~The Tree~

Our family tradition {2nd year in a row!} is to cut down our Christmas tree on the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend. Over the past 20 months, we have absolutely loved getting to establish our own traditions as a couple and as a family. We were blessed with some nice weather and took full advantage of it. We found a new spot this year, and we ended up really liking it. We may even head back to the same place again next year. Couldn't have asked for a more blue sky...and of course, it wouldn't be an Oregon tree without some rain drops on it from the rain the day before. Pondering...which tree should we get? There are so many to choose from. Found it! Now, I just need to cut it down. Got it!

~Give 'n Gobble 2010~

Chalk up another successful run to start off our Thanksgiving morning! We love this annual tradition and were so thankful to have such wonderful friends join us this year. The clan included: Jeff and Mandy Eischen, Alex Cope, Meghann Rollinger, Nichole Bingham, and Nichole's dad Matt. Whew...what a fun crew!

After 6.2 miles of hilly Sherwood, I would say we "earned" our meal again this year. Dustin ran it in 48:55 (7:53 pace) and I ran it in 52:40 (8:30 pace). Big improvements over last year. :)

~Welcome, Baby Andrew~

Congratulations to our wonderful friends (and neighbors!), Jon and Stacey on their new addition ~ Andrew Warner Marson ~ born on Saturday, November 27. We can't wait to watch him grow big and into a ball of fun, just like his big sister, Sarah. I've decided I'll be their Auntie Erinn, since Avery and Aiden live so far away. :)

~Fun on "the farm"~

After our morning run, we headed out to Blodgett to spend Thanksgiving at Dustin's grandparent's house. They live on "the farm", which is about 10 acres of forest out in the middle of nowhere. It's so pretty out there. We took advantage of it and snapped some photos to use for our Christmas card this year. These are some of the ones we won't be using, but I still really liked.

Here's the wonderful Christmas season ahead of us!!!

~Happy Thanksgiving~

From our home to yours, we want to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving this year! We pray that you feel blessed beyond imagination today...and everyday!

~Love, The DeGroots~

~Muddy mountain biking~

Dustin and Alex hit up the muddy bike trails of Forest Park over the weekend! They had a super fun time, but they were super dirty by the end. Boys will be boys, right?

~Heidi's Baby Shower~

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to help out with my sister-in-law’s baby shower down in Junction City! Baby Cole (our second nephew) is due on December 13, so it won’t be too long until we are celebrating his arrival. We can’t wait to meet him.

One of the things I provided for the shower was party favors, so I wanted to do something fun and unique…and yummy as well! So I made some decorative cake balls. We had chocolate fudge cake with chocolate icing, dipped in dark chocolate. Some of those also had yummy coconut flakes on the top. The other option was confetti cake with vanilla icing, dipped in dark chocolate. Those were topped with sprinkles. They turned out so so so good, even though we had to practically clear out our freezer in the process.
I didn’t have the camera out much during the shower, but I was able to snap a few photos of Heidi. We played the “string game” where each lady cuts a length of string that she thinks will fit perfectly around the momma-to-be’s belly. The closet one wins a prize. Aunt Margie was almost spot on – she won the prize for that game! In addition to games, Heidi was able to open lots of wonderful gifts that she was showered with by her family and friends.
We are always thankful to see our family when we are down there as well. We got to have some cuddle time with our nephew, Reid, who is now close to 2 months old. He is just such a sweetheart…and very loved by his Uncle Dustin! By the end of the night, we were pretty pooped out as a group.