Ferguson Family Fun

N - Halloween & Joel Turns 3

2010-11-19T16:13:00.013-06:00

I don't remember this from when I was a kid but it seems as though Halloween has stretched into a weeklong holiday now. We took Joel trick-or-treating 3 different times - once at the OC dorms, once in the neighborhood and a third time at church during the Fall Carnival. If you have a sweet tooth, we still have plenty of candy so come on over!

Mary did a great job making Joel's costume. He was the Big Bad Wolf. Clay was a little pig and a very cute one at that. Here is a picture before the neighborhood trick-or-treating.

I'm sure every parent says this a million times but it seems like just yesterday that Mary and I took Joel home from the hospital and he's already 3 years old! Joel had a big birthday party at Chuckie Cheese. I don't know how much the adults enjoyed it but Joel had a really good time with his all his cousins and several of his friends. On his actual birthday, we let Joel choose the meal (pizza) and we served up an ice cream sandwich "cake" with a birthday candle. This was no comparison to the amazing cake my mom made him for his party but he enjoyed blowing out the candle nonetheless.

Clay took his first steps on Sunday evening, November 7. Although crawling is still his primary modus operandi, he's gaining confidence on his feet.

Here's one last picture that I thought was funny. We don't play hide-and-seek often but the other night Joel decided all on his own that he was going to play. (I think it was an attempt to avoid bath time.) Usually kids love to be found more than they love to hide but he stayed like this for a good 5 minutes even with me "looking" very hard for him throughout the room.

N - Bedtime Story

2010-09-28T21:26:00.003-05:00

Here is a video of Joel "reading" one of his current favorite books.

N - Vacation cont.

2010-09-16T10:57:00.009-05:00

This post will be mostly pictures with little narrative. OK, you can stop cheering now. Seriously, I'm standing right here!

We enjoyed all the shows at Sea World but our favorite might have been the Azul show. Here is a picture of one of the dolphins from that show.

Here is a picture of Joel checking things out at the Alamo.

If you know Clay, you know he has a good time just about any time and any place.

We took Joel to the Kiddie Park in San Antonio. It turned out to be a great local find. The only problem was Mary did not want to leave the helicopter ride.

We saw this Mexican Elvis all over town and finally were able to take a picture of him.

Joel had a good time at the Houston Zoo and especially in the water play area.

N - Vacation day 1 & 2

2010-09-11T21:22:00.006-05:00

We loaded up the family truckster on Thursday with San Antonio in our sights. After a brief respite in Arlington with Mary's Uncle David and Aunt Karan, we arrived in Dublin, TX Friday for lunch and a tour at the oldest Dr. Pepper bottling company. Although I'm not necessarily a fan of the Pepper, I happen to be married to someone who is. They actually rename the town Dr. Pepper, Texas for one week a year each June. Here is a picture of said Dr. Pepper fan with the city limit sign.

The tour was interesting and we enjoyed the break from being in the car. We drove the Texas Hill Country backroads from Dublin to the thriving metropolis of Luckenbach, Texas made famous by Waylon Jennings. This is probably my 2nd favorite Waylon Jennings song. Any guesses as to the first? The Dukes of Hazzard theme song of course! But I digress . . .

Here's a picture of Joel, Clay and I in front of the Luckenbach General Store. As Mary was taking this picture she got stung by some sort of bee or wasp. It left a huge stinger in her leg. All three residents of Luckenbach were very concerned for her and suggested several questionable remedies including holding a raw onion on the sting. It must have worked because she has survived although it is still red and a bit swollen.

Saturday brought day 1 at Sea World. We were really looking forward to Joel getting to see the whales live and in person. He's been watching the videos online for several weeks. From the pictures below I think Shamu did not disappoint.

We plan to go to church tomorrow morning with some SYC friends and then day 2 at Sea World. I'll post some pictures of the Shamu show and the very impressive Azul show as well.

M- Splash Park

2010-07-23T16:43:00.002-05:00

Joel loves splash parks. He had a particularly good time this day with Aunt Dana, Noah and Katie.

M- Clay's first day of Bible class

2010-07-23T16:16:00.003-05:00

Wednesday night was the first time I left Clay in Bible class. I asked his teachers to take a few pictures, and I ended up with about 25. It looks like he and the teachers had a good time. We are so blessed to have such a great children's ministry at our congregation. Thank you Brenda and all the teachers who influence my boys' lives toward Christ. I am so very grateful.

I'm pretty sure he's drooling all over his Bible to get back at Melanie and Jen for putting a bird on top of his head.

N - Clay Sitting Up

2010-07-08T21:43:00.003-05:00

The boys are growing up fast. Clay will be 6 months old next week. Just in the past few days he has gotten really good at sitting up on his own. Here is a picture. He's kind of proud if he does say so himself.

All of the Ferguson cousins came to visit several weeks ago. We had a great time playing in the water and celebrating several birthdays.

N - Boys getting down and dirty

2010-05-03T21:33:00.005-05:00

Lately we Ferguson boys have found a variety of ways to get messy. Since the weather turned nice, Mary has been taking Joel and Clay to the OKC Zoo once or twice a week. There are several animals Joel likes to see but his true favorite is playing in the kids water park area. A change of clothes is a must.

I couldn't let the boy top me so I set the bar a little higher and competed in the Warrior Dash this past weekend in Forney, TX. If you're otherwise unfamiliar, think of it as 5K run meets obstacle course with lots of mud and a couple of fire pits. Here is an "after" picture.

Clay has a knack for making messes as well but seeing as how it's not really appropriate to take pictures of THAT, we had him pose in Daddy's Warrior Dash viking helmet and medal. We told him to make his meanest, nastiest warrior face. This is the best he could do. Scary huh?

M - Yes, I know they look alike

2010-04-01T00:07:00.004-05:00

Clay at 2 months

Joel at almost 3 months

M- How Time Flies

2010-03-31T23:24:00.006-05:00

Our lives have been pretty crazy over the last couple of months. I didn't realize how crazy until I decided to try to catch my blog up to date. So, here are a few highlights since Clay has been born.

When Clay was two weeks old, we had to check back in to the hospital. He got RSV, a respiratory virus that's pretty dangerous for infants to get. Luckily, he has a strong immune system and was able to fight it off quickly. Below is a picture of him in the hospital with an IV in his head. Supposedly, that's the best place to give those to babies because they aren't always tugging at it and it's a big vein. I can't help but feel sorry for him when I look at this picture though.

Another one of Clay in the hospital

We've had to keep a close eye on Joel because he loves his baby brother a little too much at times. What once started as me telling Joel to "be soft" while touching Clay's head, has turned in to a sort of game for Joel. He now thinks Clay "is soft" and loves to rub his head. Poor Clay, one day he'll be able to defend himself. Until then, he'll endure a lot of high fives and noogies (I have no idea how to spell that word). At two months, Clay weighed 11.6 pounds (35%) and was 22 inches long (10%).

Here are a few pictures of what he looks like now:

Clay with Grandpa

Clay with Granny

For spring break, Joel, Clay and I went to Kingwood. We caravanned with Jill, Michaela and Nick from Allen. The boys were real troopers in the car. Neither one complained too much. We went to the Houston Zoo, the Aquarium, had an egg hunt and picnic. Joel and Nicholas had a great time together. It was really sweet to see them interact with each other. Unfortunately, my camera was dead at the time, so I don't have any pictures to share. Luckily, Jill and my mom took some, so hopefully I'll get those soon.

Joel has really been loving his friends Dax and Jack lately. We try to go to the Science Museum or to the Zoo with one or both of them as often as we can.

Joel on the playground at the Zoo

Joel and Jack at the new Children's Zoo area

Dax, Jack and Joel on the lion statues

Jack, Joel and Dax at the Science Museum

N - Clay Andrew Ferguson

2010-01-14T19:35:00.005-06:00

Mary was scheduled to be induced on January 13, 2010. She hoped Clay would come on his own on January 9, her Grandpa Emmitt's birthday. I hoped Clay would come on January 10 or January 11 so that he would be a "binary baby" (01/10/10 or 01/11/10). Go ahead and say it, Neil you are a dork. OK now that you got that out of your system . . .

Alas Clay was not ready so January 13 was the day. We had to be at the hospital at 5am. It is a weird thing knowing that you are going to have a baby the next day but we managed to get a little sleep. They started Mary's labor around 6am and Clay made his arrival at 11:57am. Mary did GREAT. Of course it helped that his 9lb 6oz big brother helped pave the way for him.

