I'm trying to figure out if Elephants are really SMART or really DUMB.

Phinally Phinish!

Yesterday was a momentous day. I defended my dissertation. It was nerve wracking and a rush at the same time. The good news is that I PASSED!

It was unexpected, but I was very glad that a Deaf woman attended my defense. No one told me that she was coming, but she came with 2 interpreters. She is the first Deaf grad student at Biola. :) As I talked with her before the defense started I felt my nerves calm greatly. I was relieved to have a Deaf person there. I can't explain exactly why it was comforting, but it was. We talked at length after the defense and I learned a lot about her. I look forward to getting to know her more. Amazing young woman.

Before we started, Dr. Judy read from Philippians 2 and prayed. She started crying as she read it and told me not to cry before my defense. That was hard because I really wanted to just break down and cry. She read:

"If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." Then she said that throughout my dissertation it was clear that I placed the Deaf community above myself and that my passion was inspiring. She was in tears and then prayed. Wow. What a way to start. It was moving for me too.

They asked MANY challenging questions. Only a couple of them really made me think and I wasn't sure if I answered it the way they wanted. They didn't give me much feedback on those questions. Other answers they interacted with me and they even joked a few times. That made me nervous.

They then asked me to leave as they conferred. I sat in the lounge talking with the Deaf woman and we had a great talk. She said it was the first defense she had attended. I told her it was my first as well! :)


After a few anxious minutes, they called me back in and Dr. Judy come over and looked me in the eyes with tears and said, "Congratulations Dr. Barbara O'Brian Garrett!" and hugged me. Then Dr. Barber shook my hands and said "Congratulations Doctor!" And Dr. Hayward did the same. I thanked Dr. Judy for all her help and for sticking with me through all of the years. She's been amazing. She nodded but said nothing.

What an amazing experience. Overwhelming and exhilerating at once. Dr. Judy said that I needed to publish this dissertation and I told her I wasn't sure I was ready to write on this anymore. But she encouraged me to work on it and get it published because she said it had a lot to offer and discussion surrounding this needed to take place. I just felt like the guy in this comic strip.


But seriously... maybe I will work on that. She encouraged me to really consider it. I wouldn't have to do much to publish it. Maybe this summer. I guess it depends on life and my own enthusiasm about it. Scrapbook or write? Hmmmmm

I had paperwork to do and visited the bookstore for a little while. Later when I returned, I ran into a student I had taken classes with years before. She was in the hallway waiting for them to decide about her dissertation. She was crying and was very nervous. I encouraged her to calm down. She said that she got the impression from them that there were some major flaws in her research and something about the cultural piece not being strong enough or something. It wasn't clear to me. But she was very upset and she clearly thought she had not passed her defense. Yikes. I could tell from the other people around that they were equally concerned. I asked her what happens if she doesn't pass? She said she didn't know and then really started to cry. I encouraged her and stood with her as long as I could. It was very difficult. It set me on edge and I was thankful my defense went so well.

Linda Crews and I met up that afternoon and went to a lovely dinner at Kincaid's on the Redondo Beach Pier. This was the view from my seat outdoors. It was a gorgeous California day. We enjoyed a wonderful meal but even better conversation. Linda's always been a spiritual mother to me and this evening was no different. She is a woman of Godly advice and one of the ONLY people that I can share some of the deep spiritual things I face. Our time together was truly a blessing. I look forward to more of those kinds of times. I couldn't have asked for a better celebration.

Timberwolves Tickets

As you may or may not know, Michael is now working for the Minnesota Timberwolves. He specializes in selling group ticket packages to churches. However, if you need season tickets, partial season tickets, single game tickets or any other group package for your business or organization, Michael is your guy!

And the good news is that he can probably get the tickets for you at greatly reduced prices! He has set up his own private site at www.timberwolvesgrouptickets.com
Go to that site to get all the details!

Sisters

I have two amazing sisters. One is younger and the other older. Both have been supports to me in ways that are beyond a blessing. I just can't say enough. One has ALWAYS been there for me through everything in life. We talk almost everyday. The other has become a wise and stable voice in my life. She makes me laugh and reassures me that I'm okay. The both lead busy full lives centered on family. They both have noisy houses with a lot of activity in them. One has a never ending stream of people coming and going at all times. It's a house you can literally hang out at ANY time of the day or night that you need to hang out. No pressure, no worries that a kid might break something (even among the antiques) and lots of laughs and sharing of life and family and friends. The other has a sense of style that would make Martha Stewart weep! And her house is also a place to kick shoes off and lay back and enjoy life. Sometimes I wish all of us lived in the same place so that we could have the networks we have altogether!

