KNOWING THYSELF

Today Jennalee ran up to Lee Ann and this is what she said...

Momma, I just fell and it hurt my knee, but I didn't cry!
I'm the coolest kid of all, but I'm sensitive.

It's a good thing she is so in touch with both her coolness and her sensitivity.

ADOPTION UPDATE

We have good news on the adoption front - two things really.

First, we just found out that the family that was before us (waiting on an infant girl from our orphanage) actually got their referral. This means that we are next in line!

And secondly, our paperwork, which has been complete for some time, is officially translated and sitting on someone's desk in Addis Ababa - the capitol city of Ethiopia. Let's hope our dossier is at the top of the stack.

SIBLING SYMPATHY

Notice that in Adeline's moment of agony (which no doubt had to do with the DVD on her finger), her sister is trying deeply to understand and console her.

SAY CHEESE!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

It was in this very stadium, Razorback Stadium, that I first told Lee Ann that I wanted to marry her. It was October of 2001 and the situation could not be more questionable: we were not dating at the time, we had already broken up once, we had been nothing but friends for three years, and during that three-year period we had sworn each other off on several occasions. Add to that my plans to leave for seminary in less than seven months and it is not hard to imagine us fumbling through a pretty awkward conversation.

And yet, as always, Lee Ann was game. She always has been. She loves the adventure. She loves the non-traditional things. And, most importantly, she has a deep intuition that allows her to make huge decisions with ease. I love all those things about her.

When we first broke up (back in 1998) it was because we had turned out to be nothing but buddies. Lee Ann was less of a girlfriend and more like a fun sister. That wasn't very good if you have all the expectations of a college romance - but there is no question that it makes for one really great married life. To this day she is not only my best friend and the only person to probably ever see me giggle - she is still absolutely stunning. She is the most beautiful person I have ever met; not only on the inside, but on the outside as well.

And I am so glad that I have daughters who have her as a mom. We have one daughter who literally explodes with Lee Ann's personality. And one daughter who shines with her creativity. She keeps us all smiling, laughing, and happy. She is truly the joy of the Dunn household.

Of all the decisions I have ever made, there is no doubt that the decision to have that talk with Lee Ann in the upper deck of the South end zone so many years ago was one of the greatest decisions of my life.

Thank you for the last six wonderful years.

Happy Valentines Day.

Happy Anniversary.

BUDDING ARTIST

We recently painted the girls' room. As we worked we let the girls (mostly JRD since ACD would have painted herself, the floor, etc.) paint on the bare walls. JRD created some sweet little masterpieces -- here is a sampling of her work.

This is "Bug Sleeping" - I think it supposed to be a bee since Bee Movie is all the rage at our house. She didn't know what bees did with their wings when they sleep so she left them out. Do notice the bee's little stinger.

In these last two works you may see that she was inspired by the movie Spirit. And, yes, in the final painting the mother horse is nursing her baby horses. You could say we have a slight obsession with lactation at our house.

UGANDA TRIP!

Many of you know that I (Reed) have a sister who has made it pretty big in the blog world. She is currently on a trip to Uganda with Compassion International. She was asked to go there by that agency in order to blog about their aid efforts in Uganda. So please go over to her blog and see what is going on this week in a world so different from our own. Of, course, this means so much to us seeing as we plan to go to Ethiopia in the coming months.

Adoption Update

There is a not much to report -- that is actually the purpose of this update.

It seems many of the orphanages in Ethiopia are having large outbreaks of pneumonia among the children. Of course, these places don't have access to enough antibiotics and so the whole adoption thing is getting slowed down. We were possibly going to find out who she was in December but that obviously didn't happen. One of two situations applies to us... either 1) they have stopped looking for a child for us until they can get a handle on the health situation, or 2) they have found our daughter but will (understandably) not let us know who she is until they know she will make it through this difficult time.

We hear of the crazy stuff happening in Kenya or the Sudan on the news -- that is the flashy stuff. It is only at times like this that we realize the people in Africa deal with daily struggles that, though never reported, are just as difficult as political unrest. If you think of it, please pray that our little girl is safe and healthy and that she is receiving the love she needs right now.

We have been told that we will possibly find out who she is in April and go over there in June.