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.