Howard News

Voices and Smiles

2009-04-09T06:44:00.000-07:00

Maddie said "bye daddy" when I dropped her off at school today and smiled sweetly. It just shot through my heart and reminded me of something that I have thought about several times lately. My children's voices are like music to me. Hearing their voices brings me so much joy. My children's smiles are a sunshine of joy and they shine right through me.

Thank you Lord for our children and the special connection you have between us. I wonder if our voices bring joy when we talk to you?

Happy 3rd Gotha Day Noelle!!

2008-12-12T10:17:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was our 3rd Gotcha Day anniversary for Noelle. This is the anniversary we celebrate the day we got Noelle in China. I asked Noelle today what Gotcha Day was and she said the day I got a Mommy, Daddy, and Sissy. Sweet, I've always thought of it as the day we got her and not of the day she got us as we are truly the blessed ones!

We celebrated "Gotcha Day" with the Gibbons (Ryan, Amy, Nate, and Lily) minus Ryan who was sick, Ms. Ann (The Gibbons close family friend), and Grammy and Papa. The Gibbons were a part of our travel group to China. They received Lily Wei Xu at the same time. Every time the girls get together they just seem like sisters. They are so much alike. Both Noelle and Lily are from the exact city in China and are one week apart. We are so blessed to have the Gibbons live so close and get to share these special times with them. We of course had Chinese food and Amy, Lily, and Nate made the cutest snowman cupcakes. The girls played dress up and filled up their bags. It's funny Noelle has the nick name of "The Bag Lady" which she has joyfully embraced. She always has a bag and packs up her toy room into all her bags. So it was so funny to see Lily doing the same thing last night, packing up everything into her bag and carrying it around. They were super cute with their sunglasses and bags. Of course Nate and Maddie were there to celebrate their sisters as well. At one point they were all chasing each other around the house giggling, screaming, and laughing. Never a dull moment around here.

This day is a very special day in our family. We are so grateful for Noelle. She has added so much joy to our family. She is the spunkiest (nicest word I can find at the moment) girl I know. =) She is an extrovert at it's finest. She never meets a stranger, she can find friends of any age and anywhere and those friends are usually all following her around doing exactly what she tells them to do. She says and does things that other people's children do....not mine. I have been SO embarrassed on many occasions by some of the things she has said and done out in public. At her last doctor's appointment I was prescribed the book Love and Logic instead of Noelle an antibiotic for a bladder infection. We figured she must have a bladder infection since she started tee teeing in her pants. She keeps us all on our toes with her energy and stubbornness, but we would not trade her for a second. This little strong willed child has the cutest dimplples you ever did see, the sweetest voice, is so affectionate, nurturing, charming, smart, and loves us unconditionally! We love you Noelle and love celebrating Gotcha Day!!

New Pics and Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-30T21:19:00.001-08:00

Well, its been tooo long since we updated the ol' family blog! Here are a few updated pics. Love ya'll!

P.S. Maddie says I should run for Santa. (hmmm, wonder if I could get enough votes?)

President's Club 2008 in St. Thomas

2008-06-15T20:55:00.001-07:00

Jamie and I were blessed to have been able to attend my new company's President's Club a few weeks ago. It was such a miracle the way I was able to qualify for this special sales award. It was humanly impossible and the Lord intervened through special circumstances to bless us with this. We had a great time. The trip was in St. Thomas and we stayed at the Frenchman's Reef Marriot. St. Thomas has a population of about 55,000 right now. We also had a day trip to St. John which was incredible- it was even more beautiful than St. Thomas and is unspoiled with a local population of only about 5,500. These islands are U.S. Territories and are part of the United States Virgin Islands. The final island in this group is called St. Croix which we did not visit.

Noelle update from Dad

2008-05-10T21:10:00.000-07:00

Noelle is doing great. She is speaking incredibly well and can pretty much have a full conversation now. She is very fiesty. She loves to grab something from Maddie or someone else and run away laughing.

She is very tender and loving as well. She loves kisses and hugs and is very affectionate. She is very secure in our love also which is priceless.

Tonight was so sweet, I was lying on the floor next to her toddler bed and saying her prayers and patting her as I do every night and I was going to go and she pretty much laid down on my hand and held it close to her face and neck area and said, "no, I want to keep you." Oh my gosh that was so sweet. She is my precious little angel. When she finally let me go we exchanged a shower of kisses and "I love you so much's". Precious.

February Disney World Picture

2008-03-30T15:43:00.001-07:00

Ummmm... we had a SNOW day on March 6th in Texas... yah, us too

2008-03-09T20:47:00.000-07:00

But, at least you get cute kid pics.

A letter to Maddie

2008-03-09T16:34:00.000-07:00

Maddie, your Daddy is so proud of you. You have so many awesome qualities. Thank you for being such a leader and helper to Noelle. You are so sweet to her. You really remind me of your Mommy a lot of times and in many ways, especially when it comes to helping or protecting Noelle. You often say, "Come on sweetie, ok?" in such a sweet voice and other things like that. I see you holding her hand and leading her, sitting down reading to her, and playing with her. I see such unusual helpfulness in you toward her and such care. Thank you so much for that. I am proud of you and I love you.

Love,

Daddy

Miracle of Her Heart

2008-01-30T21:29:00.000-08:00

We were having dinner out 2 nights ago with our kids. It was a nice time after work and everything was fine. Suddenly, Noelle started choking, her face got red, her eyes were distressed and Jamie said, "Brian, she's choking!" I was sitting next to her so I started fishing in her mouth for the food. However it was a stringy piece of food and it broke off in bits and stayed buried in her throat. I frantically was sweeping the back of her throat although Noelle slightly fought me in the process. I urgently said, "Noelle, you are choking..daddy is helping you get the food out!"

In a split second out of the corner of my eye I saw Maddie turned to the side wall kind of burying her head and I was irritated. She tends to be very uncomfortable around medical-type situations and certain other situations, I can't completely describe the pattern to you. I was frustrated with her for tuning-out in this way for some reason although now if I think about it of course she would be scared and disengage from the situation. Oh well, I have a lot of growing to do, I admit it.

Anyway, Noelle suddenly choked in a different way, a piece came out and I wondered if she was out of danger so I asked her to say something. (if someone is choking but they can speak it may still be somewhat of an issue but it shows they can get air) She said something and we could tell that the last piece had become disloged.

We were so relieved and explained to Noelle, "We have to be careful when we eat. That is called choking, that is why we have to take smaller bites and chew it up good," etc, etc.

I didn't notice Maddie whispering to Jamie during my coaching of Noelle. After I was done with the coaching I turned on Maddie slightly irritated and said, "Maddie, why did you turn away like that when your sister was choking." Jamie said, "Brian, Maddie has something to tell you." I said, "Ok, what is it." Maddie said, "When Noelle was choking I prayed."

I was stunned. Oh my gosh, as Jamie and I were wild-eyed with fear Maddie turned her head away from the real trauma of the situation, turned her heart to God and called on him for help. (I am so touched while writing this) I praised Maddie up and down and held her hand across the table and squeezed it and shook it over and over and told her how wonderful that was and how proud I was of her.

I said, "Maddie, today you fulfilled your name before the Lord! Your name means "Strong Tower." (she is well aware of the meaning of her name and if you have followed our family at all you remember some time ago a challenge that came to us around that topic) I said, your Bible verse that goes along with your name is, "The name of the Lord is a Strong Tower, the righteous run into it and are saved." I said, "You ran to the Lord Maddie, that is so amazing, we are so proud of you!" She just beamed and beamed over this.

Honestly, the truth is the Lord DID answer Maddie's prayer- I was failing to fish that out of Noelle's throat and I don't have any reason why it suddenly sprang out like that. So, I credit the Lord with answering Maddie's prayer which is a wonderful miracle but the most important miracle here is far more important.

The miracle of her heart is the miracle I care about here. I so want my children to call upon the Lord in their time of need- and at all times for that matter. This miracle inside of my sweet six year old daughter is one that, with God's help, I will never stop remembering with thankfulness to God.

Noelle's prayer plus a little update

2008-01-20T20:33:00.000-08:00

Last night everyone was in the family bed right to talk, laugh, and then say our prayers. We don't do this every night but have a few times lately. Its a neat bonding time.

Well tonight, Noelle wanted to pray so we let her. She proceeded to pray for everyone's feet in the entire extended family which is an ongoing funny thing she does. After that she prayed something serious. She said, "God I give my heart back to you." That was so sweet and shocking to hear out of her and such a blessing! That is all we want for them- to know, love, and walk with the Lord.

Yesterday, Maddie had her first cheerleading performance with the Crusaders, a neat Christian-based Cheerleading group with multiple teams of all ages. Maddie's group, "The Halos" went second and it was neat. They did a dance, 2 cheers, and 2 special group-based Cheer/lifting poses. It all worked out well and she did great. Well, as part of this there was also a tumbling exercise which involved doing a cartwheel. Maddie did AWESOME, she looked like a thirteen-year old who had been training since she was six years old! Then later every girl and boy in the Crusaders got to do an individual tumbling "show-off" and Maddie did her cart-wheel. You should have seen her legs seem to defy gravity like a fast-spinning ferris wheel. It was SHOCKING. She is incredible! Thank you Lord for blessing her and also keeping her and all of the girls safe!

Happy Thanksgiving Update

2007-11-25T13:10:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone, we hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving. We are doing well. We have a lot to be thankful for but Brian's job situation was a big one that was resolved favorably this month. The company he has worked for, for 9 years - Network General was acquired by its #1 competitor, Netscout Systems. We thank the Lord because Brian's entire office will be able to keep their jobs with the new company! Jamie's company has re-organized and it looks like her job will be ok as well.

The girls are doing well. Maddie is loving first grade, reading like crazy, and doing well in her gymnastics, cheerleading, and dance. Noelle has started a little dance class at her daycare and she likes it as well.

We are enjoying the girls and each other so much and thank the Lord for all his blessings, protection, and joy!

Maddie's book about how she feels

2007-09-28T21:11:00.000-07:00

I spotted a few sheets of printer paper in a storage shelf in Maddie's room with some writing on them. They had some words written in color marker and in black ink pen so, being the curious dad that I am, I picked them up. There were 3 sheets. The first one said, "I feel prowd", the second, "I feel excited", and the third was the cover sheet and it said, (have to go double check but this was the idea) "Maddie's book of how I feel", by Maddie Howard.

Oh my gosh that was not just cute but heart-touching! Sometimes, I really want to crawl into my kids heads to see how I am doing. I always wonder what they are thinking about. Do they think about when I really blew my temper that time? Do they think about any other failures I've had as a dad? Am I spending enough time with them? Am I teaching them enough? I have a lot of questions. This stuff is too important and you don't get a do-over. I feel the responsibility.

I am so glad I have God at my side. I am so glad God is interested in my family and in my kids. I am glad he is willing to teach and guide me. I genuinely trust the Lord with my family and prayerfully expect his help and blessing in my marriage and raising my kids.

So anyway, those sheets of paper gave me a lot of joy and peace because life for a kid is not easy and we correct our kids quite a bit though we try to do it in a teaching way. But we praise them and love them a lot too. I want her to feel proud and excited and the sheets are a signpost to me of how we're doing. I love my girls and I won't forget Maddie's book..

Tinker Bell is Tall

2007-09-07T20:55:00.000-07:00

The kids are so cute. Maddie has had some conversations with us recently and she is proud of herself because she has figured out that Tinker Bell is not small but actually tall. She has seen her fly off of the roof of the castle at the Magic Kingdom in Disneyworld and in general "Tink" is one of our favorite characters. Well Maddie says Tinker Bell is really normal size but since she is flying up in the air it only looks like she is small. So cute!

Noelle is so cute, when she says how much she loves you she says BIG MUCH, so cute!

Cute Cousins!

2007-08-31T19:03:00.000-07:00

When it Blogs, it Pours-Happy 6th Birthday Maddie!!

2007-08-28T17:00:00.000-07:00

Wow, two blog updates in a week! Ok, it is Maddie's 6 year old birthday today- Happy Birthday Maddie! I'll show a couple of pics at Maddie's "Sweet and Sassy" birthday party- it was awesome! She chose a Rockin Pop Star themed party. Both girls were too cute!
Today was also Maddie's first day of school for 1st Grade! Jamie and I both took her for the first day and it was a lot of fun. Her teacher is Mrs. Ivy and she is awesome.

Praying for Feet, Family Time, and an Appendicitis

2007-08-27T19:52:00.000-07:00

We have been trying to have little family devotional times. Its quite interesting with a 2.5 year old and a 6 year old! We are so busy and zonked that we haven't been doing it a lot but we'll stick with it.

Well tonight, I was reminded of something funny that Noelle does. I guess her first memory of prayer must have been praying for Jamie's feet. Jamie had some pain in one of her heels and so we prayed as a family about that probably 4-5 months ago. Well Noelle remembered it because now, whenever we pray, she gets a serious look on her face, lightly puts her hands together in an awkward and crooked prayer posture and through half-closed eyes prays for "mommies feet better, daddy's feet better, Maddie's feet better, Poppa's feet better, Grammy's feet better," and on it goes... it is so cute and precious.

You know as seldom as we've had these prayer times it is actually quite remarkable the answers we have had in prayer. We keep a little journal (pink, cuz well the girlz kind of rule around here) and we write down what verse we read, what we're thankful for, and what our prayer requests are. I am ashamed to admit that before tonight, the last time we pulled off having one of these times was August 5th! But anyway, tonight we reviewed the last time's prayer requests. At the time we had been having problem after problem with our daycare and with Noelle in that daycare. It was quite stressful and we did not know what to do. So, we prayed for a decision on the daycare situation. Well, 2 days later Jamie met an old friend who told her about a Christian-based daycare that is only 5 minutes (vs. 15 minutes) away from our house. We checked it out and Noelle started that next Monday. And we are saving a lot on top of it all! Noelle is like a different child after going here for a few weeks and we love it! So, what a neat answer to prayer!

On another note, late last week Maddie challenged Jamie. She was demonstrating a cheerleading high kick to Jamie and told her she couldn't do one. Jamie said, "oh yes I can" and proceeded to do the finest free-standing front kick you've ever seen. You could barely even hear Jamie's hips pop as her foot swept the near reaches of space. You could hardly notice her grimace for the gleam of victory in her eyes.

Jamie took her victory in stride and kept up with the busy day. That night we had a dinner out with some family and Jamie was able to sit down for awhile. When she stood up her right abdomen locked up with extreme pain that took her breath away. It was so sudden and unexpected she was worried.

The next day she called our sister-in-law and they decided it was either a brazilian tape worm, an appendicitis, or somekind of freak tumor, or yes they agreed- there was a possibility it could have been a pulled abdomen muscle from the kick earlier in the day. Much research was done on the Internet, doctors were called, people were consulted and a doctor's appointment was set.

The doctor "could not rule out an appendicitis" because Jamie's white blood cell count was up. They had Jamie fast and not eat anything for 24 hours and then come back the next day.

I was shocked by the coincidence of it all. It was the most amazing medical phenomenon that she did a high kick and the next day had an appendicitis!

We went to a different doctor the next day and the doctor pretty much laughed at her the entire time as he pictured her doing a high kick and then having to fast and not eat food for a day and as he thought about doing a high kick and then thinking it was an appendicitis!

Funny!

Molly Bunny

2007-08-13T17:14:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, its been awhile since we had a chance to blog. (have you noticed we always start our updates with that) Its been a busy, crazy summer but a fun one. Maddie has been in swimming lessons and is getting very good. She can do the Freestyle(crawl) and Backstroke. She is also continuing with Gymnastics and Cheerleading. She will be 6 in only two weeks and will be entering the first grade on her birthday. Oh yah, we have also been getting some extra reading tutoring this Summer from her awesome Kindergarten Teacher Mrs. Munson. She wasn't behind, we just wanted her to be ahead of the game.
Noelle is 2 1/2 years old now, and has integrated perfectly. She is smart, sweet, and a little fiesty- but she's 2 so she's entitled! She is speaking a lot better now and we feel she has caught up to her age group (after having heard Chinese for the first 9 months of her life) and has potential to even be ahead in her speaking soon. We've had a lot of fun with her, she is just amazing!

The kids get along great and their friendship is just the delight of our hearts. We will strive to foster that throughout their lives.

Last week at my work was "take your kids to work day", Network General is a very good company to work for and this is not an uncommon type of activity for them. I brought both kids, by myself....long pause for applause... and yes it was tiring but oh my gosh it was sweet and fun. I'll put some pics on this blog entry so you can see it.

Maddie got her ears pierced this summer and she loves it, she got some cute pink flower earrings from Claire's.

Molly is the name Maddie gave to our little brown bunny in the backyard. In Texas everyone's yard has some bunnies. I included a pic of her. I can't figure out why my watermelon and pumpkins won't grow in my yard. Hmmm, I guess its a mystery.

Maddie's Dance Recital

2007-06-24T18:48:00.000-07:00

June 2nd was Maddie's dance recital. She takes a tap, ballet, and jazz class. She had 3 songs to perform and did such a great job. She is so beautiful and so comitted to each dance and every move. I am so proud! Here is a pic we took afterwards.

