Sweet Surprises

Here is Macy Li's first piece of mail addressed to her name! What a surreal feeling! It was a package sent by her cousins, Maggie Leigh and McKenna Grace! What's inside?....A darling little "ladybug" backpack and bib, both embroidered with "Macy Li." Too cute! The surprises kept showing up all day! Macy Li sure does have some sweet friends who are so excited to welcome her home! We are blessed!

Oops!

After dinner last night, Peyton and I decided to stop by Target to pick up some Father's Day cards.....Well, we got a little sidetracked and this is what we wound up with instead!...oopsies!

A divine encounter?

This afternoon, Tyler and I had to go to the dreaded Driver's License place because my license is just about to expire, and secondly because we dropped Tyler's in the lake on Saturday. We both would have preferred a root canal to going there because...well y'all know the routine at those places.

Anyway, I'm sitting there waiting (something I've become an expert at lately--ha!) and I'm pouring over my referral packet of information about Miss "Gan Li Ming" that's mostly written in Chinese characters. Of course it's "Greek to me," but I just keep staring at it like I'm going to have some sort of sudden epiphany and be able to miraculously translate Mandarin into English. I don't know, I just can't stop staring at it. Anyway, I look up and spot an Asian man across the room. Oh yeah, the wheels start to turn. Now any of you who know me, know that I am pretty proficient at conducting "Man-on-the-street-interviews" with just about anybody who arouses my curiosity. I've been known to embarrass many a friend, son and husband doing this. So Tyler starts, "Mom, PLEASE, don't do it. You can hear a pin drop in here." Undeterred, I grab that pink folder and head across the room. Tyler pulls his hat down over his face and sinks down into his chair. Everyone looks at me. On a mission, I walk up to the sweet angel, ask him if he's Chinese, and YEP he is! I KNEW it! My heart starts to race. I ask him if he READS Chinese. YEP he does! I KNEW it! I ask him if he'd translate "a little something" for me. YEP, he'd be glad to. I glance back and now everyone in the room is REALLY listening, and Tyler is horrified! I open up my folder and show him the new love of my life, and say, "See that sweet thang (yes 'thang'; I don't say 'thing'). Well, I'm going to Jiangxi to get her in a few weeks. I don't know jack about her except that I CRAVE her. But this folder "knows" about her, and I'm waiting on a translation, but since you're here,...." Well, this precious man smiles the sweetest smile this side of heaven, and tells me it'd be his pleasure. Thank You, Jesus!! I turn around, look at Tyler with that "I-told-you-so-expression," but he still is trying to disown me. However, everyone else in the room is now just about on the edge of their seats, waiting with anticipation, for what he'll tell me...He pours through the pages and says, roughly, "Your baby (Yes, he said MY BABY) was found on July 8th, 2007 on the steps in front of a small Social Welfare Institution by the police. They estimated her birthday to have been June 30th, making her only about 8 days old. She was found at sunrise, hence the name "Li Ming" because it means something like "at dawn or sunrise." She appeared healthy and beautiful. She stayed at this SWI until Nov. 7, 2007, when she was transferred to Jianxi SWI in Jiangxi Province." He told me a lot of other details, but I was so astonished that now I can't even remember them all. I was patting him on his shoulder, saying, "Oh my, you don't know how you're blessing me! You are giving me the greatest blessing! Oh, you just don't know..." Again, I glance over to Tyler and he is bug-eyed, and giving me the "Cut it off " motion with the fingers across the neck. But all the total strangers give me the nod...THEY are dying to hear more! It was great! He interprets all the medical lab results, info. about immunizations she'd had, that she was HIV negative, that she appeared very healthy, etc. He told me that she is a deep sleeper and that she sleeps approximately 7 to 7 !! PRAISE JESUS!! He said she eats rice cereal, powdered milk, and fish soup. Yummy! He tells me that she loves the outdoors....that she loves and responds to music...that she is attached to her caretaker...that she smiles and responds to "LiMing" knowing it is her name...and a whole bunch of other things. Again, I'm crying and he's smiling and the whole room has forgotten about their miserable wait. It was the best visit to the Driver's License place I've ever had!

"Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it." Hebrews 13:2

Recap of Referral Day--What a day!

"I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart. I will tell of all your wonders." -Psalm 9:1

The WONDERS of Tuesday, June 10th, 2008 will forever be embedded in my memory. The following photos show the highlights...

Even Solomon is waiting on our special delivery...




At exactly 8:45 am, here comes the FedEx truck!! Here I am boohoo-ing with the poor FedEx guy I almost attacked!




We can't even believe we hold in our hands the very "package" we've waited on for almost 29 months! Our "baby" is in there...




We waited on Phillip to get home, so that we could open it together. We let Peyton have the honors, so here he is getting ready to rip that thing open...drumroll please...




Peyton got the first look! He broke out in the sweetest giggle, saying, "Awww..."










Look out boys, we are girlS (plural) now!!!



Proud Daddy sees his little girl for the first time...



