Saturday, December 09, 2006

Steven Curtis Chapman - When Love Takes You In

A favorite of mine..Steven the gentleman singing has adopted 3 children from China and does so much for the kids who remain behind. The little girl is his daughter.
What a wonderful song!

Steven Curtis Chapman-All I Really Want for Christmas

A beautiful song....take a listen.

Karen

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Day 135 - A lucky Ladybug?


TA's appear to be hitting the waiting children boards againtoday...thank god!
This morning a ladybug was sitting on the edge of my sink in thebathroom as I was brusing my teeth...let's hope she bring us some goodluck indeed....we are so hoping to get some good news soon...Just to know the paper is here and we can start planning would be oneless thing to worry about. And then a real countdown could begin.
With last Friday's power failure came a basement of water...not fun atall...so our girls are sleeping in Jaden and Presley's room..the insurance guy came..all the carpet has to be pulled up..the walls need to be checked for moisture...and the shop vac was my best friend over the weekend. Our place stinks to high heaven...Jaden and Jagger are sick...Jagger has an almost 104 temp this morning..so yesterday I was home and today it is James' turn. Jaden has a runny nose and pink eye. Does the fun ever end???...I could have gone without having the rip up my basement at Christmas and the insurance guy said everything won't be taken care of until probably end of January....I sure could use some news...LIKE OUR TA IS HERE!!!!!! Come on....
Trying to hang in there..
Hugs,
Karen

Sunday, December 03, 2006

Day 131 -Let it Snow!

Today was just a pretty day outside...as I looked out the windows this afternoon..the hugest snowflakes were falling on the groud. My 3 youngest kiddies were all bundling up and heading out for their first outside play with the white stuff this year. They rolled snowballs and kept coming in and out to adjust mittens and hats and just come in to say "Love you mommy". How sweet. Jaden was so bundled up it was quite funny. How she can walk and play with all her winter gear..it amazes me. To see their faces with such excitement as the snowflakes land on their rosy cheeks...it just makes you feel like such a little kid again. I remember when I was out with my friends..making a snowman, having a snowball fight...or making a fort. Oh the good ole days.
They came in about an hour after playing and I had hot chocolate ready for them along with a nice big bowl of Cheddar Broccoli soup..a big hit in our house.

James said at lunch that perhaps we should write a note to Santa and ask him when he is doing his rounds on Christmas Eve to stop in Dalian and give Presley a hug and kiss for us all. They all said what a great idea..so that will be our next project in the next day or so...

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let is Snow! It is just beautiful outside...
We will know Tuesday it if it to be January travel for James...if no TA....than travelling in December is out.
Hoping for positive news...but the boards have been extremely quiet and no word that TA's are mailed and on their way...we normally hear that they have been mailed a few days before they hit agencies but nothing has been said at all.

Here is a little info about Christmas which I thought I would share:

5 Legends of the Christmas Tree

The Christmas tree is one of the central components of Christmas, yet no consensus exists that explains where it came from. But there are several legends...

King Tut never saw a Christmas tree, but he would have understood the tradition which traces back long before the first Christmas. The Egyptians were part of a long line of cultures that treasured and worshipped evergreens. When the winter solstice arrived, they brought green date palm leaves into their homes to symbolize life's triumph over death.

The Romans celebrated the winter solstice with a fest called Saturnalia in honor of Saturnus, the god of agriculture. They decorated their houses with greens and lights and exchanged gifts. They gave coins for prosperity, pastries for happiness, and lamps to light one's journey through life.

Centuries ago in Great Britain, woods priests called Druids used evergreens during mysterious winter solstice rituals. The Druids used holly and mistletoe as symbols of eternal life, and placed evergreen branches over doors to keep away evil spirits.

Born in 680 A.D., St. Boniface is credited with associating the fir with the Christmas celebration. Legend says that in the eighth century he came upon a ceremony of a human sacrifice taking place at the foot of a sacred oak tree. In anger, he struck the tree with an axe and felled it (perhaps with some help from a gust of wind, according to one source). In the ruins of the great oak was a single fir. St. Boniface pointed to this fir and told them that they should worship Christ, the bringer of life "ever green."

Another legend is attributed to Martin Luther (1483-1546), the 16th Century German leader of church reform and strong voice in the Protestant Reformation. On Christmas Eve of 1519, the stars shone so brightly that Martin Luther could see his way clearly in the reflected snow on this dark night of December the 24th. He went out into the forest and returned with a beautiful fir tree, bringing it into his home so his family could admire it. He then placed glowing candles atop the branches to copy the star light outside, and stated the candles represented the shining stars in the heavens above Bethlehem, some fourteen centuries earlier.