We are always sad to see Grandma and Grandpa go home.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Grandma and Grandpa Garrett
Grandma and Grandpa stayed with us after Easter and we were so glad! They went to Abby's dance and gymnastics, played outside and we even met Matt between classes on Tuesday, April 10th to take him out to Famous Dave's for his birthday! Happy Birthday Mattie!
We are always sad to see Grandma and Grandpa go home.
We are always sad to see Grandma and Grandpa go home.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Wonderful Easter
I've been finishing the 2011 blog book and here it is! 230 pages long!
Now to catch up on 2012.....
It would not be Easter without dying Easter eggs. Abby and Grandma Barbara had so much fun together. Grandpa Roger and Lily played around on the couch during the Easter egg dying.
Sunday morning (April 8) and the traditional Easter baskets with a few gifts--trains, matching dresses and.....bikes! Yes, the girls were pretty ecstatic about their bikes. Lily's stands up too and will help her learn to walk and chase Abby. Abby got a Lightning McQueen bike and could hardly contain her excitement. She told her Primary teacher, Brother Pitts all about it during the middle of Primary!
My Easter present--yummy recipes that I can fix in the morning and not have to worry about dinner after I finish teaching piano lessons. Now I need a new crock pot. Mine is old and it takes about 10 hours to get anything really cooked!
Pictures before Church
We did our Easter egg hunt after Church--we didn't do it before because I had a choir rehearsal since the Ward Choir sang for Easter.
An unusual occurrence happened with the choir that day. First of all, we sang on a Fast Sunday and usually there aren't special musical numbers on that Sunday. But the Bishop thought there should be one since it was Easter. But the really unusual part took place at the end of the testimony meeting....Bishop Holladay got up and said he was going to do something different and called the choir up to close the meeting with the song we sang at the beginning, "Come Unto Him." I was shocked! One of our best basses did not come up--he was outside with his grandson and did not here the Bishops request! They sang very beautifully and the spirit was felt by all, I hope. Later the Bishop told me he wanted the spirit he felt at the beginning to be there as we closed. I've never had an encore performance in the same Sacrament meeting before!
Abby had so much fun looking for eggs and Lily enjoyed watching and holding her egg.
Look at the fish--they are growing.
Since Matt's birthday was so close to Easter we went ahead and celebrated while his parents were at our house. He was very excited about the tactical vest which he's asked for, for a very long time.
Happy Easter and Happy Birthday Daddy!
Sunday morning (April 8) and the traditional Easter baskets with a few gifts--trains, matching dresses and.....bikes! Yes, the girls were pretty ecstatic about their bikes. Lily's stands up too and will help her learn to walk and chase Abby. Abby got a Lightning McQueen bike and could hardly contain her excitement. She told her Primary teacher, Brother Pitts all about it during the middle of Primary!
My Easter present--yummy recipes that I can fix in the morning and not have to worry about dinner after I finish teaching piano lessons. Now I need a new crock pot. Mine is old and it takes about 10 hours to get anything really cooked!
Pictures before Church
We did our Easter egg hunt after Church--we didn't do it before because I had a choir rehearsal since the Ward Choir sang for Easter.
An unusual occurrence happened with the choir that day. First of all, we sang on a Fast Sunday and usually there aren't special musical numbers on that Sunday. But the Bishop thought there should be one since it was Easter. But the really unusual part took place at the end of the testimony meeting....Bishop Holladay got up and said he was going to do something different and called the choir up to close the meeting with the song we sang at the beginning, "Come Unto Him." I was shocked! One of our best basses did not come up--he was outside with his grandson and did not here the Bishops request! They sang very beautifully and the spirit was felt by all, I hope. Later the Bishop told me he wanted the spirit he felt at the beginning to be there as we closed. I've never had an encore performance in the same Sacrament meeting before!
Abby had so much fun looking for eggs and Lily enjoyed watching and holding her egg.
Look at the fish--they are growing.
Since Matt's birthday was so close to Easter we went ahead and celebrated while his parents were at our house. He was very excited about the tactical vest which he's asked for, for a very long time.
Happy Easter and Happy Birthday Daddy!
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Alexis Imogene Garrett
Alexis Imogene Garrett
Born: May 6, 2012
Weight: 7 lbs. 11 oz
Height: 20.5
Place: Kern Medical Center, Bakersfield, CA
Yes! Another gorgeous little girl has graced our home and it has taken me two weeks to write a post. Obviously, things have been a little busy......very little sleep......but so much fun!