President's Club 2007 - Grand Cayman

2007-06-09T10:44:00.000-07:00

Well, this past week June 3rd - 7th Jamie and I were blessed to take part in the annual sales award trip for my company- Network General. It was held in Grand Cayman which is a Western Carribean island. Here is a link that talks about Grand Cayman.

We stayed at the Ritz Carlton hotel. The beautiful picture they show at that site was not the area we stayed in with the ocean view etc. If you go there get the oceanside view or don't stay at the Ritz. We had a basic poolview and looking beyond that- a construction and road view. That said, we spent a lot of time on the ocean side of the resort which was obviously great.

We got to take a big catamaran boat with a large group of work people on an all-day adventure on Monday. First, they took us out to a reef and I got to try snorkeling for the first time. Although I drank a fair amount of salt water and the sea spray stung my eyes it did not reduce the fun and amazement of it. I swam close to the fish and took a lot of pictures. I show a few of them in this blog entry. Next, they took us out to a shallow sand bar where sting rays actually swim with people and are very friendly. You can feed them and pet them! I got in the water and experienced this but did not feed them. I did pet them- they were kind of rubbery and slick. Some people were even hugging them and feeding them pieces of squid- pretty wild. After this, we sailed out to Rum Point which is a popular party and recreation place on the beach near the tip of Grand Cayman island. It took about an hour to sail out to it. They have some bars there and my company served us a great caribbean barbeque lunch. There was a lot to do. The company rented several types of watercraft for us to use, we had beach lounges to rest on, and the ocean to splash around in. The entire trip was very hot with direct sun and you could burn by being in the sun for about 10 minutes without any sunscreen but the ocean was cool and refreshing. (hmm, how do I know it would only take 10 minutes to burn???).

Jamie and our friends Cliff and Tia were hanging out in the ocean and I used one of the sea kayaks and paddled out to the limits of where we were allowed to go and back. I loved it and was instantly addicted. I decided if I could paddle around on a sea kayak every day that would be great with me. (I know what you're thinking, how could I give up daily cubicle life?) After all of this fun at Rum Point we sailed back.

We had a couple of nice dinners while in Grand Cayman: The Grand Old House in Georgetown, the main city, and at Papagallo. They were both good but Papagallo was better. We snorkeled once more on Wednesday at Governor's Reef off of Seven Mile Beach near our hotel. It was neat- you could just walk off the beach, swim out a bit and there was an awesome reef. During that snorkeling time we got to see a school of squid swimming in precise formation (2nd picture below) - it was very cool.

Ater doing all of this snorkeling off of Governor's Reef I decided to use the Ritz's sea kayaks to do some kayaking with my boss. We were done and he was heading back when suddenly a big wave hit me and I could not recover. Kayaks are by nature very prone to tipping over and suddenly I found myself hugging the side of my kayak instead of sitting in it. I was in the endless cycle of ocean waves out in the recreational boating lanes way beyond the swimming area. I tried to pull myself up 3 times into that narrow, unstable kayak in the middle of the waves- it wasn't going to happen. I would get my body across it but couldn't make the adjustment to sitting in it. I kept getting flipped into the ocean again. I got more exhausted, out of breath, and actually sick to my stomach each time I tried. My boss had headed in so he didn't realize I had been knocked off and he was back at the Ritz when he saw I was missing. I kept trying to get onboard and after my attempts failed I was so exhausted I almost vomited in the ocean. I decided I had to try to push against the waves and the current and haul the kayak and myself back to the swimming area, and eventually back to the beach. I did get a little scared for a moment as the only thought I had in my mind was, "I wonder if I have the strength while holding this kayak to pull myself and the boat all the way back to shore." Yikes. I did my best while kicking my feet and using one arm to hold the kayak and the other to paddle. Suddenly I heard a motor behind me. A lifeguard on a Waverunner from the Ritz had come to help me out. God bless him. Then, a little dingy boat came up to help as well. They helped me to climb back on the kayak (yah, the one I wanted to do every day instead of my cubicle) and they asked me if they could tow me back to shore. I was breathing too hard to speak for about 30 seconds but when I could finally breathe again my (stupid) guy pride said, "no, I'll just paddle back myself." As I took a deep breath and forced my shredded and oxygen deprived body to paddle back I saw many people standing up on the beach watching the scene. It was embarrassing. But I was going to paddle that stupid thing back if it killed me. (it never occurred to me it would be more embarrassing if I threw up or passed out on the beach in front of a bunch of fancy Ritz Carlton guests- but like I said I was oxygen deprived). I finally made it back in and some beach workers came to the shore to help me drag the boat in. They were all asking me if I was alright etc (a couple of the little farts were smiling at me like it was amusing) What do you think I said? Yep. "Oh yah, I'm fine thanks so much for your help, I probably would have been alright out there but thanks so much for coming to check on me because you never know." Mmmhmm, yah right. I would have been JUST fine.

Anyway, other than that drama we had a great time.... and no I don't want to sea kayak every day anymore so don't be a wiseguy..

I got to spend some good devotional time as well with the Lord (where I'm sure I repented of my stupid pride) and Jamie and I both got to relax.

I'd like to take the kids there someday to swim with the stingrays, go to Rum Point, and snorkel- but perhaps not to sea kayak.

See you guys!

Update on us!

2007-05-31T21:06:00.000-07:00

Here is an update on our favorite topic- us! Just kidding. It has been crazy busy around here since we last gave an update. Noelle turned 2 March 7th, Madeline is 5 1/2 and has graduated kindergarten- see pics below. We're having a lot of fun and living right! No changes on the job front or really much of anything else, just busy! Maddie is in dancing, swimming, gymnastics, and cheerleading- she is quite a performer and is REALLY good at it. Noelle copies everything Maddie says and does and loves her big sister very much. Maddie is such a little Mommy to her and is a complete blessing to everyone. Here is a compilation video I made of Maddie's graduation:

Brian has been running a little Internet ministry on the side and is trying to reach out to provide some counseling to people in need through that as well as sharing the Good News of Jesus. There have been some wild responses and some heart-touching ones and it feels good to make a difference. He is advertising the website through Google keywords and the ads run randomly over 100,000 times per day (but you only pay per click and its a tiny charge per click). So, even those that don't click on the message get a little light shined on them and perhaps a seed planted. We get responses from people who are just browsing Myspace or some other random website and right in the middle of the page our ads pop-up. Fascinating to be able to reach people right in the middle of what they are doing anywhere in the United States in a variety of different conditions and need. We get a lot of thank-you emails from the content on the site but believe it or not we also get a little hate mail- can't say it doesn't keep things interesting though because it does.

Playing with the kids is the best. We love to read to them, tickle them, take them to the park, and just goof off. We got an outdoor trampoline so we anticipate a lot of fun with that. Maddie is reading pretty well so she practices on us which is a lot of fun and she is proud of it.

Ok, just for fun (and because I like to embarrass myself) I am going to include a little Youtube video Maddie and I did recently- enjoy. If its not funny don't tell me ;)

Love to all, I'll include several recent/relevant pics as well as I'll embed the goofy video Maddie and I made here:

Happy First Gotcha Day!

2006-12-30T22:02:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it's been a year already?! On December 11th, we celebrated Noelle's first Gotcha Day! Ryan, Amy, Lilly, and Nate Gibbons came over to celebrate with us as it was Lilly's first Gotcha Day as well. The Gibbons have been another blessing from the Lord to our family. We had the priviledge of traveling with them to China and receiving our baby girls together. Noelle and Lilly are 7 days a part and are from the same city.

We dressed the girls in their Chinese clothes. As Noelle would say "Nese" clothes. We ate Chinese food for dinner, of course. We then let Maddie and Nate perform as this is what they like to do when we get together and then we all enjoyed some Gotcha Day cake.

It was a great time to reflect on the last year and think about how blessed we have been to have Noelle with us. We can not imagine not having her part of our family, she has been a true gift from the Lord. We love her SO much that words can not explain. We think she's pretty fond of us too! =)

Catch Up!

2006-12-30T20:18:00.000-08:00

We have not been so good about updating our blog...but with the New Year right around the corner maybe we can turn over a new leaf.
We are all doing well. I will post some pictures and get everyone caught up in the next few post. I think we left off at the end of October.

Maddie went with her class on a field trip to the Pumpkin Patch. As well as she attended a fall carnival, which collected pajamas for children in foster care. She loved taking pajamas for the foster children and she had a great time getting her face painted and her hair painted pink. The weather was great through out the fall so Daddy and the girls were able to go to the park quite frequently.

We also attended our Church Fall Festival. The girls had a blast! Although it was VERY cold. Maddie dressed up like a fairy princess and Noelle was the cutest kitty cat you have ever seen. She acted very funny dressed as a kitty she became very serious, we could not even get her to smile and she was very upset when she had to take the kitty cat costume off. It was priceless. Oh how I wish we knew what she was thinking.

Maddie was able to go out on the football field again and this time dance with the Faith Lionettes. She loved it....being able to dance in front of an audience is a dream come true for her. I think we have a performer on our hands. One of the Lionette dancers, Laura, became quite fond of Maddie and Maddie thinks the world of her.

I guess that brings us to December. Maddie was in several Christmas performances. She was a Star in her school Christmas program. She also performed her worship dance that she has been working on for several months during the school chapel. She also performed at her Ballet, Tap, and Jazz class recital to Christmastime in Texas. She did great in all her performances we were so proud! As I mentioned she is quite the performer and LOVES an audience. I'm not sure where she got that trait as I would soon die then be front and center of a large audience. I think she gets it from her Dad, who loves to do public speaking! I don't get it =)

Noelle, although too young to have school/dance performances has been a huge "star" and performer at home. She does everything her big sister does. It's so cute to watch, she tries to dance, sing, and mimic everything Maddie does. She is delight and an even bigger ham than her sister!

Friday Night Lights

2006-10-22T10:54:00.000-07:00

Friday night Maddie got to participate in a half-time cheerleading performance along with the "big cheerleaders" from School.
She had gone to a cheer camp last Saturday which was a fundraiser for the cheerleading squad and then got to perform at half-time this week. She adores the big cheerleaders and had an amazing time. She was SO excited! We were so proud!

Daddy and Girls go to Bass Pro Shop

2006-10-15T16:00:00.000-07:00

There is nothing that says "country dad" like a trip to the Bass Pro shop! All I am missing is my straw hat and black tooth!

Latest family Pic

2006-09-11T19:33:00.000-07:00

Happy 5th Birthday Maddie!

2006-08-29T10:08:00.000-07:00

Maddie,

It does not seem imaginable that you turned 5 yesterday. Everyone told us the time would go fast, but you never understand until it happens to you. You are starting a very important chapter in your life tomorrow. You will be attending Kindergarten at a great local Christian school. Daddy has been praying for five years that you would be able to attend a Christian school and his prayers were answered. You were officially accepted into the school last week. We decided at the last minute to go ahead and put you in big girl school for Kindergarten instead of waiting until 1st grade. You are so very excited to be going to big girl school. You met your teacher Mrs. Munson last Friday and she is so very sweet. You also attended a princess party that one of the Moms had for all the girls that will be going to Kindergarten. You were a little shy with the girls which surprised Mommy because I would not use the word shy to describe you. However, I know you all will become fast friends once school starts. You have been at Crème de la Crème since you were 9 months old, so it is hard to leave some of your very best friends that you have been with since you were 9 months old, but Mommy tells you everyday that we will still see them.

You had two birthday parties this year to celebrate your birthday. The first one was as Sweet and Sassy with your school friends. We shared a birthday party with a good friend from school, Alex Chavera. There were about 10 girl friends from school that came. You girls all dressed up in fancy dresses, they fixed your hair really pretty, put make up on you and painted your fingernails. After that they put you on a model runway stage and taught you some fun dances. The last thing they did was call you out one by one and let you walk down the runway like a model. You looked absolutely beautiful in your Cinderella dress with your makeup and hair all done. The second birthday party was with your family and some close family friends. We rented a big water slide and a cotton candy machine. Everyone had a great time! You have been SO blessed by your family and friends.

You have been quite busy this last year. You attended Pre-K at Crème and have been involved in some sports activities-tennis, gymnastics, cheerleading, soccer, and swimming. You learned to swim this year in just a couple of weeks. It was so much fun to watch you accomplish swimming. You were so proud, it was sweet! You also participated in two Pep-Rally’s, you were an amazing cheerleader!

By far the biggest event in your life this year has been the addition of your baby sister Noelle. Being you were an only child for 4 years Mommy and Daddy thought you would have a hard time having a new sister…were we ever wrong! You LOVE having a sister! I can not even explain how sweet you are to Noelle. She pushes you away, has bitten you, cries, pulls things out of your hand, takes up a lot of Mommy and Daddy’s attention, but you still are so sweet to her and talk so nicely to her. One morning you were hugging Noelle and I heard you say,” Noelle, I love you so much, I would die for you”. It was so sweet. You call her your little friend. You will see her in the morning and say,”Hi Noelle…how’s my little friend?” Anytime she gets hurt in your company you cry thinking you may be the reason she got hurt. Noelle is SO blessed to have such a sweet sister like you. Mommy and Daddy are SO proud of how you are with your sister.

You still LOVE markers and coloring. I bet you have over a thousand markers and you have everyone accounted for. You also still love make up. You tell people you are a make up artist, it’s really cute! I do have to admit you really are good at putting make up on except for the one blob of blush you put in the middle of everyone’s forehead.

Mommy and Daddy are so grateful to God for giving us such a beautiful sweet daughter. We love every minute we get to spend with you! You are a complete joy to be around…a little loud but a complete joy! =) I think you are pretty fond of us as well. Poppy gave you some money and you put the money on both mine and Daddy’s nightstand and you told me it was because you liked us a lot and you were going to keep giving us a lot of money because we were the sweetest Mom and Dad in the world. You are absolutely precious! We love you very much and can’t wait to see what this year has in store for your precious little life.

Love,

Mommy

Wheee!

2006-08-18T17:29:00.000-07:00

Ricky Bobby's Backyard Paradise

2006-08-13T19:05:00.000-07:00

This is livin!

Summertime, Summertime!

2006-07-26T20:24:00.000-07:00

Its been a great (but hot!) Summer here in Texas. We have been spending a lot of free time with family. The kids have enjoyed playing with their cousins. We were introduced to our newest nephew Camden (on Brian's side) recently which was great(picture of the kids with the little blondie baby).
Maddie just finished a cheerleading camp complete with a Pep Rally and all. She loved it! She also is taking swimming lessons and has learned to swim this summer. We are so proud of her. She starts Kindergarten September 1st (can't believe it). Her and Noelle are getting along great- she is a very sweet big sister and we imagine she will be a wonderful mommy herself one day.
Noelle is learning like crazy, she gets into everything, is taking her diaper off, and is oh so much fun! She has a really sweet personality and is very affectionate, she loves to hug and kiss. We won't talk about her temper, but I will tell you we are very scared! =) She mimics everything we say and do and follows Maddie around everywhere! She just moved from an infant class at her daycare to the "Toddler Club" where she will start having different classes (music, art, phonics, math), she will sleep on a mat, and sit at a table for lunch/snacks. Fun times.

July 4th 2006

2006-07-02T20:11:00.000-07:00

Thank you Lord for this country, for our freedom, the protections we have, and all the blessings. Please bring revival to this land. Maddie and her cousin Jase had a great time at the Red, White, and Blue festival at Grammy and Poppy's church.

This 4th of July has a richer meaning this year since it is Noelle's first 4th of July. Thank you Lord that you sent our sweet daughter Noelle to us, who is now a citizen of this great country. We took both girls to see some fireworks at the Southlake Town Center and they had a great time. Noelle was pointing and saying, "WOW". It was too cute! We love our sweet girls so much!

Something "card-worthy"

2006-06-17T19:50:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I got the great card from Maddie for Father's day like I mentioned in the last post. You know a day like Father's Day puts on a little extra pressure. I mean when people write tome's about what a great Dad you are you kind of want to live up to it. You may want to even do a few things "extra" around that time of year... you know.. something "card-worthy".

Tonight I succumbed to the subconscious pressure and gave a puppet show complete with original songs, took funny pictures, gave a pony ride, and sang and danced to penguin rap music. Father of the year? I'm in. I may not have made the Star-Telegram but I made the card.

Hello Aunt Lisa, this is Noelle!

2006-06-17T19:09:00.000-07:00

.
Ok, Mommy was talking to Aunt Lisa and all of us were pestering her. The kids and I feel every conversation should be a group conversation. In fact we only believe in using speakerphone around here, mom hasn't caught up with this revelation yet but we are working on her.
Well, mom finally had it and left the room to go speak on the cordless in the living room and dad was hanging out with the kids in the bedroom. Well, "baby bird" as we sometimes call Noelle just had to hear what was going on with the phone conversation so she kept lunging for the handset by the bed and she got to it a couple of times before I could stop her. She literally put it to her ear and was trying to hear the conversation. After I thought about it for a second I realized this was cute and I asked Maddie to hurry and go get the camera and snapped these pics.
Maddie is so cute, at church they made some Father's Day cards and they asked Maddie what she would want to say to her Daddy on Father's day. She had them write "Daddy, Thanks for taking me to the park. I love you! Love, Maddie". This was so sweet I cried and made a really big deal about it and then carried her all the way to the car. She liked this reaction- a lot! So, when she got home she proceeded to make me 2 new Father's Day cards and she kept looking at my eyes to see if I would cry. She is so freakin' cute and hilarious!