Clay tipped the scales at 7lb 13oz and was 20in long. We both think he looks a lot like Joel, especially when he is crying and he curls his lower lip. Here is a picture after they cleaned him and up and gave him to momma.

Clay has quite a bit of dark hair and dark eyes although he's quite the sleeper and doesn't show his peepers very often. Here is a picture of Clay snuggling with Mary.

Big Brother Joel wasn't real interested in the baby yesterday but warmed up to him today. He played "Where's the baby? There he is. I found him." for awhile this afternoon. Here is a picture of Mary with her boys.

We've enjoyed being taken care of and seeing visitors here at the hospital but are very much looking forward to going home tomorrow.

M - Just some pictures

2009-12-16T13:48:00.002-06:00

My boys at the Thunder game

Joel kept playing catch with the girl behind him.

M- Joel's 2nd Birthday

2009-11-18T13:46:00.003-06:00

Joel turned 2 on Monday. I know it sounds cliche to say "I can't believe how big he is" or even "Wow, where has time gone?" Seriously though, I'm really not ready for him to be so big. Sometimes I have moments when I want to keep him just the way he is right now, but at the same time, I love watching him grow up. I love every new step he takes and every new thing he accomplishes.

There are a few things he does now that I hope I never forget. I hope I remember the way he kicks his little feet out when he's running. He looks like kind of a goof, but it's so cute. I hope I remember the way he calls every big truck a "tracker" (tractor) or "tah truck" (fire truck). I hope I remember how much he loves his stuffed duck and elephant, "kack kack" and "el-punt".

Obviously there are a lot more things I hope I remember, but I won't keep on. More than all that though, I hope he continues to have the same sweet, sensitive spirit he has now. He may be covered in bruises most of the time from the many tumbles he takes, but he really is very sweet natured; kind of like the man he's named after...

Here are a few pictures from his party on Saturday.

M- A few of Joel's favorite things

2009-10-30T21:48:00.008-05:00

Lately it seems as if Joel has grown up so much. He's really turning into a big boy faster than I'd like. Here are a couple of pictures of Joel with the things he loves most right now.

Number 1 - Daddy

Number 2 - Tractors

Number 3 - Suckers

Number 4 - Cars

Number 5 - The Science Museum

N - First Day of School

2009-09-15T16:50:00.006-05:00

Joel started Sonshine School today at our church. School actually started last week but his party-animal parents let him skip the first week to go on vacation. I'm sure that's the first of many parent-approved "playing hookie" days.

So did he like it? I think this picture says it all.

He's about as expressive as his father isn't he???

Actually despite appearances and his mother's worry I think he had a good time. When Mary picked him up he was so busy chasing bubbles it took him awhile to notice she was even there. One thing I know for sure is they wore him out. Looks like me at the office each afternoon around 2:30pm (minus the duck of course).

N - Chicago Vacation 9/9/2009

2009-09-13T22:16:00.005-05:00

We all feel like road warriors this evening. We drove from Chicago to Springfield, MO with really only one stop in Springfield, IL to see the Abraham Lincoln Museum. Below is a picture of the outside. The museum takes you through Abraham Lincoln's life from birth in Indiana to Kentucky to Illinois to his time in Springfield and on to Washington, DC and the White House. Family deaths including his mother and 2 sons not to mention the Civil War really took a toll on him.

Across the street from the museum is the old Union Station. It was a pretty day so we took a family photograph.

Roughly 1,400 miles under our belts and about 280 to go tomorrow. Joel has been a real trooper. He's not lacked in things to do and is usually wiped out at the end of each day. There are few things cuter in my book than our little boy when he's asleep.

Looking forward to seeing some of you this weekend at Sequoyah State Park on Lake Fort Gibson for Ferguson Family Fun and the rest hopefully soon.

N - Chicago Vacation 9/8/2009

2009-09-13T22:07:00.006-05:00

This morning we drove to the Museum of Science & Industry. It an impressive building. The museum is massive with something for everyone. Of course the main attraction for Mary was the Harry Potter exhibit. They had over 200 items from various Harry Potter movies. Even for the casual movie fan such as myself it was pretty impressive. Joel and I enjoyed the quidditch interactive game the most. Here is a picture of Mary with the Flying Ford Anglia which transported the Weasley brothers to Hogwarts in the 2nd movie (or so I'm told).

After the museum we ate lunch at the Frontera Grill. This is one of Rick Bayless' restaurants in Chicago. For the uncultured or uninformed, Rick Bayless is a master chef of some sort and recently won the Top Chef contest on BravoTV. Mary has been watching it and cheering for him. He is actually from OKC and his parents started The Hickory House BBQ restaurant. I had flour tortillas folded over Samuels artisanal melted cheese and grilled shrimp with smoky, spicy chipotle peppers served with black beans and young greens (AKA quesadillas).

We went for a swim in the hotel pool this afternoon and snuck out on the balcony to snap a picture of the Oprah festivities.

Tonight we took the "L" down to the Chicago White Sox game. We didn't have tickets but really lucked out and got FREE tickets in the lower level between home plate and 3rd base. Someone had extras and gave them to the ticket window clerk. We just happened to be the lucky couple that walked up at the right time!

The home team fell behind early so there weren't many moments worth cheering for but Joel took advantage of every opportunity.

The scouts were all over us before we got out of the cages.

We're hitting the road again tomorrow. Have a great 9/9/09.

N - Chicago Vacation 9/7/2009

2009-09-13T21:58:00.008-05:00

Happy Labor Day!

Our hotel is really nice. Our room is on the 16th floor and looks right down on North Michigan Avenue, the Magnificent Mile. We have a great view of the John Hancock Center out one side and if you look between the buildings we can see Lake Michigan out the other side. Here is a picture of Joel checking out the cars and horse drawn carriages below on Michigan Avenue. He had a great time jumping off the windowsill onto the bed.

This morning we drove to Lincoln Park. It is a beautiful park just off the lake and has a free zoo. I made my family proud by not only finding a parking spot on the street (read FREE!!) but I also squeezed the mini-van into a spot made for one of those SMART cars. I know you are impressed.

It was a great day to be outside, sunny and not too hot. The gardens in the park were really pretty. Here is a picture with the John Hancock Center in the background followed by a picture of Joel and Mary watching the polar bear.

Tomorrow Oprah Winfrey AKA the most powerful woman in the world is taping her 24th season opener a few blocks south of our hotel on a stage at Michigan Avenue just north of the Chicago River. They have the street blocked off from there nearly up to our hotel. I'm sure it will be a madhouse. Doubt we'll actually walk down there but I guess we can technically say we were there. If I get any crowd pictures I'll include those tomorrow. Here is a part of the stage with the Chicago Tribune building in the background.

Tonight we ate at Gino's East, my favorite Chicago-style pizzeria. Then we walked over to Navy Pier and had some ice cream. Here is a picture of the Chicago skyline.

Tomorrow we're off to the Museum of Science and Industry. I think we'll try to make it to the Chicago White Sox game tomorrow evening.

N - Chicago Vacation 9/6/2009

2009-09-13T21:34:00.010-05:00

Saturday brought rainy weather and a stop at America's Cave, Meramec Caverns.

We borrowed a backpack from a friend for Joel to ride in and thought this would be a great chance to try it out. It worked out well until at one point the tour guide said if you are over 5'9" you may need to duck down so as not to bump your head. My quads were burning after several minutes of squat-walking through the cave with an extra 25lbs on my back.

Even with the extra workout the cave was spectacular and definitely worth the stop. Here is a picture of several stalactites.

I think the day's highlight for Joel was either jumping in puddles in the hotel parking lot.

Or flying high over the corn in Illinois (PS - if you like the view of cornfields in every direction, you'll love the drive from St. Louis to Chicago).

Saturday night we made it to Bolingbrook, IL where Adam and Christina Mearse live. We enjoyed visiting with them, going to church in Naperville, and playing with their kiddos. Sunday afternoon the weather was beautiful. We played whiffle ball in the backyard. Mary and Jackson cheered us on from the trampoline.

On the way from Naperville to downtown Chicago, we drove through Downers Grove where my family lived before moving to Oklahoma. We stopped in front of our old house and I got out to take some pictures. The current resident found it odd that someone was taking pictures of their house so they came outside. I introduced myself and we had a great visit. We even got a tour of the old homestead. Here is a picture of Joel sitting on the front doorstep. I remember a similar picture of me and Joel's uncle Joel on the very same porch over 33 years ago.

