Christmas Eve

It is Christmas Eve! We went over to Tony and Shauneen's house for a few hours this afternoon. They have the boys a present, Jacob a train puzzle and Joshua one of those things where you press the buttons or turn the levers and little animals pop up. Tony also have Jacob a toy truck with a trailer. We also visited with Allie and she seems really happy. It made me sad to see her though, it is so hard to leave her. She is such a sweet dog, but I know she is happy. She seems to really like Tony. Tony and Shauneen said that they think of us like we are their kids. It feels nice to have some "family" after all.

I always feel a little sad around Christmas though. It is the only time that I tend to miss my family. I don't know if it is that I actually miss them or if it is the feeling of family and nice traditions that we had. I always enjoyed singing Christmas carols with my mother and brother, and our Christmas Eve feast, having a large family meal on Christmas day. I used to love the Christmas Eve candlelight service at our church. Our driving around on Christmas Eve after we ate to look at Christmas lights. Christmas just always felt special. And I know that we will develop many traditions in our family that will become special to us. We really enjoyed baking together yesterday. That may just become part of our traditions.

Shauneen said that Shannon told her that Princess is being really good. She has apparently grown quite attatched to Shannon, which Shauneen said is funny because she was never really a "dog person". But Princess is apparently quite happy. So I feel good knowing that our dogs are well cared for and in happy new homes. It seems they will be quite happy and loved. I think Princess is in the right home for what she needs. She is being pampered and spoiled by all of the girls, and is spending a lot of time in Shannon's lap.

I just realized that this is our last full week here. Wow, this is happening so quickly and there is still so much to do!