Update with no cheeky title

2006-05-28T22:06:00.000-07:00

Alright, I was playing around with some funny titles but its been a long weekend. Perhaps I better just spend my time talking about what is going on and then uploading these 17 pictures I have staged. I have been with Network General for 8 years in July and have been in sales management for 5 years in the same position. I was asked to fulfill a new role in sales management in February of this year and have been building 2 new sales teams. It has been a challenge- one of the toughest so far but we had a good first quarter and God has certainly been with me/us.
The approach is the same even if the job changes: Work hard and "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto you." The key is: work hard. Be faithful. Seek God/spend time with him. Trust God- put him first. One of the key Bible passages of my life is Psalm 37. It is pretty much my creed. I like the first few verses a lot which I'll notate below however I really love all of it and meditate on it and pray it a lot. King David of Israel was the instrument God used to write it and he certainly had the challenges, blessings, and the need to trust God in his life- he lived these truths.
Verses 1-6 are a good flavor of it, "Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun."

There is a lot of application there if you spend some time on it. I can boil it down to how it has blessed my life:
- Trust God and don't worry about what others are doing
- Force yourself not to stress and complain, not because you don't see the
problems but because with God as your foundation you have hope and help
- Keep on working and don't run away from problems - again because you trust God
- Put God first in everything and in the long run you will be blessed
- Oh by the way- it works, just have to make Jesus your Savior and put him first

Jamie and I were blessed with a sales award trip to Kauai, Hawaii last week. We were there from Sunday 5/21 through Thursday 5/25. We were able to rest a lot as well as see some great sights. Kauai was absolutely beautiful and we feel very blessed we were able to go.

Maddie was in a wedding today along with some of her former school friends. "Miss Jenny" got married and she loved her former class so much she invited the kids to be in the wedding. It was a sweet time and we were so proud of Maddie. I got to do the daddy/daughter dance along with all the dads. It was so fun and crazy because all the friends from the daycare at one point spontaneously took over the dance floor and were dancing with each other- it was so cute! It was like a movie that it happened so spontaneously, I have a picture of that above as well.

Noelle is doing great, she is saying a few more words and getting along great. Maddie is such a sweet little "mommy" figure to Noelle, she does great with her. They are both so adorable and sweet.

Easter 2006

2006-04-16T16:27:00.000-07:00

The most important thing about Easter is the spiritual significance. Jesus Christ died for our sins, paying the penalty to free us from our sins so we can have a relationship with God and experience salvation both in this life and especially in eternity. He rose from the dead 3 days later proving he is the Son of God and proving he was approved by God as the Savior he claimed to be. You can have your sins forgiven and be saved by believing in Jesus as well. The blessed life we live today does not mean that we don't have trials like everyone- but if you are going to have them wouldn't it be nice to have the help of God? We would be happy to pray with anyone on this and we love all of you.

We had our family Easter celebration today at Uncle Scott and Aunt Lenna's house with all the cousins. We had a big Easter egg hunt and got some fun pics we will show here.

What's Up!

2006-04-14T20:10:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, its been awhile. Noelle is walking fully now, we'll show a pic or two of that. Maddie is doing great in soccer, she made her first goal last week. Daddy took both girls to the park last weekend, it was Noelle's first time. Fun but too hot, we had to leave sooner than we wanted to. All in all, good times. Check out the pics of my 3 sweet girls taken right before our Good Friday Easter service at church- fancy schmancy!

Happy 1st Birthday Noelle!

2006-03-09T21:18:00.000-08:00

We had two birthday parties for Noelle this year. Her birthday was on March 7th so we had a small, simple family party on the 7th. She loved everyone singing Happy Birthday to her and she LOVED the cake as you can see.

In our Gladney traveling group there were two families who live near us and their daughters are the same age as Noelle, they all have birthdays within three weeks of each other. So, we had them and their extended families over for a big combined birthday party. We ordered a lot of Chinese food, exchanged gifts, made a huge mess, and had a great time. The babies have all grown plump and so cute since China. They have also made a huge amount of progress just like Noelle in every area. All of them wore their Chinese clothes.

Soccer Playin' Girl!

2006-03-09T20:58:00.000-08:00

Maddie started playing soccer 2 weeks ago. We had her first game last Saturday- great times! We are so proud of her! Her friend Makenzie's mom told us about it and asked us to play so we signed up- its great that she can play with her friend. Just tonight she confessed she was nervous at her first soccer game-so sweet. She also says, "I'm number 4 because I'm 4 years old!" Cute. Noelle thinks its great too and wants to play right along!
I'm also including a couple of pics of Noelle and Maddie playing which is a common occurrence around here. Finally, Maddie is pretty much reading on a simple basis now so I included a pic showing that. Noelle on 12/11/05 when we got her could barely sit up and was not crawling whatsoever. Now she crawls like crazy, pulls up, and is starting to walk from one piece of furniture to another. Miracle.

Having fun

2006-02-26T18:57:00.000-08:00

Fun times! Noelle will be 1 year old on March 7th- almost there! Maddie is 4 1/2.. going on 8. :) Noelle's hair has grown quite a bit and she has really gotten big. She is 20lbs. She is in the 70th percentile on height and average on weight (American charts).

Noelle is crawling all over the house, pulling up on everything (including us), and smiles and laughs a lot. She is fun! Maddie is doing awesome and is a great big sister. Maddie carries Noelle around under the arms which is pretty amazing due to Noelle's size. It looks like she is carrying a big baby doll and I think Maddie wants Noelle to be her baby doll. She is really good with her and plays with her a lot. They are really perfect together and are the delight of our hearts.

Noelle is eating table food, she likes pretty much any food. When you hold out your hands and ask her to come to you she smiles and crawls to you. That is such a rewarding thing.
Jamie is still working for Experian-Scorex in a project-management type role. I am still with Network General though my job is changing after doing the same thing for five years. I am starting a couple of new projects for the company which are new, sometimes intimidating, fairly risky, but are good learning experiences. I am seeking the Lord in prayer and in the Word constantly for help on this and have assurance he is with me and will help me in this as well. Once you learn to trust the Lord with your life and salvation the next step is to take him out of the church environment and involve him in all aspects of life, living, and working. Proverbs 3:5-6 says "Trust in the Lord at **ALL** times and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths." Seems like a pretty strong exhortation to involve him at all times and not lean on your own abilities, knowledge, and experience.

Walt Disney World 2006

2006-02-09T16:24:00.000-08:00

Well so much for going to Disney World in February in order to avoid the crowds! =) We are currently here with Grammy, Poppy, Uncle Jon, Aunt Lisa, Jase, Ellis and Granna (A. Lisa's Mom). We are having a great time. We have been to the Magic Kingdom, MGM, Epcot and we are heading to Animal Kingdom tomorrow. The girls have had a great time. Noelle has been quiet the trooper. She loves all the sights and sounds. I think this trip was suppose to be a vacation....this has definitely been more work than work, but it has been amazing. I'm sure we will have many more "vacations" here in the future. We were here in November of 2004 and it was very crowded as well. We're beginning to think there is not a time when Disney is not crowded.

Noelle is crawling, pulling up and walking around the furniture. She is also saying quite a few words (Boba-bottle, Book, Bite, Mama, Button, Bye-Bye). You can also ask her what a thirsty dog says and she pants like a dog. She also can say "Woof" when you ask her what a puppy says. She is super cute, we just want to eat her up. It's as if she has been with us forever.

Well now your up to date with the Howards. We hope everyone is well.

Good Goose

2006-01-13T12:12:00.000-08:00

Maddie pulled Noelle's socks and shoes off in the car today, so I told her she had to put them back on. She was not happy about having to put them back on as she doesn't like putting her own socks and shoes on. It was hilarious to watch, but in the process she kept calling Noelle "Good Goose". She was saying be still "Good Goose", give me your foot "Good Goose". It was really sweet. She loves her sister SO much, I keep thinking the newness is going to wear off, but it hasn't happened yet..she is still just as giddy about her as she was the day we got home. This is a true answer to prayer.

Noelle is doing very well, she is now crawling all over the place. She wants to be held all the time. She gets very upset if anyone leaves the room and leaves her there to play. She has shown real signs of bonding in the last week. Prior to this last week, she was willing to go to anyone and especially anyone with dark skin and dark hair. I took her to visit my friends from work and she about killed herself to get to my Chinese friend Rachel. She hugged and kissed her...it was sweet but broke my heart, as I think she thought Rachel was one of her Nannies from the orphanage. This week she has been clinging to me when other people hold their hands out. This is a very good sign of attaching and bonding..I only suspect this will get stronger and stronger. Noelle is also sleeping 11 hours a night in her own crib...thank you LORD!

I start back to work on Monday, so things should get more interesting. Noelle will be staying with her Aunt Lisa while we work. Aunt Lisa will have her hands full with a 3 month old, 10 month old (Noelle), and a 2 year old.

I will post some updated pictures later.

Happy New Year Progress Report

2006-01-01T16:46:00.000-08:00

I posted two blogs at the same time so don't miss the one below this.

Hey guys, Noelle is sleeping all night most nights now- hurraay! We
have been battling with an ear infection. Welcome to new parenthood..
Maddie is having a fun time playing with her sister. My parents came
into town with my Grandpa so they got to have a late Christmas with
the kids and they saw all of our pics from China.

On Noelle news she is learning to crawl, its amazing!

This is where Noelle is from

2006-01-01T16:15:00.000-08:00

When we were in China our guide returned to us a disposable camera we had sent to the orphanage as part of a care package. We sent them gifts and the camera (through a service that does this, Jamie knows the details) asking for pics of Noelle, the orphanage, and the city. The shots of the individual building/courtyard are of the Nanfeng Social Welfare Institute which was Noelle's orphanage. I was very surprised to see all the 3 and 4 year olds so I included a shot of the orphanage courtyard and some of its older residents. It is sad to say that most of them at this age have missed their window to be adopted. Most people ask for "as young as possible". Maybe this blog will strike a chord and one of them will find their way home. The shot of the nanny holding a baby is not Noelle, they made a mistake, she is the one in the bottom front of the screen.

Love ya'll!

O Holy Night Takes on a New Meaning

2005-12-26T18:40:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I have to ask. Why did no one tell us until we got BACK that it takes babies 2 weeks for their internal "sleep clock" to be adjusted to a new Timezone? Last night was our fourth night with almost no sleep. She is 14 hours ahead of us. At 1:00-1:30am she wakes up like clock work and gives us no rest. Nothing works. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh - - - - - - help us!!! O Holy Night sure took on a new meaning this Christmas.

One of the other couples who adopted from China told us they had the same problem but that last night their little girl finally slept from 10pm to 8am so we do have some hope.

Christmas was good. Everyone is enjoying meeting and spending time with Noelle. Today Jamie took Noelle to her initial physical examination. She is now 18.1 lbs at the 27th percentile and 28.5" at the 70th percentile. So, it looks like she could be tall for a Chinese girl (some of our family knows that is something we prayed about since Maddie and Daddy are so tall). Dr. Mary our pediatrician was very happy with her and said that for coming from an orphanage especially she looked really good. She said she had good muscle tone and that she was surpised that Noelle was not further behind developmentally. She said Noelle was dealing with a lot of change including environment, people, and language so it could take a bit more time to catch up developmentally, possibly around 2 months.

Maddie is really enjoying her little sister and keeps waking her up during nap time to play with her. She is really fascinated by her and loves her so much. Maddie really gets close to Noelle's face and just laughs and laughs at her. I like the age separation because Maddie is really self-sufficient and can even help us a bit!

Maddie isn't jealous which is something we have prayed about for a year. When we got back we took both girls to lunch (Tex-Mex finally- hurrayy!!) and talked about being a sister with Maddie. We said, "Maddie whenever someone gets a new baby sister or a baby brother they are really happy and a little bit sad as well. Everyone wants to know that Mommy and Daddy love them as much as their new brother or sister." We told Maddie that we love her just as much and that if we hold, kiss, play with, or read to Noelle it is because she needs that because she has never had someone to do that before. I said, "Maddie wouldn't it be sad if Noelle never had a mommy and daddy to hold her?" She agreed and it seemed to bring things home for her.
I said, "Maddie if you have some of those feelings I want you to know that all of us have felt that and those feelings go away and you just get to enjoy your new sister ok?" She said ok.

I said Maddie there are three things you can do if you feel sad:
- First, you need to pray to Jesus and ask him what you should do and ask him to help you. Daddy prays about everything - even stuff like this and Jesus always helps me.
- Second, you can let Mommy and Daddy know that you are feeling like this. We love you and it helps to talk about it.
- And, if Noelle is getting hugged, kissed, or played with you can just join in the fun- push on in!

Thank you Lord for Maddie and Noelle and thank you for coming to save all of us. We do remember your birthday this season. We love you.

I'm going back to work tomorrow, unsure of what I will find. Time to pray and trust in God which is what the Lord has taught me over these past several years.

Love you guys and Merry Christmas!

Home at Last!

2005-12-23T12:39:00.000-08:00

We are home with Noelle in time to celebrate "The First Noel"! We did not plan Noelle's name in correlation with the holiday so its a fun tie-in!

The plane flights back had us up for about 28 hours but we were so thankful to the Lord because Noelle slept for 10 hours straight on our longest flight, from Tokyo to DFW and overall gave us no problems. We had bought her a seat so we made devised a way to make an acceptable "pallet" style bed for her.

The plane rides themselves were rough. We had a 3:42 minute flight from Guangzhou to Tokyo and then a 7-hour layover in Tokyo. The only challenge on the flight to Tokyo was some drunk Japanese guy was threatening passengers so a couple of us guys had to throw down on him-alright I'm kidding.

We actually paid $75 to get all of us into the American Airlines Admirals Club so that we had comfortable time of free drinks, leather seats, and some peace and quiet. It was amazing and we felt pretty much human for the layover. Noelle did great.

We really felt everyone's prayers throughout the trip. There were so many beauracratic processes that could have broken down, so many worse health issues we could have had, and so many unknown issues we could have encountered but the Lord was with us and your prayers made a big difference. Many thanks!!

The ride in coach was tough. You can't blame them but the people in front of us put their chairs in our laps by the time we reached cruising altitude. I was so close to the woman in front of me with her seat down for so long I felt like I owed her alimony when we landed.

When we got to the airport we first went through customs which is what you do when you enter any country. The line was probably 45 minutes long for regular citizens but short for the "Immigrant Visas" which is the line we got to stand in. We delivered to the officer a bunch of paperwork the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou had prepared for us, we showed him our U.S. passports, and Noelle's Chinese passport that had the Immigrant Visa stapled into it by the U.S. Consulate. He took all the paperwork, stamped it, and kept it. Then, he stamped her Chinese passport on top of the Immigrant Visa. There were no other papers that he gave us for her concerning citizenship or anything which bugged me. I would like to have had a certificate or something. He explained that in one year we would receive a green card for Noelle which would be mailed to the address we had given on all the paperwork we turned in. After all this was done he processed our entrance into the country as well. From what we were told in Guangzhou she is now a U.S. citizen. Praise the Lord!

The last process we will do is "re-adopt" Noelle. From what I hear this can be done for ~$1,000 or so. There are lawyers in Texas who specialize in this process. Most families who adopt internationally do this so their children will get a Texas birth certificate and will be adopted in Texas. This basically gives her some legal protections and makes things easier for her when entering school and various other things. This isn't something we have rush to get done but I hope to get it done in 2006.

When we arrived out of the baggage claim area into a very large reception area near the exit doors we were greeted by a TON of people. It was so awesome and overwhelming. Maddie screamed out and ran toward us. Seeing everyone cheering for us, waving signs, waving balloons, and seeing Maddie run toward us was too much for Jamie and I and we both had some happy tears and some deep sighs. I picked up Maddie and showed her Noelle. Maddie was so happy she just laughed and laughed and looked closely at her new baby sister. It was overwhelming for her to get her new sister as well as see her parents she had not seen for 16 days! Thanks so much to everyone who was able to meet us at the airport! We then had a few family members come back to the house because Uncle Jon and Aunt Lisa had cooked ribs- wow, awesome!

Maddie was giddy with excited smiles all night. She slept with Noelle and mom in bed and in the morning she woke up at 5:45 and interlocked hands with Noelle and said, "Mommy, I'm just so happy I can't stop smiling." Precious.

I took some pics of them playing together. Noelle LOVES Maddie and loves everyone. She's been great and has been performing for everyone, pretty funny.

We're outta here!

