the warmest of days, but not cold enough for a blanket. It was fun! :)

When Travis was done for the day, we went for dinner. We found this great mexican restaurant called Rico's. It was sooo good! Everything we had was delicious and they had such fast service! We are definitely going back.

Finally, we got our first gift for Jayden. Everyone knows that I am a Superman fanatic. But, not everyone knows that I am also a Jack "The Pumpkin King" (from The Nightmare Before Christmas) fanatic. Travis has started to spread this fact around, so one of the women he works with brought us this (her daughter had it before and she wanted to pass it on to fellow fans):

I think it is adorable!! :) I know, I'm wierd!

Countdown To Baby

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!

Dogs...

One of our favorite things about Nikki is how she sleeps. This dog sleeps on her back, legs up in the air and head stretched back as far as it will go. It is so funny! It is especially funny when she dreams in that position. Her legs get going as if she is running after something, then she starts barking. Every once in awhile it looks like she has her nose to the ground and is digging. We love it...

Today I was working up in the office and turn around to check on my puppies and this is what I saw...
How funny is that?! He even started barking when I snapped the picture! I love my dogs! :)

Movement...

Last night I felt the baby move for the first time! It is so exciting! I'm so ready to know what this baby is going to look like, what their personality is going to be, etc.

Poor Travis...he wants to feel it so bad. He was so excited last night and even after I told him that he wouldn't be able to feel anything for at least a week...he insisted that I lay down, very still, so that he could try. :) He is so adorable!

And as you can see in my comments...I have been tagged by Dana

The RULES
Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog. Share 5 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog. or Share the 5 top places on your “want to see or want to see again” list. or Share 5 things you never pictured being in your future when your were 25 years old. Tag a minimum of 5, maximum of 10 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. The tagees have a choice of which they want to do.

Wow this is hard for me...

5 random and/or weird facts about me:

1) I am the youngest of 5 girls.
2) I have a freckel in my right eye.
3) I am married to a man I have known for 17 years.
4) I love Superman.
5) I'm pregnant with my first child! Yay!

I don't have a lot of people I can tag because most of my readers are Juli's friends...so forgive me Juli....Amy, Natalie, Staci, Shauna and Megan :)

Oops...We did it again...

It is official. We are crazy!

This weekend we drove up to Austin to meet and hand over the keys to our new renters. We decided to rent out our house for now since the market isn't the best. The couple who moved in are really nice and are eager to make the place their own. They intend to make this a lease to buy situation. Which we are all for at this time...anything to get the second mortgage off our backs. Anyway, we were really pleased with them and think this will be a great arrangement.

While we were there, we got to see some of our friends. We had lunch with Christina and then later we met up with Dax, Lindsay and Amy. It was great to be able to catch up with them while we were there.

Okay...now you are wondering why in the world any of that makes us crazy. Well, I will tell you...

While we were passing time (before we needed to go meet up with Dax, Lindsay and Amy) Travis suggested that we go by Petco to see the dogs that were outside. We have gone to look several times and just enjoy loving on random dogs. As we start walking up to the store, however, we see an open kennel with three little Siberian Husky puppies. Yup...Travis made the mistake of picking one up and we ended up adopting him. His name is Cooper and he is the most precious puppy! Nikki loves him and they get along so well. He is already proving to be a great companion for her. They wrestle around for a good hour and then they both nap for several hours. It is quite precious! I am going to post some pictures of Cooper down below along with a video of the playful tackles! (He is 9 weeks old and about 10 pounds.) I am taking him to the vet this afternoon so we will have all the details on health then!

Oh...and my tummy is starting to grow! Nothing picture worthy yet...but soon...very soon...

House Pictures and 2 Firsts

Well, in the last 24 hours I have had two firsts...1) Making grill cheese sandwhiches and 2) making pancakes. Two things that I don't particularly enjoy eating...but I made them for my hubby! It was fun. They both turned out good...of course they did...they are two of the easiest things to make!

For those of you asking for pictures of the house, I have taken a few of the downstairs and will follow up later with the rest. The only picture I didn't take of downstairs is the kitchen. I still have some work to do in there...

This is the living room...

This half bath is just off of the living room to the left of the tv.

Here is our pool room...this is to your left as you walk in the front door.

