Macy Li's Shower...

It's pitiful that it's taken so long for me to get this on here (I've been hounding my "blogging assistant" ;) to get these photos from his computer for this little slideshow below), but a group of my fabulous friends and my sister put together the most beautiful celebration for Miss Macy Li 4 days before we left for China! It was a "pink extravaganza" for sure! The decorations were beautiful, the table and food were delicious, the gifts were beyond description, the blessings written glorified our great God: the Author of Adoption, the givers were oh-so-generous, and most of all...the receivers were quite humbled!

We were in awe of how many people came to honor her (right smack in the middle of the summer vacations, etc.) and Macy Li received more incredible gifts than I can even describe! (I'm STILL writing thank you notes, if that tells you anything!)

To my sweet friends (and sister) who put this together in record time, I love every one of you!!! Your friendships are dear. One day when Macy Li is older and I can show her this, I do believe she'll marvel at how she was celebrated and loved before a single one of us even knew her! Now, that's a testament of God's unconditional love towards us!

XIE XIE and WO AI NI from all of us!!!!!!!!!

"A friend loveth at all times..." Proverbs 17:17

One Month Since "Gotcha Day"

Wow! We've had our "Li Ming" exactly one month today! July 21st, 2008, in some ways, seems an eternity ago...and yet, it seems like yesterday at the same time. One thing is certain, that day forever changed this family! We became 6 that day, and SO much more...Our hearts discovered depths we didn't know existed before that day. We found deeper love. We found deeper gratitude. We found less of ourselves. We found a deep connection with the people of China. We found out that DNA has NOthing to do with loving your child. We found a deeper knowledge of God Himself. We found we're all desperately in need of adoption!

July 21st, 2008...Nanchang, Jiangxi, China..."Gotcha Day"


August 21st, 2008...Brentwood, Tennessee, U.S...."Forever Home"


Ephesians 1:5
"He predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will."



Macy Li's thoughts:

Today, we had a great "One Month Since Gotcha Day" anniversery! We did laundry...


Now I know what Mommy means when she says she's up to her eyeballs in laundry!...


There MUST be someway to escape this!...


Or, I could just throw it all on the floor!...


But I think I'll just sit here oh-so-cutely and listen to her sing "O, How I Love Jesus" to me for the one-millioneth time while she does it all herself!...


Later, I organized Mommy's bathroom drawers...


Then, I had my first crash when I drove my car from the kitchen into the den, which is down one step! (Maybe 'cause I was so focused on hanging onto my yeast roll!) What did Mommy do? Call 911? Panic? Rush me to the pediatrician? Even see about me? NOOO, she ran to get her camera! Only after she'd captured the memory did she pick me up! "4th kids" get crappy service around here!


This afternoon, I "pruned" my Mom's flowers...






Fu "Ming" Chu...


Dreamin' of tomorrow! Life is good!...


~Macy Li

Back to school!

Today, the boys went back to school! Big fat bummer! They only had to go a half-day, so Mommy took me over to see all the kids at dismissal...

Here is my friend, Shaohannah...
My family fell in love with her 8 years ago when she came home from China, then her parents relentlessly prayed for the "Spririt of Adoption" to capture my mommy and daddy's heart. Well, God hears and answers the prayers of His people, you know?! Her mommy told my mommy for years that she was her "burning bush" and that my mommy had better listen to God when He calls you.... and the rest is history! I'm so thankful for Shaoey, because she was the first chapter of my story....When I flew home from China, she and my older 2 brothers were the very first people I got to hug at the airport!

And here I am with a few more of my awesome and darling Asian peeps...


And here is my brother, Tater, with his sidekick, Caleb...


Here I am hangin' with the teen crowd...This is Kate, who is going to babysit me soon. Don't tell her, but I plan to really pull on that beautiful hair of hers'...


After school, we went to see my grandmother, who we call "Goggin" (long story). She had surgery last Wed. to fuse her ankle bones together. Now, that's another big fat bummer! She's laid up for a looooong time, so we had to pay her a little visit...


While we were visiting, we had a picnic...That is my Great-Aunt Peggy Sue in the background...


Here is my 99-year-old Great Grandmother...We call her "Granny Grunt" (another long story)...


And here is my Papa Jackson...I wanted my mommy at this moment...


I LOVE french fries and Diet Coke!...






And here I am praisin' the Lord!



After our visit, we took Peyton to football practice and now Mommy and I are cooking lasagna for all the boys when they get home!

Another great day!

Love,
~Macy Li

I love Sundays!

Psalm 69:30
"I will praise God's name in song and glorify Him with thanksgiving."



Today, I got to go to church again. This was my third Sunday at church, and worship-time is my favorite! We learned a lot of great lessons from the life of Joseph. I've got to read more about that guy, but I've got to learn to read first! haha! I met lots of new friends and enjoyed singing with my daddy again. He sure can sing, and I'm sure learning! Let's just say I can make a joyful noise like no other! ...And my brothers taught me how to praise the Lord as soon as I got home from China! When you see me, just ask me about that and I'll show you!




Ty and Me...




Here's my new friend, Blake...


...and my new friend, Mr. Mickey...


...and Morgan, who I already knew...


After church, we came home and had lunch, which was "Sunday Soup," cornbread, sweet tea, and cherry cobbler for dessert! YUM! Mom keeps fretting because she still hasn't fixed me any congee, but I say, "Lay that congee down, Mama!"

Nannie and Papa Kemp came to visit me this afternoon. We sat out on the front porch and it was a beautiful day again. We also played up in my room, and I showed them how I can drive my little car around. It was a lot of fun...





After they left, I played outside with my brothers for a little while. Like my T-shirt?


Nolan loves me so...


After a while, Mommy brought me in and fed me and the minute she went to the sink to get a washrag to clean me up, this is what I did...
She washed me up, changed my poopie diaper, put on my jammies, and carried me to bed without me even waking up!

Whew! These folks know how to wear a girl out! It was another good day, but sadly the "last day of summer" for us.

Love,
~Macy Li

P.S. Just couldn't resist showing this cute little bunch off...This is an "end-of summer" day of golf for Peyton and fellowship with his friends...Awww, aren't they sweet?

Random Cuteness...

Ni hao! Well, my mommy has been dragging my tail around like crazy this week! So much so that she hasn't even had a moment to catch you up on this blog. She had to play "catch up" this week from things she's behind on because of China, but hey, it turned out to be a sweet deal for me, so I'll cut her some slack. This week, we had lots of company and people keep bringing me the most beautiful gifts. My mom had a surgery on her arm on Friday. When she got home, she was really silly and loopy and it's just now wearing off. She's not supposed to pick me up for 2 weeks! Yeah right! This week, we registered the boys for school, bought books, shopped for uniforms (now that was deserving of a blog-post all to itself, but Mommy said it wouldn't be G-rated, so she'll just keep quiet about that one), and did a lot of things to get ready for the start of the school year, which is Monday! Mommy and I say, "BOOOOOOOOOOOOO to that!" We want those boys HOME! Tyler went to have his SENIOR pictures taken today! Mom said that's sad, but I'm not sure why.

I have learned so much this week! I am growing and changing so much...they say I get cuter everyday. Here are a few pictures from my week...

































I must be the most loved little girl on the planet! I love my family and my new life, too!!

~Macy Li