Life!

No, we're not dead. Nothing's happened. I'm just a blogging-slacker, okay?!?!?! :) No, it's just that LIFE came rushing on with a force in the last 2 weeks! Fall has always been our family's busiest season, and this one even more so. I haven't slowed down long enough to even think about what to say here.

But for a synopsis, Macy Li and I took our first "road trip" to Cincinnati to see my sister and her family last week. Macy Li had a blast playing with her little two year old and 9 month old cousins, Maggie Leigh and McKenna Grace. While there, she finally started to crawl! Woo hoo! Maybe that had something to do with the fact that McKenna Grace is a speed-crawler...or perhaps we should call her "McKenna Phelps" for the way she takes to water and "swims" in the tub like a fish. She's a wild one.

McKenna Grace says, "Welcome to my house, Macy Li! So glad you're here!!!" :)


Macy Li and McKenna...


Maggie cooked dinner for Macy Li...


Here she is first learning to crawl the correct way, rather than her usual "sitting-Indian-style-scooting-with-one-leg-sideways-like-a-crab-crawl"...


Macy Li kissing "Ling," her beloved Mandarin-speaking baby doll...



On the way home from Cincinnati, we made a little stop in Louisville to see our sweet friends, the Bachmans. Here is Tannis and Macy Li...


We also stopped at Nannie and Papa's to pay them a little visit, too, but I forgot to take any pictures.

After returning home, it was "Football time in Tennessee" for us! On Friday mornings, I go to pray with some other football-moms in the boy's locker room. It is an amazing time early every Friday morning of football season to get to meet and pray for and over our young men on their big day. Here is our prayer group's new little "prayer-mascot" in both her brother's lockers (still in her sweet little jammies)....



All the boys all had their first games of the season. Tyler and Nolan played on Friday night and both did really well. I can't tell you how thrilling it was to see them out there on that field TOGETHER! I was just about to burst the whole night! This is the first and last year that they'll ever get to be on the same team with Tyler being a senior and Nolan a freshman...book-ends!

My favorite 2 receivers....#11 and #9!


That's my freshman, #9!



That's my senior, #11!




Touchdown!...


Tater, and his buddies at the game...


Aunt Lauri and Macy Li...


Nannie and Macy Li...


On Saturday morning, Peyton played 2 back-to-back games in the heat! Macy Li went to his games, too, and had a great time! Since Mr. "Papa"razzi was coaching, we don't have pictures. I'll have to take care of that next Saturday.

Our friends, the Iveys from Knoxville, were in town and we got to spend some time catching up with them.
Labor Day was pretty uneventful for us...the boys had practice and we tried to recover from the past week.

Macy Li is growing like a weed, and learning so much. She gained 1 lb., 1 oz. since this time last month. Here is what she does now: Crawls, waves good-bye and hello, blows kisses, "winks," plays peek-a-boo by covering her eyes, hugs, kisses, says, "Mama, Dada, and Uh Oh", does the sign for "more," praises the Lord (throws arms up), dances, bobs her head to the rhythm of ANY music, sticks her tongue in and out when we ask her what a lizard does, mimicks all our sounds, eats pretty much any and everything including all the Stage 2 foods, as well as many other table foods (canteloupe and cucumbers being her favorite), drinks her juice in a sippy-cup holding herself, sleeps all night, plays appropriately with several little toys, pat-a-cakes/rolls 'em up, etc...She's a genius! Just kidding. Actually, she is amazing and we still just sit and stare at her in wonderment as we pinch ourselves and ask why God would choose pitiful ol' us to be her family! How amazing to think that in all of China, He reached right down into the middle and pulled out this one for us, a little lost girl without a hope to come home to a father, mother, and brothers who love her with everything in them, a family who will tell her and teach her about the one true Father, and His Son,....to think that she will know Him because of coming to our family blows my mind. How great the Father's love that He has lavished upon us all!