Happy Thanksgiving!

First off, I want to give an update on how my brother-in-law is doing... He was moved from critical care to a general care floor last week, which is great news! He currently has internal bleeding in his GI track, as well as an infection in his bowels, which is contagious, so he's being kept in isolation. They still don't know when he'll be able to come home, but he is definitely on the upswing...thanks for all of your continued prayers!

And secondly, Happy Thanksgiving! This is our first year celebrating Thanksgiving in Arizona, where it's a high of 78 and you sit outside talking before Thanksgiving dinner!...crazy, but I love it! I ran a European Style Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning, with hay bale and water pit obstacles...Ryan was my number one fan, and photographer for the event...

On your marks, get set...go!


Coming down the hill, about to face round one of obstacles...


Success!


Exhaustion...



After the race, we went home to prepare for hosting our first Thanksgiving at our house! Preparing the turkey is one of the grossest things I've ever had to do as far as food prep goes. Why do they leave a detached neck inside of the body cavity? And, more importantly why didn't anyone ever prepare me for that!?!?





Dinner turned out great with everyone's help of bringing dishes to pass! My cousin Tristy and her husband (Jason) and their son (Elliott) DROVE from San Francisco to join us for the long weekend! It was so nice to be able to spend time with them and have more family around the table to celebrate the holiday with!
After we ate, we played a mean game of charades, that ended with Lori, laying on the floor laughing in victory...it was great! Dad, you'd be happy to know that the final song Lori acted out was "Total Eclipse of the Heart"! :) (I have photos, but they are on a camera that is refusing to connect with computer right now.)

Today (Friday) we went to the Desert Museum. It was a beautiful day, though a bit crowded at the museum. I got to see my first javelinas (wild pigs) roaming about, which was quite exciting.


Elliott, Tristy, and Jason




Oh, remember the Sonoran Hot Dogs I was talking about a while back? Well, Ryan and I got the courage up to try one today....and we're totally hooked!!

Thank You

Wow, we've been really overwhelmed by all the love and support of our friends and family this past week...thank you! It's been a long and emotionally-exhausting week....but your love and prayers have kept us afloat.

If I could now ask for another prayer request... My brother-in-law (Roger) is very sick with pancreatitis (he has diabetes) and has been in the hospital since last Wednesday, and is on the critical care floor. My sister and Roger have 4 kids, ages 3-10, and they are pregnant with their 5th right now. All the prayers for the doctors to figure out what's going on and for him to recover/go home would be greatly appreciated right now!

Thank You!
lots of love,
abby and ryan

family

I don't really know how someone is supposed to tell people that someone died. I don't really even know who all reads this. But, I wanted to let everyone know that Ryan's dad passed away on Monday night. He was hit by a car as a pedestrian.

Thank you for everyone who has called, sent emails, said prayers, etc over the past couple of days.

We love you!
Ryan and Abby