N - Chicago Vacation 9/5/2009

2009-09-13T17:19:00.005-05:00

Mary, Joel and I woke up to cloudy, humid weather in Rolla, MO this morning. We didn't make it to Rolla until about 10:30pm last night. We would have been here sooner if not for a detour through Ozark, MO to eat at Lamberts, home of the "Throwed Rolls". There was over an hour wait but we decided to tough it out. It was definitely worth it. You all know my affinity for rolls. However when you combine that with throwing and catching it becomes simply irresistible. I've attached a picture of Mary catching a roll. However if you know Mary, you know this picture was staged. Joel enjoyed the balloons and watching the model train in the waiting

area.

Today we plan to drive to Naperville, IL and will stay with Adam and Christina Mearse. Along the way we play to stop at either the Meramec Caverns or several Abraham Lincoln sites in Springfield, IL. Whatever we miss today we'll probably pick up on the way back next week.

M- For Hillary

2009-08-14T14:17:00.005-05:00

I can count on one hand the number of people I've stayed in touch with since middle or even high school. I know that's not saying much about me, especially with the invention of Facebook which I'm sure I'll end up joining to everyone's surprise one day. But, that's all beside the point.

There is one friend who I know will never escape me. And, to top it all off, today is her birthday! So, this one's for you, Hillary, and probably no one else.

Over the years we've had a few laughs

From counting blue vans to IHOP name gaffs

From laughing at guys in grocery stores

to buying dry ice and water and more

From singing songs as loud as we could

to talking on the phone later than we should

From staying up late with frozen Dr. Peppers

to writing each other in code in letters

All these were fun and memorable too

Still there's more that we've shared between us two.

We've been with each other in spirit or person

to listen to the other when hard times worsened.

We've been with each other in good times and bad

And angered each other with a few fights we've had

But no matter the season of life that we're in

I hope you're my friend till the very end.

Happy Birthday, Hill.

M- Puppy Love

2009-08-11T21:58:00.003-05:00

Joel loves dogs (woof woofs). Every time he sees one he barks at it until he can't see it anymore. The funny thing is that he generally won't touch them. This was not the case last night though. He had a great time with Buddy. Here are some pictures Uncle Mike took.

First they played chase.

Then Joel fell down and Buddy attacked.

At first, Joel thought it was funny.

Once he'd had enough, he decided to practice his martial arts skills to get Buddy to go away.

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-22T21:52:00.001-05:00

N - South Dakota

2009-06-12T11:22:00.006-05:00

Recently I made a weekend trek with several friends to Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota and North Dakota . We had a great time - camped out, saw Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park, Devil's Tower and even the geographic center of the United States.

Evidently we made quite an impression on the good folks of South Dakota, so much so that they decided to honor us in a somewhat peculiar way.

Here is us posing for the artist.

M- Sleepy Swinging

2009-06-09T12:23:00.005-05:00

Joel is a very schedule oriented child. He likes things to be done at a certain time and certain way. Everyday after lunch he lays down for his nap. Today, I thought I'd take him outside to swing to get him good and tired. He lasted approximately 3 minutes before this happened.

N - First Pic

2009-06-08T21:06:00.004-05:00

In case you haven't heard, Mary is prego! Here is the first picture of Joel's little brother or sister. The little one is expected to arrive on January 22, 2010. We are very excited, as is Joel. He just doesn't know it yet.

M- Just a picture

2009-06-08T13:54:00.004-05:00

Uncle Mike took this picture in McAlester. I wanted to share it because I think he actually looks sweet instead of incredibly ornery.

M- Birdbath fun

2009-06-04T10:27:00.003-05:00

Our backyard lacks what Aunt Dana's does not... TOYS! I know that over time we'll accumulate a lot of them so I'm not worried about it. Plus, Dana lives down the street so any time we feel like playing outside, we just go down there. Ironically, while there are a lot of toys to play with, Joel's favorite is the birdbath. On a bright note, we've never seen a bird use it, but Joel on the other hand leaves soaking wet often. Here are a couple of pictures that Uncle Mike took.

M- Such a boy

2009-05-22T14:43:00.003-05:00

I don't know how to describe this kid as anything other than "all boy". He's always dirty, getting into trouble, being stubborn, and getting hurt. Here's a classic picture of him with two black eyes that his uncle Mike took. This was after a couple of days, so they had both started to heal at this point. He got them by climbing on things he shouldn't have been climbing on like bowls and coffee tables, and by running into a column he didn't see because he was too busy looking behind him as he ran. Just had to share.

M-Mowing like Daddy

2009-05-16T17:40:00.004-05:00

We decided Joel is getting old enough to start earning his keep. So, we told him to mow the yard. He wasn't sure how to do it, so this time he followed Daddy around, but next time he's on his own.

M-Easter

2009-05-14T15:09:00.005-05:00

This was Joel's first time to participate in the church's Easter egg hunt. Unfortunately, it was raining this year, so it had to be held indoors. Joel and his buddy, Dax, didn't seem to mind though. Aren't they cute? They're going to be such great friends.

M-Baby Dera

2009-05-14T14:52:00.003-05:00

The day after we got home from spring break, we had a surprise phone call from Neil's sister Diane. She and Matt had baby Dera. She's so sweet and beautiful! Here are a couple of pictures of Dera on Easter and one of the new family in the hospital. Welcome to the family, Dera. You are loved and will soon be spoiled.

M-Spring Break in Kingwood

2009-05-14T14:18:00.006-05:00

Over spring break this year, my sisters, grandmother and I went to Kingwood with all the kids in tow. We had a great time at Jesse Jones Park. We played on the playground and then went letterboxing (a type of scavenger hunt). Below are a few pictures

Aunt Dana helping Joel slide

Katie, Nick, Noah, Joel and Dana

Grandpa with Katie and Michaela

Noah loves his little cousins. He is SOOOO good with them.

On Thursday, we went to the church and had a picnic on the playground. Afterward, we had an easter egg hunt. Joel got into this a lot. He especially loved emptying his eggs out and putting them back in his bucket. After this, we found easter eggs all over the house and even in our luggage.

Grandma, Katie, Joel and Noah swinging on the porch swing

N - For Grandpa Danny

2009-02-21T13:13:00.005-06:00

One of the many reasons I decided to marry Mary: ribs. Her dad makes incredible ribs and he passed on this ability to his daughters. We can usually count on this meal when we're in Houston for a visit. Occasionally Mary and I will indulge here at home. This past Thursday was especially yummy. As we finished up dinner, Mary decided to give Joel a taste. I wasn't sure what he would think but he loved it. He ate an entire rib by himself. He is ready for the next visit to Grandpa Danny's.

N - The Natural

2009-02-01T12:03:00.001-06:00

N - Home Court Advantage

2009-01-12T22:09:00.002-06:00

Joel is gaining confidence every day in walking. I estimate that he walks at least 50% of the time he wants to get somewhere while at home. However, I've noticed that other places (church, friend's house, etc.) he rarely walks. He usually drops straight to the familiar crawling position. I wonder if others have noticed this in their kids. At any rate, I'm proud of the boy. He's growing up fast.

N - Belated Christmas Pics

2009-01-10T15:30:00.005-06:00

We had a great Christmas and New Years with our family. The weekend before Christmas we went up to Tulsa. The weekend of Christmas was spent in Houston. New Years weekend was spent at home. Houston was warm and muggy as you might expect. Despite passing around various illnesses (strep throat - Mary, Jill, Michaela, Danny, Brian, possibly Neil; pneumonia - Joel) we all had a good time.

The pics below are Joel at the park in Kingwood, Christmas morning with new basketball and football, our Christmas in Edmond, and with Santa Claus at Oklahoma Christian's Lighting of the Commons.

Winding down at the end of a busy day

2009-01-10T15:27:00.002-06:00

N - Some Videos

2009-01-05T21:26:00.004-06:00

Joel has been experimenting with various stages of mobility for awhile now but he finally decided to take things completely, and without assistance, vertical. The video below from about 2 weeks ago shows the early stages - still a bit shaky. Mary and I noticed tonight that he walked just about everywhere he wanted to go.

This video is Joel ham'n it up for his aunts and grandma while in Houston for Christmas.

M- 1st Birthday

2008-12-16T13:05:00.006-06:00

I can hardly believe this little boy recently turned 1. We had a house full of family for the big day. It was a lot of fun having both sides of our family together for the party and dinner afterward.

Here are a few pictures of the party.

Joel had a little help opening some of his presents.