2005-12-21T05:02:00.000-08:00

It is 9:41pm on Wednesday in Guangzhou, China - 7:41am on Wednesday in Fort Worth, Texas USA. We have been packing gradually for 3 days so we are now fully packed. We have to have our bags in the hall at 5:00am and then we meet in the lobby to depart at 5:30am. Our flight leaves at 8:15am via China Southern Air (Chinese redneck airline) for Tokyo Japan (Norita airport).

We then have a 7-hour layover but we are going to pay the $75 (total for our family) to get into the American Airlines Admiral's Club so we can at least be comfortable. We will also have Internet access so we can use Skpe VOIP phone service to call home over the Internet. I don't remember if I mentioned this but we have made dozens of calls with this from our laptop simply by using Skype and a microphone. If you call someone with Skype the call over the Internet is free. We have been using "Skype - Out" which calls regular phones and even internationally it is only .021 per minute. We haven't quite used $20.00 in these 15 days. Cool- and it is clearer than a cell phone.

We are on Flight #60 from Tokyo to DFW and arrive at 3:40pm Texas time on Thursday. There are several friends and family that will be meeting us at the airport which is fun although we may look a little "nuked" after being up for 27 hours and traveling around the world.

Hopefully our luggage makes it ok. We bought so many things we had to buy 2 suitcases to bring everything back. The 2 suitcases were only $70 total and one of them is good quality with hard sides. Many Americans end up buying cheap luggage to bring things home. When you are adopting from China and know you want to be able to show your daughter things and have some Chinese things around you buy all you can. Its one of those things that is easy to over-due but we have heard first-hand from more than one couple that if you are too conservative there can be a lot of regret since you can't just go back whenever you want. However, there are some websites where you can buy Chinese items. You will pay 5 times as much but it is an option. One of them is: www.chinasprout.com. They apparently have a pretty good selection of Chinese things.

We are so happy to be going home. We miss Maddie and our family and friends SO much. It has been really hard to be away so long. This is one of those things that is a rich and wonderful experience that we are thankful for but it got to be too long.

Jamie drove this adoption, lets be clear. She gave me tasks which I did and she did many tasks as well but she did all the research, all the reading, and all the forms. She drove a hard timeline or this process could have been even longer than the 15 months it took. I told her after we had the swearing-in ceremony yesterday how proud I was of her and how thankful I was for her. I am just not wired to be good at this sort of thing and I really leaned on her. She did fantastic and I'll never forget it. Great job babe!

We love you all- see you tomorrow - hey the pics you take of us looking "nuked" in the airport can be used for bribery later on- so fire away!

Hey, by the way I took a picture of the cover of a White Swan menu where I found some "gourmet" items. Can you tell me what is on the menu picture near the right side of the dish? Ya'll gotta love a little caterpillar with your steak!

May I have some "Scabled Eggs" please?

2005-12-20T18:18:00.000-08:00

Some of the cultural differences we have experienced while in China have been funny and so have some of the mis-spellings. For example, there is a sign in the breakfast room that says "Scabled Eggs"- wow, I don't know what those are but I don't want em'! Most of the Chinese that we meet can say a few words in English and many can speak in decent broken English if not better. I have learned over the past 2 weeks to not give a lot of detail when I am speaking with them because when I do they become confused pretty fast. I have found that imitating the local attempt at English is what they are most comfortable with. So, I am adding the word "yes" or "ok" to every sentence because this is what they do. So, I will be talking with someone about some gift item I am negotiating for and even where it doesn't make sense I will say "yes" to let them know things are ok and we are communicating well. So, here is a sample sentence, "No, that is too much how about 40 Yuan - yes?"

Some of the other interesting things are that each hotel floor has an assistant to help with the elevator or to give any directions that are needed. Also, the main lobbies all have people in uniform to give directions. And, you can hardly open a door here by yourself- there are people to do that as well. Very interesting and amazing service. You are swarmed at breakfast with people to help you in the restaurant.

I gave my Bible away to my guide yesterday which is illegal to do. I love it. I also love that he was interested in it. May the Lord do a work in his life! He's a great guy and we are going to try to keep in touch. He said it is illegal to buy a Bible unless you buy one from a State run church. Unfortunately they alter the content so it is not really a reliable source of truth as a pure translation that has not been tampered with. My Bible is NIV so it should be a decent translation for him as well as a readable one.

All done except the walk down the ramp

2005-12-20T04:21:00.000-08:00

Today we went to the U.S. Consulate and were sworn in. Technically we should have had to sit with someone at the consulate and be interviewed and fill out paperwork but due to the volume (The huge room was full of adopting families- maybe over 80 families- the consulate officer who welcomed the swearing-in group said that China adoption is the biggest type of international adoption in the United States with over 7,000 this year and all of them go through Guangzhou at the end.) they now just swear you in. You basically swear that you have filled out all paperwork to the best of your ability and that it is accurate. Its not that you are swearing to be a good parent etc as we had thought. We also got the U.S. Immigration Visa attached to her Chinese passport. Since both Jamie and I came to China to get Noelle and not just one of us the benefit is that when she reaches the U.S. "Port of Call" she instantly becomes a U.S. citizen. Wow, what a powerful thought! When her family and friends see her for the first time it will be at the exact moment she becomes a U.S. Citizen! This is so special it is just a blessing to think about.

This is our second to the last night but for most of our group it is their last night. So, at Lucy's "American Food" place tonight we had a big congratulations and going away dinner party.

Water beetles, sandworms, and baby turtles-oh my!

2005-12-19T05:35:00.000-08:00

At dinner a couple of nights ago we walked into a fancy restaurant and basically most of their main dishes were alive and greeted us in the lobby. The lobby was full of displays of the live foods that they would cook for you in their dishes. There were a few kinds of live worms including one with a sign that said "Sandworms"- there were thousands of them crawling around on top of each other. There were live snails. There were live black Water Beetles in one large bowl and a display area with live baby turtles in little individual plastic crates. And there were many tanks of water with some cool things in them like live Oysters, live Scallops, live crabs, live lobsters, etc but several seafood items I did not recognize. I think a sea slug type creature was in one of the thanks. I guess you have to be really careful if you are just walking in off the street without a guide like we had.

I forgot to mention in the medical examination day blog that Noelle is 17.7lbs and a little over 27 inches long- fyi.

Today we had "the phone call" from our guide at around 12:30pm local time that said "Mr. and Mrs. Howard your travel Visa for Noelle Weifen is approved- congratulations! That is AWESOME!!! Without this we could still have to raise Noelle- but it would have to be in Red China... and that ain't going to work if I may use my Texan.

Tomorrow around 4:00pm we are sworn in at the U.S. Consulate. Unfortunately cameras are not allowed in that facility. This will be a mass swearing in of probably 60 people at once. We basically pledge to be good adoptive parents. Our guide said, "Whatever they say - just say yes!" Ummm- yah I don't think we are going to argue with him on that one.

Today we had a group baby picture on the famous red couch at the White Swan. Everyone has their picture taken on the red couch- its a China adoption tradition just like staying at the White Swan. (there are actually like 5 of them) Noelle got to sit right in the middle. Most of the babies were crying and some of them, like Noelle, were screaming. However she distinguished herself by being the only one who threw herself on her back right in the middle of the photo taking. What a little toot! We also had a group photo of all the families which turned out great.

I am going to show some of the local street shopping as well as these formal photos and some others.

"Daddy Spots"

2005-12-18T06:29:00.000-08:00

It has been neat to see the transformation of Noelle that has happened in just a week. She no longer screams and cries every time we leave her side for a minute to go to the bathroom, change clothes, or some other task. She is getting more trusting. She has also learned to be spoon fed. We don't think she had done that before and she is now quite good at it. I am also enjoying the new "daddy spots" on my shirts. A daddy spot is usually a food, drool, or nose-based splotch where she puts her head and wipes her nose or mouth on me and on my shirt sleeve; these are the tell-tale signs that I am the daddy of a baby! Its great stuff.

Another wonderful part of the transformation has happened in us. Today we were talking and suddenly noticed a very new psychological phenomenon that we did not expect. We realized that we don't even see our little girl as being Chinese, we just see our sweet girl Noelle. We were shocked to realize that today. We LOVE that she is Chinese, are very proud of that fact, and think she is beautiful, but we just don't see any differences anymore. Its beyond that it doesn't matter (which is also true)- but its more than that. We really have to focus on that fact to realize it now. We just see our daughter. I'm not being idealistic, cheesy, or contrived with this, it is this interesting transformation that has happened in our minds in such a transforming way. It is really amazing and hard to explain- and we like it!

This is a neat picture of what happens when we come to Christ for salvation. There is total acceptance, total forgiveness, and total love and affection. He doesn't even see us for what we used to be or what we have done in the past. He "casts our sins into the sea of his forgetfulness" and remembers them no more. The Bible talks about us being adopted as sons into his family. Seeing our closeness to Noelle those adoption verses have a very rich meaning now. Once we come to the Lord by repenting and turning to him completely we are adopted and our past doesn't even matter to him and we don't have to worry about it. Adoption makes the child really yours and this is the case spiritually when we allow God to come into our lives. If Jamie and I in our weakness and limited capacity are able to bond in this amazing way imagine how we bond with the Lord when we come to him. Imagine how he rejoices in our adoption as sons with his great capacity to love. Imagine.

Yesterday our new friends from Arlington had a friend come into town to visit them for the week. She teaches English in North East China (I am keeping this vague to protect her). She told us about the underground "house church" movement in China (she attends one- they can barely fit in their current house, it is in overflow) and how there are many who are hungry for God who simply cannot learn about the Lord and study the Bible without fear of government reprisals and prison time. Sharing your faith is illegal. She told how she teaches English in various classes and is living in China for a year. She takes opportunities to share the Gospel with people in discreet ways and some people have come to Christ. She told how one underground church baptized someone she had shared the Lord with. He was an older man and he was baptized in near-freezing water because they did not have heated water. They would rather get sick in freezing water and risk being put in jail rather than not have Jesus. Her story made me feel so encouraged but so humbled. I'd like to do so much more than I do to share with others. We have so much freedom of religion and speech here that others in the world simply do not have. (you should see the police and others constantly watching all of us- they are everywhere and you become more and more aware of them every day and we have heard some stories of ridiculous examples of needless repression and control by the government- ask me later if you want to hear a couple of them) Lord help me to do better in using our freedoms to share with others- and thank you for it.

Today someone in one of the travel families was talking with our guide and learned that the people who are cleaning my hotel room or holding the elevator door open for me are paid around $48 USD per month. This is so sad I can't talk about it - and to think that is richer than those villagers we saw.. Pray for China with us. Freedom and democracy will give religious, speech, and economic freedom to these people.

Process update: Tomorrow (Monday - by the way we are 14 hours ahead of Texas time as an fyi so I am writing this at 11:17pm on Sunday night and for you I am writing this at 9:17am on Sunday morning) our guides take Noelle's passport and a bunch of U.S. government paperwork to the consulate for us and get her Visa! We have to stay in our room starting at noon because we have to be by the phone in case there are any problems. China adoption is so huge now with Americans (you have to think a dent must be being made in the need!) that the consulate can't handle all of us Americans coming in there so only the guides go now and bring our paperwork. Tuesday we are going to go to a U.S. consulate "swearing in" ceremony. I don't know exactly what I am swearing in for but I think it is that we will be good adoptive parents etc. I'll let you know.

We are scheduled to depart Guangzhou to Tokyo at 8:30am on Thursday via China Eastern Air. That flight is around 4 hours. Then we have a 7 HOUR layover in Tokyo (hurray..). Then we fly 11 hours from Tokyo to DFW via American and arrive at 3:40pm Texas time on Thursday. We tried to change our flight to Wednesday hoping something had changed since we last tried- nothing could be done. That's tough because we miss Maddie so much, we miss all our family and friends and ummm..... can't stop talking about Tex Mex. .... guilty!

Last thing: Check out the December 8th post again- now that I now how to use this system and add more than one picture I updated December 8th with 1 more photo of Tiananmen square (with the single tower) and then a bunch of the forbidden city (where the Emperor used to live) and the Summer Palace. Enjoy!

Palm Trees and Paradise!

2005-12-17T06:20:00.000-08:00

Wow, Guangzhou is awesome and so is this hotel. The Guandong province we are in right now is actually even further South than the Jiangxi province we just left. This province faces the Southern coast of China. We have palm trees everywhere and a nice breeze. The weather is great. The hotel is unbelievable, I'll post some example pics of the interior. According to a Chinese business newspaper China has begun to embrace Christmas at least from a standpoint of capitalizing on it. They made 8.1billion Yuan from Christmas last year. This success must be well-known because our hotel and the surrounding businesses are all decorated and emphasizing Christmas. Neat. Breakfast was very Americanized and delicious. Everywhere around the hotel are shops catering to Westerners. You can get baby clothes and kids clothes made from silk or cotton, paintings, have your name written in Chinese on various products, you can get bracelets, jewelry, jade, pearls, amazing carved stone chess sets, Chinese wall hangings, Chinese boxes, dozens of different hand-painted porcelain items such as tea cups, tea sets, vases, and more. Everything is reasonably priced and somewhat negotiable. Jamie and I did some more shopping today and were able to pick up a bunch of things without breaking the bank too badly.

Shamian island where we are staying has a Western European architecture style- it is very cosmopolitan looking. Lining the street are palm trees and neat statues that were apparently put in 2 years ago to please tourists, it worked- they're neat. I'll show one. There are shops below large buildings and in the middle of the street is a narrow but long park. Kids, adults, and seniors congregate in groups in the park. In the morning you will see adults practicing Tai Chi which is a non-violent martial art they use just for exercise. Others stand in rows and in uniform precision dance to music they bring along in a boom box. It is so neat to see all the activity. I saw some seniors actually exercising and stretching by leaning on some of the kids play equipment in the park. One older lady actually hung from the monkey bars as part of her exercise and stretching. It is so interesting how these people love to congregate outside together in social circles to exercise and talk together. We found a cool Western hamburger joint called "Lucy's" that is famous with Americans who come in and after we enjoyed that feast we saw in another nearby park some people ballroom dancing outside under an awning to some music they brought along. Just fascinating!

Today we had an early morning of going to an adoption medical center to get Noelle examined as a pre-Visa requirement. We also got her picture taken as part of that process. We were able to pretty much take it easy today, Jamie even had a little nap.

Noelle is doing well, she is totally recognizing her name now and she is finally turning over from stomach to back. She is still struggling with having "tummy time" which is developmentally important but we are trying to just make that happen anyway. Since she just sat in a walker all her life there are going to be delays we just have to work through. Overall we have been pretty blessed with few of the delays though. Her speech could be delayed as well since she only started hearing English a week ago, we'll see. We are working with her a lot. She loves to be around adults and kids. We got to have some more play time with her friend Lilly today. Lilly is the daughter of a Christian couple we met who live near us in Arlington! There are two other couples who are adopting along with us who live locally in Fort Worth and Carrollton.

When we first got Noelle it would take her more than 30 minutes to drink a bottle. Jamie had this very sad "hunch" that since this was the only way Noelle could be held by an adult she purposely learned to drink slowly. This was devastating to think that this could be true- so sad to think she would have to learn to drink her bottle slowly to get any attention. Well, she now is held all the time and is drinking her bottle in 10 minutes. Jamie's guess was right, this is so sad that she just had to survive like that but I am so glad that we got her at 9 months so she didn't have to deal with a lack of attention any longer.

Tomorrow we go to the pearl market since some of the couples want to buy pearls and then we are going to another porcelain shop.

Hey by the way the shots of water are from our window!!!

Arrived in Guangzhou

2005-12-16T05:20:00.000-08:00

Ok, I was going to title this "Terror in the skies" but Jamie said that it would be a mistake due to the current state of international terrorism. Here is what happened: today we left Nanchang for our final stop in Guangzhou, the capital of the Guangdong province (sounds like guacamole). It was an all afternoon/evening just to take the 1 hour flight. We had a super-full flight and it was about 70% "foreigners" (Americans) with their new babies from the Jiangxi province. It was heartwarming to see (though you've never heard a daycare as loud as this). Our guide Samson Wu (most or all Chinese people who work with English-speaking people take a pseudonym which is the case for Samson) was sitting in front of Jamie and I on the airplane and left his window seat to use the restroom. The man in the middle seat was Chinese and in his early 40's. He was asleep. This man was really sprawled out apparently so Samson asked him in the nicest way to allow him back in. The man was extremely agitated and began directing a lot of profanity at Samson in Chinese. Samson tried to stay calm and reason with the man but nothing worked. Things got loud and 2 female flight attendants came over to try to console this man. For a minute he settled down but sixty seconds later things really escalated and he folded up his thick paperback book into a tight baton shaped weapon and was trying to shove it in Samson's face and I think he was trying to swing at him as well. Samson was trying to restrain him and in an elevated voice tell him to knock it off. Things notched up one more notch and since I was sitting behind this man I shouted "NO" at him and restrained his left arm from punching Samson. Many people in the plane stood up and were about to rush him and the flight attendants came back over to talk him down and brought a man from the cockpit to discuss. The whole situation was over a selfish hothead who wanted to sleep on the plane. It was really scary because we had Noelle right there in the mix. Wow. We prayed about this and let go of it and nothing further happened. The flight attendants allowed the man to switch seats. I'll tell you what if that happened in America the guy would be in handcuffs.