Just imagine, NorthCentral University with the Deaf program in the Northwest somewhere near Wenatchee. And Paul's entire family living in the Seattle area. And Michael's family nearby, and Linda (et.al.) living nearby so that we would all have our familiar family networks but there would be this overlapping of other families and friends that would just grow and become this amazing community. Dreaming....

For now, I am content to be where I am at. :) Love you sisters!

Today

This morning has been wonderful. I was so enjoying my morning today. It was like there was background music playing in my life that was happy and joyous. Then I opened my email and it screeched to a halt! :)

So, I'm taking a deep breath and just re-focussing to enjoy the day despite the stresses that I face.

It's just gorgeous outside today! It's a crisp Fall day with trees changing colors. The yellows and oranges are bright and cheerful.

The days are getting shorter, but we still have sun until 7:30 or so. It was around 54 degrees this morning and should get to nearly 70 today. Just a lovely, not humid, sunny, Fall day. I love Fall - it's been my favorite time of year for so long. I do miss the long Fall seasons in Missouri. It seemed like Fall lasted a good three months there. And the Lake of the Ozarks was so beautiful. Here Fall seems to go by really fast. By the time Halloween hits Fall is OVER!

This morning I enjoyed the drive to work, looking at the beautiful trees, and thinking of my family.



I am so blessed.

Mazen brings such joy to my life. She is such a loving caring little girl. She hugged and hugged me this morning and said, "Mom, I'm really gonna miss you." It touched my heart. I told her I was going to miss her too. I love her so much. She got to fall asleep with me last night. She goofed around far too much, but I just love that she wants to be near me. These days of a little girl curling up with Mom to fall asleep will only last a short time so I cherish them. A day will come when I annoy her simply because she will be a teenager and parents are always somewhat annoying then. :) But I hope I get to hold her all the days of my life. Hold her when she has a baby. Hold her when she is sad. Hold her when she faces tough times. Hold her when she's thrilled because she bought her first house. Hold her when she's scared to death because she bought her first house!

Well... enough of life with the lovely background music. Back to the email that is waiting for me. :)

When is a person educated?

"When he can look out upon the universe, now lucid and lovely, now dark and terrible, with a sense of his own littleness in the great scheme of things, and yet have faith and courage. When he knows how to make friends and keep them, and above all, when he can keep friends with himself.

When he can be happy alone and high-minded amid the drudgeries of life. When he can look into a wayside puddle and see something besides mud, and into the face of the most forlorn mortal and see something divine.

When he knows how to live, now to love, how to hope, how to pray - is glad to live... and has in his heart a bit of a song."

- Joseph Fort Newton

Family

Michael drove his Mom and Dad back over to their friends' house tonight and said goodbye. They were here for a few days visiting. It was wonderful to be with them. Mazen was so excited that Grandma and Grandpa came to visit her. I told her she's a very special girl! She had Grandpa playing dollhouse with her today and she read books to Grandma.

They bought KFC today and Mazen ate "chicken with a handle" (as she calls it) and some mashed potatos. It was a big hit and a nice relaxing day with them. I've been under the weather and they hung out at our house today just visiting. Such wonderful people. We made BLT's for dinner with fresh tomatoes and cucumbers from their garden. It was delicious. And also laid back. Everyone napped this afternoon.

Before she left, Betty said some very touching things to me. It brought me to tears, the good kind. I feel so welcomed and a part of the family. These are amazing people. We are so blessed. We will see them again at Christmas and they will come next for Mazen's birthday in February. Mazen's already counting the months to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Mazen already picked out her birthday cake. It's a purse! Is she my child or what?! I'm really looking forward to making that cake for her. It will be fun. I'm sure it will have to be pink.

I hope to get to work tomorrow, but I'm rather sick and weak and may not make it. We'll see how it goes. In the midst of feeling down this weekend (for several reasons) it's been a time of huge blessings for me. God is faithful.

I've been waiting for the new Ken Burns WWII documentary to come on PBS and it started this evening. It's called "The War." It was intense. I look forward to watching it, but it is a sad thing to see what humans can do to each other. Such brutality, and we keep doing it. Has a generation on earth ever gone by without a war somewhere?

If you want to read about this click on this link: Ken Burns "The War" And, yes, it is closed captioned if you are wondering. Raelyn said the next part is on tomorrow night. I don't know, I might have to rent this one and watch it when I can face this serious stuff.

My dissertation defense has been set for October 18 at 10 am. I'm thrilled and very nervous about it. I can't believe I am done and I am so thrilled to be done! Whew! What a ride! I don't know what to do with all my free time now! :)

I guess that's all for today.