Granny (Neil's mom) made this awesome cake.

It tasted just as great as it looked.

Joel wasn't sure at first if he was allowed to eat it, but once he started he really had fun.

So much fun, that it ended up in his belly button.

N - Halloween

2008-10-31T06:50:00.003-05:00

Mary found a sock monkey costume for Joel. The hat makes the costume but Joel will only tolerate it for about 2 seconds. That means if you want a picture everyone has to be posed and the shutter has to be pressed down halfway before you drop the hat onto his little noggin. Mike was able to snap one good picture. You may notice the My Little Pony treat bag. Rest assured that is Joel's cousin Katie's. He's just trying to "help Katie share".

PS - It's too bad that Joel can't eat his candy this year. I wonder who will help him with that???

N - Thunderstruck

2008-10-31T05:48:00.012-05:00

Queue AC/DC . . . NBA basketball in OKC is officially underway!

Mary and I were able to attend the first ever game of Oklahoma City's new NBA team, the Thunder. For a sports fan, it was really exciting to be a part of history. Who knows, 20 years from now no one may care but I like being able to say "I've been there" or "I've seen that". That's why I'm road-tripping to North and South Dakota next year. I'm going! You wait and see!

The loudest applause during the player introductions went to former OSU Cowboy Desmond Mason. My brother and I were at Gallagher-Iba when Mason was a freshman and broke the backboard with a slam dunk during the first Cowboys basketball practice. I've enjoyed watching him ever since. Although there were few Thunder highlights on Opening Night (the team has a ways to go) but Mason had the best and I happened to catch it on camera. Enjoy!

N - Trip Report #4

2008-10-21T21:39:00.004-05:00

Before leaving Pepperdine, Brian and Kim took us to the Heroes Garden. It was built to remember those affected by 9/11. One of the members of United flight #93 was a Pepperdine alumni. Heroes Garden sits way up on campus with a beautiful view. It was very windy when we were there but still well worth it. As you can see Joel is enjoying himself while Evelyn tries to comfort him. She's sweet that way.

I decided to leave the golf clubs at home but I still insisted we make a stop at the most beautiful public golf course, Torrey Pines, site of this year's US Open.

While in San Diego, we drove to the Cabrillo National Monument. It's on a peninsula so you can look one way and see the San Diego Bay and the entire San Diego skyline. You can look the other way and see the Pacific Ocean. Just before you get there is the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. It's sort of the Arlington National of the West, rows and rows of white tombstones.

We had a great vacation but were all a little worn out and ready to get home.

N - Trip Report #3

2008-10-11T14:47:00.005-05:00

Brian and I ate breakfast and watched the OU game today with Sean Penn.

PS - When I say ate breakfast "with" he was 2 tables over and when I say "watched" the OU game with he could have cared less.

N - Trip Report #2

2008-10-10T21:11:00.004-05:00

We visited the Ronald Reagan Library today. You'll recall that this is where they held Reagan's televised memorial service. It is in the hills near Los Angeles, very beautiful. They have the Air Force One plane used by all of the presidents from Nixon to George W. Bush. Here's the first family with our ride.

Reagan was a fiscal conservative during his days as governor of California. They told a story of how he found some stationary in his office from a prior administration. He had his staff mark out the other guy's name and type in Ronald Reagan so he could use the stationary. He was evidently somewhat proud of the statement it made. Of course one of Reagan's greatest accomplishments during his presidency was helping to end the Cold War. "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

Herbert Walker and W don't have anything on us . . .

N - Trip Report #1

2008-10-10T10:41:00.005-05:00

The title of this post implies there will be more (I'll try).

Mary, Joel and I made it to San Diego on Wednesday night. We checked into our hotel, had a good night's rest (mostly) and then headed off to the world famous San Diego Zoo. It was a beautiful day for the zoo and the San Diego Zoo lives up to its reputation. It's almost a little bit overwhelming. We all had a great time and took lots of steps (if only I had my pedometer). Here are a few pictures:

After the zoo and a must-stop at In-N-Out Burger, we drove to Malibu. I don't know what all the fuss is about with southern California traffic. It was a breeze for us. Actually I do know but somehow we timed it perfectly.

Brian, Kim and Evelyn moved from Edmond to Malibu a few months ago so Brian could teach math at Pepperdine University. Evelyn is a few weeks older than Joel. Here is a picture of them and the view from Brian and Kim's back patio (rough huh).

N - More pictures for Granny

2008-09-30T22:29:00.003-05:00

Joel is getting to be pretty smart. Yesterday he and I were playing with one of his toys that has small blocks. I set one of the blocks on top of his head. He looked up to see it and of course the block fell off. We did that a couple of times and then went on to something else. Tonight we were on the floor together and he was holding one of his blocks. He tried to set it on top of my head. He did it several times. I don't know how he remembered but I thought it was pretty cute. Speaking of cute, here's a picture of Joel's baby blues.

Mary recently bought a zoo pass. I surprised Mary one day, took off work, and we had a family day at the zoo. Joel seems to really like it which is good since we're planning on shelling out about $70 to hit the world famous San Diego Zoo in a week or so. Here is a picture of him with one of the OKC gorillas.

We went to Tulsa a couple of weeks ago for Luke's birthday party. We also got to stop and see my Grandma. Here's a picture of Joel with his Great-Grandma.

This blog's for you, Granny

2008-08-29T01:43:00.005-05:00

N - A Day of Firsts

2008-08-22T22:25:00.006-05:00

Joel seems to have been on the verge of crawling for a little while now. Mary and I have anticipated that milestone with mixed emotions. On one hand it's so exciting to see our little baby boy grow and learn new things. On the other other hand, mobility brings a whole new set of challenges. Today he decided it was about time to get moving. His crawl resembles an army crawl but it is very effective.

Why stop there though. It's an entirely different world when taken in from a standing position.

N - Probably not what HE had in mind

2008-08-22T22:21:00.004-05:00

N - Just Some Pictures

2008-08-07T21:36:00.004-05:00

The boy has some big eyes. This is watching fireworks on the 4th of July in Kingwood, TX.

Joel loves dill pickles. He gets this from his mom.

Not the most flattering look but he was cracking his mom up.

Hanging out with dear 'ol dad.

N - Sooner Youth Camp 2008

2008-08-07T21:12:00.007-05:00

The family enjoyed a great week at Sooner Youth Camp on Lake Murray in Ardmore, OK. Mary was a camper at SYC for 7 years and has been on staff now for 8 years. I started going with her in 2002. This was Joel's first year (2nd if you count the womb)! Joel was a big hit with the staff and campers alike. Our friend, Sammy, quickly became a chick magnet with Joel in his arms. Each night the campers provide their own entertainment in "Social Hour". Joel was well-represented in many of the skits.

Here is a picture of Joel and his mommy. No shorts at SYC (j/k - that was the old days).

Here is Joel with his friend Diana. Diana was one of Mary's counselors when she was a camper. We are good friends with Diana and her family.

The view from my bunk. The fan is a must have as there is no A/C and the temperatures in mid-July can be ridiculous!

N - Independence Day

2008-07-10T17:21:00.003-05:00

Mary, Joel and I drove to Houston for the holiday weekend. We stopped in Arlington on the way down to pick up Mary's uncle David. David's daughter, Mary's cousin, Jana Kay lives in Kingwood near Mary's parents. Jana Kay and her husband welcomed their first child on July 3, Jayden. We were still a couple of hours north of Houston when she made her arrival but we got to see her several times over the weekend. She's a very pretty baby girl. We enjoyed the Kingwood fireworks on the 4th. Here is a family picture before the fireworks started.

Joel already enjoys watching sports on TV. Now I've started teaching him to like to play sports. No golf clubs yet but here is a picture of Joel going after the basketball.

Joel is really active now, especially in his crib. Here is a picture of him in the process of getting ready for bed. He's a really happy little guy about 98% of the time.

M - Ferguson Family Fun 2008

2008-06-27T00:20:00.006-05:00

We had our annual family get together a couple of weeks ago. This year we went to Lake Tenkiller. On Saturday we got up in the morning and went to the marina where Darrell and Willa Rae rented a pontoon boat for the family. Baby Joel took a while to settle down. Mostly we just had to take his life jacket off. Shhh, don't tell.

That afternoon, we took all the kiddos to the pool. Baby Joel decided he really likes the water there, and now, he splashes me all the time when he takes a bath. Lily had no fear going down the water slide, and Liam is quite a diver off the diving board.

