Great Blessings

I am not caught up on with our past fun adventures, but we have news that needs to be shared! Yes--fantastic news!!!! Can you guess? A baby! We have a new beautiful baby. . . .

Recently we've had a few close calls with newborn babies and things just haven't worked out. But it has encouraged us to go in a different direction. We decided to look into a foster care agency called Legacy. We met with them and felt good about things. They are an independent agency, but also work through the county.
Thursday we headed to Vacaville to see my brother Kevin for his 30th birthday. We had a great time with them and I will post those pictures later. Friday in the later morning we received a call from the agency and they said they thought they had a baby for us. We could not believe it. We thought we might have to go straight back home, but then we found out that she would be placed with us on Monday at 2 p.m. To make a long story short, we came home Saturday evening and hit Wal-Mart and Target before coming home for some supplies we knew we did not have. Sunday we went to Church and afterwards did something we don't normally do on Sunday--lots of tiny laundry! We knew it was not possible to get everything done before Monday. While we got things ready Abby found her bug costume and obviously had fun chasing us around.
We also rearranged Abby's room so that both girls can sleep together. I will have to take one with the bedding all done--it's much cuter. This way we can still keep the playroom and guest room. We will see how it goes--although the new baby will sleep in our room for now.
That brings us to today! I found Abby a "big sister" shirt so she proudly put that on before the baby came.
Our home got certified at noon and two caseworkers were here when they first brought the baby in.
There are a lot of things we do not yet know and nothing is for sure in these situations, but we have already fallen in love with her. Here's what we know:
Born: July 2, 2011
Weight: 6 pounds something ounces
Birth parents want to name her Lillianna (spelling?) and we would like to honor that, but we think we will name her Lily. We have a few middle names and will decide soon.
Brown hair, blue eyes, currently weighs about 7 pounds
She is such a good baby--content, smiles, happy to have someone hold her or lay on her back and look around.
Just to clarify--Lily is a foster care child that we are praying, hoping, wishing to adopt.
First family picture
Both girls fell asleep on me--treasure the moment!
Lily's new car seat (she slept while we ate dinner)
Abby trying to be a baby again
Grandma and Grandpa Garrett, Heather and Dexter came up to see the new baby. Then they took Abby home with them so that they could put her and Dexter's hands in the cement being poured in their backyard tomorrow. That way Abby gets special attention while we help Lily feel comfortable in her new home. Problem is, I miss my Abby already!
All the grandkids!
Aunt Heather
Abby and Dexter playing
Sisters!We are so blessed. I have to pinch myself when I look at both girls to know that I am not dreaming. We've waited so very long for both of them and pray that everything will work out so that we can keep Lily. We are absolutely in love with her. Heavenly Father definitely has a plan and I must always remember to trust in Him. We can't wait for you all to meet Lily.

Arizona In Fast Forward

This post is called "Arizona in fast forward" because that's exactly how it felt. Abby and I were supposed to leave Sunday the 17th, but Saturday night we heard about a baby that had just been born in the hospital and there was a chance we might be able to see her and possibly adopt her. So we waited. . . .and waited. . . .by the phone. Finally Monday afternoon things did not look very good and Abby and I left for an appointment Tuesday morning. We arrive after 10:30 p.m. and then left early Wednesday morning. Too much driving for such a short visit!

But we did manage to see a few people while we were there.
My friend Lorraine and I.
Smolnik's and their new home.
I adore frozen yogurt and we managed to get some the night before we left with Tod, Illeva, Natalie, and Abby.
We really enjoy California but we still miss Tempe!

Family Memories

We love having Matt's family close to us and try to see them as often as we can. Thursday, July 14th I had some appointments at UCLA, so Grandma and Grandpa met us afterwards for lunch at the California Pizza Kitchen. None of us had been there before and we enjoyed our lunch.

That following weekend Heather, Brandon and Dexter came to our house for a visit. We had so much fun with them and hope they come back very soon.
Saturday morning we left Dexter and Abby with our friend and the rest of us went and saw the last Harry Potter. I've read all of the books and enjoyed it very much. It's nice to see something you envision in your mind, put on a big screen. Although, things are different than in the book, but I knew that going in and just enjoyed what I saw. It was sort of a sad feeling to see it end. We really enjoyed our double date!
Heather and Brandon.
Here is a picture of the shed Matt built while we were in Washington. He poured the foundation himself! Quite the handy man.
Abby and Dex.
Playing at the park.
Dog piling Uncle Matt.
Campfire in the backyard. . . .smores. . . .yum. (We did burn a yellow circle in our grass though!)
There's nothing like family memories.

Preschool Swim Party

Can you believe my baby is going to be going to preschool this fall? Crazy. I remember when she was 4 pounds! A wonderful woman in our ward does a playschool/preschool and it seems perfect for Abby. She will learn from someone besides me, and play and eat with other kids her age. She is soooooooooooooo excited about school. Maybe that's because she's seen us do so much school! On July 13th she went to her preschool swim party and had so much fun. She wants to start school now. Too bad it does not begin until September 7th.

Watch out preschool, here comes Abby Garrett!

Returning to Cali

Late on July 11th, Abby and I returned from our Washington trip. We were very excited to see Matt (Daddy) again and the next morning we were thrown back into our regular routine. Abby had gymnastics and her first dance class! Matt purchased her ballet and tap shoes and she tried them on Abby before we left.

Let's go guys!
Abby dances all of the time--sometimes I can't get her to stay where I can see her in stories because she wants to be out in the middle of wherever she is, dancing. Many a crowd has watched her--especially at the grocery store. But this was different. She seems to get more nervous in a controlled situation like a dance class and she stood still for much of the class, watching the teachers and the other kids. She did not cry, but she did not dance unless the teachers helped her individually. By the end of the class she was more comfortable and I had to remind myself that gymnastics started out more that way and now she bounds through the gym door without even looking back. So I think this will just take a little time.
Here are some pictures of her first day.
Our garden also took off while I was gone. Check out the tomatoes and strawberries!
I love gardens!