I guess I should explain:
We've known for a while that Lily's birth parents were pregnant again. They told everyone they were having twins--we still aren't sure what happened there. But we knew we would be receiving a phone call when the babies were born, so we were trying to decide what that meant for our family. On Monday, May 7th I received a phone call from our adoption caseworker for Lily stating that they had the baby. A little girl, 7 pounds 11 ounces and deemed healthy. The caseworker said that the little girl may go home with her parents, which really surprised me due to Lily's case, but weird things happen. She said if we did not receive a call again, she went home with the parents. We did not receive a call. But we did receive a phone call from another caseworker about a little boy named Daniel. We really hoped that our next child would be a boy, so this was exciting. Daniel was 1 month old and caseworkers said he looked like a for sure adoption. To make a long story short, we went to pick up Daniel on Friday, May 11 after buying a new car seat, diapers, and some boy clothes! When we arrived, the caseworker we worked with for Lily came out and said, "Oh, are you here about Lily's sister?" We looked at her blankly and finally said, "She didn't got home with her birth parents?" The caseworker looked at us like we were crazy and said, "No way."
Again, to make a long story short, we took Daniel home with us only to find out that we did not receive correct information. There was a paternity test ordered and if positive, the father wants him. But we spent a few days loving him and taking care of him. He was so little and seemed so fragile but had a head of hair you would not believe! Our friend Lindsay nick named him "Mowgli!"
So on Tuesday, May 15th a caseworker came to pick up Daniel and Wednesday, May 16th we picked up Lily's baby sister! Her birth parents named her Nazarene, but we simply cannot imagine calling her Nazarene, so we spent until late Wednesday night trying to decide on the perfect name for her. We finally decided on Alexis (we call her Lexy) Imogene (after my Grandmother). This was the first picture we took of our adorable Lexy.
The girls were admiring her and checking her out when we got home.
Here is Lexy asleep on the couch on the 17th. She has a lot of Lily's features--nose, mouth, eyes, etc. But she has much longer fingers and toes.
Friday evening I played for a Cal State Bakersfield voice recital and the next morning we left bright and early for a Cal State Fullerton graduation for Matt's sister, Heather and her husband, Brandon. We are so excited and proud of them. Heather is due to have another baby boy in June, so I don't know how she managed! Pictures of graduation will follow in another post--here is Lexy at graduation.
After graduation we went back to Garrett's for food and swimming and we took our first family picture of all five of us!
Lexy has visits with her birth parents on Friday mornings for 2 hours. I honestly dread taking her to the visits because it makes me realize that we could lose her. Because Lily's case looks so bad for the birth parents, the county is not offering them services as of right now. They are not receiving assistance for their classes and things like that. They have 30 days to turn everything around and then the county may grant them services for 6 months as they did with Lily. They say they are attending classes and drug free and the worst part is--his mother bought them a car which makes it much easier for them to get things. I feel terrible about not wanting them to fix their lives, but we love Lexy to death and already we cannot imagine life without her. Besides, she is with her biological sister! Leave her with us please! Lexy has the most sweet spirit and adds so much to our family. We are so anxious for the opportunity to raise her and love her forever. Pray for us please!
We love you sweet Lexy
Friday, May 18, 2012
Community College Students
It has been my experience that most of the students at my community college are too under-prepared and/or lazy to pass college level classes. As a result, many professors make class too easy, and I become jaded as students complain that I am too difficult. I constantly gripe about the poor quality of students. Now at the end of the Spring 2012 semester I am giving final exams and have the strange need to point out some of the successes. Indeed, while most may not be college material there are others who wade through terrible circumstances to achieve their academic goals. The following are the stories of but a few students I've worked with this semester. I have changed their names to protect their identity.
Jose comes from an economically depressed family background. He is poor. Violence and alcoholism is common at family functions. He missed my midterm because he was cleaning up the blood from a high profile murder here in town. I read the news report. His brother and cousin got into a knife fight and one killed the other. Jose made up the exam, and did well. He is averaging a high B in my class and articulate the material better than many of the A students. He is bright and he works hard. I suspect that he will probably be the first in his family to graduate college.
Mr. Hamilton is an older student. This is his first semester back to school in 25 years. One day this semester he came to school with sunglasses and scrapes all over his body. Earlier that week eight men mugged and beat him. In that same week his girlfriend of 15 years passed away. He had a rough semester. Nevertheless, he responded well to my academic criticism and eventually turned in a final paper worthy of a perfect score. He earned a solid B grade this semester.
