A not-so-typical Christmas.

Jake and I left for Tennessee on the afternoon of Christmas Eve and got in around 9pm. We were really worried because on the way Bailey got really sick and was throwing up a lot almost every hour. We thought maybe she was carsick or that we fed her too much or something but after we got there the sickness didn't go away. Poor thing, we felt awful because she wouldn't eat or drink or play at all. On the upside though, it was kind of nice to just be able to leave her in her crate and let her sleep while we visited with Leah and Alex (Jake's Cousin). It was so great to see them. We all have so much in common and don't get to see each other as often as we'd like. They are in the Air Force as well and are actually moving to Germany in a couple months which is very exciting. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were fun. We just relaxed, did a few presents, and ate a big dinner. To be honest though, it definitely didn't feel like Christmas (which is ironic seeing how I just wrote a blog on how it did feel like Christmas here). It was just so different than any Christmas I've had and I really missed being around a loud house full of people. I missed playing games and cards and catching up with distant relatives. I missed opening stockings and seeing a tree full of presents. I missed a full and busy kitchen and the part where everyone sleeps after dinner. None of that was really here this year. That's okay I guess; many more Christmases to come. Another reason it didn't feel like Christmas was because Bailey only continued to get more sick :( On Christmas day she started throwing up worms (which by the way is SO disgusting). We couldn't call the vet or anything because it was Christmas and even if we could, we were almost 5 hours from home. We were so sad for her and scared that something serious was wrong with her, but there was not much we could do for the time being so we tried to enjoy our trip anyways. When we got back on Friday, we took her to the vet right away and they said that she had worms. Turns out most puppies do have worms especially if they are born at a shelter. The vet said that it would be an easy fix though and that Bailey would be feeling better really soon. Within 24 hours of her appointment, Bailey was cured! We are so happy. The vet said that everything else with her was normal and healthy. She does have to go in again in a week to get her 2nd round of shots though, which I'm sure will not be fun.

Since the trip, Jake and I have been busy continuing to fix up our house. Jake has been busy trying to fix the awful teal tile in the bathrooms while I worked on finishing up the painting and hanging up all the curtains and decorations. The living room is actually completely done! It's nice to have one room of the house done so that we have a place to relax away from the boxes and clutter. We are really happy with the way the house is turning out. It's just so great to have a home. Tonight we had our first house guests too! We invited a couple over (the same couple that we went out to dinner and bowling with last week) for dinner. I love having guests for dinner! It's so fun. I made a lasagna and stuff for dinner and we ended up just talking and hanging out for a few hours. It was nice to have some other people around. It's been pretty quiet with just me and Jake lately.

All in all, I think I'm feeling pretty at home here now. It's different now (better) that everything is all set up and settled. I am missing friends and family a lot though and its hard knowing that I've set up this great house that most of them will probably never get to see. It also is hard because we don't get any phone reception in our house. Seriously, most of the time our phones say "no service" when we are inside. It's such a pain to always be missing calls and having to stand outside in the cold whenever we do want to make a call. However its not practical for us to get a phone line seeing as how we only use our cell phones and neither of us really even like talking on the phone. So please note that if you call us and we don't answer, we probably never even got your call. It stinks but oh well I guess. On a better note, our internet and cable is being hooked up at the end of the week! That is so exciting to me since I am home for so many hours every day.

As far as pictures, I have taken some of the living room and just need to load them on the computer. I also have some cute ones of Bailey to post. Tomorrow I will try to do a picture post for you all to see. Well, that's all for now!