Garrett W. Russell

2011-08-24T13:47:00.000-07:00

Sooo, Garrett's birthday is coming up next week.

We've been thinking about what to do to celebrate and remember. He would have been 8 years old this year!

Maura, naturally, thinks we should get a bunny because when you turn 8 you get baptized and you get a bunny.

Dallin wants to gather some friends and have a marsh-mallow gun fight.

They both agree on the cake and ice cream part of a celebration.

I have a movie my sister made of Garrett. I have never watched it.

It's been sitting in a little box with other things that belong to Garrett. Pictures, a favorite shirt, pieces of his favorite blanket, school work, trophies, and so forth. It's been nagging at me for a long time. I've always felt guilty that I haven't watched it.

She gave it to me right after Garrett died. I think it is a montage of pictures with music. I think we are going to watch it. It's been three years. I can do this. I know I'm going to cry and I'm okay with that. I'm actually pretty excited. I've thought about watching it several times and I've decided I'm going to wait until his birthday.

Now all we have to do is decide on what kind of cake to make...

Wish us luck!

2011-05-30T18:25:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about Garrett and my mom all day.

My sister, Gina, is so good about remembering to go to his grave to clean it up and bring flowers and such. I'm so grateful she does.

Reese remembered that Garrett had a Winnie-the-pooh blanket that he loved to sleep with and she wanted to get him a little Winnie-the-pooh bear.

Today is also my mom and dad's 42nd wedding anniversary. Dad went to visit her and took some pictures while it was snowing.

I sure do miss them both.

Edit:
Just got some photos from Gina that she took. Thanks, Geen!

Reese, Jeff, Brady and Brannen helped decorate!

2011-05-24T13:40:00.000-07:00

I think about Garrett all the time but it's not the same as before. I don't have the gut-wrenching feeling of loss. I feel....peace.

BUT, I still think about him.

What new event would we be celebrating? End of school? Turning eight?

What would he look like? Still blonde? I hope so! I'm a little out numbered.

Would he be kind? Whiny? Tidy?

Would he still have that silly haircut? or would he want long hair like his brother?

I don't blog about it as much as I did. Not sure why.

I still miss him, but not as much. Mostly I wonder about him.

What is he doing now?

Does he hang out with Grandma Jones and Great Grandpa Jones?

Is he a missionary?

Can he read and write his name?

Does he watch us and wish he were here with us as much as WE wish he were?

Mostly I just look forward to when we will be together again, because I know we will.
The knowledge of the plan our Heavenly Father has for us, gives me the peace I finally feel.

2011-05-24T13:10:00.000-07:00

I was looking through some old pictures and found a few that made me laugh.

Dallin and Garrett were such great friends. They would play together for HOURS. They would come up with some pretty creative things to do too...

On this day, they were just having fun in the back yard. Playing in a sprinkler I think.

They unscrewed the sprinkler head and made a mud swamp and threw mud bombs at the wall,
Instead of yelling and getting mad I took a picture and chalked it up to "boys".

Going back inside I got busy doing something and the next thing I heard was a little rap on the door. Opening it, this is what I saw:

And then I made them pose like this:

I'm so glad I got a good picture!

2009-08-12T08:57:00.000-07:00

Today would have been his first day of Kindergarten! I'm sure he would have LOVED it.

Things I think Garrett would have loved about Kindergarten:
-Walking to school with Dallin.
-Meeting friends and playing on the playground.
-Reading.
-Being a helper to his teacher.
-Singing time.
-Learning to write (especially write his name-he was excited to be able to do that).
-Taking his lunch to school (he was really excited about lunch boxes).
-Having me come to his class.

I'm sure he would have loved everything about school. He was that kind of kid; excited, happy and enthusiastic about almost everything!

2009-07-28T18:33:00.000-07:00

While in Wyoming, I found a lot of pictures of Garrett my dad had that I didn't. So, since I was scanning hundreds of pictures anyway, I added these and brought them home. I am just now going through them and organizing them then I'll get back to doing my Garrett book project.