And our dining room...this is to your right as you walk in the front door. There is an open doorway into the kitchen to the left of the picture.

Our breakfast table. This is just off the living room and leads into the kitchen.

I will load more pictures of the house later. :) Have a great day!

Yay for having a Social Life!

Last night we had 26 people in our house for a house warming bar-b-que! It was so much fun! We went to our neighbors, knocked on all the doors and invited everyone to join us for a bar-b-que. We had a really good turn out and we had several people come who weren't from the neighborhood. Winkle Danny and Aunt Norma, Douglas and Becky (Douglas is a former client of Travis'), Alexa (who works with Travis) and Travis' parents, Bill and Judy. Everyone else lives on our street and we had a blast! It was a fun time and we got to know our neighbors a little better and spend some time with some of our new friends and family.

This morning we went to Kingwood Church of Christ and decided to place membership there. We are excited about the lesson plans for our class, getting involved in Bible studies and getting connected in some ministries. It feels like we are starting to settle into our new home and city...finally. :)

After church we went to lunch with Danny and Norma at Spring Creek Bar-b-que (do you see a theme here)... I love that place!!! I am so glad that we are able to spend so much time with family.

Some of you have been asking for pictures of the house, and I plan to get them on here soon. Since we had so many people here last night, I need to do a little damage control before displaying my house to anyone! ;)

House Guests!

We had our very first house guests in the new house this past weekend. My friend Amy from Austin brought her two kids (Tyler and Ali) to visit. It was Tyler's birthday on Friday, so we went out and got him an ice cream cake and then played some pool. On Saturday we went to tour the USS Texas battleship. It was so cool! I love history and being able to read all the stories about the ship and the men who served on it was just awesome. Here are some pictures from the ship.

Update on Baby!

So, we went to the doctor yesterday and Travis got to hear the baby's heartbeat! He was sooo cute. As soon as we walked in the room and the woman asked me to sit on the bed, he looked like a kid at Christmas! The baby has gotten so much bigger than the last picture:

It has hands and feet!! It is getting so big! This is so exciting...

The nurse pointed out a "very pronounced sticky outy thing" that makes her believe it is a boy, but we aren't claiming anything yet! We will find out in about 6 weeks. Yay!

The Baby...

Well, here is the first picture of our baby! I don't know how many people are really interested in seeing this, but I'm a proud first time mother...so there! :) We are in the 9th week and this has been a rough week. I just feel so weak all the time and I try to eat, but nothing sounds good, smells good or tastes good! It is driving me nuts! I go back to the doctor on the 19th.

You know, I always worried that my sisters would all be done having kids before I got started. All of my sisters have been pregnant at the same time as another sister at some point...and I didn't want to miss out on that. Well, I took too long! Now they are all done, but I have two friends who are both due around the same time! Yay! By the way...Staci...can we switch due dates?!

We are settling in to Kingwood just fine. We moved in on Saturday and so far, love it! The neighborhood is awesome. We have about 12 houses on the block and only 2 of them don't have kids! They range from 4 years old to 19 years old. Everyone we have met so far has been really nice.

Uncle Danny saved us! We had no gas for heat when we moved in. So, Uncle Danny let us come over and take warm showers on Saturday night. He even fed us Chilli! It was soo good! It was just what I needed on a day that I couldn't think of one thing that sounded good. He was my hero!! So, yes, Dana...I love having a dad look alike right around the corner!! :)

On Sunday we went to church with Winkle Danny (that is my dad's twin) at Kingwood Church of Christ. We really liked it there. One of Travis' friends from college, Jennifer (Roscoe sp?), was in our Bible class, so that was a nice reunion. We really enjoyed the teacher and it was a good thing because he was the preacher too! :)

I guess that is it for now. A lot of things are happening now, so I will be sure and keep everyone updated!! :)

The Baby!

Okay! According to several of you, I am not giving you all the details! So, for all of you detail hungry women (like me)...here it goes! :) (I could never get tired of sharing the details)

I went to see the doctor on Monday, November 19th. I was six weeks on that day and we heard the heartbeat! It was at 105. Travis wasn't able to go with me, but will go next time on December 19th. We got two pictures of our tine 1/4 of an inch dot! :) Hehe... It was so cool to actually hear the heartbeat and that something so small would have one already!