Everyone who is from the United States and adopts in China ends up in Guangzhou at the end of the process which is the location of the U.S. Consulate. Everyone who adopts in China stays in the White Swan Hotel. It is amazing. Our room has carpet plus marble floors, maple with black inlaid trim on all the wood surfaces. I could go on and on about this place! It is 5-star and if it was anywhere else it might not be affordable. (Actually room service is still nearly not affordable- and I'm not telling what we just paid.) There are multiple restaurants and rich onsite shops with some amazing Chinese clothes and other things you can buy. Marble and rich wood are everywhere as well as beautiful painted gold Chinese screens, murals, and paintings. It is just beautiful. We came into our room which was chilly for once and didn't smell like smoke! Oh my gosh! And bonus we have one of only two rooms with a waterfront view. Praise the Lord! People who have been here before have told me to be ready for a suprise at breakfast because the hotel is constantly filled with adoptive families who practically run the place. It is neat to see that so much adoption is going on and neat to be part of some China adoption traditions. You can check the hotel out at: http://www.whiteswanhotel.com/eng/Public/index.asp

Guangzhou is apparently very Westernized with six Starbucks (WOW) and other American chains. We are on an island called "Shaiman Island". We are getting an early start tomorrow. We have to go through some medical tests with Noelle. We also have to go get our pictures taken as part of this process. Sunday will be a big shopping day! (which is fine because I hear you can skip a mortgage payment!!). I know there is a U.S. Consulate visit and I am not sure which day that is but we get Noelle's Visa (ok guys don't worry about me I mean a travel Visa not Visa/Mastercard- I have a few years to avoid that one). There is also planned a child blessing event at a Buddhist temple which we won't be attending.

Ok, so a couple of observations from our trip so far (I had more tidbits and I just can't remember them at the moment). First of all it is easy to get your laundry done here and fairly cheap. When you get it back (at least from our first place) it is all in very fancy "crackly" plastic bags with the garment item folded up. They then hand-sew on each clothing item a little tag. You actually have to cut it off. Fancy!

Hopefully, there will be less clothes hanging from the windows and skyrise clothes lines here in Guangzhou- I have high expectations. Hopefully there will be no carcasses or meat of any kind hanging from windows and clothes lines. It really makes you wonder, I mean has a young Chinese man who partied too hard the night before ever accidentally grabbed the wrong thing off the clothes line in the morning? It would be really embarrassing to get to work and realized you wore a ham steak to work. Scary!

Also, a word about our airline we just flew on "China Southern Air". There are several airlines in China such as: China Eastern Air, China Southern Air, Hainan Airlines, and Air China. This "China Southern Air" was a Boeing 737 which looked halfway safe- I mean it probably has oil changes like clockwork every single year!

Noelle update: Wow am I getting in trouble. Little "Tooty" won't go to mom- just dad. (I mean can you blame her? Oops sorry!) Anyway, I know it will pass and Jamie says that Maddie did this as well at 9 months. She's doing well overall. She likes to play a lot on the bed with us and we are trying hard to teach her Maddie's name as well as other family (not there yet). I am 100% positive she gave me a kiss on the arm tonight as I was putting her to bed. I was cradling her head and like 3 times she craned her neck up and gave me a wet kiss right on the arm. It was so sweet!

Love to all.

Thursday update

2005-12-15T07:31:00.000-08:00

Today, we basically had a quiet day. I went on a tour of a pagoda (I'll show pics) while Jamie and Noelle stayed in to avoid the cold to try to get well. (Noelle is fine, Jamie and I are still battling traces of the cold with a cough - although the smog is not as bad here as it was in Beijing it is still an issue and people smoke cigarettes everywhere so that is always in our face as well)

The pagoda is several hundred years old and six stories tall. It is the fourth largest pagoda in China. I think it used to be a worship site for Buddhism but now it is a total tourist trap - but it was still neat to see. From the top of the pagoda we had a really good view of the "Gan" river which is a busy river for transportation. We also had a good view of some more up-to-date and growing areas of the city of Nanchang we had not seen. And, we also had a good view of the "8/1 bridge". The communists re-named this bridge the "8/1 bridge" after the start of the cultural revolution in China which started on August 1st 1966 and lasted ten years. Although the Communists gained power in China in 1949 the cultural revolution was an attempt by Chairman Mao to regain some power and prestige, to purify the country of vestiges of capitalism, and to emphasize in every area of life a purer socialism - it is now seen as a disaster. (I read about that here: http://www.wellesley.edu/Polisci/wj/China1972/brief-intro.html)

Our guide has been as vocal as he can safely be about his feelings concerning the Communist Chinese government. We learned today that most of his family are now in the U.S. and Canada. He used to question if the tragedy of the government crackdowns at Tiananmen Square really happened. Something happened in his family that changed his mind about the government and erased his questions. His family abroad had sent a great deal of money to his elderly grandmother to build a house. It ended up being enough money to build a 5,000 square foot home. In China that would have been a lot of money and a huge house. Well, the Communist Chinese government came in and decided they wanted that land and so they bulldozed her house, took the land, and now she is living in a 300 square foot apartment. They offered her less than $100 USD which she promptly refused. She took them to court and lost three times. He has pretty strong feelings now about the government and considers it a dictatorship- he's right. He mentioned being aware of protests in a village and the army will come in and seal off the village and no one ever hears anything about that again. I personally saw evidence of this in a Beijing newspaper- something about protests at a village and the village being sealed off "to look for the protesting offenders"- I had a sick feeling from just reading that headline.

It is hard to be thankful enough for our Constitution, Bill of Rights, courts, and due process- not to speak of the wealth.

Tomorrow morning at 10am I have to bring our Chinese adoption paperwork and passports and go pick up Noelle's Chinese passport so she can leave the country. Then, we leave here for the airport tomorrow at 2pm to fly to Guangzho to attend our U.S. consulate appointment for some medical tests and paperwork to bring our girl home. There is quite a bit of waiting between these various appointments which means that our time in China to fulfill the process is fairly lengthy. We left on 12/6 and we don't return until 12/22. However, there are 2-3 extra days in there that were not needed - we saved 50% on our plane tickets by taking the travel dates that we did.

Guangzho is supposed to be very Westernized - for example there are a lot of Starbucks and other American places. I guess I can have Starbucks again so my wife can "get her husband back"- geez!

Hey, I thought it would be funny to include a picture of Noelle ripping the glasses off my face- funny!

Ok, no more bird flu jokes

2005-12-14T05:16:00.000-08:00

A little too much reality today. We had a little tour our guide arranged for the group to the countryside to visit a farming village and we were going to meet a certain family and see their home. We thought this would be a neat cultural experience. I for one was excited to be able to pet some chickens! Ok just kidding. It was ironic because I had been making jokes on the bus with our group about wanting to pet some chickens if we saw some and then we were all stunned that there were chickens walking around all through the alleys and even in people's houses. The current Avian bird flu epidemic in China and Asia has been gnawing at all of our minds. There has been no human-to-human cases of transmission- the transmission of this flu has all been bird (mainly chicken) to man and the mortality rate is over 50%. So, when you are in China and you are suddenly surrounded by chickens which are the major carriers for this flu you get a little nervous. It was funny- like my bus ride chicken jokes were on me. No more bird flu jokes from me. Hey, you can't blame me- I mean I'm going to a farming village in China- it was just sitting there! (you would have done it too)

We pulled up in our bus and followed our guide down a narrow alley of tiny old brick dwellings with old chinese tile roofs. The homes were basically a floor and a roof - some of them didn't even have doors but were open air. They had clothes hung up outside as normal and some had the typical meat hanging up outside. There were less clothes and meat hung up outside their homes than in Nanchang... and it is sad to say this is because they don't have much in the way of clothes and meat to hang outside. There was trash everywhere and a stinky brown muck in many spots along the middle of the alley we had to step around. The homes had literally nothing in them- maybe a makeshift bed and a clothes washing bucket sitting on an unmentionably dirty cement floor plus maybe a bench or a picture. We saw a woman washing clothes in a dark, waste-filled pond next to the village near a hill covered with trash. Baby chickens were walking all through the trash hill looking for food. The scene was dramatic as were the smells but the people were very curious to see us and were nothing but kind and welcoming. (and they really were happy)

However, we must have looked like aliens from mars walking through the alleys in front of these people's homes and honestly it felt wrong to be walking through as a "tour". I know this was an innocent cultural exchange experience- we were simply not prepared for what we saw. (having said that no one we met seemed offended, only curious and nice) The host home lady we met was being paid to show us her home so for that reason alone I'm glad we came but we were absolutely embarrassed to be walking up in our wealth and looking at her home where she had nothing and was living among waste like she and her child were some kind of a side show. It felt sick and wrong. You just don't know what to do in a situation like this because you want to show them honor and kindness. Our host home lady was pretty, sweet, and very happy to see us. She seemed to think it was neat to see these little Chinese girls being held by a bunch of friendly foreigners (that is what the Chinese call anyone who is not Chinese). She held her sweet boy (4-ish) who was all bundled up and was talking to him and pointing at all the babies (which has been happening a lot) I'll show you a picture of them and the village.

When we walked down the alley to meet our host home lady Jamie thought we were walking through the back-alleys to the garages or sheds of these people. She gradually realized this was where they lived and she was unprepared for that. She just thought this was going to be a little tour of a farm (we all did). As the knowledge of these people's living conditions sank in she really got visibly emotional and upset. The people were sweet and she felt embarrassed by our obvious wealth and by the fact that we were touring their ramshackle dwellings. She started breaking down and had to turn away from everyone and stood to the side by me. She was fighting to keep the tears back and to be subtle so that no one could see what she was doing because then that would guarantee to shame these nice people if they saw her crying when we saw their home. She was able to hold things together well enough that no one saw anything and I took her back to the bus. Two other couples ended up following. I guess I'm glad we went even though it was sad. Something like that has to change your perspective.

Our tour guide told us many poor villagers can't let their children go to the supposedly free schools because they don't have the money for books and supplies and I think he indicated the parents needed help at home with farming rice, etc (don't quote me on that but I think I took that from what he said). So, if they have nothing and they cannot get an education they cannot improve things for themselves and are stuck in these poor villages. You wonder why a single mom would abandon a child until you see conditions like this. You wonder why a family who can only have one child would abandon a baby girl to try again for a boy until you realize that culturally the boy supports the parents- and these people have nothing. It doesn't make it right maybe but you can have a lot of compassion after seeing it.

Fortunately China adoption is growing dramatically and although the supply of baby girls (primarily girls- or boys with special needs) is huge. I know a statistic that is a couple of years old that said a million baby girls are abandoned per year. Our guide told me tonight that the CCAA (Chinese Federal agency responsible for foreign adoptions) is on a run rate of 24,000 adoptions a year up from 10,000 last year. The word is getting out not only on the need but on the great outcomes that happen through China adoption. Everyone I know, knows someone who knows someone who has done this. The word is out which is evidenced by our plane ride into Nanchang filled with adoptive families.

At least for these abandoned baby girls in destitute conditions - hope is a candle that is being lit in the hearts of many.

Read more at http://www.stevencurtischapman.com/ and click on adoption. Touching and worth the read. Their lives have been an inspiration to us and his foundation actually gives financial grants to families who want to adopt- neat! I'll give you 5 bucks if you can hear his new Christmas video about adoption and not cry.

Although we can't visit Nanfeng which is 3 hours away the Gladney program director who called us tonight in our hotel to see how we are doing said that it is poor and might be similar to what we saw today. Since we can't travel to Nanfeng I asked him if he could tell me anything interesting about the city. He said the city is noted across China for its oranges which are very small and sweet. Apparently they were even shipped across China to the Forbidden City in Beijing to be supplied to the Emperors- so that is a neat thing to learn. I'll research more on Nanfeng later so I can teach Noelle more about where she came from.

Alright, it happened. We're a little sick of Chinese food. We're thankful for what we have experienced but ummm... we just need something else. So, we braved the walk through the busy city streets to KFC. It is hilarious how many KFC's they have here. (no there isn't a Starbucks here in Nanchang which means I am only like 1/3 awake at all times and Jamie is saying "I want my husband back!"- I guess I'm a dud without coffee?!??!? Well that's just great.) When I say we "braved" the busy streets let me explain. Crossing a street in China is a little like a game of human "Frogger" without the 3 free lives. I actually think they get extra points for "ace-ing" an American.

Noelle is doing great. She is totally comfortable with us. She likes to smile and loves it when we blow on her neck and mess around with her. I'm a real goof ball with her and she loves it. She is a little behind developmentally and we are working on it. She basically sat upright in one position in a walker for 7-8 hours per day so she has a strong back and can sit up for a long time if you put her in a sitting up position. But, she has not had much "tummy time" which they need in order to get strong and in order to be able to crawl. She is starting to tolerate playing on her tummy so progress should be coming. She absolutely flips when we change her diaper- you may not have seen feet kick up in the air and gyrations like this out of a 9 month old before. We just laugh at her and power through it- she'll be ok with it eventually. Jamie says she is a daddy's girl but she is crazy about both of us. Its funny but I really love it when I leave the room and she cries. Its so sweet that I just met her on Sunday (and she initially was very scared of me) and now I can't leave a room. She plays with a little sweet smile of anticipation like we are going to do something crazy or goofy (now I don't know where she could have gotten that idea). I love her smile. Her little "coo" when she takes a deep breath and is satisfied is so sweet you can't believe it. I was teasing that she is a fast learner but she is. We have so far taught her mommy and daddy. She loves to sit and say "Da, da, da, da, da or Ma, ma, ma, ma" in a contended way when she is playing with us or when she wants us to come over to her. Also, she answers to "Noelle" better than "Wei Fen"- we think they just called all of the girls "Mei mei" (little sister I think) and "Baba" (baby). I want to comment about bonding. We spend time every day just kissing her, making her laugh and smile, holding her, and playing toys with her. We also have a little soft plastic baby photo book and we show her pictures of her sister and other family members and say their names- she loves this book and all her toys. The Chinese (that we've seen and experienced) don't use pacifiers so although she has one it is just another interesting toy to her.

Noelle got to have some play time today with some of her adopted friends. She loved it- she is so content when there are a lot of kids and adults around. We met a Christian couple who live in Arlington and were able to let our kids play this evening- fun times.

You know people ask you questions with all sincerity like "are you worried about bonding" (they mean well). We weren't terribly worried about bonding because we trust the Lord plus so many people adopt and you never hear of that issue. However, what has happened in terms of bonding has been nothing short of amazing. I typically can be a little detached myself at first- it can take me time to bond. (ok, so I'm slow- can't help it) So, bonding did hit my radar as a slight short-term worry I never talked about. However, I am so bonded right now and the emotion is so strong it almost brings a physical "butterflies" type feeling. It is amazing. Jamie is in the same state. We love Noelle so much in such a short amount of time after having met her that it is a blessed thing to experience. (in fairness Jamie wasn't worried at all, she knew she would bond fast) Also, the fact that Noelle who has no life experience in bonding with anyone has bonded so deeply so quickly with us has been a real surprise- we sort of expected issues with that. (THANK YOU to everyone who has prayed for this adoption)

Last thing - pray Maddie has peace about us being gone, she cried on the phone today and said, "Mommy, come home now".. (I can't even think about this one..) Also pray that she makes the adjustment to having a sister and that she is secure in our love.

Everyone's posts are so touching. They make our day. What an amazing bunch of people you are. Where did we find you?

Noelle Nightly News Network from Nanchang

2005-12-12T15:30:00.000-08:00

We had been having a hard time getting Noelle to take a bottle. She only drank a whole bottle one time. Often she would only drink an ounce or less since we have had her. We bought the formula and rice the orphanage said to use but she wouldn't take it. They also told us to make the milk hot, not warm, but hot. We had been making it warm. Well, we made it almost "coffee hot" this morning at 7:30am and she drank ALL of it. It was amazing! She has had another bottle since then and she downed all of it. We're making progress! On another note we gave her, her first bath today. The orphanage just gives sponge baths - when we put her in that water you should have heard her scream. Oh well, she'll like it someday.

We wanted to tell you a little about Noelle's personality, habits, and whatever we thought might be interesting. First of all, she is very curious. If you are holding her and someone behind her even coughs she has to check it out. She is so actively curious it is hilarious. What is funny as well is that Jamie and Maddie are known to be extremely curious - they are major people watchers and love to "get the scoop". I can hardly have a full conversation with them at a restaurant because they are looking around and seeing who is there and what is going on. Noelle is just like that. It is cute and sweet that the Lord matched these personalities up like that.

Did I mention that she is a cuddler? We had hoped she would be a cuddler and she is! She loves to be held. She also loves it and smiles or laughs when she is bounced, flown around like an airplane, swung, and anything else goofy I can think to do with her.