Ph.D.!

Today I finished the third draft of my dissertation. I had to make three copies to send to the committee so Michael went out and bought 3 reams of paper. I can't say what a relief yet because it hasn't really hit me completely.

Michael surprised me with a special evening at Long Lake. He planned everything and then Dave and Ali surprised us all by bringing their boat and a new tube they recently bought. We swam in the warm lake. The water was 80 degrees! It was amazing. The sun was out, the water was warm, and the beach sandy. Michael and Mazen tubed with Mazen squealing in delight the whole time. Then Raelyn and Mazen tubed. I would have tried, but it was 6pm and they didn't allow tubing after that time. It was probably a good thing because my hips and back are giving me trouble today.

Maybe I can soon start staying on top of things on this blog now! :)

My Mom is coming home from the hospital tomorrow. She has been through a major surgery and all the reports I get tell me she is doing really well. I hope this relieves a lot of pain for her once she heals and completes physical therapy. Jon has been driving back and forth to the hospital several times a day and taking care of her. Kelly and I are thankful he loves her so much and is so good at caring for her.

I hope to put some pictures up soon but this is all for now. I'm tired and have early morning classes. It was a busy labor day weekend with the CDS retreat and dissertation work and it was a very good one. I have a wonderful family! Michael, Mazen and Raelyn are so good to me!

Tropical Storm Barbara

MEXICO CITY, June 2 (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Barbara made landfall on Saturday near the Pacific coasts of Mexico and Guatemala, lashing coffee and sugar-growing regions with wind and rain but not causing any injuries or major damage.

Forecasters at the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Barbara was located just southwest of the Mexican city of Tapachula, a few miles (kilometers) from the Guatemalan border and the heart of an important agricultural region.

While it packed sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph), and higher gusts, the center said Barbara would likely weaken.

Earlier predictions had Barbara developing into a hurricane over the weekend and barreling toward Mexican coastal resorts like Puerto Escondido, a major surfing spot.
___________________________

I wish I was barreling toward a Mexican coastal resort!

Mazen

Yesterday, after a weekend with JJ visiting Mazen says to me: "Mommie, sharing is HARD."

Tonight Michael checked on Mazen after bedtime. She was laying on her stomache on the floor with her elbows on the floor and her head in her hands. He asked her what she was doing. She said, "Thinking." "Thinking about what?" he asked. "My family." "What about your family?" She said, "About Mommie and Daddy and Pokey and Booboo and.... why don't you come help me think Daddy?" Daddy said, "I gotta get some stuff out of the office for Mommie." "Okay, then you come right back here after that!" Daddy said, "How about I think about it out there while you think about it in here and we will talk about it tomorrow morning?" "Ok daddy."

What a doll.

My Girlie

Here's my most favorite recent picture of Mazen. She's such a doll and I love her so much! I can't imagine my life without her.

Today Mazen was watching "Blue's Clues" with Daddy. The show was about trying to find what makes Blue happy. Joe asked Blue if he was happy. Daddy asked Mazen, "Are you happy?" She replied, "Yes, because my Mommy and Daddy makes me very very happy." She makes my heart melt.

Finally Writing

Well, I'm finally writing something on here. I bet everyone stopped reading it! SOOOO much is happening in our lives - hard to know where to start. :)

Mazen - She's 3 now - and she keeps reminding us of that fact. Although she seems to want us to constantly do things from when she was a tiny baby. Such as, sing the song I invented, "Mommies loves the babyyyyyy!" followed by a bunch of kisses! And "I love you, a bushel and a peck, a bushel and a peck, and a HUUUUUUUUUG around the neck!" Last night she went to bed very well, and as soon as we left the room, she snuck into our room and climbed under the covers on my side of our bed and went right to sleep. I'm not sure what's so much better about Mommie's bed when we aren't in it - but it's "better".

36 people came to Mazen's birthday! I will put up pictures soon. 12 kids and 24 adults. It was so much fun. Everyone made a lot of memories for Mazen. The kids played at the Eagle's Nest and the adults talked and talked. It was great fun. We are part of an amazing community of Deaf and hearing people who love God and love each other. What a blessing.

We've been teaching Mazen to say, "Go away, in the Name of Jesus" when she sees something scarey in her bedroom at night or in a dream. So, recently, she was tired of waiting for us to leave a place and she said, "Mommie, go home. Please, Mommie, let's go home. Mommie. Mommie! Go home in the name of Jesus." Oh my. We had to get going then!