We are due July 14th, 2008! Please pray for an early delivery! I know that is weird, but let me explain...

Mom and Dad leave for Zambia for 2 weeks on July 10th! I need my mom there! If Mom isn't there...then I will have four sisters in the room all telling the doctor how to do his job! ;) Just kidding sisters! I know that, no matter what, I will be in good hands and that all of my sisters would be such awesome cheerleaders, but there is just something about having your mom there that is comforting!

So, any additional prayer would be appreciated! Thanks!

The Job

Well, I don't know if I posted about this or not, so if this is a duplicate, I'm sorry!

As I wrote in a previous post, I was praying that my current job would let me stay with them somehow as I moved to Houston. Well, it worked out!! Yay! Another great thing that God has ochestrated for us in this move. My boss and my "dotted line" boss got together and convinced the Managing Director of our office that I was worth keeping. So, they arranged it so that I can work from home and be flexible with my time! I am so thankful, especially, because we just found out that I'm pregnant! This will make things so much easier as we adjust to our new home and try to prepare for the baby to come.

Everything has really worked out for us, except...the house in Austin. We still need to sell our house in Austin before we will feel really settled and comfortable. We are looking selling and leasing options. If we lease, we may loose a little month, but we will still be building equity in the house. Our real estate agent suggested that we lower the sale price of the house again. If we do, it won't hurt us too bad, we just worry about what kind of offers we will get out of it.

So...if you could send up a few prayers for us...it would be greatly appreciated. We know that God will take care of everything in His time!

New House and New Fridge!

Well, we closed on the house in Kingwood this morning! Yay!!! We have a home. It feels so much better to have everything finalized. For awhile there we felt like we were going to be in limbo forever! We have been staying with Travis' parents and they have been so wonderful. Thanks Pop and Judy for putting up with us!

Right after we closed on the house we drove to Home Depot and bought a refridgerator! I love it. It is brush metal and side by side. (I will post pictures once we get it in the house.) When we bought the fridge, the guy showed us all the available deliver dates and the first one was the day the movers are going to be delivering our stuff from Austin (that is Saturday the 1st of December...yes, this weekend)! What great timing!

Travis and I have had a God filled day. He has really shown His hand in every aspect of today. He is sooo good! :)

Travis leaves tonight for Pittsburgh and gets back Thursday night. (What's that you say? He wasn't supposed to travel with his new job? I KNOW!! Grrrrr....Oh well, this is just one trip and a short one.) He flies in late Thursday and I am going to pick him up from the airport, from which we will drive straight to Austin so that we are there when the movers get there Friday. They are loading us up on Friday and delivering everything to the house in Houston on Saturday. I am so ready to be in my home and be able to sleep in my own bed!!

Well, that is it for now. To see how we told Mark and Jen the good news about the baby, check out their blog. There is a link to the left of this post. :)

Big News!

Well, it is official...

We Are Pregnant!!! Travis and I will be introducing the newest addition to our family in July 2008! We are so excited!

Happy Thanksgiving!

JK & T

Changes...and people are just amazing...

Travis has started his new job in Houston. He is working downtown in the Chase Bank Tower (the tallest building in Houston). His office is located on the 62nd floor right now, but he will soon move to the 48th floor, where he might possibly get cell phone reception! :) He is actually enjoying his work and seems to be pretty excited about all the changes and growing the company is going through. He is already being asked to participate in the hiring process! I'm sooo proud!! Here is a picture of his building from the ground:As we are trying to sell the house, we are having to do a lot of cleaning and repairs. There were several boards that our little, sweet, adorable, devil puppy chewed up! So, we have been buying wood and paint and we got to use Pop's really cool pressure washer!! This is are pictures of how gross our sidewalk was!

During our lovely little trip out of the house this afternoon (because people were coming to see the house) we went to Kohl's to do some shopping. We were shopping for new black boots for me and as we opened a box (that was intended to hold a new pair of classy boots: the only one my size) we find a pair of old heels that some woman had the nerve to leave in the box after she STOLE the pair of new boots! I couldn't not believe it! I mean, I know that people out there steal and I know that there are people who just don't get it, but to actually be the one to report it?! Crazy!

New Camera

Travis got my birthday present for me early...a new camera! I love it. I have been a shutterbug ever since. It is able to read my old card from the camera Nikki broke, so I can actually share with you what the dog house looks like! So, here is the last picture my camera ever took...