In the evening there were steaks, potatoes and smores to eat. Don't you wish you were there? Sunday at lunch a big storm came through making grilling difficult. Uncle Joel had his handy wok though. So, he saved the day by cooking on the range. The smoke detectors only went off once! Here are a few pictures.

Neil and Joel in their shades

Joel and Stefani on the pontoon

Aunt Di and Lily

Uncle Joel grilling inside

Uncle Matt and Luke fishing.

They're the only ones who caught fish, I think.

M - A day at Granny & Grump's

2008-06-26T18:31:00.006-05:00

A few weeks ago, Neil had a conference in Tulsa. So, Joel and I went with him and stayed at his parents house. While Neil was busy working, Joel and I were busy having fun with Granny and Grump.

His favorite thing was the swing at their house. Who wouldn't love a swing that is attached to a branch much taller than the house.

My camera doesn't record sound, but here is a video of the swinging from a distance. You just have to see how far he goes in this swing.

M - Bible Class in McAlester

2008-06-26T18:08:00.007-05:00

Nick is Joel's cousin. He was born three days before Joel. He weighs somewhere between 2 and 4 pounds more than Joel. He is seriously one of the sweetest babies in the world. Even when he was crying after getting shots, Nick still managed to smile at the nurses. He went to Bible class for the first time in McAlester over Memorial Day weekend. He and Joel sat by each other. They look happy don't they?

Approximately 4 minutes after this picture was taken, I was back in the room because Joel was heard by literally everyone in the auditorium screaming at the top of his lungs. What was wrong? His sweet, precious cousin kept taking his pacifier away from him and he had enough. When I picked up Joel, Nick gave me the biggest grin.

M-For he's a jolly good fellow

2008-06-14T12:39:00.005-05:00

On this Father’s Day, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on some of my favorite things about my dad. It’s no secret that we’ve bumped heads a few times, but what else can you expect from two pretty stubborn people. So, here’s a list of five of my favorite memories.

1. We used to go out in the evenings in the cul-de-sac and play Frisbee together. He’s really shockingly good at Frisbee. It may have been only a few times that we did this, but for some reason it really made an impression on me that he came outside to play.
2. On my 18th birthday he bought me my own fishing pole and took me to a friend’s lake house. We spent the whole day fishing together. This is by far one of my favorite days.
3. During my junior and senior year of college, he used to call my cell phone almost every day on his way to work. He’d leave me a message saying how proud of me he is. There were definitely times when I erased the message before really listening to it, but there were other days when I saved them and listened to them over and over.
4. One year he came to Dear Ole Sooner Youth Camp as a teacher. I was pretty nervous that he would cramp my style, but really it was great to have him there. Secretly, I wish he’d come again.
5. There was a time when he commuted to Kingwood from Edmond every week. My mom and I would go to the airport each Friday evening to pick him up. He never failed to save his peanuts from the flight for me.

These are just a few moments in a thousand spent that I could write about. Instead, I’ll stop here and say, I love you, Dad!

M - A little catching up

2008-05-13T10:57:00.014-05:00

I apologize to all of our fans out there for not keeping you up to date on the life and times of our little family. I'm pretty sure I'm only addressing my grandma and my dad. I think everyone else gave up on us a long time ago.

I made it through my first Mother's Day with only a few tears. Neil had a cradle blanket that belonged to Grandpa Emmitt framed with a picture of Grandpa as a baby and a picture of him holding Joel. It was the perfect gift and definitely made me cry.

We've started tearing up our tile floors. There's a little dust in the air and it's not fun to walk around in bare feet. But, it means progress. We've had four tiles torn out for a year, and we've finally started the replacement process.

Apparently, the people who lived here before us didn't bother to get all the glue off before they laid their tile down. So, that means we have to go through two layers of glue before our tile gets to be put down. It's such a mess!

Here are a few pictures of Joel enjoying some of his favorite things.

The Johnny Jumper

The ExerSaucerThe Swing

I know he doesn't look like he's having fun in the swing, but that's how he fell asleep in it. This last picture is purely for me, and those of you who claim to know me will know why.

N - David Witthoft, I Salute You

2008-05-06T20:55:00.003-05:00

If you haven't heard of David Witthoft, he is a 12 year old boy from Connecticut. He received a Brett Favre Green Bay Packers jersey for Christmas 2003. He wore the jersey on December 25, 2003. He wore the jersey on December 26, 2003. He wore the jersey on December 27, 2003, and every day thereafter until April 23, 2008 when increased fashion awareness prevailed. That's one thousand five hundred eighty one consecutive days, SAME SHIRT! He's the Cal Ripken of jersey wearing; the Bob Barker of same shirts; the Methuselah of "my favorite tshirt". Honorable mention goes to David's devoted mother who washed his beloved jersey every other day and mended it when necessary.

Makes me wonder what I would wear every day if I could get away with it. Mary has accused me of wearing my Durant Lion Classic tshirt a little too often. I got it around January 1990 and still don it on occasion . . . OK, maybe she has a point there. Tough call but given the opportunity I bet I could come up with something.

N - Montreal

2008-04-26T21:46:00.006-05:00

I am currently in Montreal, Canada with several elders from our church. We are visiting Roger Saumur, a missionary working with the Ville Emard Church of Christ. We have had a wonderful time getting to know Roger's family, learning about the work here, and doing a little sightseeing.

Today for lunch, the Saumur's took us to a Sugar Cabin. These are only open from around late February until late April. It is basically breakfast food smothered in maple syrup, a Canadian dietary staple. For dessert you make your own popsicle of sorts out of hot maple syrup and fresh snow. The picture below shows Roger's daughter, Lydia, about to fashion her popsicle.

We have done a lot of driving around. Here's a picture of a gas station near our hotel. I call this "So you thought you had it bad". This is the price per liter. It equates to about $5.40 per gallon. Yeah, OUCH!

Tonight Roger drove us up to the oldest and biggest Catholic church in Montreal, St. Joseph's. It sits high above the city, sort of a reminder to everyone of their roots in the Catholic church. The majority of people here are Catholic, although very few go to church. Roger's brother told him once he was a non-practicing Catholic to which Roger replied that he was a non-practicing vegetarian! Despite it's lack of influence in people's daily lives, it makes it very difficult to reach people with the true, unedited gospel of Christ.

The following is located inside St. Joseph's Catholic church. It is a rack containing many old wooden canes and crutches that people don't need anymore because Brother Andre (pronounced Andrew) healed them years ago. I don't know if this is true or not but Roger said a friend told him that their uncle worked at the church and his job was to polish the canes with black shoe polish to make them appear old. Whether or not it's true, the story speaks to the skepticism of people towards the Catholic church and religion in general.

Below is the Olympic Stadium from the top of Mont Royal. The Summer Olympics were held in Montreal in 1976. Ah, I remember it like it was yesterday. As we looked over the city Roger commented that each light represents a family that needs to hear the gospel. It is inspiring to be around people whose sole focus is bringing people to Christ.

N - Mavs & BBQ

2008-04-14T21:26:00.002-05:00

I recently returned from Mavs & BBQ VII. Each April, several friends and I eat our way to Dallas and back. The gluttony is only interrupted briefly to attend a Dallas Mavericks basketball game. What's on the menu you ask: fried pies in Davis, OK, BBQ/steaks in Lewisville, TX, the occasional hot dog at the American Airlines Center, and tacos at Jack In The Box somewhere on the north side of the metroplex. In recent years, several have added Tums to the menu also (why, I'm not sure).

We usually drive back after the basketball game but it is a struggle. The only thing typically keeping the driver awake is the havoc that 5,000 empty calories can wreak on one's intestines. This year we decided to stay the night in Dallas and play golf the next day. Brilliant! I don't know why we didn't think of this before.

Quick summary: 1) company was great, 2) food was great, 3) Dirk hit a 3 at the buzzer for a Mavs win and playoff clinch, 4) golf was fun and free (always a plus in my book). All in all we had a great time. I guess we'll have to do it again next year!

M-Scary Lullaby Lyrics

2008-04-06T23:23:00.017-05:00

Hush Little Baby

Don't say a word

Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird...

The first three lines of this song are enough to scare me. A couple of years ago there was a mockingbird that built a nest in my yard. I saw it one day and was pointing it out to my sister when the mama mockingbird saw me. From that point on I could not go into my backyard without that crazy bird coming at me. It was insane! Neil could mow the yard and other people could go back there, but I couldn't even raise the blinds in my living room to look at my backyard without that crazy bird trying to peck my eyes out.

