Lize Update....No Invite to Travel....BUT

Well, today we recieved a surprise, an upated picture of Lize (Sorry, the quality isn't the best as I had to scan the picture from a word doc) along with some updated info.

Here's her latest info:

31 Pounds

28 Inches Tall

(As a reference, Sofi weighs 25 pounds and is 33 inches tall).

The info shared with us indicates that she likes to eat (a true Newsome trait) and sounds as if she's not too picky, can stand alone -even from a sitting position, can walk while holding someone's hand, can climb stairs, can walk backwards, pick up small objects, play with toys, likes to draw/scribble, drink from a cup, feeds herself, ask for things she wants, turn pages in a book, knows her name, point to objects on a page, gets upset when told no, has favorite toys, likes commercials and cartoons (Will has a buddy), likes to play with baby dolls (Looks like Sofi has a buddy too).

In our prayers we prayed in faith that God will allow us to travel soon and while we wait to just send us a sign that she's healthy, happy and fine. As always, if we're faithful, patient and prayerful, God will provide.

This blessing of this news will help us get through the days ahead while we wait. Thank you to everyone for your continued prayers. We'll keep you posted.

As we wait.....

We still wait for our invite to travel for Lize but we know it's in God's hands and there's no better place than that. As all we can do is wait, we've been blessed by great friends and family to help us pass the time. Here are some recent photos:



Here's Will (I guess no one told him that he wasn't in the pool).....

















Here's a great picture of Will and Sofi in the pool together. They spend most of the summer days there......







And here they are....a picture of the three kids all together at one time (Zach been a little reserved about having his picture taken lately....must be a preteen thing..)

Lize's Location and photo...

Several people have asked about Lize's location in China. The map to the right is a map of all of China and I've noted her location on the country map (in gray) and then the map below is a "cut away" showing her specific province. She's in ZunYi City. We just wait every day for the invite to travel so we can bring our beautiful angel home. Keep us in your prayers and God Bless.....

Here's a picture of our beautiful little girl.....

Lize Update and some pics too

Well, we've been told that our paperwork is in the review room (in China). That's good news for those who may not know what that means. That's the good news, the flip side is that it may mean nothing at all but we're praying it will bring us travel approval sooner than later. We just can't wait to get our little Lize home. Here's some recent pics:

Photos include Will and Sofi playing. Dewight and family plus our family at Miller Park (home of the Brewers) and finally a picture of me, Sofi and Will in our seats during the game.

As time goes by:

Well, we continue to wait for news from China on when we can travel to get our little Lize. We know that it's in God's hands now (as it always has been) and he'll decide what time is best for everyone. Our comfort is knowing that he's with Lize, bringing her comfort and understanding. To him, I say please make it soon. To Lize, I say be patient my darling little angel - mommy and daddy will be there soon.

LIZE UPDATE

All information we've received from China and our agency indicates that Lize is safe. The recent earthquake was felt in her location but she's safe. Additional GOOD news was received this week. We have been advised that our paperwork is "logged in" in China. What that translates to is that we can expect our invite to travel to get Lize within the next 2 to 4 months. Please keep the prayers coming for an expedited travel date and for Lize's safety. She's so far away from us but yet in the best hands, "God's".

Happy Mother's Day 2008

Well, the kids got to wish a Happy Mother's Day to Dawn this morning. All she wanted was to be able to stay in bed this morning and read the paper and that's what she got. The kids got her some flower plants they will plant together (if the weather ever warms up enough to plant anything here).

We finished the girls' room and I thought I would put a picture on the blog. Sofi shows everyone who comes over her new Pink / Purple room and tells them that its Lize and Sosi (that's how she pronouces her name) room:

Spring is Here....or so they say!

Although the calendar indicates that it's Spring, the temperature doesn't make it seem that way. We have the green grass (finally) but they may be covered with snow by tomorrow night. We're all doing well and looking forward to warmer weather, and having time fly by so we can travel to get Lize. Here are some recent photos of the family:

Some Easter Fun Prep Photos.......

From snow and dpression to total happiness...Lize Update

Yesterday, we had 45 degree weather, the roads were dry, we could see the brown grass and it was the first day of Spring. I finally had hope of it actually getting warmer. By 5 pm today we had 12 inches of snow on the ground (as it was snowing 1 inch per hour for the better part of the day) and depression was setting in from yet...more snow. After snow blowing the drive, I checked the mail (from yesterday) and found a piece of mail that made the day a happy day.

Today we received our final piece of paperwork (approval) so that we can submit our documents to China and get logged in. From that point, we've been told that it could be as early as three t0 five months before we travel to China to get Lize.- we're obviously praying for the three months.

We ask that everyone continue to pray for our family and give us the peace we need until we get Lize and the Patience as we continue to get closer to the travel date.

It's official - WE'RE A FAMILY OF 6!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, it's official, the Chinese government has given us our prior approval that Lize is ours. This is a nice way of confirming that they have given us temporary approval for the adoption and that they will "hold" Lize as our daughter.

We just finished our home study and there's still a tremendous amount of paperwork to be done. After that's done, we start the waiting game. We expect to travel some time this year, but there's no way to know how soon that will be at this time.

Please keep us in your prayers and continue to keep posted by following our blog.

