Father's Day

Brandon was so excited to spend his Father's Day with the gift of his new little boy. He has been saying how content he feels with his sweet little girl whom he adores and now he has his son whom he has been enjoying snuggling and comforting. Brandon never ceases to impress me with his sacrificial love for his family. He is always putting us first with joy and never hesitates to chase Bailey around for "fishy kisses" or walk around singing to Jaemus until he falls asleep. And on top of that he always make me feel loved and cherished. We are truly blessed to have him every day.

Father's Day morning after I fed Jaemus, Bailey and I left in our PJ's to get starbucks coffee and a to-go order of breakfast from Mimi's Cafe. I am not savvy enough with the two kids to whip up a glorious breakfast without me making a huge mess, feeling stressed, and taking way too long. So, take-out it was!

Brandon taught Sunday School that morning and then we saw both sides of our family that day. So, it was busy but an all around good day.

Here we are taking a family photo and look closely at Bailey. She always wants to have a hand on Jaemus when we take a picture but this particular time we couldn't get her from either strangling him or blinding him- she adores her little brother.

This is Brandon's Bible study he taught the kindergarden through 5th grade on Father's Day. It is a great reminder of who our true Father in heaven is and how blessed we are to have a God that loves us.

God is Our Loving Father

Some people grow up with good dads, while others may not have a dad, or if they do, he may not be a good one - so to imagine God as a loving father can be difficult. The Bible teaches however that while God is holy and awesome, He is also a personal loving Father. His fatherlike characteristics include creator, provider, protector, comforter, disciplinary, and a father of who loves unconditionally.

While some parents may say “I brought you into this world... and I can take you out!” - it is a funny threat of sorts, but the truth is - sometimes we try to bring children into this world and cannot, and sometimes we do not try to bring children into this world and they come anyway - but God is truly the one who creates the miracle of life and brings children into the world

Psalm 127:3 - Children are a gift of the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward

Psalm 139:13 - For you formed my inward parts, you wove me in my mother’s womb

God provides for our needs great and small

Matthew 6:26 - Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?

God is our protector

Psalm 32:7 - You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.

God is our comforter

Psalm 34:18 - The LORD is near to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

God disciplines HIs children out of love

Proverbs 3:11-12 - My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD Or loathe His reproof,For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.

God loves His children

Romans 8:38-39 - For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God will always be there for you as your Father

Psalm 68:5 -A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows, Is God in His holy habitation.

The Arrival

Jaemus came at a great time for us, since I had just had two days of fun and relaxation. I had been having contractions all week and they were beginning to frustrate me and distract me with their disappearance. So, on Thursday I put a lot of effort to put distractions aside and enjoy my last few days with Bailey and some time to myself. Bailey and I spent the morning at Irvine Park where we rode the train, Bailey rode Dan the pony and we went to feed the ducks but ended up feeding a gluttonous peacock instead that blocked us from the lake and ate all our bread- pretty funny. It was a really nice morning and I loved having some special time with her.

After that Bailey went to my mom's house for her nap and I went and got a manicure and pedicure treated by my dear friend Natalie. She had empathy for my frustration having just been through this a few months earlier herself. She sent me to a salon she enjoys where they massage your arms and legs with hot stones. It was super relaxing and I loved every minute of it. Plus, I had beautiful hands and feet for labor- pretty important.

My awesome day continued with a nice evening with Brandon and Bailey followed by the best nights sleep I have had in a long time.

I woke up Friday morning refreshed and early enough to kiss Brandon before he left for work

and Bailey happened to sleep in until 8:30am! This gave me an hour and a half to shower, watch the news, and eat breakfast. The morning kept getting better with an early morning visit from Natalie, Emily and Evan. They were in town early that day and came by for a couple hours. It was a fun morning to spend watching Bailey play with Emily and enjoy talking with Natalie totally enjoying the distraction. I never would have expected that by 1:00pm I would be having contractions that appeared promising.