It's because of this I decided to look up the lyrics to this lullaby. I knew nothing good could start with mockingbirds (except for one of my all time favorite books To Kill A Mockingbird.) As it turns out, the rest of the lyrics are equally horrible. Diamond rings that turn to brass, looking glasses that break, carts and bulls that turn over... wait, did I just say 'carts and bulls?' That's right, it's in there. Why do we sing this song? I think from now on I'll stick to the one about the baby falling out of the treetop.

N - Mmmm Food!

2008-04-04T21:33:00.006-05:00

Joel had his 4 month appointment a couple of weeks ago. His doctor said it was OK to start feeding him other foods. We gave him the choice of lobster, filet mignon and rice cereal. Who would've thought it but the kid picked rice cereal!

Initial reviews were mixed . . .

He warmed up to the rice cereal after a few times and has actually come to like it. Evidently nothing can compare to pureed squash though . . .

In totally unrelated news, Mary and I have never warmed up to the American Idol craze. I'm not sure why, maybe because so much of it seems manufactured. At any rate, we were watching Nightline one Friday night (yeah I know, we don't watch American Idol but we watch Nightline . . . pretty cool huh); anyway they did a story about this guy named Paul Potts on Britain's Got Talent which is basically the British version of American Idol. If you haven't seen it, you just need to. Click HERE or if the link doesn't work, go to www.youtube.com and search for Paul Potts.

N - Easter

2008-03-23T22:25:00.005-05:00

It was a cool but sunny Easter Sunday in Oklahoma. Here is a picture of Joel smiling at his goofy daddy and then not so happy in the family portrait.

M - A week at Grandma and Grandpa's

2008-03-20T22:48:00.010-05:00

Every year my sisters and their kids have gone to my parents' house over spring and fall break. Because I've always been a working woman, I have never had the opportunity to go before this year. Grandma Mary and my cousin Jana Kay got to join us for the week too. Here are a "few" pictures.

Joel traveling in style - watching Baby Mozart.

This is how we woke Katie up in the car - a sucker and a BIG Dr. Pepper.

We had a picnic at the church playground, then an Easter egg hunt.

Michaela milking a cow at the Houston Children's Museum - this place was crazy crowded.

Joel enjoyed the museum from his stroller. Doesn't he look happy?

Katie driving a car at the museum.

Joel and Nick's first time swimming. (No comments necessary about the mommies.)

Just because they're so stinking cute!

N - OFRT Rookie

2008-03-16T21:40:00.015-05:00

This weekend I went on a motorcycle trip with my brother Joel. He is a founding member of the OFRT, or Old Fart Racing Team. We went to White Rock, Arkansas which is near the "town" of St. Paul. If you're still lost it is in Madison County. OK fine, it is SE of Fayetteville and NE of Fort Smith, that's the best I can do! I made the comment this morning that we saw why Arkansas got it's reputation. Someone asked if I meant as the Natural State or home of Billy Joe Bob Jim. I said both. It is pretty but I can't imagine how people live in some of the places we saw. In that part of Arkansas there are county roads that are nothing more than one lane of (mostly) dirt with the occasional creek crossing. They wind up, down and through the mountains. Stinks if you are a school bus driver but pretty fun if you're some Oklahoma variety hillbillies looking for a place to ride a converted dirt bike.

I haven't spent much time on a motorcycle since my days pretending to be Bo Duke on our Yamaha YZ80 out behind my parent's house so I was a little nervous. I didn't do too bad though; one minor spill that mostly just hurt my pride although I did have to pluck grass out of my helmet like Brett Favre on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field. We road about 110 miles over the course of 6 hours. All in all, I had a really good time. I might do it again (if Mary lets me).

This is the cabin we stayed in. The outhouse is barely visible in the far left.

We came across this cemetery way up in the mountains. They had a small covering for the service with a pulpit and pews. They also had several rows of picnic tables, presumably for the family meal afterwards. Many of the headstones were simply a stone with no writing on them.

This gives you an idea what the roads look like. Not much to it.

If you ever find yourself in Oark, Arkansas I highly recommend the Oark Cafe, very good cheeseburgers. I found that most small towns in this part of Arkansas offer something similar. They are truly a one stop shop. You can get gas, buy groceries, eat a meal, shop for garage sale bargains, play the slots, and buy used lawnmower parts (you know, in case you broke down on the way to the store).

Here's the OFRT and me taking a break.

Ya'll come back now, ya hear.

N - Who put me here and why'd they do it

2008-03-10T21:46:00.005-05:00

In the past few days Joel has become much more active while laying on his back. He will work himself all the way around 360 degrees. He has also learned to roll over from his back side to his front. The only problem with that is he pretty much hates it once he gets there. Reminds me of my trip to Vegas but that's another story. Here's some video of his latest feat:

Mary recently discovered the wonders of children's consignment sales. I shouldn't say discovered; let's say had a good excuse to purchase for the first time. She came home with several really good finds. One of them was a Johnny Jumper. Here are a couple of pictures of Joel enjoying it last night after D Groups.

N - What's Been Going On

2008-03-01T20:08:00.005-06:00

Sorry for not posting anything in a couple of weeks. Two weekends ago Mary, Joel and I drove to McAlester to visit Grandma Mary. We spent some time looking through old photographs. The picture below shows all but 1 of the cousins (Jana Kay would come along a year or so later). Mary is the youngest in the picture. This is the first baby picture we've seen of Mary since Joel was born. I can see the family resemblence, can't you?

Among the old photos were several Vmail letters that Grandpa Emmitt had mailed home during WWII. Every single piece of correspondence was read before being sent so that details regarding their location and activities could be scratched out. At the time Grandma didn't even know if he was in Europe or the Pacific although she suspected Europe since he sailed out of New York. It was certainly different from the entitled media culture we have today.

N - Gifted and Talented

2008-02-15T21:06:00.007-06:00

Mary and I were really excited when Joel rolled over for the first time on February 4. Admittedly we propped him up on his elbows (see below) to give him a little head start.

Mike, after viewing the video last night, credited Joel's astounding achievement to the combination of Joel's large melon, small neck and Newton's First Law of Motion. My man is determined to have the last word though. Tonight Mary put him face down on the bed so she could wash her hands. When she turned around that little booger was staring straight up at the ceiling fan. That's right, he did it all by himself. Take that Mr. Physics!

Joel will be 3 months old tomorrow. What a blessing.