Sarah is an adorable Cambodian girl who strives to serve her family. She is the oldest sibling, and lives in a small apartment with her mother, grandmother, and three siblings ranging from 11 years old to under a year old. She is the primary care-giver for all in her family, including her sickly grandmother who she shares a room. Sarah also has medical problems of her own. She was born with fluid on the brain and has an internal tube that drains liquid from her brain, down through her neck, and into her chest. She lives in fear of minor bumps that could end her life. She has to get surgery every few years to install a longer tube, in order to keep up with her growth. This semester she faced surgery with the choice of no anesthesia or the risk of death. Nevertheless, she attends class regularly and always has a smile.
Jamal is a young man who defies the odds. At this college, black men have an average GPA of 1.8. When you take out the few middle class and small town black men, the remaining group has an even lower average GPA. I have had several middle class black male students pass my class, but over the past two years only two poor black men have passed my classes, and both were motivated by sports scholarships. Jamal has no scholarship to entice him - only his own desire and work ethic to pull out of the alcohol and violence that he candidly describes when asked about his family. He is not my best student, but he is among the few poor black men I've had in class that won't give up and keeps doing his best. He had a passing grade going into the final exam, well above the average for his demographic group.
Last, Cherly is probably my favorite. I met her two years ago when she tooik my night class. She is a reformed homeless methamphetamine addict, and has the rotten teeth to prove it. For several years she lived on the streets, in parks, and moved from location to location in pursuit of getting high. She has two children who's birth motivated her to change her life. She has been clean for four years now and serves as an officer in several campus clubs, and offers peer mentoring/tutoring. Recently she asked if she could list me as her children's emergency contact, which I found flattering. It also means that she has no real support here in town. She has clean up her act and stayed clean all on her own. She is about to transfer to Cal State Bakersfield where she hopes to pursue a career in social work. Her passion is helping other people overcome the past she intimately knows.
Each semester I meet students like these. Sure, community colleges may be overwhelmed by too many ill equipped, lazy, and financially parasitical students; but it also has some wonderful gems that motivate me to be a better teacher and person.
Jose comes from an economically depressed family background. He is poor. Violence and alcoholism is common at family functions. He missed my midterm because he was cleaning up the blood from a high profile murder here in town. I read the news report. His brother and cousin got into a knife fight and one killed the other. Jose made up the exam, and did well. He is averaging a high B in my class and articulate the material better than many of the A students. He is bright and he works hard. I suspect that he will probably be the first in his family to graduate college.
Mr. Hamilton is an older student. This is his first semester back to school in 25 years. One day this semester he came to school with sunglasses and scrapes all over his body. Earlier that week eight men mugged and beat him. In that same week his girlfriend of 15 years passed away. He had a rough semester. Nevertheless, he responded well to my academic criticism and eventually turned in a final paper worthy of a perfect score. He earned a solid B grade this semester.
Sarah is an adorable Cambodian girl who strives to serve her family. She is the oldest sibling, and lives in a small apartment with her mother, grandmother, and three siblings ranging from 11 years old to under a year old. She is the primary care-giver for all in her family, including her sickly grandmother who she shares a room. Sarah also has medical problems of her own. She was born with fluid on the brain and has an internal tube that drains liquid from her brain, down through her neck, and into her chest. She lives in fear of minor bumps that could end her life. She has to get surgery every few years to install a longer tube, in order to keep up with her growth. This semester she faced surgery with the choice of no anesthesia or the risk of death. Nevertheless, she attends class regularly and always has a smile.
Jamal is a young man who defies the odds. At this college, black men have an average GPA of 1.8. When you take out the few middle class and small town black men, the remaining group has an even lower average GPA. I have had several middle class black male students pass my class, but over the past two years only two poor black men have passed my classes, and both were motivated by sports scholarships. Jamal has no scholarship to entice him - only his own desire and work ethic to pull out of the alcohol and violence that he candidly describes when asked about his family. He is not my best student, but he is among the few poor black men I've had in class that won't give up and keeps doing his best. He had a passing grade going into the final exam, well above the average for his demographic group.
Last, Cherly is probably my favorite. I met her two years ago when she tooik my night class. She is a reformed homeless methamphetamine addict, and has the rotten teeth to prove it. For several years she lived on the streets, in parks, and moved from location to location in pursuit of getting high. She has two children who's birth motivated her to change her life. She has been clean for four years now and serves as an officer in several campus clubs, and offers peer mentoring/tutoring. Recently she asked if she could list me as her children's emergency contact, which I found flattering. It also means that she has no real support here in town. She has clean up her act and stayed clean all on her own. She is about to transfer to Cal State Bakersfield where she hopes to pursue a career in social work. Her passion is helping other people overcome the past she intimately knows.
Each semester I meet students like these. Sure, community colleges may be overwhelmed by too many ill equipped, lazy, and financially parasitical students; but it also has some wonderful gems that motivate me to be a better teacher and person.
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