A doctor just visited us in our hotel room. Noelle had been pulling on her ears so we were worried she had an ear infection and we actually have her on antibiotics. The doctor said her ears were dry, her lungs are clear, and she doesn't have a sore throat. On a side note Noelle's sniffles have been fading so it looks like normalcy is near with her! Jamie and I are beginning to feel better as well.

Final word on Noelle for a little bit- we went to a park today with the entire group and there were several locals that we met who were very friendly and were talking to Noelle, laughing, and smiling at us. I have only seen sweet, positive reactions from people who see us with her which is a blessing.

I hadn't mentioned it yet but yesterday several of us went to Nanchang's 2-story Super Walmart. It was awesome! I looked like William Perry "the Fridge" (he was a linebacker right? I'm not a sports guy but I remember he was big) from the Chicago Bears to these people- I had a lot of people staring at me. Funny! The store has some of the things we are used to like Cokes, typical produce, etc and some of the major brands but many Asian and Chinese brands as well. You can buy a cool electric motor scooter suitable for slow speeds in the city for only $200 U.S. dollars which was amazing. There is too much to tell but I'll list a few things I saw which were unique. In the prepared foods meat case I saw some unusual things: whole cooked ducks with the heads on, I saw two large bowls filled with worms (it HAD to be worms.... fine if you push me I suppose it could have been snails), another type of whole cooked bird but without the head, cooked chicken feet, cooked goose necks, fried whole herring, and more I can't remember.

Hey, while I'm on the topic of unusual the city of Nanchang is unusual. You will have a beautiful skyscraper business office next to 30 or 40 tall highrise apartments that are old and falling apart. China seems to be all about building things tall- it makes sense with their population size. You will have a fun, quaint shopping area and look down the alley and there are delapidated dwellings with clothes hanging on clothes lines out the window and right there on the clothes lines are various types of carcases drying on the line such as ducks, geese, chickens, and parts of four-legged farm animals. It is really unsanitary and quite strange. As you drive through rows and rows of 20+ year old high rise apartments almost every window has these clothes hanging out and a lot of meat hanging and drying. I'll show you a picture of this. There will be beggars with no legs on roll-platforms and then there will be a stylish couple holding arms looking very well put together. There are cosmopolitan shopping areas but if you look up... there you go again with the bad living conditions. Nanchang is a place of contradictions and surprises but the people have been nice and everything is fascinating to take in and frankly we vastly prefer Southern China over Northern the more we stay here.

A word on the beggars. Its hard to know what to do with them. You want to be generous obviously and Jesus said, "Give to everyone who asks you without expecting anything in return," but you also want to avoid situations that are scams. It is tough and yet you are moved by the poverty and you want to be a light for the Lord. I had a situation when I left Walmart where there was a 40-something lady holding a 4-year old child on one arm and an empty bowl in the other hand so she could ask for money. They were dirty, poor, and I believe homeless. Next to them I saw a lady with some type of a monkey on a rope- also dirty, poor, and probably homeless. Both were begging for money. I wanted to get some video with the monkey for Madeline so I told the lady to let me put my groceries on the bus and to wait there and I would give her something. On the way back the lady with the child met me first because I had been friendly to her and through my smile and nod on the way to the bus had indicated that I would do something for them. I decided to give her something and pulled out 20 Yuan which isn't much- about $2.50 USD which isn't a lot to you and I but is actually the price of the personal doctor visit we just had in our hotel room to give you some perspective. The lady with the monkey watched all of this and waited for me. Well, all I had left in smaller bills was 16 Yuan and she had seen that I gave the other lady 20 Yuan. She was very upset with me and was really berating me for this and making various gestures about the other lady and the child. I could easily tell the comparison she was making. I cradled my arms and swinged them showing her that I had given her a little more because she had a child and she totally blew that explanation off. She had no value for the life of that child- zero concern. She didn't even really hold up her end of the bargain on videoing the monkey and gave me a hard time and kept asking for more. It turns out that I deleted that video when I got back to my hotel room and watched it because it was so negative and upsetting to see. On the video in such a nice voice I was patiently explaining why I gave more to the other lady and she was just terrible about it. There was no way I could show this to Madeline now. It was a tough view of things to see and I don't really have any conclusions for you right now other than when people don't have Jesus Christ in their life they think they have to be heartless and dishonest sometimes to protect themselves, feed themselves, help themselves, etc. The Believer in Jesus has the ability to weather all circumstances in faith because although we may endure challenges we know that the Lord is faithful and he will help us. I've seen it with my job for years and the Lord has proven himself to both me and those that work with me. We have had constant change, constant challenges, and plenty of conflict but through patient prayer, trusting the Lord no matter what things look like, and doing the right thing when circumstances seem to require otherwise he has rescued us and will continue to do so. This is one of the reasons I try to be open about my faith but not pushy. I want people to know that although eternal salvation is the main and most crucial reason to accept Christ- there is much to be gained in the present time in terms of peace- and REAL solutions for all problems.

Tomorrow we get to take a little trip to the surrounding countryside and get to meet a local farmer and his family. Then, we get to go to a porcelain store. Porcelain was invented in this province and that is a major thing the area is famous for.

Adoption Day Part 2 - its done!

2005-12-12T04:15:00.000-08:00

Well, today she is officially ours!!! Yesterday we were only "guardians" but as of today we have adopted Wei Fen as "Noelle Wei Fen Howard"! First, we went to the civil affairs office and answered questions for a judge and signed our names. Our guide had us fill out some paper work the night before so it had sped things up today. Then, in the same office we went into another room and counted out $3,000 in crisp $100 U.S. bills as required for the orphanage donation to keep things running. Then, in that same office we counted them out $1755 in U.S. bills for the provincial government's adoption fees. Finally, we counted out $450 Yuan (divide by 8), which is $56 to pay for a newspaper or similar search to give us the abandonment notice for when Noelle was found. If anyone is interested in adoption we will tell you the other fees and expenses involved as well as process information, etc (for example if your income qualifies there can be a tax benefit to adoption and some companies have adoption reimbursement benefits you can check into).

Finally, after correcting some errors in the paperwork that had been done at the civil affairs office they got it right and all of us left for a cross-town trip to the notary public. (right as we were called in Noelle did a "number 2" in her diaper which was so stinky- it was really hilarious, we actually had to go in there like that- you should have seen the uncomfortable look on her face) In about an hour we went into the notary, answered her questions, signed our names, and received our beautiful little red adoption notice and certificate. It was SO exciting that she was officially ours! Prior to all of this you get approval from the U.S. Federal government so we know that we are all set with that side of things.

The government requires that we stay here for 5 days so we have a little ways to go before we go to Guangzhou where the U.S. consulate is so we can get Noelle's U.S. paperwork and entrance requirements completed.

A few comments on Nanchang- for one thing the pollution is much, much less than Beijing- its no worse than Dallas which we can handle. Jamie has noticed the people here in Southern China look a bit different which is interesting (she thinks they look better but hey, we're partial now) - our guide in China had mentioned to us that each region tended to have a different look. Also, although Nanchang is the provincial capital it is much smaller than other major cities with only 3-4 million people and another 3-4 million surrounding rural areas. This is also a poorer city. There is some big business but not as much and there is a lot more poverty. When we flew in we were shocked at the living conditions. Noelle was found and taken care of up to this point in Nanfeng which is much more rural and poor than Nanchang. It is about 3.5 hours away so it is doubtful that any of us will push to make the journey since that would likely turn into a 9-10 hour trip with babies. (having said that its not ruled out yet since there is an obvious desire to know as much as we can, our guide is at a minimum going to try to find out more about Nanfeng)

Notes on the pictures- we went to a Chinese McDonalds today- it was a great break from Chinese food- I took a picture of the menu.

Love you guys, your posts and emails have made us cry with joy and appreciation. Your prayers have lifted us up. Much thanks and love to all of you!

Adoption Day

2005-12-11T13:44:00.000-08:00

Well, it is 5:45am in Wei Fen time, 3:45pm in Texas. Jamie is feeding Wei Fen a bottle. I had been playing with her. We had her sleep in between us in the bed last night. When Wei Fen woke up she reached over for Jamie, and was pawing at her arm, and woke her up. Jamie and Wei Fen had a really sweet and intimate time of connecting. Jamie said, "Wei Fen, say 'Mama' and she said it!". That woke me up and it was a touching moment. Wei Fen is ok with me now after she fell asleep on my chest last night and was happy to see me as well. She was really cooing and pawing at us and playing with our fingers. The nannys had told Jamie that Wei Fen likes to say "Baba" and she kept saying that in different ways to us.

We're having a tough time with our bottles but we'll work it out. Pray for all of us as each of us are sick- Jamie is really sick.

Here are some pics of Jamie feeding Wei Fen a bottle and then playing with her and making her smile.

"Gotcha Day"!

2005-12-11T05:26:00.000-08:00

In the China adoption world today is called "Gotcha Day"- the day we got Noelle (her Chinese name is Wei Fen and we are going to call her that until we get home- I'll refer to her that way at least in today's blog). We traveled from Beijing to Nanchang, the capital of the Jiangxi province in Southern China on roughly a 2 hour flight. What was so touching was that the 737 jet on China Eastern Airlines was about 90% full of Americans in different groups coming to adopt. This province is one of three popular provinces for adoption: Jiangxi, Guandong, and Hunan. It felt SO great seeing that the word is really out on this and people from all over the place and varying agencies are coming to adopt. It was fun both in our travel group as well as in others to see some couples bringing 4 year old girls that had been adopted previously as well as other ages of girls who had been adopted previously as they picked up their second Chinese girl. This is common in probably 70% of the people we know who adopt- they go back and do it again. What a gift these little girls are to all of those excited people! Jamie said, "there must be a million angels around this plane".

We basically got to the hotel and got to our rooms and it was time to go pick up Wei Fen. We went to the Civil office responsible for adoptions with our eight families. The procedure was that our guide and translator "Sampson" who works for Gladney in China would read the family name from a list. Then, you simply go up and get your child from the waiting nanny who is holding her. Jamie and I worked it out that she would take delivery and I would videotape. They called our name probably sixth and Jamie went over, presented our passport and our travel letter, and picked up Wei Fen. It was so exciting and emotional. We could barely handle the moments leading up to this. Our baby was wearing a pink hat, pink coat, and several layers of clothing as prescribed by custom (and right now, by the cold wind). She cried a little from the shock and change of things but Jamie held her, talked to her, and settled her down. It wasn't until I got close to her and said the Chinese word for "Father" that Wei Fen lost it. I said, "Baba", she took one look at me and lost it- but it was ok. We kind of expected she would go to one of us at first. We left the Civil affairs office at approximately 4:15pm China time on Sunday.

The next step was for one parent to attend a one-hour meeting with Mr. Lu the orphanage director and with the nannys to ask questions about whatever we needed to know. Although Wei Fen was crying when I held her I knew Jamie had to go- she would ask the right questions- its practically a gift with her and I knew I would miss some important ones.

We had noticed that Noelle did well if you stood up and bounced her around and patted her. My back is a little sore from the Great Wall climb but I thought I would try it for as long as I could and then I would have to work out something else. Jamie left for the Q&A meeting and I got to work trying not to terrify my new daughter. She had been acting tired so I thought I might be able to bounce her to sleep. After 30 minutes of trying different things I actually prayed for help and within 10 minutes she was asleep. (why do we wait so long to ask for help)

I needed rest too so I ended up putting her on my chest and kind of leaning back on several pillows in the bed and I was able to cat nap. She woke up a few times and changed her head position and even looked at me and did not flip out- this is great stuff.

Jamie got back and told me about what she learned. Wei Fen has 2 naps per day, wakes up at 5am (Jamie said, "that isn't happening"), loves toys, loves people, loves to smile, and is curious. I'll let Jamie tell you more depth, right now she is sleeping and exhausted- unfortunately she got a cold yesterday and it is in her sinus, head, and throat and she is miserable. Also, she can't stop crying - partly from exhaustion and mostly from her being worried about this enormous change Wei Fen is having to endure and the fear she has been having. We have worked really hard to console her and it has been difficult because this has really been traumatic for her as you can imagine. Ok, I'm going to post some pics and try to take a nap (its Sunday night).

Hey, how did I get the big white guy?

2005-12-10T06:35:00.000-08:00

Wow, tomorrow is the day we get Noelle! She is 9 months old this week and she is going to go from zero to sixty in the family department tomorrow. As we look at the poverty, pollution, and hopelessness for especially the poor in China our passion to hurry up and bring our girl home has increased in the last couple of days. We had to see and experience all of this to feel that urgent "mission" feeling again like we did at first.

I can imagine what happens to orphans when it is time to leave the orphanage because we have seen glimpses of the challenges of poor and disadvantaged people. We see people begging on the streets frequently. I saw one older man with his blind Down Syndrome young son begging on the street and saw that there was just no hope for them. We gave him something and tried to tell him about God loving him in the few seconds that we had but even giving a little love and money you just feel such compassion and urgency for them and you worry about them when you realize they have no one to help them. Those at the bottom of the social and economic ladder even if they do have a job often find themselves in menial labor under difficult conditions. There are many difficult circumstances these people are facing. The pollution is so toxic and visible in the air that it is a fresh surprise when we wake up each day. So, for a young girl leaving an orphanage with no family name, no education, no support, no skills, and the challenges of these surroundings- what is she going to do? What can she do when there are 1.3 billion Chinese to compete with and the majority of them have had a family to love, guide, teach, and help them? The orphan girl may be little more than a statistic to this society.

So, we are feeling pretty emotional right now about going to get her and take her to her new home. However, the "rescue" feelings are just a temporary reaction to what we are seeing. We really have just viewed this for a long time as picking up our sweet daughter we have prayed for and thought about for 16 months! She is much more of a blessing to us and her big sister than we could ever be to her! I wanted to communicate the above to share some of our recent emotions and paint a picture of what is going on in China to provide possible opportunities for others to consider China adoption.

Today we had our big trip to the Great Wall. On the way North of Beijing to the Wall we stopped at an awesome jade factory. These factory owners are smart because they educate you before you go shop so you know the value and background of what is being sold. This raises your interest in what they are offering- works every time. I'll post a picture or two of some jade items that were hand-carved and really just amazing. Jade comes in more colors than green which you will see.

Then, it was on to the Great Wall. Construction on the Great Wall began around 1400 A.D. and took 200-300 years (can't remember exactly) to finish. At one point of time during construction there were 5 million people in China and the Emperor had 1 million people working on the wall. Human life was not valued and many people died while working on the Wall. They were not even buried so the workers actually put many into the wall making it the world's longest graveyard as well as the world's longest wall. The wall is full of stairs which right now for me is a "painful" subject if you get my meaning (this may be an even more "painful" subject in the morning..). The stairs are strange in that they are uneven. One stair will be a huge 15 inches high and the next will be 8 or 10 inches high. The Wall is full of defensive towers that are built right into the wall with large square windows archers could shoot arrows through. The Wall runs straight up the side of the many mountains it spans so while you are climbing it almost feels like rock climbing at moments because it is so vertical - and can be a little scary (so I never looked back). It was exhausting but rewarding as I climbed higher and higher and near the top looked down the thousands of stairs and down the mountain and took pictures. The colors of the Wall are mainly hues of grey and white and they contrast with the grass and dirt colors across the mountain ranges they are built into. Jamie climbed a little but has been battling a cold so she decided to not push things too much. That's good- she can help me walk tomorrow. :)

There is a historical protected area in the old city center we were able to tour today called the "Huotong" area. In this area people live as they have for hundreds of years in extended family homes of a unique style. They are all one-story which is unusual nowadays in Beijing and they have ancient looking grey roofs of some type of artfully crafted interlocking hoop-like tiles. All Huotong dwellings are joined by narrow alleyways and have a private courtyard with a single door to enter and exit. When you enter from the alleyway through the door into the private courtyard there are various rooms for people to sleep, study, congregate, cook, and eat in all around the center courtyard in a "U" shape. An extended family will live there with parents, husband and wife, children, etc- multiple generations. These are regular people who have jobs and bicycles or sometimes a car and simply live in this traditional setting in this special historic district and pass their homes on to the next generation and keep the dwelling in the family. As part of a tour we got to visit with a Huotong-area family in their home. It was a really rich experience.

Also as part of the tour I got to ride in a real pedal-powered rickshaw through the Huotong alleyways. It was one of the most unbelievably cool things I have done. However, as I walked up to my rickshaw my driver who did not speak any English smiled and was nice but I was sure he was probably thinking, "Hey, how did I get the big white guy?" I was just sure he was going to go over to his supervisor and clutch his heart and pretend to have a heart attack to get away from having to cart my big tail around. It was 30 degrees outside and I swear he broke out into a sweat when he saw me walk up.

enjoy the pics, you can see me in my rickshaw- tomorrow we will have pics of Noelle!

Jamie, I'm NOT showing them the fish head!