At this point, Nikki charged me and knocked the camera out of my hand and all the little pieces inside decided to quit. Here are some pictures of us working on the house...

Nikki loves her house when it is raining! We had put some carpet in there for her, but that lasted a few hours and then the back yard was strewn with her new found toy.

My Man!

1. Who is your man? William Travis

2. How long have you been married? 6 months and 23 days

3. How long dated? Six months before engaged. Six months engaged. Best friends for 17 years

4. How old is your man? 29

5. Who eats more? Hmmm...he is one of those that eats to live...I live to eat...some days.

6. Who said "I love you" first? We have always said "I love you". We were best friends for a long time. But almost as good...we kept saying, "IF we get married..." and one day Travis said, "You know. It is more like WHEN we get married." (talk about giddy) :)

7. Who is taller? Travis by 9 inches

8. Who sings better? Definitely me! (But it's not that hard to be better than Travis - ha!)

9. Who is smarter? Travis...

10. Whose temper is worse? We both have pretty bad tempers...it just depends on what the situation is.

11. Who does the laundry? We both do.

12. Who takes out the garbage? Whoever sees it needs to be done first.

13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Travis

14. Who pays the bills? It is pretty much a joint effort. Most everything is on auto draft though.

15. Who is better with the computer? We are probably equal on basic things. He is into programig though.

16. Who mows the lawn? He does.

17. Who cooks dinner? I do. Travis grills for parties, but I usually prepare the meat.

18. Who drives when you are together? Mostly Travis. I get in moods where I need to do the driving, but not usually.

19. Who pays when you go out? It is usually Travis, but sometimes I am faster at getting the card out because he is talking.

20. Who is most stubborn? We are about the same...one could argue either way...but taht would never end. :)

21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Definitely Travis.

22. Whose parents do you see the most? Somewhat equal. It has been more of my parents lately, but that is about to change since we are moving to Houston (his parents are in The Woodlands)

23. Who kissed who first? He kissed me first...at Sooner Youth Camp, on his last night as a camper.

24. Who asked who out? He asked me out...and drove three hours to take me on that date.

25. Who proposed? Travis...on bended knee in Colorado with one of the most gorgeous views!

26. Who is more sensitive? Hello...ME!

27. Who has more friends? About equal.

28. Who has more siblings? Me...4 sisters...he has one brother

29. Who wears the pants in the family? Totally Travis

I think that these people MIGHT join in the fun: Juli Beth and Amy



(If you decide to participate, just copy and paste the questions into your blogs)

Moving to Houston

Well, it is official. We are moving to Houston! Travis got an amazing job offer in Houston that we just can not turn down. It is an awesome opportunity and we are so excited to make this move and start this adventure. Of course, with moving comes much stress. We are trying to sell this house, buy another one, get organized, figure what is going to happen with my job, etc. Wow...craziness!!!

They want Travis to start at the end of the month so we are a little pressed for time. Everything has been starting to fall into place though, and we can see God's hand in it everywhere!

My bosses are trying to get it approved for me to work from home in Houston and travel to Austin when a class needs to be taught. For those of you who do not know, I train new hires for Marsh (a commercial insurance brokerage firm). It would be ideal! I could keep my salary, work from home while we are trying to get settled, and travel back to Austin occasionally to see friends! Please be praying for that to get approved.

We were in Houston this weekend doing a little house hunting. Travis' parents were able to go along and give us some insight to certain parts of town and it was very helpful! Jesse, one of Travis' friends from high school is into real estate and was able to spend all day Saturday with us, showing us houses. We found a couple that we really like and we may put a bid down on one of them in Kingwood. We are leaving this in God's hands that, if we sell our house in enough time to get the one we wanted, then that is the one we are going with. If not, we keep looking. There were some close 2nds in the search this weekend, but we don't want to settle and we don't want to rush into anything. Here are pictures of the weekend and a couple of the house we would like to put a bid in on (don't worry, we would paint the shutters...yuck!).





And of course, here is a cute one of Pop and Red!

