Ye Dan Kuai Le

The closest I could come to "Merry Christmas" in Chinese ......

Ye is short for Ye Su, which is the transliterated name for Jesus.
Su means to revive, to come to, or to rise again.
Kuai le is happiness, joy, delight, or rejoicing.
Thus, Ye Dan Kuai Le, or Jesus' Birth Happy, is how you say Merry Christmas in Chinese.

.... and Happy Hanukah (The name "Hanukkah" derives from the Hebrew verb "חנך", meaning "to dedicate". On Hanukkah, the Jews regained control of Jerusalem from an invading army and rededicated the Temple. At the re-dedication there was only enough consecrated olive oil to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate fresh olive oil. So, Hanukkah is celebrated for 8 days and nights) to our Jewish friends in Blogland ..... Joanna Mei reminded me of this yesterday as she babbled along in the back seat and said something that sounded like "Shalom" ..... from the mouths of babes.

The Narnia Tree - Then & Now

The spirit of the past 2 or 3 Christmases without Joanna Mei are reflected in the pics below.

Christmas decorations & lights were minimal.

In 2007, we put "The Narnia Tree" in the thicket on the side of our house.

It was named for the mythical land in CS Lewis' "The Chronicles of Narnia".

The land was always cold and snowy

and the blue lights on the tree gave the area the feel of a cool evening.

Click on the pic above for the full view. It's kinda cool......

This year, the addition of the lights strung in the trees was added.

The presence of Joanna Mei in our home is reflected in the decorations throughout the house.

Referrals!

CCAA has updated the portal to reflect referrals matched through LID February 22, 2006. Some blogs are reporting 2/23/2006.

We congratulate the new parents who have been waiting for this news.

JMei is doing the dance of joy for y'all.

And the prize for the LONGEST PREGNANCY goes to......

.......the Alpine Salamander.........found in the central and eastern Alps. It gives birth to 2 young .... at lower altitudes, the pregnancy lasts for 2 years and at higher altitudes it jumps to 3 years ...... longer than placement of a child from China. We should all rejoice that we are not Alpine Salamanders living above the tree line!

......and the runner up......... the African Elephant.......the pregnancy lasts for around 22 - 24 months.This is one of the longest gestation periods in the animal kingdom. (The blue whale, for example, has a gestation period of around 1 year.)

As for those in the Waiting Room for China Adoption, does the pregnancy begin with the decision to adopt and attendance at an informational meeting - or - with the LID. If we're talking about the latter, then we're doing a bit better than the elephant and hopefully ....... the salamander.

It was 2 years ago that we originally posted this peice. Well, it indeed WAS 3 years from the beginning of the paperchase to our Forever Day, so at that point, the gestation period of the Alpine Salamander at high altitude was just about in line with the CCAA's time frame.