2005-12-09T04:52:00.000-08:00

We are starting to get caught up on our sleep and acclimated to this timezone which is a great thing. We're glad we had this time in Beijing to recover from the flight and to get over the tremendous differences in culture and customs. I feel weird saying this but aside from the constant sore throat and stench I barely notice the pervasive fog of pollution!

We started off today going to the Lama Temple which is affiliated with the Tibetan Buddhist sect of the Dalai Lama and another Lama whose name escapes me. (Lamas are major Buddhist religious leaders and there are only two of them) It is a very beautiful Buddhist temple site though smaller than most historical sites we have visited. We could take pictures of the buildings but not indoors because it is actually an active worship site. We saw incense burners and several bowing worshippers. We saw many Buddha statues being worshipped including one that is 54 feet tall. All these statues were wooden and covered in gold paint. I felt sad for those people - I mean when you serve a living God who guides your steps daily, actively answers your prayers, and speaks into your life it is a tragedy to see people bowing three times and laying incense sticks at a carved wooden image that cannot help them. We said a little prayer for them. We certainly respect their spiritual hunger and pray they find the Lord.

After this we went to the Government Silk Factory which was an amazing experience. We first had a tour and learned about the silk growing and weaving process. One interesting fact we learned is that each silk cocoon is made from 1 strand of silk. They find the end of the strand, connect it to the silk string-making machine and it basically unspins and becomes thread. We were able to see this in practice. We then were able to see a demonstration of a young lady weaving a silk rug. Persian rugs are more common and commercialized abroad but are made out of cotton and are not woven very densely. Chinese rugs are woven from 100% silk and have between 300 and 1700 knots per SQUARE INCH! A weaver can only weave 3-4 rows per day and it takes 2-5 years or more to weave a rug depending on the density they are going for and the size. What you pay for is density. The Chinese rugs are woven tightly and each row is tapped down with a wooden device into the previous rows so tightly that no air is between the strands. They are so airtight and dense they actually resist fire. Our factory guide put a lighter to one rug and it would not light. A Chinese rug is actually an investment and can last generations. The official showed me a 300 knot floor rug the size of a coffee table someone spent 2 years of their life on and he quoted me $1500 USD which was wild (..again just that rectangular coffee table size here). He showed us an amazing trick that can be done with a Chinese rug- if you pick it up and shake it the color changes from darker to lighter and back again- like magic- and its beautiful. We bought several things at this market (no rugs thank you) and can't wait to show everyone.

Next we went to the Temple of Heaven which is a site four times larger than the Forbidden City. This Temple was an Imperial site built so the Emperor could worship "the god of heaven" as well as lesser "gods". It is open year-round to local residents if they buy a pass and there are nice parks and ancient stone walkways everywhere with trees and even a children's play area. Under one outdoor walkway it was fun to see many older Chinese people bundled up in the cold and crowding in small groups along both sides of a long flat railing playing cards, chattering, and laughing at each other. It was a warm and cheerful sight to see them throwing their playing cards down and really getting into their card games and conversation. In that same corridor there was a married Chinese couple doing a ballroom dance right in the middle of all of this while a man played a traditional Chinese instrument. There were several musicians playing and trying to make tip money. There was also a young woman dressed in a silk multi-colored dress with gold embroidery dancing to the tune of the musicians for tips. It was some type of formal Chinese dance full of rich engaging movements and a graceful elegance. I saw she had a tip plate so I tipped her $10 Yuan and she acted surprised in a thankful way and raised her voice and said something to her friends who were watching her dance as we walked off. It wasn't a big deal because it was only a little more than $1 US Dollar. The exchange rate by the way is 1USD=8.21 Chinese Yuan.(hope I spelled that right but that is how you pronounce it) The Temple of Heaven site was impressive. There were ornate temple buildings, carved white rock columns, raised platforms, traditionally painted Chinese arches, rock paved imperial walkways, and ancient white and grey marble stairs everywhere. The stairs are a little taller than standard and Jamie was extra careful and cautious and braced herself on me as she walked down a few of them. I have had the scripture going through my head for a few days "he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone." I have quoted that to Jamie a couple of times as it has popped into my mind if she seems nervous or like today when we were walking down a marble stair. Well, we had a short break at the hotel and I hadn't read my Bible in a couple of days so I decided to read Jamie a Psalm or two and just give the Lord some time in our day. I opened up to Psalm 91 kind of randomly and began reading out loud to her. Suddenly in verse 11-12 I caught my breath and so did Jamie because that verse above about angels watching over us was in this first Psalm I chose out of the thousands of verses in the Bible. In response to the prayers of many family and friends the Lord just wanted us to know we were being taken care of and he wants you to know he is hearing you. It was so touching for this to happen and an example of what I am talking about above when I say he "speaks" into our lives. What a real, active- and kind God we serve. Thanks Lord.

Ok, after the break we went to an acrobatic show. It was really many shows in one. Young Chinese girls and guys did many amazing feats of strength, balance, coordination, flexibility, and team work while dressed in what often looked like ancient Chinese costumes with many colors and especially a great deal of red and gold. We saw maybe a dozen ladies in red and gold Chinese dresses spinning several plates apiece on long metal poles. Some of them did tricks while spinning the plates. We saw many other things and we'll show you pictures and video when we get home and I will include some here.

I am including above a picture of our group after dinner. The two Chinese people in the picture are our guides "Rocky" and "Jennifer"- they choose American names to do their tour jobs to make it easier for us. Jennifer has 3 American names and her real name is Jian something.

Miss ya'll! (that is the only time someone will say ya'll in China today)

Don't eat the watermelon

2005-12-08T01:02:00.000-08:00

Well, it was our first full day in Beijing. Our sleep last night not only rested us but it taught us some new wisdom which was a real bonus- it really is true that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger! The beds were hard and the room was 84 degrees but other than that it was a perfect night's rest.

We woke up and had a terrific asian+american buffet in the hotel- they did a really great job. The Plaza Hotel is only 2 years old and it is 4-star. It is really quite nice. Our guide Jennifer picked up the 6 adults and 2 kids who have arrived so far out of our adoption party in a giant pink motorcoach which my daughter Maddie would appreciate. The tour company rented a big coach since in the next day or two we will have 21 total in our touring party in Beijing.

We departed for sightseeing at 9am and went first to Tianamen Square. This is a famous site in Beijing that everyone has heard of and everyone sees. It was 30 degrees or so but we bundled up and were fine. The square is apparently the largest in the world (our tour guide told us at least 3 things we saw today were the largest in the world and I was the largest guy in Tianamen Square so that kind of worked out well.). This area is a site for government offices and historical monuments. Chairman Mao is buried in a crystal casket and preserved in one building we did not go see. Across from Tianamen Square is the national museum which is also a 2008 Olympics planning site. We did start seeing a lot of military in that area and at the other national monuments for the rest of the day.

We then went to the Forbidden City which is only a short walk away. This is where emperors lived for 1400 years. This is a huge site next to Tianamen and right in the heart of this enormous city of Beijing. It is really a throwback to a different time. Emperors ruled in China until 1911 and they lived at a level that we wouldn't understand today. When you enter the forbidden city and look from high vantage points you see a sea of golden rooftops with dragons and animal characters on the corners of the roofs. Under the eaves of all the buildings are miles and miles of special designs, carvings, and paintings. Carved rock bridges and stone pathways you can look down on and see special pictures and characters in are common. The emperors apparently lived off the people vs living to help their people. You should hear how the emperors treated some of the people. The history we heard was fascinating to learn though sometimes bittersweet. However the history we saw was breathtaking everywhere we turned. I kept saying "unbelievable" all day long and I took over 150 pictures to try to preserve some sense of it. Literally sometimes taking the picture of just a section of a roof because I wanted to try to capture some of the detail that was done. It is really amazing that though it is faded there is a lot of original paint. There is also a lot of original gold. We saw throne rooms, bedrooms, original furniture, clocks, and much more. Everything was beautifully designed and painted and many things had gold on them and some had jewels. It was truly a wonder to see and to imagine that time.

The emperors lived well and they created dynasties and built big things but at the end of their lives no matter what they built and no matter how powerful they were they still died and had to face a holy God and were accountable for what they did. This is a reminder to all of us that though we work hard and build things we need to slow down in this short life and make peace with God through Jesus Christ - because the paint fades, the bricks disintegrate but the one who repents and believes in Jesus lives forever. (feel free to inquire on that via email)

The Chinese seem to have symbols for everything- our guide was really quite good with the historical details. Yellow was only allowed to be used by the emperor- anyone else who used it without permission was killed. Red was a common color for happiness and it is to this day. Today even the bride wears a red dress. The crane bird is a symbol of longevity, the bat is a symbol of good fortune, and the lion is a royal symbol found in front of perhaps every building we saw in the Forbidden City or any historical place.

After the forbidden city we went to lunch at a fancy restaurant full of fish tanks, and various demonstrations of water and flowers. We were served several selections and you always eat "family style" and share everything. The food is placed on a spinning "lazy susan" in the middle of the table. The food bore a similarity to Chinese food in the U.S. with a few differences- but it was good.

Then, we went to the Summer Palace which was absolutely spectacular. We saw the longest corridor in the world (there we go again) apparently which was alongside a lake built by the emperor. The long corridor was painted with hundreds of unique paintings that told stories or accounted historical things. There were many breathtaking scenes but one of the most amazing is a huge all-marble imperial party boat. It doesn't float but it is a boat in the water, attached by a dock, and used for parties.

Oh yah, you can't drink the water in China - everyone buys bottled water and the "Don't eat the watermelon" title of this blog entry came because after lunch they brought out watermelon and we all felt it might be a risk to eat it due to the high water content - so we didn't. We're probably crazy but it sounded like a good blog title.

Thanks for the encouraging comments and the prayers of many. We get our baby girl Sunday! Maddie, we miss you and pray for you every day.

We made it to Beijing

2005-12-07T07:29:00.000-08:00

Well, we left this morning for the airport and Maddie had a pretty hard time- ok so did we. We will be away from her for 16 days but fortunately Grammy and Poppa are taking care of her.

Its 24 hours since we left for the airport at this moment. As I write this it is 9:30pm on December 7th and it is 8:30 am on December 7th in Central Standard time in Texas. It was really almost more travel time than we could handle. We flew American from D/FW to Tokyo and then Japan Airlines (JAL) from Tokyo to Beijing (hey, don't miss the irony that we are Americans and we flew on Japan Airlines on December 7th- Pearl Harbor day, bet that won't happen again) From D/FW to Tokyo was 13 hours and it was pretty ok. The only challenge for me was when the stewardess told business class cabin to "please raise your foot rest" for landing. I was thinking, "yah, and please dispose of your martini glass in the receptacle next to your massage table". Oh well, I guess if they want to pay $8,500 for a 13 hour chair rental they can have their footrest- just don't announce it to the rest of us in "baggage"- oh, I'm sorry "coach".

One nice bonus however is that one of the 8 families we are traveling with was on the same flight as us and sat in front of us. They are adopting their second little girl from China and their cute first Chinese daughter was fun to talk to during the flight. (especially since we miss Maddie)

After we landed in Beijing and went through customs our English-speaking guide for Beijing "Jennifer" met us with a sign after we left customs. She had a van and driver ready for us so things went very smoothly.

I was fascinated by the elaborate Chinese paintings throughout the airport and was interested in all the various uniforms the officials were wearing- I paid attention to that because at some point I do expect to see soldiers in the military uniforms that are so famous and that we all see on television. In the airport and on the way to the hotel I saw most major global companies we are all familiar with. Everything appears to be very commercialized and very industrialized in China now. Unfortunately as a result the smog is so dense you wince your eyes and run inside to avoid it- I wasn't expecting that.

I have a photo of Jamie and I standing in line at customs but you don't get to see it because we look so "nuked". So, here is one of the customs sign. :)

Go get my baby sister from China!

2005-11-25T12:23:00.000-08:00

China Travel Dates

2005-11-24T05:45:00.000-08:00

We received our airline tickets yesterday. WooHoo! We will be traveling to China to get our sweet baby girl on December 6th and returning on December 22nd. Sixteen days! We are responsible for our in and out of China flights and our agency is responsible for in country flights and all hotels. We do not have our itinarary from our agency yet, but this is tentatively how it is suppose to go:

12/6 - Flight to Beijing (DFW to Tokyo to Beijing)
12/7 - Arrive in Bejing (We will lose a day)
12/8-12/10 - Beijing Sightseeing
12/11 - Fly to Nanchang and get our girl that day!
12/11-12/16 - Local Adoption Paperwork in Nanchang, Jiangxi
12/17 - Fly to Guanzhou
12/17-12/21 - Visa Medical Exam and Visa Processing in Guanzhou (Home of US Consulate)
12/22 - Journey Home (Guanzhou to Tokyo to DFW) Just in time for Christmas!

Once we know more we will post the official itinarary...until then rest assured that we are happily Christmas shopping, preparing, and packing as we are less than two weeks from leaving!

One Set of Footprints

2005-11-04T22:02:00.000-08:00

A couple of posts ago Jamie told you how we met a couple on the Nanfeng Orphanage Group on Yahoo Groups. The couple recently adopted from China a little girl from the same orphanage Noelle lives in-Nanfeng SWI. A couple of weeks ago Stephen and his wife sent some pictures of Noelle and yesterday we received the video. This is such a miracle- its just amazing. What a unique and unusual blessing to be able to get video of our daughter before we go to China! We feel so thankful to the Lord for this. What a kind Father in heaven we have that He would go out of his way to arrange something like this for us! The video shows Noelle being held by a caretaker at first, then it shows her looking around curiously, yawning, and then it shows her being rolled around in her walker and smiling about it. How amazing- thank you Lord, clearly this is a time when we will look back and see one set of footprints in the sand...

Fun at the park with daddy

2005-10-22T11:06:00.000-07:00

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!!

2005-10-21T08:46:00.000-07:00

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

2005-10-18T10:39:00.000-07:00

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

2005-10-14T09:38:00.000-07:00

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!!

2005-10-06T13:56:00.000-07:00

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.

Maddie's Famous

2005-09-20T10:20:00.000-07:00

We had our family photos taken a few months back by Steve Dobrenski. Steve is a co-worker of mine who does children/family photography on the side. He mentioned a few weeks ago that he entered Maddie's picture into a photo contest. Well his picture won and Maddie made the cover of the Frisco Style Magazine. It's distributed to 55,000 Frisco residents.

The art director of the magazine wrote a great article on the photo contest. I'll give you a few excerpts.

"At our deadline, I had 65 possible winners, and of those 65, I picked 20 awesome shots to make mock covers. Then in true democratic form we took a vote. I, of course reserved the right to overrule the result of any vote. I am the Design Diva after all! And, to me, there was already a clear winner."

"This is why Steve Dobrenski's photo of his friends daugher was the obvious choice. (For the record, I didn't have to use my veto.) The beautiful colors, crisp edges and contemplative composition drew us in. We wanted to know, what is she thinking about? Was she just punished? Was she watching someone or something? Was she ready to go home and take a nap? When I put her on the cover, it was like magic, she was the one."

We are SO proud of our girl! Congrats goes out to Steve, the photo is just beautiful! If you are interested in using Steve for your next photo, he can be found at (http://www.regentphoto.com/).

Happy Birthday BIG Girl!

2005-09-02T08:20:00.000-07:00

My Big Four Year Old Girl!

August 28, 2001

Maddie,

You are such a big girl now. Mommy and Daddy look at you and cannot believe you are no longer a baby anymore or even a toddler for that matter. But as Mommy always reminds you, you will ALWAYS be Mommy’s little baby. I am so thankful God gave us a special precious daughter. Your personality is becoming more and more pronounced as you grow. You are such a sweet girl. You have the sweetest voice in the world. You are an avid talker with a vocabulary bigger than your Mom’s. Most people are so surprised to find out you are only three after hearing you talk. You are so smart, sometimes I sit in amazement at the things you understand and your logical thinking. I’m sure we treat you older than you are because of that. You do not forget anything that you are told, you do not forget about any place you have been, in fact you could probably direct us back to where we have been, you are very good at directions. You are very tall like your Daddy, you stand a foot taller than most of the kids in your class. You are so compassionate, you cried so hard when you heard that a bad person broke into Poppy’s car and stole his camera. You ran off crying to find him and comfort him. You are very opinionated and have a strong will. You come by that honestly. You love God very much. You say very sweet prayers at night, you tell Him, thank you for all your family, for a nice day and that you love Him. You ask Him to put angels around your bed. One morning you were writing in Daddy’s journal and I asked you to stop, b/c that was Daddy’s journal, you looked up and so sweetly said, “I’m just writing that God is awesome.” You also asked if you could go and see Jesus in concert. It was so cute, we had been to see everyone else you love in concert, why not Jesus…too cute! You can’t wait to get your baby sister Noelle. You pray at night that God will bring her home very soon. You are going to be a great BIG sister, I’m sure you will have an adjustment period, but once you realize that Mommy and Daddy have enough love for both of you and that Noelle needs you, you will be fine. You love to laugh and have fun. Your laughter is infectious, you exude happiness. You have a great sense of humor and a quick wit about you. You love to dance….hip hop dance that is. You didn’t care for ballet, but turn you on some fast jiving music and you can dance up a storm. Everyone comments on your dance moves, you have great rhythm. You love to play with markers, colors, paints, stickers, books, puzzles, and makeup. Maddie, God is molding you into a very special girl. I’m so thankful God gave Daddy and I the privilege to parent and guide you through life. You have blessed us and given us so much love. Our love for you is INDESCRIBEABLE!