Family Reunions

I love this time of year! We just got back from our Cousins' Reunion in OK. Every year we have this reunion for the cousins on my mother's side of the family. We had it at her old high school in Wayne, OK (population approximately 300). It was so much fun. We drove up Friday night and stayed with my bestfriend/roommate through college Amy (in Edmond) and her husband Luke. It has been 3 years since I had been there and so much had changed. I love that place! Saturday morning we got up and went down to Wayne for the reunion. We had about 100 people there (just a small reunion...right?!). Anyone who wanted to could bring a family item or anything they wanted to get rid of for an auction. Travis and I won a sack of okra and a picture of my great great grandparents, Mommie and Poppie. It is their wedding picture!! Travis was very excited about the okra and can't wait for me to fry some up. We have so much though, that I am afraid I won't be able to use it all before it goes bad. So, I am going to pickle most of it and fry the rest! Yay! I'm excited too. After the reunion we drove back up to Edmond to stay with Amy and Luke again. We rented a movie and just relaxed. This morning we went to Memorial Road Church of Christ for worship and I got to see a few of my old professors. It was so good to see Dr. Alexander, who was my mentor in theater and really encouraged me to use my talents. He is such a good man! We used to call him Granpa A. :) We also got to see Mark and Karla Taylor. Mark was the preacher at my parents' church in Arlington for awhile and has just recently moved back to preach for Memorial. They seem so happy there, but did talk a bit about the fact that they are still mourning the relationships that they treasure from Pleasant Ridge C of C. They made such an impact on our family and it meant a lot to hear them talk about how much the Bridgwater family means to them. It was encouraging to see them in their new church family. It was a nice treat to see some of the people that I used to go to school with also. We went to Bible class with Amy and Luke and got to see some familiar face. This was a great weekend!!

Every woman has had to...

...search for their wedding ring! That is right...six months into the marriage and I have already lost the ring.

Every Sunday we play volleyball at the church. We usually play until it gets dark and then go eat at Cheddar's around the corner. It has become my routine to leave the jewelry at home. However, this particular night, I forgot. As my wonderful husband is always looking out for me, he noticed that I still had my rings and my watch on. So, I very carefully put my rings on my watch band and set them on top of our drink bag. The night goes on...

After the sun goes down, many games of volleyball played, we leave for Cheddar's. As we are about to turn in to the restaurant I realize that I don't have my jewelry. We figure that I had put it in the drink bag and set it in my car.

(Let's step back for a moment: we had two cars at the church because we had left Travis' car at my office on Friday.)

So, after dinner, Travis and I go back to the church to get my car. Being my wonderful husband, he waited to find out if I had put my jewelry in the bag. I had not...ugh!

Seeing as how we had no other option, but to search a very large portion of the grass field, in which we play volleyball, we both turned our cars to face the field, so that we had lighting...in order to search. A good 10 minutes into searching...yes, you guessed it...I cried. A good 45 minutes into searching...yes, you guessed it...I cried again...saying things such as, "Stupid" "It is only a thing right?" etc. My hands and my knees were hurting and I was praying...a lot. As I was feeling quite helpless...quite hopeless, I look up and see two men walking toward from the church building. They join in the search with their little flashlights. One guy had it on his keychain and another just had it in his pocket. After about 10 minutes, one of the men says ever so casually, "Oh...here it is." Oh...the sweet sweet sweet sound of that man's words! I hugged him...very tightly. And he turns to Travis and says, "You know...I don't carry this thing with me. I had leant it to a friend and he brought it back to me tonight at church. How crazy is that?" Not crazy...AT ALL!!!

Thank you God for the little angels that you send to us each day...and for light! Now, please make the blisters on my knees go away...with as little pain as possible...:)

Finished Floors!!

We have officially finished every floor surface of this house! Well, technically we still have to put in all the transition pieces (hardwood to carpet and tile). But, we are done with all the hard work! Yay! I'm so excited and it looks better than I imagined!

Not too much is going on other than that. I started going to an Acting 101 class at church. The first meeting was tonight and it was so much fun! I can't wait until next week. I have really been feeling like I need an outlet for my creative side and I think I have found it! :)

Travis is gone for the rest of the week, in Dallas. So...I get to entertain myself now...

**I will update with pictures as soon as my husband buys me a new camera! :) Mine is still kaput!

That is about all I have for now. Have a great week!