Here we are showing off her pictures...



Then, we proudly posted her photos on our blog...



At 2:30, Tyler got home and laid eyes on his little sister for the very first time...





Tyler is smitten!



Well, Dad came home bearing gifts already on Referral Day. This is her first outfit given to her by one of Phillip's patients, who is also an adoptive mom. Here it is...And Phillip begs, "Please, keep 'em coming!" :)



Actually, this is the very first gift received for little Macy Li Ming Kemp. My friend, Angela Thompson, brought this sweet little picture frame and verse over just seconds after we ripped open THE package!



Here, Phillip is signing China's form which tells them we "accept" Miss Gan Li Ming from the Jianxi Social Welfare Institution in the Jiangxi Province of China!! Are you kidding me? We can't live without her!




And finally, here I am at FedEx at 7 pm, sending my Acceptance Letter and "Letter of Seeking Confirmation from Adoptee" forms back to my agency in McLean, Virginia who will then, forward them back to The China Center of Adoption Affairs in Beijing.



Whew, what a day! I'll never, ever forget June 10th, 2008 for as long as I live!

"Countdown to Referral" tickers come to a stop!!!

There you have it-879 days we waited between our Log-In-Date (the date our dossier was officially registered with The China Center of Adoption Affairs in Beijing) and the day we received her referral telling us who they had matched us with....the ENCHANTING little Miss "Gan Li Ming" from Jiangxi !!



Finally, I got to remove these tickers off my blog last night! As you can see, it was a loooong wait. It was and is tough, but we knew that "what God started in us, He'd bring to completion" in His timing; not ours......And she's worth every minute of it!!!

Meet Macy Li

WE ARE IN LOVE!!!!!!! OVER THE MOON!!!!!! SPEECHLESS!!!!!!!





What? Y'all think she HAS to be the most beautiful little baby girl in all of China?!?!?!?!?! Oh, that's exactly what we're thinking, too! ;) Just look at those cheeks and lips! Sooooo yummy! We can not wait to smooch on 'em!!!!!!!!!!!! And we can't wait to put a smile on that little cherub face!


PSALM 139:13-16

13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

Stalking the FedEx Guy

Isaiah 43:5
"Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west."



I can't get these pictures to load, but come back and check later b/c they're hysterical....Anyway, I have to tell you that I spent my morning online stalking the FedEx dude. Just as Peyton and I were leaving the house to go to his little football camp, here comes the big truck! Well, you better believe I threw that car into "park", slung that car door open, sprinted up my front stairs and into my foyer, grabbed the video camera that was there waiting, along with my regular camera, ran back out onto the front porch and started videoing the poor guy walking up my driveway! Then, I made him pose for a bunch of pictures, as I was telling him he'd just "delivered" my baby! I was bawling, Peyton was snapping pictures, and by the time it was all over, the poor Fed Ex guy was crying too! It was awesome!









Now, I'm sitting here looking at this package and am just about to die because I'm waiting on Phillip to come home for lunch so that we can open it together. It's killin' me! Also, I have an e-mail just sitting there waiting to be opened with her little pictures in it, but I can't do it without him.

Anyway, stay tuned! Miss "Gan Li Ming" is here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WE HAVE A DAUGHTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WE GOT THE CALL!!!! Praise the Lord!!!!!!!!

Well, we finally got the call from our agency this morning at 10:35. Our Macy is "Gan Li Ming." WOW! And we were going to name her MACY LI !!!!!!!!!!!!!! The name we chose was already chosen for her! She was born June 30th, 2007, so she's 11 months old now. As of March 20, 2008, she weighed 9 kilograms. Her height is 68 cm. Head circumference is 42 cm. Chest 43 cm. I have no clue what that translates to be in pounds/inches! She is in the Jianxin Social Welfare Institution in Jiangxi Province. We haven't received her picture yet, but we'll get it in the morning with the entire package of her bio., medical info., etc. that is being translated today. The lady who called me from the agency said she has just a bit of wispy hair on top of her head, and is scowling :) in both her pictures. Phillip said, "Well, we know then that she'll be a perfect fit in this family!'' Haha.....We are all beyond excited! We called Nolan at Kanakuk and he's beside himself too! I'll post more later after I calm down. WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him. 1Samuel 1:27

Our "world" is slowly changing...

So, I go out on my front porch a little while ago just to soak up the wonder of God's creation that surrounds us here at our home. Those of you who know me, know that I do a lot of front porch sitting, praying, visiting with friends, listening to my boys, etc. out there because it's so beautiful and serene. Many significant conversations with family and God have taken place out there. It's a place where I sometimes escape just to be still and listen. Well, I'm sitting out there looking up at my little ladybug flag so appropriately hanging "for such a time as this," and lo and behold, I look down and what do I see? A single PINK flower on my all-WHITE azalea bush! Now, in 10 1/2 years in this house, that bush has NEVER bloomed pink!! A sign?...






Psalm 119:27
"Let me understand the teaching of your precepts; then I will meditate on your wonders."