We're Here!!!

We made it to Germany and we finally have access to the internet again. Wow, life is sure different without technology. We still don't have a functional TV, which is probably a good thing. We have missed AFN though. How can we survive without those high-quality ads? Really though, I have missed seeing all the good Christmas movies that are on this time of the year. Oh well, there are other ways to get into the Christmas spirit. Speaking of which, it is COLD here!! We're remembering what it's like to have cold-weathered holidays. It is REALLY cold here. I mean really, really cold. Maybe we're just wimps after hanging out in sunny Andalucia for so long but I haven't had to wear thermals in a long time. We'll have a white Christmas whether it snows or not because in the mornings frost covers everything in sight. Sometimes it lasts all day. It's actually very beautiful. We love the trees and greenery here. This is another big change from Spain. When we do get out and walk it's very pretty. We can't wait to see what Spring brings!
We live in a very small town, a pueblo really. The neat thing is that it was established in 1190. There are many, many small towns around us. They are about half a mile apart from each other. It's strange because you have to drive through them to get anywhere. They're not connected by a highway or anything. Just little two lane roads. There are several bases close-by. We're about 15 minutes from the closest. It's nice to be able to grocery shop normally. In Spain we only have a small little shopette on base. We have to drive one hour to Rota to get most things, or on the economy of course. I love our apartment. It's perfect for us! It's furnished very nicely and our landlords even decorated for Christmas. They are SO nice. Germans are such warm, accepting people. We are constantly amazed by how much they like Americans. What a difference from anywhere else we've been in Europe. Not that people in other countries aren't nice, but Germans go out of their way to be nice. They actually like Americans and are happy to have us here. SO many people speak English. It's amazing. They are very well educated. In fact we hear their education system is one of the best in the world. We haven't learned too much German yet, although there are a lot of similarities to English. I'm just trying to keep up on my Spanish. I did watch the Little Mermaid in Spanish and I understood most of it. I've also been reading the Liahona, which has helped. I can't stop practicing!
We love our new ward. Of course, we miss our little Spanish barrio too (p.s. check out my cute primary class - there's Ricardo, Maria Isabel, Rocio and Ana Paola). Our new ward is large and is an American ward. There are SOOOO many kids! Jay is in constant amazement by all of them. Apparently there are 42 children between the ages of zero and three. What a nursery! It makes sense when you think about the typical age of someone working for the military. Since retirement is possible after 20 years, most active duty are in the family stage of life. Everyone in the ward has been very welcoming. It's a very transient ward since most people are only stationed in Germany for 3 years or less. They're used to seeing new faces. We haven't received callings yet, but I have no doubt we will. I'm sure there must be a few primary callings open with all of those kids! We've met some really good people through the ward. Isn't it amazing how you can find family no matter where you are in the world through the gospel? We have an invite to a Christmas Eve dinner and a few more for Christmas day.
Last night (at 2 am) Mike went to a new friend's house to watch the BYU Bowl game. By the way... GOOOOOOOOO COUGARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I woke up at 4 am to watch the second half, which ended up being dissapointing as far as offense goes, but I was happily rewarded to see BYU pull off the win in literally the last seconds of the game. All I can say is thank goodness for Manumaleuna's fingers! Can you believe a 280 pound lineman could have jumped so high? What a thrill! 10 straight wins in a row. GO COUGS!
Well, I better go for now. I have more to post about our fun weekend trip to Hidelburg. That will have to wait until tomorrow though because Jay is begging for my attention! More on him tomorrow too :)

Here are some pics of our place: