What. A. Month.

I'm not sure when it became the third week of December, but here we are.  A brief update from the past few weeks:


Our First Thanksgiving
We got a turkey from a local farm - picked it up, freshly processed and never frozen - the weekend before the big day.  My mom and Jack were scheduled to leave for the Philippines for my cousin's wedding on Thanksgiving day and Terri was still in New Zealand so Thad, my brother, and I hosted Turkey Day for the first time.  We invited some family friends so all told we had 9 adults and 9 kids over for dinner.  Thank you to the Batts, their friends from Alabama, and the Doughertys (regular DeGuia/Lurie Thanksgiving celebrators) for joining us for an amazing night.   Here is a picture from our point of view at the end of the table:  

We moved all the furniture out of the living room and lined up tables with food and chairs and it turned out to be an amazing feast.  Thad's first experience in cooking a turkey didn't turn out the way he had hoped (the brining made it super salty) but there's a first time for everything, right?  Cooking a 20+ pounder for a first time may have been ambitious but I think he did a great job.  After packing 8 leftover boxes and doing multiple loads through the dishwasher, we put our feet up and celebrated a first Thanksgiving in our new house a success.


ARUBA
More to come on our first family vacation in 2 years....here's a teaser photo: 

The Return of Mamo
Four hours before we returned from Aruba, Terri returned from her 3-month trip to New Zealand.  It's taken some adjustment having her home on all sides but it's great to have her back and the boys were SUPER excited to see her.  They still are; Mamo is back and the boys love having another playmate around.  Thad and I aren't complaining either...we are getting back into a workout groove being able to escape at night to the gym after the boys get to bed.  What a big help! If you want to check out Terri's adventures while she was away, check out her blog and all the work they did on Heather and Mike's homestead: http://t-notasausage.blogspot.com/.


Returning to Training
I decided that I've been milking this "being out of shape because I have little kids" business and signed up for my 7th Team in Training event.  We started training 2 weeks ago for the Rock 'n Roll Half marathon in DC in March.  I am very excited - but incredibly nervous - to be back in the TNT family and have the responsibility of not only training for a race again but also fundraising.  The cause is far too important for me to NOT participate so here I am again, continuing our fight to find a cure for blood related cancers.  I will be posting my fundraising site sometime over the next couple of weeks and my goal is to raise $1000 before the race.  GO TEAM!!! 


and our most recent family event....


10 Years later

This past sunday was 10 years since we lost my dad.  10 years, a husband, 2 children, and a home that have all missed my father's presence.  This time of the year is always hard for us but this year even more so because landmark years are always hard.  To commemorate my father and bring together family, we hosted a party on saturday for our family and friends.  I'm so grateful that we can all get together and enjoy my dad's memory, as well as share stories around my husband and kids.  I think I need them to hear the stories probably more so they need to hear them, you know?  Here's a group shot, the best I could do with the lighting.  Thank you to everyone who came; you all hold a special place in my heart and in the DeGuia family's hearts.  My dad is smiling upon all of us.

 

So that brings me to the week before Christmas and we've been enjoying the decorations and lights.  The boys are getting more and more aware of everything going on and Julian has been singing "Holly Jolly Christmas" nonstop.  Unfortunately the little guy was diagnosed with Strep throat this afternoon which means it'll probably pass through the house before we know it.  Last Christmas all 4 of us had the flu over the vacation week and we are determined not to let that happen again this year.  Send some good health vibes this way, pretty please!  

Thanks for getting this far....this has been a hell of a month and it's not even over yet!!!