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!