Mom...this one is for you :-)

I hope this eases your blog withdrawals...... love you :-)

Fall is here....

This is our favorite time of the year. We did not get a chance to go to the mountains this year, but we went to Washington instead. Brian ran the Marine marathon in 4:16!!!! Brian 1st Marathon but not his last!! He ran for Love without Boundaries charity to help to two children in foster care in China. I'm so very proud of him! Washington monuments...

Of course, I can't leave out my fall babies out...they love playing in the leaves! We're having a beautiful fall this year, the leaves & weather are gorgeous! I wish we could of made it to the mountains, maybe Thanksgiving we can drive upto the mountains with the dogs for the day.

Harvest moon...

It's so wonderful to start you're day out to something SO beautiful that God has created...

"diaper dud.....your baby's bottom is always covered"

My "diaper dud" has been born....

when the rolling, crawling, climbing and walking begins..... your baby's bottom needs some decor!

And I have two wonderful snorers...

I mean helpers.......zzzzzzz........

"Beatrice and Fergie"

and my hardworking staff waits for "diaper dud" debut....

And my finish product....

Gymboree Strikes Again.......

I found matching outfits to my giraffe hat (thanks Heather) which was too adorable to pass up ...and a cutie of a bikini that I could not leave the store without! AND the Gymboree bucks you receive.... "I'm liking this store"





"Her Yellow Polka Dot Bikini"

Hmmm... could this be a sign?

I had a few good signs today...one being from this picture I took at the Georgia Aquarium at my favorite gallery.... I know somewhere in the adoption world or at least on the Taiwan board, moms have referred to their newly referrals as "XY" .... check out this picture....

Playful Otter...Sun bathing Sea Lion...Swimming bird...

Guess who found the Pink Chair????

My Coco ... And I do think she likes Ellie's new pj's too..

Gymboree here I come....

I was good today and I did not go over board.....but I could not pass up Gymboree today at the mall. I went straight to the clearance racks...check out Ellie's new pj's and hat...too cute!

The Best Taco Shells in the world....

These are the best taco shells in the world....but you only can get them in KANSAS!!! And we're (Brian) not in Kansas anymore..... so, my taco shipper (Aunt B) sent me 36 boxes of shells...yippie!!!!! Thank you Aunt "B"!! If you're ever in the KC area, stock up! Trust me on this one....oh, don't forget the Silva's chips. Can't get those here either!

More photos of Ellie's room...

I do have one last thing to add to her room, it's her wooden letters "Ellie" to the wall....but I need to order them & paint them!

Brian & I copied "Pottery Barn" doll house bookcase and built it ourselves!!! It turn out beautiful (and bigger) with a savings of a few hundred dollars!

My sweet, sweet, sweet Beatrice....

Once Ellie is here, I think I know where Beatrice is going to be 24/7..... she loves babies!! I can be blogging and listening to families updated videos of their babies, I don't care where Beatrice is in the house, she will come running to the monitor & paw at me to see...it's really super sweet to see Beatrice love babies :-)

"Ellie's Room is no longer under construction"

Make a Smilebox photobook

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Our fat cat.... Thumbs

Our Thumbs has been fighting a bad infection the last few weeks, and he has lost his battle with diabetes also. We made a decision to put him down lastnight, which was difficult because he has been apart of family from the beginning of our marriage. He was a wonderful cat, so friendly, lovable & FAT! He was everyone's friend, would rub up against & sleep with the neighbor's HUGE chow! Beatrice grew to love Thumbs and I think Thumbs loved Beatrice too... Fergie could care less, she just wanted him for his food. You were a wonderful cat and you brought great joy to our lives the last twelve years. We will miss you, Thumbsy!

I Made the PRESS!!!!!

About six months ago, I submitted photos of our vacation to Costa Rica to the AJC newspaper for the "Photo of the Day" section.... My photos FINALLY made it to the press!! TWICE too!! How cool? huh?

Make a Smilebox free ecard

Third time is a charm......

We have reached our final step before receiving our INS approval certificate, we had our fingerprint invitations today...sigh :-0 It's pretty sad when we recognize the USCIS staff from the past four years...arrh! Please continue to pray for us that we will have Ellie home before our INS approval expires in 18 months! We know that God has chosen our child for us.....We pray and wait for Ellie to be with her mommy and daddy soon....

Love without Boundaries.....

Dear Friend,
On October 26th, I will be running the 33rd Annual Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C. I am running to benefit Chinese orphans, on a team for Love Without Boundaries (http://www.teamlwb.com/ ) I have commited to run for this important cause and I am asking for your help to make an even greater difference.
There are over a million orphaned children in China, many of them living in institutions. The purpose of LWB’s foster care program is to remove a child from the institutional setting of an orphanage and allow the child to develop to his or her full potential in the loving care of a foster family. The money raised by Team LWB in the marathon will benefit over 300 children already in Love Without Boundaries’ 15 foster care programs throughout China and allow LWB to reach many more children. No child should grow up in an orphanage. The gift of a foster family can forever change a child's future. When a child is sponsored by LWB, they get to experience the love of a temporary family and often have their adoption paperwork submitted so that one day they may have a forever family of their own.
These children are more than just numbers or statistics. They are children, who through no fault of their own are abandoned, without a family to care for them. I am running on behalf of Julie, pictured above. Julie lives in Xinxiang, Henan and was born in July 2005. She is a beautiful little girl who has learned to walk since being moved into her very own family. She was born with cleft lip and palate - her lip has been repaired but she still needs surgery to repair her palate. The progress she has made since moving to a foster family is a true testament to the power of family!
I am writing to ask for your help. My goal is to raise $750, which will help support a child like Julie in foster care for one year. If you would like to help me reach my goal, you can donate online specifically for me by going to http://www.teamlwb.com/ and click on the Sponsor button. Or you may send a check to LWB, P.O. Box 25016 Oklahoma City, OK 73125-0016. Please make the check payable to LWB and note my name and MCM 2008 on your check.
Love Without Boundaries is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. In 2007 they delivered over one million dollars of direct humanitarian aid to children, while maintaining an overhead of less than 3%. Your donation will truly change the lives of children. Thank you for helping me give the priceless gift of hope and love to a child.
In hope,
Brian Dunn

Cloudland Canyon State Park, Georgia

We had a wonderful time at Cloudland Canyon, it's a beautiful park. We're very happy we did not bring our babies along for this hiking trip, they could have not handled 400+ steps down to the two waterfalls (which did not have any water from the fall) drought..arrh!

Look at Debbie go down those 400+ steps....whew!!! Oh, yeah.. I have to climb those 400 + steps on the return??.....wow! I'm surprised my legs and rear end don't ache today because I felt the pain climbing back up!

You might have the brains but I'm fun to be around!!!