Spaghetti Picnic in the Rose Garden

Today we decided since Michael was off that we would do something fun to pass the waiting period. Primarily I was getting tired of being in the house and needed to free my mind from focusing on when this little one is going to arrive. So we set out on our adventure with some preheated left over spaghetti and headed towards the Rose Garden here in Portland. All around and above us were darkish clouds, but it had been hot and hadn't rained in a week so we figured we'd stay dry during our little picnic. Just before leaving our adventure got a little more exciting, as I began feeling contractions a little more regular, three in a row that were about 20 minutes apart! We decided to risk being on the other side of the city from the hospital with the potential for traffic. Once we hit the gardens it started to sprinkle a little and then it rained a little more. We found a little covered map area and ate our spaghetti there. The Rose Garden was beautiful with all kinds of colors everywhere. The cloudy day made the colors jump out at you even more along with the raindrops that left their marks on the petals. So it was perfect for a photo shoot. Maybe a little more photos than we would plan, but thats what happens with digital. After we ate we met up with our friends the Huffmans and their two kiddos and enjoyed the beauty together. As we were there the contractions came down to about 15 minutes apart, and stayed that way, which made us pretty excited. We remain hopeful, but also keep in mind that they could stop as well. We had a pleasant afternoon in a beautiful garden enjoying one anothers company and the company of our friends, as we timed contractions. Afterwards, we drove together to 11th and Hawthorne, to partake of the food carts there. Contractions ranged from 10-18 minutes apart! The Huffmans followed us to our home, and came in briefly to pray for us and our baby. We have now had regular contractions for about 7 hours, and they are currently about 10 minutes apart. Getting excited!

Here are a few of the beautiful roses:

Sometimes you have to stop and smell the roses!

There we are Posing with baby....come on baby we want to play with you!!!