Here is a picture of me before i start showing...well kinda... i think i am starting but Jeff keeps saying i am not so here i am. Hoping to keep posting a few pictures as much as i can.

We are SO SO excited to see our baby!! 

We got some news....

We have something VERY exciting to announce....

And if you cannot read it...yes, it says WE ARE PREGNANT (well to clerify, I am...WE are having a baby)

The baby is due December 8th. We cannot wait for our little one! I have been waiting my whole life to be a mom and it is finally happening i can't believe it! I remember when i was little i was always asked "Lynette, what do you want to be when you grow up?", and while i knew all my friends would answer a dancer, doctor, pilot, etc. i would always respond, "I want to be a mom. I want to have a lot of kids and be just like my mom and grandma's!". Now finally i get to be what i have always dreamed. So happy God is blessing us with one of his children to raise and love.

And here is the story as to how we/Jeff found out. So it was a beautiful morning and Jeff and i were laying in bed (sorry this post might have just a little bit of T.M.I so i hope you dont mind) talking about life and just enjoying the morning, it was my day off and Jeff was working a little later that morning. One of the topics happened to be how i had been feeling a little different, possibly it was coming close to my time of the month or maybe i just simply was having more of my famous "condition" symptoms adding up. But while talking, Jeff jokingly said, "Or maybe your just pregnant..." We both laughed... you see we have been married for a year now, with no protection...if you know what i mean. Jeff went to work and the thought intrigued me, and i figured "Hey i have some preggo tests whats the harm in covering my bases". So before i took my shower i took the test, i walked out of the room to do a few things and honestly forgot i even took it. So when i walked back in to turn on the shower i saw the test. My heart stopped, i had taken this test several times and it had never been positive, so i grab it and look at it...it had two lines... aka i was pregnant. I almost fell to the ground, i couldn't stop smiling. So i got the other brand of test  out and took it again. This time it said pregnant (which is the pict.). I just stared with a smile unsure on what to do next. So without thinking i sent this pict to Jeff. I waited what felt like 15 minutes, but what was probably only 2 or 5 and called Jeff. He walked out of the office into his car and the only thing he could say was  "Is that real? Did you get that pict of the internet or something?" I laughed and assured him it was real. Our cheeks killed by the end of the day for how much were smiling!
We truly cannot wait for our little one! So happy! Love our baby already!

Our Portland Tour with Mama Zelle…or so we thought

(Warning: Some material discussed may not be suitable for children)

Oft times in our daily travels, the world in which we live in and the world of which we can only fantasize miraculously blend into one. Our line between fact and fiction has suddenly vanished and we are now again attempting to get a grasp on reality.

In this case, the tour started with a phone call. Papa Jon and I had a friendly chat on the phone in which we discussed surprising Lynette with a visit from Mama Zelle.

Against all odds, with much distress and manipulation, I kept the surprise a secret. Lynette’s ability to sense the future is and forever will trump all my understanding of time and space, but that is another story.

Let’s start here, Mama Zelle arrives in Portland, here is Lynette’s reaction. It’s a good one. I hope you enjoy the primetime perspective on this occasion, I am quite sure the view is the only one of its kind. All others where impaired by a man standing in the way with a camera. 

After dinner at our favorite restaurant Gustav's (German Food), a late night of lovely conversation, and some fun time reliving the tour of the apartment, we all went to sleep so that we would be well rested for the upcoming events. One notable difference is that 4 ft. Christmas Brush that attempts to be a tree sitting in our living room, still vacant of any material gifts, but full of Christmas Charm.  

Once awake, the tour continues to a once in a lifetime experience of going to church. 

Then, we would obey the local custom of "keeping the sabbath day holy," in which we refrained from any unnecessary and otherwise deemed "unworthy" activity. It was quite a wonderful and restful day.

After starting the tour with a day of rest, we decided to take the tour to the city and give it everything we got. 

First we went to the Lloyd Center.

Then to the Portland Carts for Lunch. We enjoyed delicious Vietnamese Sandwiches. :)

Next, we were off to ride the Sky Rail and get a new view on Portland. 

Then we went to Tryon Creek State Park for a little taste of the "jungles of O-ray-gahn"(From the Movie Overboard).

After much heated debate, we enjoyed our next meal at Olive Garden.  Just as I was arriving to the conclusion that I ate too much, we were on the move again. It should be a sin to move so soon after having placed so much food in ones stomach, but I pressed onwards anyways. 

We enjoyed a wonderful early gift from Grandma Wade and promptly positioned in on our tree.

It truly was a wonderful day.

Everything was going perfectly as I said my goodbyes the next morning to Mama Zelle and thanked her for all of the good conversations and wonderful company. I then took off to work as if everything was usual. 

As I came home that evening, I opened my door to find, under our Christmas Tree, piles of presents that were not there before Mama Zelle had arrived. I quickly searched to find insight as to the origins of such great gifts, and to my great wonder, they seem to have come from Santa. 

The question is now, did Santa come disguised as Mama Zelle, or is Mama Zelle actually Santa?! The implications are astonishing and perhaps outlandish, but Lynette has reported noticing the same pattern throughout her childhood. As I said before, our line between fact and fiction has been blurred and we are eager to come to the truth. Were we touring with Mama Zelle, or Santa,… or both?