I'm glad I did my mom's book. Along with really loving the book, I learned a lot more about Booksmart and found some short cuts that will make my Garrett book easier and look better.

These are a few of my favorite pictures I found:

Garrett (11/2yr. approx) and his Great Grandpa Jones

Hard to tell he is smiling with his 'binky' in, but I can sure tell by those squinty eyes.

I'm sure he and Great Grandpa Jones are having a grand old time together now....

Garrett when he was born and his Grandma Jones. They are spending some quality time together now too....

Love the smile on this kid, and the mischievous glint in his eye.

He had my hair...straight on top, very fine and a lot of it. I was never sure what to do with it. We stuck with the same haircut for a long time and sometimes (obviously) I didn't do it very well.

He loved to be a 'cool dude' with his brother (and his dad in this picture). He could never get the hands quite right....I like this much, much better.

I've spent a lot of time thinking about and missing my little buddy today. *SIGH*

2009-06-04T13:21:00.000-07:00

I've been working on my "Garrett Book". It's taking a LOOONG time. I was hoping to have it done before we headed north for a visit, but it's just not going to happen.

I've been collecting pictures, stories and anything else I can find, scanning them and organizing for the last few months. I finally sat down a month ago to put it together. It takes a lot of emotional energy to do it. I realized that I also want to make sure I have everything in it that I want so I'd better not rush it. I'm the kind of person that needs to work on something, then put it away for a while, then come back to it with fresh eyes. It's a big project.

One dilemma I have is what kind of 'voice' to use. Do I write in the book in third person "He always enjoyed making things..." or do I write as if I was speaking to Garrett "You loved helping in the kitchen".

How should I write? I need to decide fast, because already I'm 130 pages into it! HELP!

2009-05-02T08:08:00.000-07:00

Another Garrett Memory...

I woke up this morning remembering how Garrett would get up.

He wasn't big on sleep. He was usually the last one asleep and the first one awake. Many times we would tuck the boys into bed and 20 or 30 minutes later we would catch a glimpse of blonde hair and beady eyes peeking around a corner. We usually had to tuck him in bed 4 or 5 times every night.

In the morning he was easy to wake up (on the mornings that I got up first). I would go into his room and sit carefully on his bed and his eyes would pop open and he would jump out of bed like he was waiting for me and just pretending to sleep.

On the other hand he did like to take naps as long as he had a sippy cup. I remember him being really little-2 or 3- and asking for milk (signing it of course) and his blanket. I told him if he wanted milk in a sippy cup he needed to go take a nap. I gave him the milk and he picked up his blanket and went to his room and took a nap!

One vivid memory for me (this is what woke me up this morning) was Garrett getting up before anyone in the house. He was often awake at 5:30 or earlier. He would come into my room and stand at the edge of my bed (We have a really tall bed. He was eye level with me when I was lying down.)and stare at me. Often I would open my eyes to find us nose-to-nose and it scared me to death! If I didn't open my eyes with him just looking at me he would whisper "mom, mom" in a very soft voice. It would always startle me. He would do it sometimes if he woke up in the middle of the night. Rarely would he cry from his bed, he would come quietly into my room and whisper "mom, mom" and really get my heart thumping.

I sure miss that!

Garrett Stories

2009-05-02T00:10:00.000-07:00

It's funny how time does strange things. Sometimes it seems to fly by and at other times it crawls so slowly. It seems like this year has gone in just a blink of an eye, but while we were trudging through it, it was a long year.

In this last year I've tried really hard to write down stories and memories I have of Garrett so I don't forget them...so I don't forget him. I've had other people send me their memories of Garrett and I treasure them. I put them in a safe place and pull them out when I want to laugh, and cry-of course.

Miss Marsha, Garrett's first preschool teacher and a friend sent me a letter today with some really wonderful memories she has of Garrett. Two full pages of memories-I love them. It was such a great thing to read today.