Weekend in OK

Travis and I went to see Grandma Mary and Grandpa Emmitt this weekend. It was so much fun! We drove up on Saturday morning, stopped over in Arlington and then got there around 3:00 pm. We stayed until around 3:00 pm on Monday. It was a good visit!

We played lots of cards and got to hear more stories about Grandpa in the war days. He was rotten! He has so many stories about getting himself into trouble or hurt. They are fun to listen to. Also, I found out a lot more about my heritage. I am going to do a little more research and hopefully put together a pretty big family tree! I'm excited.

When we were headed home, Travis said, "You know, it is kinda fun...having a grandpa." He never really grew up with a grandfather and so this is the first taste he has had. And of course...I teared up! :) It was an awesome weekend!

Sad News

I took Ellie to the 24 hour emergency clinic this morning around 12:30 and they said that she had pneumonia and distemper. They didn't think that she would have made it through the night, so we put her down at 1:20 this morning. Travis is in Houston on business. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you.

**To add a note...yes Distemper is highly contagious. However, Nikki is up to date on her vaccinations and I had them separated for most of the time. The vets were not too concerned because I have been careful.

Yay for new carpet!

The carpet was installed today and it looks awesome! It really brightens up the bedrooms and makes them look so much better. The old carpet was a shade of beige and looked really dingy. Travis also went and picked up the bamboo for the rest of the floors. We will be able to get all the adhesive and sealer for the floors next months, so then all the floors will be done! Yay!

Well, the newest update on the career change opportunity (in case I haven't already posted about it) is that I am going to stay with my current position. Travis and I decided that by taken the new job, we would only be restriciting our timing even more. We are at peace with the decision we have made and look forward to where God is taking us.

Update on Ellie!

Ellie has been a lot more active today and she hasn't stopped eating (except for her 10 minutes naps every once in awhile)! She has had a lot more energy and that has been encouraging. She has been getting along with Nikki very well and that is great! Nikki has already stolen one bone from her and is attemping at this very moment to steal another one. We are going to have to work on her sharing skills. :) Well, Travis has taken a couple of pictures of Ellie with his phone so here they are...

New Addition....Are we CRAZY???

So...we got another puppy. I know, I know...we are insane! Here was the reasoning: Nikki has been made more of an outside dog, so we got her a playmate. She has been chewing and being destructive and they said that one thing we could do is to get a playmate for Nikki to help correct her behavior. So...we got a puppy. Her name is Ellie and she is a collie/hound mix. She is absolutely precious! She is sick right now though. :( I took her in for her first puppy visit to the vet and she now has to take two medications. She has a URI (upper respiratory infection) and isn't eating. We have to give her a liver tonic three times a day to increase her appetite and two pills a day to get rid of the infection. She has been sleeping a lot and all she wants to do is cuddle. Nikki tries to play with her, but Ellie just doesn't seem to have it in her right now. I am starting to get a little anxious about Ellie because, in high school, we lost a puppy to Parvo. He just slept all the time and didn't eat. I'm really praying that her body is just trying to fight back really hard! I will try and post pictures soon, but as my camera is still broker...it might be awhile. Trust me...she is adorable!

Work is still going well. I have decided to not change careers at this point. After talking to several people in the industry and thinking over life changes and such, I just don't think it is what Travis and I need right now. I believe that we will both be happier in the long run if I stick to what I am doing now.

Speaking of Travis, he is on his way home right now! He has spent the last few days in Denver for work and stayed through today so he could spend some time with Mark for his birthday. I am ready to have him home!

Update

I know it has been awhile, but not a lot has been happening since I wrote last. Travis has been in town all month so it has been kinda weird having him here all the time. I love it! We have been able to spend so much time with Nikki and just be a married couple. We have started volunteering at church again and we are playing Volleyball every Sunday with a group at church. It has been nice. He starts traveling again next month, but will only travel a couple of weeks.

At church this morning we were asked to lead a team of teachers. It won't be for a few weeks, but Matt (the elementary minister) told us that he wanted to give us our own team. Yay! We are really looking forward to it and it will allow us to make some changes to the format of the class to encourage more energy! We are very excited.

This weekend we also put our order in for the hardwood floors. So, we are going to get bamboo floors! Yipee!! :) We get our new carpet next Thursday, on the 9th. I am so ready to have this all done, but it won't be completed for another month or so. July has gone by soo slowly!