100 Things about Emmitt Bridgwater

2008-02-08T01:02:00.000-06:00

100 things about my Grandpa Emmitt

1 He was a Christian.
2 He loved his family fiercely.
3 He was over 6 feet tall.
4 He had brown hair.
5 He loved to fish.
6 He could clean a fish better than anyone else.
7 He swore that the bass in Cap’s pond liked brown plastic worms better than any other bait.
8 He usually caught more fish than anyone else.
9 He hated snakes.
10 I once saw him stop the car after running one over, reverse the car, run over it again, get out of the car, and shoot it.
11 He had a hat that described him perfectly. It said “Awesome”.
12 He would do anything for his wife.
13 If they stayed the night somewhere and were expected to sleep in two twin beds, he couldn’t stand it. They always slept in one.
14 She would still sit in his lap.
15 He used to work on the railroad.
16 He waited for a raise of something like 10 cents an hour before he married my grandma.
17 He read meters after he retired.
18 He installed life lines for the elderly (many of which were younger than him).
19 He volunteered at the hospital (quite the paper shredder I hear).
20 He served Meals on Wheels.
21 He served as an elder in the Main and Oklahoma Church of Christ for as long as most people can remember.
22 People loved him. No, I mean LOVED him.
23 He could make you laugh no matter what kind of day you had.
24 He used to take me to McDonald’s every Tuesday.
25 We always ate in the Caboose (this old train caboose the McDonald’s had).
26 After that, he took me to the hospital to see my grandma (who also volunteers there).
27 But first, we would always get candy from the gift shop.
28 He used to hide caramels around the house for his wife to find.
29 She never doubted that he loved her. He told her 100 times a day.
30 He used to have a huge garden.
31 We would sneak strawberries out of it together before they were washed.
32 He knew practically everyone in the town of McAlester.
33 He used to do the grocery shopping.
34 He always made sure to have Dr. Pepper in the house if my sisters, cousins or I were coming.
35 He made all of his grandchildren feel like they were his favorite.
36 My boyfriends used to have to pass the Grandpa test.
37 Not many did.
38 Neil was his favorite. (He had good taste.)
39 We used to play 42 with him and my grandma.
40 They were unstoppable as a team.
41 If she didn’t know what suit to call as trump he’d say, “Come on Mary, you’ve got 14 dominoes. Just pick your poison.”
42 He taught me how to play cards.
43 He said I could beat him at SkipBo by the time I was 6.
44 I’m pretty sure he let me win.
45 When he was bored, he couldn’t sit still.
46 There was always a crossword puzzle or a game of solitaire to be played.
47 He loved flowers.
48 He had beautiful flower beds.
49 Their back porch has always had a hummingbird feeder.
50 He was a really amazing husband.
51 He was a really great dad.
52 His three sons loved him.
53 His eight granddaughters loved him.
54 His twenty great grandchildren loved him.
55 Jana Kay’s baby will love his memory.
56 As will all the rest of our children from here on.
57 He knew what he believed.
58 He made sure everyone else did too.
59 His life was his testimony.
60 He used to make up crazy songs that didn’t make sense.
61 He could tell which car was his in the parking lot by the big fish pillow in the back window.
62 He drove a really old Dodge Dakota.
63 He didn’t think it was safe enough for anyone else to drive it, but he drove it even though he was 90.
64 He used to pick pecans.
65 We gave him 50 pounds to pick out this Christmas.
66 I bet he was almost done.
67 He survived triple bypass surgery in 1999.
68 He lived to be 90.
69 He grew up in McAlester.
70 He married his high school sweetheart.
71 She said he was the class clown.
72 They kissed on their first date.
73 They didn’t kiss on their second date.
74 He knew she was worth hanging around.
75 He served in the army.
76 He and my grandma used to be counselors at Sooner Youth Camp.
77 The Bridgwater name has a legacy because of him.
78 If you say Bridgwater in any Church of Christ, someone will ask if you know Emmitt.
79 He started making his own salsa and pickled okras.
80 They were really good.
81 He made the best peanut brittle in the world.
82 He used to make the salad.
83 He would take forever meticulously cutting up every carrott, piece of celery and onion for it.
84 He would leave the onions on the side if his grandchildren were there. He knew we didn’t like them.
85 He read his Bible every day.
86 It made him really sad when others didn’t choose to follow Jesus.
87 I think he probably prayed for them daily.
88 He had a lot of stories.
89 I never got tired of hearing them.
90 It’s a good thing too, because he would repeat them occasionally.
91 When I took Joel out Christmas shopping, he got on to me.
92 He wanted me to take care of that baby.
93 He came to see Joel in the hospital.
94 I’m pretty sure I saw a tear in his eye when he held him.
95 When he saw a picture of Joel crying last week, he said Joel was crying because he found out his middle name was Emmitt.
96 Joel will be proud of that middle name.
97 I hope he grows up to be like his great grandpa.
98 I want a marriage like his and Grandma’s.
99 Their marriage was the ultimate example of love, compromise and submission to one another.
100 He really was the best man I’ve ever known, and probably ever will.

M-Tag, I'm it

2008-02-01T17:06:00.000-06:00

I'm pretty sure the only reason Dana tagged me is because of the abuse I've gotten for not being a faithful blogger. Okay, okay... I never post anything.

Who knew Neil would be way more into this blogging thing than the journalism major? So the rules are as follows:

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 you 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 they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. The tagees have a choice of which they want to do.

As I'm only 27, the 5 things I never expected for my future when I was 25 wouldn't be all that interesting. So, I guess I'm going to do the random facts about myself.

1.) You know how little kids say "cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye?" Well, I've actually done that, not on purpose, but nevertheless I have actually stuck a needle in my right eye.

2.) I have read all the Harry Potter novels 4 times (except the last one - only 3 so far) and listened to them probably that many times or more. (I know, I know, I'm such a geek.)

3.) I am a terrible gift giver. I think of really thoughtful gifts for people throughout the year, but when the time comes when I need to buy one... well let's just say I always include a gift receipt.

4.) I love driving a standard. Right now my car isn't one, and I really miss it.

5.) I love all types of olives and anything pickled (i.e. pickles, pickled peppers, pickled okra, you get the picture).

There you have it. I now tag Stefani, Amanda, Hillary, Jen, and Neil. I can't wait to see what you write.

N - My 'little' man

2008-01-30T20:58:00.000-06:00

Mary took Joel to the doctor for his 2 month appointment today although he is actually 75 days old. By the way I'm not sure whether to refer to his age in weeks or months so I'm rebelling and using days. Joel weighs 12 lbs and 4 ounces. That puts him in the 50th percentile for weight. He is in the 25th percentile for height and the 50th percentile for head circumference.

Joel is a little under the weather after getting his shots. Apparently there is a big secret about giving your kid Tylenol before he gets shots that you're supposed to know about. Now we know, after his shots, but hey that's cool. :)

Here are several pictures of the little guy. He sure is cute, isn't he?

I'm gonna be mobile soon . . . watch out world!

This is the life

There you are mommy

Snug as a bug in a rug

I'm not messin' around here

N - Hairspray, Homer Simpson and Bath Time

2008-01-20T21:57:00.000-06:00

Several evenings ago Mary went to the video rental store to get a movie for us to watch together. She returned with Hairspray. Yeah, that Hairspray where John Travolta plays a woman! About 5 minutes into the movie I asked her, "so you were at the store and you thought to yourself 'what movie would Neil really like to watch? I know Hairspray!'". It reminded me of when Homer got Marge a bowling ball with "Homer" engraved on it for her birthday!

Joel is really enjoying bath time now. Mary is usually able to get some really good smiles out of him. I tried to get a picture of that but Joel kept getting distracted by the flash.

N - Woah, that's a long time ago

2008-01-19T18:20:00.000-06:00

With Hillary and Mitt surging after victories in Nevada, let's look back one more time. The overwhelming majority of FFF blog voters said 1952 was the last year without an incumbent President or Vice President in the election. In 1952 the Korean War was dragging into its 3rd year and President Harry S. Truman's popularity was dwindling rapidly. Truman lost the New Hampshire primary to Tennessee Senator Estes Kefauver and shortly thereafter decided not to seek reelection. However Truman's Vice President, Alben W. Barkley stayed in the race for the democratic nomination but he lost to Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson.

As best as I can tell, the last time we had a presidential election without an incumbent President or Vice President was 1920. The unpopular and, at that point, invalid Woodrow Wilson had just finished his 2nd term. Wilson's Vice President was a fellow named Thomas Riley Marshall. Marshall had served two full terms as Vice President, although he and Wilson didn't get along particularly well. Marshall was a quick wit who was known to greet visitors on the White House tour by asking them to "be kind enough to throw peanuts at me". Marshall didn't seek election but went back to Indiana and resumed his law practice.

There you go. Enjoy the primaries and I'll get back to Joel next time since that's why my 3 loyal readers are here anyway!

N - Room full of underdogs

2008-01-11T21:48:00.000-06:00

I would describe myself as someone who is only marginally interested in politics. For me it's kind of the same as professional sports, I don't care that much until playoff time - in this case when it's time to elect a president. I can remember "my first" presidential election. I was in fifth grade and my class voted between Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale. There was one kid in the ENTIRE class who voted for Mondale and I remember thinking he was crazy! But I digress . . .

I was thinking about the presidential primary races this morning on the way to work. It seems like this race is completely wide open on both the Republican side and the Democrat side. It is truly anybody's game at this point. Why is that?

Well, it occurred to me that there is no incumbent President or Vice President in the race. That didn't seem too unusual at first until I got to thinking back through the elections. In 2004 there was obviously the incumbent George W. Bush; 2000 - Al Gore (VP); 1996 - Bill Clinton (Pres); 1992 - George Bush; etc. I couldn't think of the last time there was not an incumbent President or Vice President running for President.

So when was it? Does anybody know? I'll post the answer in a few days.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-26T20:21:00.000-06:00

Today is December 26 and Mary, Joel and I are 2/3 of the way into our Christmas celebrations. We opened gifts at my parents' house on Sunday afternoon. My Grandma, who recently celebrated her 98th birthday, got to meet Joel for the first time. My grandma was born in Oklahoma a few years after statehood. While attending school in Jones, OK, she played basketball. One of the venues for their games was the Round Barn in Arcadia. She is literally a world traveler having served as a missionary in Kenya, Australia, and the small Caribbean Island of Cayman Brac, among other places.

Monday, Christmas Eve, my brother Joel and I helped my dad clear a bunch of limbs from the recent ice storm. It was a fun excuse to ride a 4wheeler and run a chain saw. Liam and Luke helped as well. They both felt pretty sure that this selfless act secured their spot on Santa's "Nice" list.