These are a couple of them:
One day when Bekki was dropping him off for preschool, she told him, "Tell Miss Marsha what you want to be for Halloween." And Garrett said matter of factly, "The Holy Ghost."

I can't think of Garrett without thinking of his cute blonde hair. His haircut fit him perfectly. And when I think of his hair, I think of the day he found one of the girls tiny little hair rubber bands on the floor during play time. he brought it to me and asked me to put it in his hair. I tried to talk him out of it, but h REALLY wanted it. As soon as I put it in his hair (he had a darling little pony tail sticking up on the top of his head), he immediately started showing off for the class making everyone laugh. He was having the time of his life making them laugh.

My friend Angie wrote of Garrett:
Whenever we would be outside and Garrett would see us, he would put on a huge grin and come running toward the kids. He would see me and say, "Hey Mitchells Mom!" It always made me smile to hear him say it.

One Sunday Morning I was getting Mitchell ready for Church. I was trying to talk him into wearing a stripped snap shirt. He kept telling me no, I don't want to wear it. I finally asked him why he didn't want to wear it. He said,"Because I really want to sit by Garrett today and he doesn't really like stripes so if I wear that shirt, I won't get to sit by him.

Our neighbor Nancy who lives across the street had some good stories:

Sister Yardley had some strange allure for Garrett. He loved to go over and talk with her. He would often look out the window and say "Mom, Sistey Yady needs me to go over to her house and help." She was so nice to let him come over and play. She said he always picked up after himself and then would tell her he needed a cookie before he went home.

On several occasions after getting out of the shower I couldn't find him. I had left him watching cartoons and he wasn't there. After searching the house I frantically ran across the street and found him happily eating Sisty Yady's cookies. I had to really get after him and tell him not to leave the house without telling me!

I could go on and on and on... I probably will sometime.If you have any fun (or silly, or scary, or sad) stories of Garrett I would love to add them to my collection. Please send them to me. It would make my day!

2009-04-08T16:31:00.000-07:00

My Aunt Ellen sent these great pictures to me. We were remembering Grandpa Jones on his birthday this week. These pictures were taken at Grandpa Jones' funeral.

I hadn't seen these pictures before. Thanks Ellen, they sure did make me smile.

Love this face and the 'rock on' pose he would try to do. He would mistakenly use the ILY handshape instead. He thought it was so cool.

This is his super cousin Kylan. They were bestest buddies.

*Sigh*

2009-04-07T15:18:00.000-07:00

Talking about Dallin and his new athletic cup and boys and their fascination with body parts reminded me of...."Wenis Man"!!

That's what Garrett called himself when he discovered the flap in the front of his undies. He flipped out his penis and ran around the house yelling; "Look mom, I'm Wenis Man!"

He made up the word himself. It must be a combination of Weenie and Penis....

**EDIT** My sister reminded me that for quite a while Garrett would ask people "Wanna' see my Wenis?" and when they would politely decline his follow up questions was always "Why not?". I think my brother in law, Kelly is still laughing about that one...

We laughed about it for days! We still do on occasion...

Okay, so the kid was preoccupied with body parts. Another funny story involving him and body parts was when we were visiting my sister Jennifer in Salt Lake City. My cousin Steve and his wife Marci and their kids were over playing and Marci needed to change Jackson's diaper. She went out on the back porch where the kids were playing and Garrett came over to watch.

He watched with a very serious face and then exclaimed, "My dad's penis is bigger than his penis. My dad's penis is bigger than all your penises!"

It still makes me laugh to think of that story and Marci trying to re-tell it while laughing uncontrollably!

Oh, that kid could make me laugh! He still does on occasion...

2009-04-07T15:15:00.000-07:00

I missed Garrett on April 1st...I didn't get to say "Happy Teasing Day" to him! Bummer.

He was really excited last year to find some interesting things growing in our garden and loved showing it off!

I didn't tease anyone this year. I just couldn't muster the energy. *sniff*

Watch out next year!!