Project: Tile / Status: Complete!

Yay! Our tiling is done! The laundry room, guest bathroom and the kitchen are completed! Travis' parents came up this past weekend and spent Saturday and Sunday working so hard to make it happen!

We are scheduled to have carpet installed on August 9th!! Then we will get the floors. I'm so excited that all these things are coming together.

A couple of things are going on here:

1) Travis' grandma (Grandma Bettes) is not doing very well, health-wise. We haven't heard anything today, but as soon as we hear, I will update on here.

2) I have been presented with the opportunity to become a Financial Advisor. I have been through a couple of interviews and I hear tomorrow morning if I have an offer or not. The next step, if I get an offer, would be to get my licenses. I am actually really excited about this opportunity.

I don't really have much to say right now, so I will go for now. I will update soon!

Change of Plans

Well, Travis' parents were supposed to come in this weekend to help with the house, but we ended up moving the work weekend to next weekend, the 14th. Instead, Lara Jane and her family came down to visit Waco so the kids could see what it was like. Then they came and stayed with us Saturday and Sunday night.

Friday, Travis and I went to the Blue October concert in New Braunfels. It poured on us the first two hours we were there. The rain finally cleared up and the band came on to play around 10:00 or so. Needless to say it was awesome! I was barefoot in the mud watching Blue October play. I loved it! We didn't get home until 2:00 am.

Saturday, Travis and I finished tiling the laundry room and guest bathroom. All we have to do now is grout the floors and we can put our toilet, washer and dryer back where they belong (instead of in the middle of the garage). After we got all that done, we went to our friend Marty's 30th birthday party. After the party, Lara Jane and Marshall drove in from Waco and spent the night.

Sunday, we all went to church and then came home to eat lunch and take naps! Yay for naps! :) Then, we all got up and went to the Austin Zoo. It is nothing like the Dallas or Ft.Worth Zoo. It is a little place, but has some really cool animals. It takes about an hour and a half to see all the animals. It was a lot of fun. We went to dinner and spent the rest of the evening watching The Princess Bride and visiting.

It was a great weekend, but missed Mom and Pop McHam. We wish they could have been part of the fun. We will have a great weekend with then this coming weekend. I'm excited to see them and to be able to spend some good quality time with them.

The Weekend Begins...

Well, I am at home with, yet another, sinus infection. I am so tired of being sick! I felt this one coming so I am trying to rest as much as possible. We have a Blue October concert tonight and Travis' parents are coming into town tomorrow morning to help finish the tiling. I am excited about all of that, but I feel so yucky right now! I hope I start feeling better...SOON!

So, today is going to be filled with sleep, reading, sleep, checking email, sleep, playing a game or two of Spades on the computer and sleep! Do you see a trend yet?

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Rainy 4th of July...

Well, today is the day to celebrate our freedom...and it is raining...again! It has been raining on and off all day, but right now the sun is shining and it is clear. We are hoping that it stays that way. We have invited several people over to have fajitas and watch the fireworks. Our community puts on a parade and an all day festival out in the park a couple blocks from the house. At night, they have the 2nd best firework show in Austin! We are excited. We are expecting about 25+ people, so this house will be very full! We have spent most of the day running around getting all the necessities to be good hosts, and cleaning the house. It has been a lazy, yet very productive day.

To update everyone about the house: We have almost finished tiling the laundry room and guest bathroom! Yay! The only things we have to do are the cuts that require a wet saw and grout. When Travis' parents come up this weekend we are getting that done, and the kitchen will be tiled! WooHoo!! I am so ready for the house projects to start showing some results. We have ordered our carpet, but apparently it is taking them awhile to get it in. They are supposed to call us no later than July 19th to schedule the installation. We SHOULD have our carpet by the end of July. Then we will be getting the hardwood floors everywhere else.

My camera is still broken. In fact, we took it to the store today to see what our options were. Basically what it boils down to is...we have to get a new camera. Now, when will we be able to afford a camera...I have no idea! With all the house projects, paying off debt, yadda yadda yadda, going on...it could be my birthday before you see anymore pictures. I will try though. Maybe I can go get a cheap one from WalMart just til I can get a good one. It is driving me nuts, not being able to post pictures of everything!

That is about all I have for now. I better get ready for the party! :)

Happy Independence Day!!