We Love You,
Mommy and Daddy

Maddie's Sweet Revenge

2005-08-11T08:22:00.000-07:00

Maddie’s Birthday is just around the corner on the 28th. We are going to have a party for her at a place called “Pump It Up.” It’s an indoor inflatable heaven. We took her invitations to school yesterday to put them in the kid’s folders. Maddie was SO excited to be taking her invitations to school, so I let her help me put the invitations in the kid’s folders. So she stood on a big chair and I would call out a name and we would look for the folder. We got to one little boy’s invitation and she said, “Give that to me.” I said, “What”? She said, “He hit me yesterday, he is not invited.” I laughed and told her all the kids were invited, in fact this little boy had invited her to his birthday party. So we continued on. We got to another little girl’s invitation and she said “Take that out of that stack.” I said, “Why?” She said, “she does NOT speak nicely to me, she is not invited.”
It was a hysterical scene, Maddie was finally getting her revenge on the kids she felt had not treated her right in the past. We had a quick lesson in forgiveness and “do unto others” and I’m happy to say all the kids have officially been invited.

Getting closer..

2005-08-06T21:36:00.000-07:00

We and other couples had a meeting this week with Mr. Wu the director of the China adoption program at Gladney. He did two hours of Q&A and discussed many items regarding the logistics of the final adoption stages. We believe we will receive a picture and medical report of a specific little girl sometime in September- this is called getting your "referral". We believe we will travel to pick her up sometime in November.

We learned from speaking with Mr. Wu that Gladney is in frequent contact with many Chinese officials and purposely maintains close relationships with Provincial government officials (their version of U.S. state govts), Federal government officials, and CCAA (Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs) officials. This week Gladney was distinguished as one of only two adoption agencies in the United States to receive a diplomatic visit from a high official in the social welfare agency in China that is over the CCAA. Mr Wu, Gladney senior management, and many families who have already adopted from China met these officials in Fort Worth and brought their girls who had been adopted from China to meet them. Gladney entertained them in authentic Texas tradition at the Fort Worth Stockyards and did many authentic Texas things. They even met them with roping cowboys which I find quite hilarious. Apparently the officials seemed to have had a fun time and they were very interested in how the little girls were doing. They seemed genuinely happy the girls were doing so well. At one time Mr. Wu said the officials were visibly touched to find that one Gladney family had adopted from China a little girl who was totally blind. The officials had wanted to see how the children were doing who had been adopted and I'm sure they were very blessed to see their work was changing lives for these abandoned baby girls. I can't help but think God will do a work in China through these adoptions.

I'd like to give some details about what this stage of our process involves for our family and friends. The CCAA as mentioned above process all paperwork, approves international adoptions, and matches children to families. 95% of the children available are girls since they are the ones abandoned due to a strong cultural preference for boys and the one child policy in China. We will receive our referral picture, medical information, and acceptance documents at the same time as 7-8 other Gladney families. The CCAA processes applications and produces referral matches constantly but only releases them monthly and they send groups of matches to the various accredited agencies like Gladney. Once we receive our referral we complete the acceptance forms which are then sent back to China for travel approval which takes 6 weeks.

We learned in the meeting with Mr. Wu this week we are responsible for the airfare but the minute we step off the plane we will have a guide who has worked with Gladney for years that coordinates all of our logistics, lodging, transportation, sightseeing, food, etc. From what we hear from other families Gladney almost over-prepares everything and there is no guessing or stress. Hearing all of this was obviously very comforting since China is so far away and such a different culture.

The neatest situation is that although it takes almost two days to get to China we will actually receive Noelle on the third day! Everyone has to go to Guangzhou, China to the U.S. consulate to process the INS paperwork and everyone stays at the White Swan Hotel which is famous because literally everyone who adopts from China stays there. I read a review of the hotel on Yahoo Travel and it said there are "packs" of adoptive families everywhere. You can see pics, information, and comments about the hotel here: http://travel.yahoo.com/p-hotel-368689-action-pictures-white_swan_hotel-i;_ylt=ArkSkIX54SZQhGMroSWeWJ7iphQB

When we travel to China and meet up with our group one of the nice things is that some of the families will be from North Texas. It is valuable to be able to form these bonds of relationship with others who have adopted from China- especially since some will be in our area. Typically these groups of families stay in touch and have play groups, annual reunions, and keep in email contact. I personally look forward to Maddie and Noelle having some friends through this. It is a prayer of mine that we can have some play friends that have the same family makeup we have.

We would appreciate the prayers of our friends and family for the Lord's help with these important details:

- Our dossier will be in the CCAA "matching department" next month- please pray God's leading hand in matching us to Noelle!
- Also, help us pray that while Noelle is still in the orphanage she will have someone who takes a special notice of her, looks after her, and gives her love and affection.
- Pray that she also receives formula because many orphan infants only receive cows milk.

I Love You 60

2005-08-01T20:06:00.000-07:00

We always go back and forth with Maddie when we say "I Love You" to tease her that we love her more than she loves us. Some of her cute responses over the last year have been...
I Love You to the moon and back(Not an original b/c we have a book that says that one)
I Love You to Six Flags (I don't feel that loved when she says that one =) )
I Love You to San Antonio (Her trip to Seaworld this year left quite an impression)
I Love You to Zero (Hmm...I'm not sure what she means by that one, I won't ask)
I Love You to the deps (yes, she leaves out the th) of the ocean

Her latest when I tell her I love her is "Mommy, I Love You more than that".

But today she told her Grammy, "I Love You 60, which is as high as I can count!".

How adorable is she?!!! I swear I'm going to squeeze her to death.

Scary Jelly Beans!

2005-07-26T20:24:00.000-07:00

Maddie and I went to Market Street (grocery store) tonight, she asked for some Jelly Beans. Me not wanting her to have a lot of them spotted a small box of which I thought was a small assortment of Jelly Beans as it had the Jelly Belly logo on the box.

As soon as we got in the car she asked for them, so I found them and handed them to her. All of a sudden she started freaking out saying, "Mommy, they are hot, my mouth is burning." I said, "Maddie, hand them to me and let me find you one that is not hot". So I turned the box around to look at the flavor guide only to be shocked that we had picked up Harry Potter Jelly Beans with the following flavors:
Bacon
Black Pepper
Boogers
Earthworm
Earwax
Rotten Egg
Sardines
Soap
Vomit
I was shocked...that is SO disgusting. Maddie had eaten the Black Pepper one...GAG! The guy at the check-out said "those Jelly Beans really taste like their description" and I was like "Yeah" as I thought to myself, they are Jelly Belly jelly beans everyone knows they taste like their description. I now know he was trying to warn me, but instead I looked at him like he was crazy.

Maddie's comment to the whole thing was "that is a BAD Market Street, Mommy".

Has It Really Been That Long?

2005-06-27T20:31:00.000-07:00

Wow...I can't believe it has been so long since I posted. Time sure does fly. Well we have been having a busy summer thus far. Brian and I recently returned from a trip to Cancun. Brian was invited to his company's President Club this year in Cancun due to having a great sales year. We had a great time and feel blessed to be honored with a free vacation.

We became DTC (Dossier to China) on March 1st and we became LID (Log In Date in China) on March 17th. If things in China keep progressing we should have our referral (picture and medical report of our girl) mid to late September and will be traveling sometime before Thanksgiving. We can't wait. It's hard to wait 14 months for a baby...and I thought 9 was hard.

Maddie is doing well, she is really enjoying swimming this summer. She is growing up too fast. We recently had photos taken so I have attached one of our sweet girl.

Flip Flop Wearin' Girl!

2005-03-26T09:09:00.000-08:00

My sweet little three year old looks SO big in her flip flops the new shoe of choice around here!

Park Days Are Here Again

2005-03-21T11:51:00.000-08:00

Maddie's so happy to be back at the park with her Daddy!

HAPPY GIRL

2005-02-27T15:44:00.000-08:00

I'm so happy I went to see the Princess and the Priate today at Casa Manana!

ADOPTION PAPERWORK ALL DONE

2005-02-21T20:16:00.000-08:00

We are FINALLY completed with all the adoption paperwork. Our adoption papers have safely arrived in New York (Adoption Agency). We are waiting to hear when Gladney will be sending our dossier (paperwork) to China. It will be either this week or next. This is such a huge relief and milestone. Now the waiting begins.

We should receive a picture and medical report in about six months. We can't wait...in the mean time we will just continue to pray and prepare for our sweet baby girl! We will let you know once our papers are logged in safely at the China Center for Adoption Affairs.

BUSTED!

2005-02-03T07:56:00.000-08:00

Uh-Oh...I have officially been busted out for throwing Maddie's art work away. I have implemented a rule of thumb with her work from school and church....if it does not have a hand print or a foot print on it or if it didn't win a prize or have something cute written on it about her...it must go in the thrash. Otherwise, our entire house would become a repository for all Maddie's school and church papers.

So on Tuesday, I threw away the groundhog cut out that had a cute poem about shadows attached to it. A little while later a small voice from the pantry (where the trash is located) says, "Who did it, they didn't like...who did it?". BUSTED! I felt awful, I denied it and said it must have been an accident.

Looks like I will have to alter my rule of thumb or use a different trash can until she understand the philosophy behind throwing away miscellaneous art work.

I can't sleep- my hands have germs on them!!!

2005-01-31T20:27:00.000-08:00

Maddie cracks me up! Frequently when Jamie or I put Maddie to bed there are 100 things she needs before she sleeps. Well tonight Jamie and I were talking in the other room and we heard from Maddie's room, "I bit my lip, ooh Mommy I bit my lip". I said, "Maddie, is it ok?" She said it was. A minute later she said, "Ohhh, I can't sleep- my hands have germs on them!" I laughed so hard I literally doubled over crying and fell on the couch laughing. (alright so that is a little extra funny to a clean freak like me that I am raising a little germ fearing girl)

WOO-HOO

2005-01-24T20:37:00.000-08:00

Our long awaited oh-so important I-171H form has arrived from the United States Citizenship and Immigration office. This is the form that allows us to bring a foreign orphan into the United States to become a citizen. As you know with any government office you are at their mercy with little to no information on whether they received your documents and where you are in the stack. We sent our documents to request the form on November 17, along with a big check, they then sent us a fingerprinting appointment for December 22nd which we went to, and we have been anxiously awaiting the mail since. It finally arrived on Friday. This is our last document that we needed to complete the 5 month paper chase.

There are three parts to the China adoption process:

1. The Paper Chase-I don't even know if I have the energy to even to began telling you how much paperwork is involved. Every document (birth certificates, marriage license, medical exams, good conduct certificates, adoption letter of intent, employment letters, financial statement, home study and I'm sure I'm missing a few) has to be obtained as well as go through what they call an "authentication" process. Authentication means it has to go back to the Secretary of State where the form originated to receive a seal and then it has to go the Chinese Consulate in the state that has jurisdiction over the state where the form was originated to receive yet another seal. This has been an exhausting process and somewhat stressful one as you are constantly crossing your fingers (or in our case praying) that nothing gets lost in the transition.

2. The Referral-Once the paperwork is complete it is sent to China by our adoption agency (The Gladney Center) and logged into the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) system. The CCAA (God) will match us up with our daughter and will send us a picture and a medical report. Currently the wait time is at 6 months. So in about 6 months we will have in our possession a picture of our daughter...we can hardly wait!

3. Travel Approval-Once we accept the referral, we will be sent our travel approval to go to China and get our girl. Typically, you receive the travel approval 6-8 weeks after the accepting the referral.

Our best guess is that we will be traveling to China to pick up our sweet daughter next September. It definitely is a tough process and the waiting is definitely going to be the most difficult, but we know God will see us through and will have waiting for our family a precious baby girl.

Maddie Howard and Jamie

2005-01-18T08:13:00.000-08:00

Oh to be a fly on the wall inside of a three year old's brain. Today Maddie woke up and at some point between getting out of her bed and coming and getting in my bed she decided she would refer to herself as Maddie Howard and she would refer to me as Jamie. Her first question of the day was "What are Maddie Howard and Jamie going to do today?". I thought to myself how did I get such a cute little girl, but after an hour of her mentally keeping up with the references I was getting a little annoyed, but was very impressed that she could keep this up for so long.

Here's a small sampling of our conversation this morning:
Jamie, Maddie Howard wants to watch Cinderella. Jamie come look at Prince Charming he's taking Cinderella away with the mouses. Why did Daddy leave Maddie Howard and go to work? Jamie I don't like that red jacket. Maddie Howard wants to go to the donut shop.
Maddie Howard likes white donuts not pink ones. Jamie, what color of donuts do you like? Jamie, don't forget to buckle my seatbelt or you will get a ticket from the police. Maddie Howard speaks nicely to her parents so the blue lady does not have to come to our house. (This one comes from her watching Super Nanny last night)

So in the car on the way to school, I said "Maddie, I would really like to be called Mommy instead of Jamie...is that OK?" Her response, "Mommy I was just pretending and having fun."

What's an annoyed Mommy suppose to say to that?

Provision for the Journey

2005-01-16T21:10:00.000-08:00

God sent us on the journey of adoption and made it very clear this was His plan for our family. The cost of international adoption is steep, but since we had been led on the journey, we knew the Lord would bless us and continue to provide.

We found out that my company had adoption assistance after we embarked upon the journey, this assistance amounted to $2000, we were very excited. Once we found out my company provided an adoption assistance program, Brian asked his company. Brian's company is a new company and their response was, "No, we don't have one, but it's something we might look into for next year". The lady who is responsible for the benefits at Brian's company sent Brian the new Adoption Assitance benefit plan after the first of the year. Our first response was how wonderful they will be providing this benefit, however we nearly fell over when we found out the reimbursement was $10,0000.

Just another story of how He continually provides and blesses the Howard family.

Capeesh?!?!

2005-01-13T20:56:00.000-08:00

Can someone please tell me how my three year old daughter knows the word Capeesh?!. We were playing a game where Maddie would come over and sit on either one of our backs and the other one would pretend we were sad. Maddie said "I am going to sit on your back for one minute and then I will sit on your back for one minute and if anyone cries you are going to be in trouble- capeesh?"

We have no idea where she has heard this word, but it was hilarious and we laughed and laughed!

OH NO....

2005-01-13T19:53:00.000-08:00

Dad now has the password to the blog!! My journaling husband who has hundreds and hundreds of journal pages will be sure to keep you well informed now that he has the password to the blog site.

Remember I warned you! =)

Hey, dad can blog!

2005-01-08T21:52:00.000-08:00

Hey "ya'll" - I've been in Texas 15 years and still no one believes me when I say "ya'll". Well, I wanted to put a note out here as well. Jamie, Madeline, and I are doing well. The "buzz" around here is pretty much on our adoption so I thought I would talk about how that happened to be something we pursued and where we are at.

Perhaps for a year the topic of adoption was something we had discussed in a very casual way. Many of you have told us that we had even brought the idea up in past conversations which I don't remember doing and I find very interesting. Jamie had a tough first pregnancy (she was sick for 9 months) so that was the genesis of the earliest musings on this topic but adoption was a big step and it brings challenges and fears with it. So, we needed a lot more than fear of Jamie having a possible 9 more months of morning sickness to move us anywhere near adoption.

We had been able to have a pregnancy and birth experience of our own which really was a wonderful and fulfilling time for both of us therefore, in early-to-mid 2004 we began to think more freely about the needs in the world in the area of adoption. As we discussed our evolving feelings on this matter we shared several points. We both agreed that it was possible we could be willing to adopt and we both agreed the need in the world for this was something that touched our hearts.

If we said in the early stages that we were "interested" (which might be too strong of a statement) Jamie was "interested" more in international adoption than domestic because of the possibility in domestic adoption the birth mother changing her mind and other items related to a more open-adoption type environment. I was exclusively interested in international adoption because of the much worse need in other countries- its kind of a mindset of investing yourself in an area with the most need possible. Additionally, neither one of us had challenges with adopting from a different race or culture so it made international more interesting to us. Also, international to be honest for me is a heck of a lot more interesting because I'm kind of the wild one around here... (I mean I "have" to go to Guatemala, Russia, China, oh darn- that is so up my alley)

So, again the thought process took months of thinking about and talking about- and yes praying about....more later..

Our Little Sweetie Girl Getting So BIG

2005-01-03T19:47:00.000-08:00

Madeline Howard (3 Year Old Christmas Picture)

VIOLA!

2005-01-03T19:17:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it was that simple. We have been wanting to begin some kind of web page to keep family and friends updated but didn't know exactly how to get started. My Dad sent us a link to blogspot.com and viola...5 minutes later we have a family blogspot.

How exciting!