TRULY AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today was a very busy day full of fun, excitement, astonishment, and appreciation. We (our group) started at 7:45 AM and didn't return to the hotel until after 5 PM. Our first stop was at Ming's Tomb. Ming's Tomb is collection of various tombs spread over several hundred acres across one of the mountain ranges. Here are some pictures of this stop:

After Ming's Tomb, we were off to what is truly one of the wonders of the world - The Great Wall. When you see the wall in the distance (as you drive up to it), it looks impressive. As you get closer and eventually arrive at the base of the specific section we visited, it leaves you completely astonished. What these people were able to accomplish nearly 2,000 years ago is beyond impressive and comprehension. The highest tower (of this section of the wall) sits at nearly 4,000 feet in the air.

As we climbed near the top, it was very windy. Standing up there looking down to the base, you truly got a perspective on how high you were and just made me that much more impressed. Truly remarkable. With no disrespect intended , but this turned out to be the biggest step master work out Dawn or I ever had. We took an insane amount of pictures but I will only post a few. I hope you enjoy them:

Dawn and I near the base of the wall (to the left). The other pictures were taken along the wall. Near the top of the highest point of the wall, I climbed into one of the watch towers and then on the roof it (you can see it in one of the pictures below). It was located higher than the highest point you see in the picture to the left. The final picture, at this point, is of The Grows' and us once we came back down the wall.

At the base of the Great Wall there was an impressive garden and other buildings. Here are a few pictures :

We finished the tour by going by the Olympic Village, The Bird's Nest (Olympic Stadium) and the Water Cube. Here's a couple of pictures of those as well:

That brings to end another wonderful day. How do you top the wonders and beauty we've seen so far, well all these things will pale in comparison to what tomorrow will bring for us. You may think I've lost my mind but after tomorrow you too will agree.

WOW - What a first day in Beijing!

Today was an incredible day. We started by going to a shopping district here in Beijing and then we went to The Forbidden City and Tienanmen Square for our group activities. We followed-up a GREAT day by having an unbelievable dinner with a friend who is now living here in Beijing. Both locations were so much more impressive than I could have ever imagined. The only thing that would have made this better was having ALL the kids here with us.

Here are some pictures from our shopping excursion (yes they do celebrate Halloween):

Here are some pictures of The Forbidden City. The description INCREDIBLE doesn't due this place any justice. (For those of you who didn't know - This location was the Chinese Imperial Palace for the Emperor and his household. It took from (year) 1406 - 1420 to build and is 720,000 square metres. For a guy (like me) who loves history and just the thought of being here and walking where previous emperors of China once did is remarkable. Here you go:

Then we were off to Tienanmen Square. The square is over 100 acres which makes it the World's Largest Public Square - let me tell you, IT'S BIG! Several significant events in Chinese history occurred at this very site. Here are some pictures of the square, Dawn, me, and the Grows family:

We finish the day with a dinner with a friend. We couldn't pass up the opportunity as we "just happened to be in the neighborhood". It was great seeing her again as we enjoyed the food and the time we spent together.


After 10 miles of walking and having a good meal it was time to call it a day. True to expectations, the people here are absolutely fantastic. I cannot say enough about their friendliness and willingness to help. Tomorrow's a busy day for us as we take a group day-tour.

WE MADE IT!!!!!

Well all went well after 30+ hours of traveling (from the time we left our house to check in at the hotel). We arrived in Beijing at 10:30 PM and by the time we got our luggage, cleared customs, got a taxi, "negotiated" a taxi rate, got to the hotel and did some unpacking, it's now 12:45 AM (keep in mind China is 13 hours ahead of Wisconsin time) local time. I'm posting a couple of pictures:

Here we are (also included are our friends the Grows, minus Richard who was kind enough to take this picture) waiting for a tram. The Grows are adopting a little girl as well.

Here's a picture of one of the planes we were on during this leg of the trip.

Dawn saw these little Chinese dolls and of course we had to get them for the girls. I must admit, they are cute. And their names are what you might ask, Sofi and Lize of course.

Just a few more hours

Well, in 9 hours we'll be on our way. We want to thank everyone for your prayers and support and ask for you to continue for us (during our travels) as well as the kids. We'll keep you posted. We'll see everyone back in Milwaukee on November 15th at 2:00 PM (we're flying Northwest Airlines)

Just a little more, and then we're off....

Well, it's just over 8 days until we leave for China. We can hardly wait! The kids are very excited about having their little sister home. Sofi says, " Lize coming home soon" all the time. While we wait, I thought I would post a few more pics of the family:

Pumpkin Time ...and one week closer to Lize

One more week goes by and it brings us closer to Lize. We can't wait until the 29th (our depature date). This weekend we went on our annual pumpkin hunt and here are some pics of the journey:

LIZE, HERE WE COME............TA has arrived!

That's right, yesterday we received our travel approval. Due to a Chinese holiday Oct 1-3, a couple of weeks of trade shows in Guangzhou and some other issues within the proviences, our travel date will be October 29th (we'll get full confirmation on this date no later than Monday, we hope but it looks as if that will be the date). It's not as soon as we wanted but we finally have a date to get our little angel.

Thank you all for your prayers and support. We hope that you keep them up until we get to Lize and bring her back home. We'll keep the blog updated with travel information and such once we have confirmed information.

Birthday Celebrations

We celebrated Sofi and Will's birthday this week (Sofi's birthday is Sept 23rd -she's 3 - and Will's birthday is Sept 25th -he's 8). Our little ones are growing up too fast. We also hoped to be with Lize on her birthday (Oct 3rd) but that's not going to happen. We took the kids to a restaurant that you could classify as a very upscale chuck e cheese.

I will post some pictures of them later but here's a couple of photos of Sofi that were taken yesterday:

G-Town Hawks 1-0

Zach is playing 7th grade football and his primary position is as a running back. Satruday was his first game and the team won 14-0. Here's some pictures of him before and during the game. (The photo from the game is Zach getting the ball for the run):

LOA finally here - (and some updated photos)

Well, we finally got our LOA (which is our approval to travel from China). We expect to be on our way in a few weeks to get our little Lize. We'd like to thank everyone for their prayers and support and we'll keep you posted on specific dates once we get more information.

For now, here's a general update from The Newsome's. We just returned from our annual trip to nothern Wisconsin. It's 3 nights/4 days of great fun, relaxation spent with friends at one of our most favorite spots in the world. Here's some photos from our trip (Will's big thing was horse back riding) - of course getting pics of Zach was difficult:

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.