Yesterday she got out her cell phone and said, "Mommie, my phone is ringing. Ringggggg. Hello. Oh hi! Mom, it's Jennifer. Hi Jennifer, how are you. I'm fine. That's good. Uh huh. Wow. Sounds good. What are you doing. I'm with Feepay. Oh that's nice. Yes. I love you Jennifer. Can I talk to Feepay? Sure. Ok, bye. Ringgggggggggggg. Hi Feepay. Mom, it's Feepay!" I replied, "Really, Felipe is Deaf. I didn't know he talked on the phone." Mazen said, "Yup. Hi Feepay. How you doing? I'm doing good. That's good. Are you coming tonight. Yes. Oh good, we can play. Ok. I love you. See you later. See you later. Bye."

Recent Doll names Mazen has invented:
New one from thrift store - Perfect
Baby doll gift from Karma - I can't remember the name but I'm sure Mazen will correct me when I say it wrong.
Bunny Rabbit - Shari
Twin babies in Doll house from Aunt Kelly - girl is Charlie, boy is MayDel
Baby in lady bug outfit from Auntie Jaymie - Macy
We still have Garis, Pocket Baby, Her, Big Her, Dolly, Baby, and a few more.

D3- This is the name of our new ministry. We started it just last night. Check out the website for all the info: www.D3Deaf.com We had a 25 year record storm for three days prior that ended sometime on Friday and still 25 people and 4 kids came! What a blessing. Our opening night! I believe God is going to do some great things through D3.

Dissertation - Still working on it. Applying for an extension to August to get everything completed, but I want it all done by June! Please pray for me. Ugh.

Family - Grandma and Grandpa Garrett seem to be doing very well. They got winds and snow this week too. (We got almost 2 feet here and Michael's had almost a full time job shoveling and snow blowing.) They came for Mazen's birthday. She talked about it for months before they came. She has so much fun with them. We use the Dora backpack they gave her EVERY DAY! It's her new "bag." We did away with her baby bag now that's she's 3 and she helped me pack her "needs" in her backpack. Coloring books, crayons, sticker books (of course), baby wipes (for cleaning her hands now that she's a "big girl" who uses the potty), a change of clothes, and a deck of Dora cards from Grandpa Lynn and Grandpa Velma. Then we always have to cram a few babies in there.

Gammama - She was sad she couldn't come to Mazen's birthday and she sent a BIG HUGE box! Mazen squealed with delight over every gift. Gammamma is having surgery on March 13th. We are praying for a great deal of healing to come from this surgery. She's been through so much the last few years. We hope we can go visit her this summer.

Okay.... I gonna sign off for now. Hopefully will write more often. :)

Merry Christmas

Today we had an early Christmas celebration with gifts from Gammama and Poppijoni. Here's some pictures of Mazen. They are to cute. She got some "My Little Pony" toys and thought they were "very cute" and "that's amazing."

Our New Kitty

Here's a couple of pictures of "Christmas Kitty." She came from the
shelter with the name 'Gizzy' and Mazen and Raelyn changed that to
Bella. Mazen says "Christmas Kitty Bella." She is very sweet and
friendly. A beautiful Maine Coon who we sprung from 3 months in jail.
So sweet. She's in love with Michael.

A new post

Well folks, after lots of trial and error, here we are back at this blog. Our mac website is still running, but people are telling me they are having trouble getting it up and running. Perhaps it's not a good one with dial-up. :) So, I'm going to try to catch up a little here.

Mazen is growing up fast. She's a very sweet and considerate little girl. She spends most of her time taking care of her "babies" and making sure all the animals and people in the house are okay. If I'm coughing, she will be right there asking me "Mommie, are you ok? Do you need some medicine?" She's very loving and very sweet girl. Lots of hugs and kisses in our house.

This week Daddy had an appointment in the morning and Mazen was running around playing. I was in one of those dazes where you are awake and asleep, etc. She came to me, woke me up, handed me a broken ornament from the Christmas tree AND a bottle of glue (I have no clue how she knew where to look for the glue and get it out of the cupboard) and said, "Mommie, the cow's head fell off. We need to glue it." It was the sweetest thing. I just loved the fact that she wanted to fix it, wasn't afraid to tell me it was broken, and was very sweet about it. I let her fall asleep with me last night. I went to bed early in order to be up early for a meeting I need to be at this morning.

We are all doing good. We have a new kitty in our home. I will write about her soon.

Blessings,
Let me know if you read this!

Are You a Democrat, Republican, or Southerner?