By 3:00 pm I was convinced enough to tell Brandon and gave him the option to come home before traffic. He came home right away in a bit of a nervous frenzy trying to rush me off to the hospital but I assured him I was fine and that we were good to spend some time at home. I truly did not think that we would be going to the hospital until much later in the night but by 7 pm we decided to head over there. I was happy to have dinner with Bailey and time to repeat the hospital plan with her. She totally had it down- "mom and dad will go to the hospital to have the baby while she stays with Nana and Papa. Then we will come home with her baby brother." She was really cute when she repeated the whole plan.

We arrived at Saddleback about 7:30 and walked around before checking in. We had to check in by 8 pm to enter in through the women's hospital side, so I made Brandon walk with me until 7:55. When we got in I did not feel like Jaemus was going to be born soon. I was having consistent contractions but I didn't feel they were intense yet. However, I was so wrong and so was the nurse- when I checked in the nurse even said, "we'll see if we need to send you home for a little while." But I was 8 cm dilated and we were all very surprised so I was admitted into delivery right away. And 2 1/2 hours later I was holding Jaemus Lee.

It was exactly what we prayed for, a smooth, safe, and quick labor. The pain was intense but it was easier to get though it having had the experience. Brandon was the real champ. Using our previous experience he was really confident and encouraging. His energy kept my spirits up as he was able to motivate me and remind me it was almost over. He never let go of my hand and he rubbed by back or shoulders the entire time. It was much easier for the both of us this time knowing the signs that it can't be much longer.

The reward was a beautiful healthy baby boy. Brandon and I felt so humbled sitting there looking at our son realizing how good the Lord is to us. We were both surprised by his size, and dark skin and hair. Bailey too had dark hair but we both were for some reason expecting a light haired boy. However, Jaemus has soft dark hair on his back, side burns, and is tanner than both of us. He reminds me a lot of my younger brother, who too a big baby, tan, with a hairy body and full head of dark hair. Ryan (my little brother) is super cute though, so I can definitely live with that.

Jaemus Lee Bridgman

Friday June 11th at 10:26pm Jaemus was born! He weighed 8lbs 15oz and was 20 3/4 in. long. All our prayers were answered in that we had a smooth, safe, and quick labor, and Jaemus is healthy and so sweet. Bailey adores him and we are loving life.

Thank you family and friends for all your prayers and support! Your prayers were felt and we are humbled by God's goodness in our life!

More to come but here is our cute little guy.

Quality Time

We have had the pleasure of having some nice quality time with family and friends before the little one arrives.

Bailey and I went and had lunch with Brandon and my dad in Signal Hill at Hill Top Park. The park is on top of Signal Hill and overlooks the ocean, LA, and the mountains. There are also oil wells all over- surprise surprise.

We had a double-date with the Johnson's Part II at the Pancake House in Anaheim where we enjoyed some fancy pancakes, eggs, sausage and bacon. It was nice to have some adult time and relax with good friends and a good meal. Eric and Natalie continue to be such dear friends of ours as we have had the joy of sharing now two pregnancies together, daughters 3 days apart, and now boys that will be about 5 months apart. It has been fun sharing in our similar adventures and supporting and learning from each other.

While we were at breakfast, the girls and Evan played at my parent's house. My parent's recently finished making a play house that is incredibly cute and so the girl's got to play in there while Evan relaxed in the swing. My parent's loved having a house full of little ones.

Brandon and I have been a part of one of Rockharbor's Life Groups this past year and have enjoyed getting to know a great group of people. Brandon and I however are leaving the Life Group since having two little ones will demand more of our time for now. They were kind enough to take us out of BJ's Pizza and celebrate with pizza, pizookie, games, and baby presents galore! We will definitely miss seeing all of them each week! We have been blessed to have their friendship and prayers.

Poopie diaper game

My Mom, Tawnia, and Jenni took me out for a nice afternoon of tea at the 'Tea House on Los Rios' to celebrate the soon arrival of our little guy. We missed out on having Brie there but we had a nice afternoon of conversation, tea, and yummy food. The tea house is in down town San Juan Capistrano and is amongst quant shops and homes that has a really sweet atmosphere.

Our lack of having a person to take a group shot.

What the...?

On our way to the Pancake House for a double-date with the Johnson's part II we saw this cruising through Tustin.

There are two full grown men in there- not midgets like we first thought.

Three wheels. European license plate.