Christmas 07 - in the sun and heat of south Florida

Here we are in sunny south Florida for the Christmas / New Year. The weather has been GREAT and the family is soaking every minute we can. We hope that you remember the reason for the season and had time to enjoy Christmas with your family and friends. The kids have enjoyed the beach, family and the pool. Here's a couple of pictures from Christmas at the docks, beach and Zach showing us his guns in the pool......

It's official - Winter's here in Wisconsin

After all the warmer than normal days we had in October and early November, Winter arrived yesterday in a big way: 4 - 5 inches of snow and lots of ice / sleet after that. Here's a picture of the first snow this year (it's also the first time that Sofia was ever able to enjoy / walk on the snow):

Here's a picture of Santa's little helper standing in front of the Christmas Tree (which she loves to look at the lights):

One year today ........

One year ago to the day (today), Sofi was placed in our arms. The first picture you see in this posting was taken that night (last year) and you can see how reserved she was. Last year, she couldn't even roll over, sit up, or eat solid food.





What a difference a year makes. Now let's fast forward to today the picture to the right (in a red outfit-this was taken tonight as we celebrated her "Gotcha Day") and see what she's like:

Today she runs everywhere, climbs up and down the stairs and everything else for that matter, she eats everything she can (including mamaw's soap), is all smiles and lights up any room she's in, can't go 10 seconds without asking about mama and loves her family. She's gained almost 7 pounds and 6 1/2 inches. True to Newsome form, getting her to be quiet is near impossible and with two older brothers who like to talk too, it should get interesting around here.

It seems like it was just yesterday that we were getting her into our arms. The past year came and went so fast and only proves that it's as if she was always right here with us all along.

Little Angels - October 2007

Tell me that this doesn't look like a happy group. Just thought everyone might like to see one of more recent pictures of the kids. Zach, Will and Sofi are all doing well. Zach's almost as tall as Dawn, Sofi has grown 2 1/2 inches in the past three months and Will is taller than Zach was at 7. When the day is long and you feel completely beat down, it's faces like these that make you go back for another round.

God Bless!!!!

Summer Fun - July / Aug / Sept

Every July, Germantown offers a "family" campout and movie in one of the many parks. Sofia and I enjoy some popcorn as we await the movie to start.








Popcorm quickly became one of Sofia's most favorite foods (and she loves to have her own bag / cup when she's home).














Will decided he wanted to be a chef so true to form, mommy made sure she got him his much needed chef outfit.


He made some cookies and likes giving a hand to mom.










- > Dawn took the kids to the Milwaukee County Zoo. Sofi took her first zoo train ride. They enjoyed seeing all the animals and petting the sharks and stingrays. Mommy even treated the kids to eating at the zoo (rather than the PBJ days).

For the past couple of years, our friends the Jameson's have invited us to northern Wisconsin resort called Silver Birch Ranch. It is a great experience and this year we were able to really enjoy it as Sofia was with us. We had fun doing everything from boating to horse back riding.



We're already looking forward to next year's trip.

The boys started another school year (here's a picture of our 1st grader - Will and our 6th grader -Zach).

How did Sofia react you ask, she cried when the boys left and Dawn had to pull her away from Will when she dropped him off. Dawn said she kept crying Will's name most of the morning.

May - first of June 2007 Update

While visiting family over the Memorial Day weekend, Will got to do one of his favorite things while at Uncle Dewight's house, ride horses. Here he is with Dewight's latest addition to his family.


We had a very nice (but busy) visit but unfortunately couldn't visit everyone. Several new things occured during the past month; will and Zach have both lost more teeth, Zach broke his arm, Sofia has started to crawl on her own and stand/walk -with help, Sofi met more family members, our first all day concert at Alpine Valley - Fishfest, a Christian music event and other events. Here are some additional pictures over the past month :

Family Fun - April 2007

Well, April has been a busy month for the Newsome's. Our fun started with going to Florida during the boys' spring break. In true Newsome fashion, Sofia found that she too enjoys the beach (it took her a little while to realize it....I think eating the sand helped her along.) We enjoyed going to the beach and spending time with Dawn's family. We also had a friend we met in China spend a day with us as we exchanged stories of how the kids are adjusting and saw how much each of our kids have grown since we were in China.

Here are some pictures from Florida:

Here are some photos from our trip to Chicago this past weekend. We traveled to Chicago on the train and spent the day shopping and yes, we took Sofia to American Girl store and purchased the Just Like Me doll (although she shouldn't play with it for a few more years, we're ready and it actually looks like her) The day ended with dinner at Rainforest Cafe.

Oh how the time goes by....

Well, it's been a little while since the last update. I've posted a recent picture of Sofia and the boys at the Chicago Auto Show. Let me tell you, THE BOYS loved the auto show (including me, James). Sofia continues to grow every day and is absorbing everything like a sponge. She is so smart and can remember things that amaze you.

Our next adventure is going to take place in a few days. We're off to Florida to visit Dawn's family, The BEACH and our friends we made in China (who live in Tampa). We'll keep the site updated with pictures of the trip.

God Bless....

Baby, It's cold outside ..and snowy

We'll it finally got here, the snow that is. In the past two days we've received over 14 inches. The boys played outside and I snow blowed our drive way along with the neighbor's.