This is just in jest!
:)
Enjoy
__________

Are you a Democrat, Republican or Southerner? Here is a little test that will help you decide.
The answer can be found by posing the following question:
You're walking down a deserted street with your wife and two small children.
Suddenly, an Islamic terrorist with a huge knife comes around the corner, locks eyes with you, screams obscenities, praises Allah, raises the knife, and charges at you. You are carrying a HK .45 cal pistol and you are an expert shot. You have mere seconds before he reaches you and your family.
What do you do?
..................................................................
Democrat's Answer:
Well, that's not enough information to answer the question!
Does the man look poor or oppressed?
Have I ever done anything to him that would inspire him to attack?
Could we run away?
What does my wife think?
What about the kids?
Could I possibly swing the gun like a club and knock the knife out of his hand?
What does the law say about this situation?
Does the Glock have appropriate safety built into it?
Why am I carrying a loaded gun anyway, and what kind of message does this send to society and to my children?
Is it possible he'd be happy with just killing me?
Does he definitely want to kill me, or would he be content just to wound me?
If I were to grab his knees and hold on, could my family get away while he was stabbing me?
Should I call 9-1-1?
Why is this street so deserted?
We need to raise taxes, have paint and weed day and make this happier, healthier street that would discourage such behavior.
This is all so confusing! I need to debate this with some friends for few days and try to come to a consensus.
............................................................
Republican's Answer:
BANG!
............................................................
Southerner's Answer:
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! Click..... (Sounds of reloading) BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! Click
Daughter: "Nice grouping, Daddy! Were those the Winchester Silver Tips or Hollow Points?"
Son: "Can I shoot the next one!"
Wife: "You ain't taking that to the Taxidermist!

Thanks you Guys

Thanks for the comments. :)
I'm glad someone actually reads this thing every now and then! ha
I'm still trying to get our other website up and going - it's good and has a lot of things this one doesn't have, but this also has some really cool features that just can't be beat. I just wish it had a way to back things up. They better get that fixed soon.
I'm just taking a short break from dissertation work. My brain is kinda fried. I'm determined to meet my goal tonight though and get through some things. Argh!!!! It's hard being a perpetual college student. I can't wait to get this thing done with.
We are facing another round of "Deaf/Hearing" issues. I guess it will never change because the bodies keep changing and so we have to go through the same issues over and over. I think I should write a curriculum to use each Fall for the new Hearing students who are involved in the Deaf community. I know it's hard to learn to work cross-culturally, but RULE NUMBER ONE is to recognize that you DON'T know everything about the other culture just because you have a friend who is _______ (fill in the blank). "Yeah, I went to school with an Asian kid! They are really smart!" Grrrrr. I know I've done and said stupid things - but I know that for sure I have worked hard to be open-minded to learn new things and recognize when I was wrong, misjudged things, misunderstood, or just didn't "get it."
Isn't it ironic when a person who experiences privilege in our society most of the time is the first to get upset when they feel their "needs" haven't been adequately met? While their neighbor is constantly without? Materialism is more than just things - it's also ideology.
Okay, I'll get off the soap box and back on the dissertation train.
Love Ya'll

Stuff

Well, I got the new website up and running - sort of - I'm still not satisfied with the blog part so plan to work on that soon. Just so little time and no time to do anything. (Does that even make sense?)

Today has been a tough day. I guess I just feel like writing. Sigh. I doubt anyone will read this - this site hasn't been active and I don't think anyone is visiting anymore.

I'm learning that sometimes it doesn't matter how much you pour into the lives of people - they still will think the worst and say the meanest of things. No matter how much you love them, pray for them, care about them, they still judge, misunderstand, and say mean things. It's sad because those things are often a reflection of how they feel about themselves and so they transfer that onto someone else and get mad. I wish they didn't feel that way about themselves. I wish they weren't passive about it. I wish I was perfect and never did anything to hurt anyone. I wish people would see the heart.

We all have feet of clay and so it's going to be okay. I am okay with it and I can get through this because Love is bigger than this stuff.

New Website

After lots and lots of looking, testing, hunting, trying, etc. I have finally settled on the world's best ever website for us! We switched to dotMac (.mac) and published it on iWeb. It's awesome and we love it. Very exciting. Lots of wonderful pictures. There's a blog and several fun pages. I made the WHOLE THING!!! Woohoo!

So please go to this website: http://web.mac.com/garrettweb
(or click on the title of this post: "New Website" above)

It is password protected to protect our baby. So if you have not heard from us yet with the password info, please don't get upset, just email Michael and he will send our friends and family the password so you can view everything.

Yay!

I might still put a few things up on this, but for now, the .Mac is going to be our website.

Fw: Big fish!

Look at these COOL pictures of the BIG fish Michael caught! Wow! What
a catch!