After a great Christmas Day lunch at Joel and Stefani's house, Mary and I returned to Edmond where we exchanged gifts. I got Mary a small digital camera for her to keep in her purse/diaper bag. Here is a cute picture she took of Joel and a mom/son self-portrait.

We look forward to the coming weekend with Mary's family in Texas. I trust that God is blessing you during this Christmas season.

N - Ice Storm 2007

2007-12-10T19:10:00.000-06:00

When reading the title of this blog you have to use your best news anchor announcer voice . . . Ice Storm 2007!!! Seriously, Oklahoma did get hit with a pretty good ice storm this weekend. Here are some pictures from our house.

Bradford pear tree (AKA worst tree known to mankind) in our front yard

Live oak tree in our backyard (my dad and I planted this on Mary and my wedding day), hopefully this one will make it

Mary's rose bush

N - Joel & cousin Nick

2007-12-04T18:43:00.000-06:00

Mary, Joel and I went to Dallas this past weekend for Michaela's birthday party. It was our first trip outside of OKC with Joel and he did really well. We took him to the Dallas Christmas parade on Saturday morning.

We watched the OU game Saturday night. I didn't let Joel wear his OU outfit though as it proved unlucky against Texas Tech. Plus Joel's Sooner loyalty is somewhat in question as he peed all over my OU sweatshirt when I got home from the Bedlam game.

While in Dallas Joel got to meet his cousin Nick for the first time. Nick is 3 days older than Joel. He is Michaela's little brother. Joel outweighs Nick by a pound or so (mostly in his cheeks).

Joel really likes his swing a lot these days. He's starting to resist sleep a little bit (uh oh!) but this often does the trick.

N - Deep Thoughts

2007-12-03T20:32:00.000-06:00

Isn't it interesting how you often see something new in the Bible after reading the same passage a thousand times?

I often find myself in Mark 15 when I am pondering Christ's sacrifice. I have read these verses many, many times but I noticed something new this Sunday. Right before Jesus gave up his spirit, he cried out in a loud voice "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?" (NLT) These words have always rung loud in my conscious as a powerful example of Christ's humanity. It is obvious that he truly felt separate from God. He was completely alone. I never realized though that at that moment when God had turned his back on him, Christ was actually quoting scripture (Ps 22:1). Christ was God and he was carrying out God's plan for salvation. It was a very "Godly" thing to say but at the same time very "human". I think it is the perfect balance of Christ's divinity and humanity.

N - Sunset Answers

2007-12-03T20:23:00.000-06:00

I know you have been waiting with anticipation so here are the correct answers.

A = Great Salt Lake in SLC, Utah (taken on our way to Yellowstone in September 2007)

B = Edmond (taken from on top of our roof last week)

C = Lake Murray in Ardmore (taken at Sooner Youth Camp 2006)

D = Edmond (taken from on top of our roof in the fall of 2006)

E = Maui (taken in February 2005)

N - Sunset Match Game

2007-11-29T21:14:00.001-06:00

One of the great things about living in Oklahoma, especially this time of year, is the amazing sunsets. I would encourage you to turn off the radio and put the cell phone away on the ride home from work tomorrow and simply take it in. God's creation is astoundingly beautiful!

To get you in the spirit, I've created a little match game. All you have to do is match the sunset picture with the correct location.

1. Edmond, Oklahoma

2. Maui, Hawaii

3. Ardmore, Oklahoma

4. Salt Lake City, Utah

5. Edmond, Oklahoma

(A)

(B)

(C)

(D)

(E)

N - Some more pics of the little guy

2007-11-29T21:00:00.000-06:00

The end of a long hard day . . .

Chillin' with my boppy . . .

What up world?

Me and the Ferguson men . . .

N - First Car Ride

2007-11-21T12:10:00.000-06:00

We brought Joel home on Sunday November 18. It was a beautiful day. Mary sat in the back seat with Joel while I drove more carefully than I have since June 21, 1990, the day I turned 16 and got my driver's license. This video is pretty cute. Somehow Joel managed to sleep, even with his cheek and ear doing a little diddy.

N - A Chip Off The Ol' Block

2007-11-21T10:59:00.000-06:00

I joked with Mary before Joel was born about how I hoped he got her looks and my hand-eye coordination. Early polling is in and he looks an awful lot like me in my baby pictures. Here is a picture of my dad holding me at 1 day old and a picture of me holding Joel at about the same age.

The hand-eye coordination determination may have to wait awhile but I think I saw his eyes light up yesterday when I showed him a basketball. I'm pretty sure Joel and I will be able to take Carson and Kyle Mauck in Puck-It when the time comes.

N - Our Beautiful Boy

2007-11-17T08:08:00.000-06:00

In case you haven't heard, Joel Emmitt Ferguson made his arrival at 12:03pm on Friday November 16, 2007. That makes him one of the Oklahoma Centennial Babies! Joel weighed 9lb 6oz and was 21 inches long. Here are a few pictures to enjoy until you get to meet him in person.

N - So this is what labor is like

2007-11-16T02:44:00.000-06:00

As I type this, the clock reads 2:45am and Mary is sleeping in the hospital bed next to me. That's right you heard me, SLEEPING!!! I thought labor was supposed to be horribly painful. I don't know what women have been talking about all these years, it doesn't seem too bad to me. Before you boycott the internet and rip the computer out of my (freezing cold) hands in response to this blasphemy, know that I am only joking. Drugs evidently do amazing things. I just thought I would see if you were paying attention.

Here's the lowdown: our friend did an ultrasound on Mary this afternoon, saw that Joel might be a little on the large side, encouraged Mary to go to the hospital to try to get on the list for an induction, while there Mary started contracting and has basically been in labor since about 4pm. Everything is going really well. We're just waiting to meet the little guy.

What an AMAZING thing! I still can't believe this is happening.

M - Is it a compliment?

2007-11-14T11:15:00.000-06:00

My friends make fun of me because I really enjoy cooking. My grandparents are really blown away by this fact too. It's true though, I am one of those weirdos who love trying new and more difficult recipes. Why? I think in a sick twisted way it's where my competitive edge comes out. I really like the challenge of making something new that no one else would even attempt to try.

So, with that in mind, I made shrimp etoufe last night for dinner. To which my husband repetitively said, "This is some good slop!" The sad thing is that he was being completely sincere and he really enjoyed the meal. Still, is it ever a compliment to call something you're eating slop?

M - Another Sweet Nephew

2007-11-13T09:05:00.000-06:00

As of 8:00 this morning, Neil and I have another nephew! Nicholas Brian is 8 pounds and 20 inches. That's a big boy! I have to admit it's a little unfair that my sister had her baby first since her due date was three days after mine, but I'm over it. I couldn't be a more excited aunt.

Neil and I have 4 nephews and 3 nieces, and I can't help but think we'll be better prepared parents for it. (Although next month when I'm about to pull out my hair because I'm so tired, don't rub salt in the wounds by reminding me of that statement.) No seriously, we have been so blessed to be a part of each of their lives. We've seen the three boys be, well, boys. They've caught frogs from the park behind their house, caught many catfish, and picked on their little sister (but don't worry she (Katie and Lily) can take care of herself). Our nieces, of course, are perfect angels and would never be stinkers. Wait! I can't be talking about any of our nieces. Katie tears the arms off frogs, Michaela can get me to do just about anything, and I'm a little afraid to see what Lily has in stow for me (especially if she's anything like her mommy).

Thinking about all 7 of these little imps makes me wonder if we're really prepared to be parents after all. Yikes! I guess we don't have a choice in the matter any longer.

N - Here goes (a lot of) nothing

2007-11-11T15:46:00.000-06:00

So Joel Emmitt Ferguson's due date is now less than 1 week away. We've bought the crib, painted the room, installed the car seats, and freaked out multiple times about becoming parents. What else is there to do right? Oh yeah . . . the blog. It's sort of a requirement nowadays isn't it? This is actually the last thing to do on our pre-baby checklist. We are now completely ready! (yeah right!)

I'm not sure who will have more time to update this but we'll try to post pictures of Joel often for the grandparents and others interested. I'll also keep you posted on how many diapers I've changed. Here's the current tally: ZERO, ZILCH, NADA.

That's all for now. We hope you enjoy.

PS - We stole the name Ferguson Family Fun from our family campout tradition that started about 3 years ago and well fergylicious, enough said about that.