2009-02-09T18:32:00.000-08:00

Pine apples

The other day I bought a pineapple at the store. Pineapples always remind me of Garrett (as do bananas, breakfast cookies, milk in a sippy cup, blankets on the couch, Wonder Pets, bubble gum...) and his great personality.

We love to go on walks and often end up at the park down the street. It has a pond with ducks we can feed, a small playground, lots of grass to run on and pine trees. Every time we would go we would collect pine cones for projects and to decorate with.

One day we were walking home from the park and Garrett was in front of us running, throwing rocks and hiding in the bushes to jump out and scare us. On the corner in someone's yard was a pine tree. As we got closer to the tree Garrett jumped out with such excitement in his face holding a pine cone and yelled "Look mom, I found a pineapple!!"

That's why pineapples remind me of Garrett. (Who named them pine cones anyway? What a silly name for them. I think Garrett is exactly right-they are pine apples.)

I was searching for a picture of us in the park, but I couldn't find one. So these are some fun pictures of a hike we took with some friends in Usery Park. We hiked with a lot of kids and a few adults. It was VERY exciting.

You can see both my boys in red sweatshirts. I always tried to find shirts that were the same color when we went on adventures. It made them easier to keep track of.

We made it all the way to the top! Garrett was bugged that his hair was in his eyes...

He had such an excitement about him. He was my little adventurer always ready for something fun to do!

2009-01-31T13:45:00.000-08:00

There is a family in our ward that is very special to us, the Pew family. They are a little farther along in life than we are-their kids are mostly grown and gone-but for some reason we have a special attachment to them.

In church we tend to sit in the same area every Sunday. David and Laura Pew usually sat either with us or near us. Garrett loved Laura. He would find her and sit on her lap and have her read stories to him (he did that to several "grandma's" in our ward, but Sister Pew was something special.) Laura would often comment that Garrett reminded her of one of her boys when he was young.

(Side note: Garrett was such a friendly guy. He wasn't afraid to meet new people. At church he was the self appointed "greeter" and loved to stand at the door and shake everyone's hand. He was sad when people overlooked him and didn't shake his hand and thrilled when kids and adults would shake his hand and let him say hello...but I digress)

When Garrett died, it was really hard on Sister Pew. He was a special little guy to her. Recently Sister Pew lost her mother as well. We've become friends through sharing tears and hugs and stories.

A couple weeks ago she came to me and asked if she could borrow a family portrait. I was happy to loan one and she returned this week with these:

They are so beautiful! Her dad (who lost his wife) loves to do woodwork and wanted to do something for us. He enlarged the photos, mounted them and cut them out. He spent extra time on one just of Garrett.

Laura loved this picture. She said it seemed to capture his personality so well; the shirt not quite tucked in, the collar sticking up, his impish grin and most of all the cheerful glint in his eye.

We are so blessed with good friends who think about us! Thank you.

2009-01-31T13:33:00.000-08:00

Dallin had a tough week. On Wednesday he came home from school without going to his Science club. I knew something had to be wrong-he LOVES Science club. When I asked about it, he said "I just don't feel like doing anything today mom. I am just sad." We talked more about what he was sad about and he couldn't really put his finger on exactly what was bothering him. He was just sad and didn't want to do anything or play with anyone. He just wanted to be home.

I can identify. Some days I'm just sad. I can't explain why, I just get sad. They are fewer and farther between than what they use to be, but some days I just don't want to go anywhere or do anything. I just want to be home and hide.

So, Dallin and I sat on the couch and watched television for a while until Maura bugged us too much and we went for a bicycle ride.

Some days you just have to be sad.

2009-01-25T19:12:00.001-08:00

Tonight we went for a walk. It's a good Sunday activity that gets us out of the house along with our crazy dog and lets us all burn a little energy. We walked to the school (a couple of blocks away) then let the kids and the dogs run. We met up with a lot of friends and it was a lot of fun.

