Fun at the park with daddy

Summers are so hot in Texas it is hard to go to the park. I have been looking forward to taking my sweetie to the park again! Its kind of a daddy / daughter time. We had not bought a new digital camera in over five years, so we took the occasion of the adoption and the travel to China to purchase a new one. We bought the Canon Powershot SD550 which is really fast and takes great pictures yet it is very small. So, today I went to the park to practice with it while playing with Maddie! We are so excited to make the trip to China at this point that it is hard to even allow ourselves to think about it. Pray for us that all is well. Here is a picture of Maddie at the park.

THAT'S MY BABY!!

We continue to be blessed this week. We just recently joined a Yahoo Group for Noelle's orphanage. A week or so a guy in the group by the name of Stephen posted a message that he was currently visiting the orphanage, as he had just received his daughter from this orphanage, and that he had taken a couple of pictures and video of babies that the caretakers said were about to be adopted out. Today Stephen who just returned from China posted two baby pictures. Guess who was Baby #2....you got it NOELLE!

I just sent an email to Stephen begging for more photos and the video. He said he would be happy to share the video as he knows any information obtained prior to receiving Noelle is treasured memories.

What a wonderful blessing!

Sweet Surprise

I was SO surprised to open up our email yesterday morning and find an updated health report and updated photos of our new baby girl Noelle. We were so NOT expecting it! The pictures were taken on October 8th. We think she is a true beauty and can not wait to go and get her!!

She is now 7 months old as of October the 7th and she weighs 17 pounds and is 26 inches long. Brian has prayed that she would be tall for a Chinese girl. I think God just might have answered his prayer!

Our New Niece-Baby Ellis

Our sweet niece Ellis decided she did not want to miss out on all the excitement of her new cousin Noelle last week. So she decided to join us three weeks early! Ellis is absolutely beautiful! Congrats goes out to my brother Jon and his wife Lisa and big brother Jase!

Ellis Suzanne Summy
10/5/05 (2 days before her big brother Jase turned 2)
5 pounds 3 ounces
17 1/2 inches

Maddie is thrilled beyond belief to have a new baby girl cousin. She just beams with pride and excitement! Uncle Brian has already gave her a nickname "Ellie Belle"....Ellie Sue didn't quite go over to well with Ellis's mommy. =) Noelle is going to be so happy to have a girl cousin just 7 months younger than her.

Our Sweet Baby Girl!!

On Monday we got the call at 11:26 am from our Social Worker telling us they just received our "referral" from China. Our SW gave us some of the basic information about our daughter and told us they would email us some pictures later in the afternoon. Brian and I were both at work and had already decided that we would wait until we were together with Maddie at home to open the picture. The wait was brutal, so we both left work early and my Mom went and got Maddie for us, so we could all see her for the first time together. It was such an exciting time! We all ooed and awed over her and screamed with excitement. We then all (Brian, Maddie and I along with Grammy, Poppy, Uncle Jon, Aunt Lisa and Jase) went to eat at PF Changs Chinese Bistro in honor of our daughter. Uncle Jon and Aunt Lisa treated us to a wonderful Chinese meal...it was a GREAT day!

God has truly blessed us with a beautiful daughter!

Chinese Name: Lu Wei Fen
Soon to be: Noelle Grace Wei Fen Howard
DOB: 3/7/05 (almost 7 months)
Orphanage: Nanfeng SWI
Province: Jiangxi

Physical Description from the Chinese Letter we received about her: Wei Fen's skin is soft and supple with a tint of rose color. She has good facial expressions, spirited eyes, cherry like mouth, strong and lively arms and legs. She is absolutely adorable (lovely).

We can't wait to go and get her! We should leave in 6-8 weeks.