... We have so enjoyed May Lee! The Lord has blessed our family more than words could describe. I can't believe I did not want to listen to God, that 3 1/2 years ago I did not want to adopt! I cannot imagine not having her. She has so easily become a part of our family. It makes me wonder what other blessings we miss out on when we choose to ignore Him (like I did for so long). It has been over six months since we have had her and Coleman and Graham still argue over who is going to hold her, sit by her, put her to bed, etc. She gets really excited to see her blankets in her bed (that's where they stay), and it's still fun to see her reaction. We all have such an amazing love for her, a true picture of God adopting us, grafting us in - WHAT A LOVE THE FATHER HAS FOR US, HIS CHILDREN!!!! I started this e-mail and had Steve upload the images months ago, so here I am now trying to finish and finally have this sent out!

This quickly became her new favorite position. Good thing that seat belt is a strong one! We have since discovered that she loves to be upside down. The problem at first was that she couldn't get back up.

We Tennesseeized her. One of our friends gave us these "pank" boots, and we couldn't resist. It may be years before she can actually wear them! She is up to 15 pounds now! She finally learned to sit up by herself at about 10 months and now scoots around on her bottom.

We dressed her up for the neighborhood 4th of July parade - any excuse to dress her up, you know. She loves hats, it's been fun to see her keep them on.

She doesn't mind sitting in her high chair, but doesn't do a whole lot of eatin'. This is Graham's American Girl; she took to her right away!

Yes, May Lee is already one! She turned one July 15th. We merged the cultures in a "Welcome to America" party, with a little Chick-fil-A and P.F. Chang's. My friend, Amy's mom, made her birthday outfit. We got to see the Potts at the end of June and Amy told her mom she was going to have to make the outfit smaller. When her mom called me, she said, "The bloomers look like doll pants!" I told her then they'll probably fit perfect, and of course they do.

We have been concerned about her eating and her weight gain, or lack of. She was pretty much sick for the first 4 months, with a couple of weeks of good health. She just went from one thing to another. There have been many visits to the doctor and Vanderbilt. She has had numerous viruses, colds, ear infections, etc. She's been through many tests, chest x-rays, etc., and seen several different specialists. I lost count after about 15 tubes of blood have been taken. I couldn't believe a body that tiny had any more blood left!

All this to say, they have determined nothing was physically wrong, but behavioral. We go to a feeding specialist to help her not to be afraid of food and eventually try swallowing it. If you think that sounds crazy, you should see the silly things I am supposed to do with her. I thought the girl was kidding! They have determined that she has had some really negative eating experiences. We are already seeing some improvement. The gastroenterologist said it could take anywhere from a few months up to a year.

More BIG news coming soon. Too big for this entry. I'll update when things are more definite...