As it was getting dark, I called to Dallin and Adam and said it was time to head home. Then I started looking for Garrett. It was such a weird feeling. I was rounding up the kids and one was missing so I was scanning the playground before I remembered. Every once in a while getting a reality check is a little abrupt.

After we got home and were eating dinner, Dallin was talking about how much he misses Garrett. I'm glad he talks about Garrett often. Tonight he said he thinks we need to have a Garrett party. He suggests that on May 1st we have a party and invite our friends to play and remember Garrett.

It's a sweet idea. Dallin is a really thoughtful kid. I'm not sure I can do it, we'll see.

2008-12-20T12:24:00.000-08:00

Garrett Gets a White Christmas!

My sweet, sweet sister made a beautiful wreath for Garrett and took a picture of the winter wonderland Garrett is enjoying.

Brady, Reese (and Rae-I'm sure) helped too.
We are headed their way in a week to spend some time with them and enjoy the snow as well.

The only problem is that we don't have snow clothes and have to borrow them (we live in ARIZONA, for goodness sakes). The funny thing is that Dallin and Garrett have cousins about the same age, but not the same gender! So, they always end up in pink coats with fur and light blue snow pants-really not cool for boys, but we don't care!

He doesn't look like he is having fun, but he LOVED to play in the snow-even if he was wearing a girl coat!

This is a picture with his Great Grandpa Jones enjoying the snow. He's with him now too-I wonder what kind of fun things they are doing....

2008-12-11T07:32:00.000-08:00

This is the all-time favorite Christmas picture of Garrett. That I'm-so-excited-I-just-can't-contain-myself laugh, complete with candy cane juice around his mouth is a perfect representation of his personality.

2008-12-10T13:35:00.000-08:00

More of December '07

Cousins at our most favorite play place-Makutu's Island!!
Reese, Dallin, Garrett and Brady.
The traditional decorating of the gingerbread house.
Visiting the Christmas Lights at the Mesa Temple! We love to do it every year.
Garrett dressed up in Grandpa's Cowboy attire.
I just love the expressions in these pictures. It makes me giggle to look at them. I love how expressive both my boys are.
Joy. This is what joy looks like.
Brotherly love. They were good examples of it.
Dallin misses his little shadow. It's been a hard couple of weeks for him. I think it has been for all of us.

I'm so glad of the pictures and memories.

2008-12-10T13:31:00.000-08:00

December last year...

I'm looking through some pictures from last year and remembering the fun we had when my sister and her family came from Wyoming to visit.

Yes! This is what Wyoming kids want to do when they come to warm Arizona in December!

They didn't last very long (except in the hot-tub).
Garrett was such a good little swimmer! He loved taking swimming lessons, playing in sprinklers, or any other activity that included water!

2008-11-24T14:33:00.001-08:00

November with Garrett

I was thinking about Garrett and what we were doing this time last year.
Maura had just been born and Garrett was crazy about her. Before he came to the hospital to see her, he told me over the phone "Mom, when I see her I will so freak out!"
He loooooved to hold her, touch her, show her things and just be around her.
He was my number one helper when it came to taking care of her. He was always in the middle of whatever I was doing with her.
We had visitors last year. Phil and Linda came from Canada to see us. There's Garrett, right in the middle.
We ate a Thanksgiving dinner that Adam cooked himself.
The boys were always ganging up on Adam. They loved to wrestle and rough house with him.
Garrett was the foreman of the garden project.
He was always helping and right in the middle of all the dirty work.
He enjoyed digging in the dirt and generally being in the middle of the action.
I wonder what he's doing this November...in the middle of the action, I'm sure.

2008-10-28T20:26:00.000-07:00

Dallin is doing okay. He's a typical 8 year old boy wanting to play with friends, not do his homework, and into anything having to do with transformers, cars, Iron Man or The Hulk. At least that's how life is most of the time.

I sometimes forget that he is also dealing with missing Garrett and then something happens and his reaction surprises me. Tonight Maura smacked her mouth on the edge of her crib and cut her lip. There was a surprising amount of blood and it took me a minute to figure out that it was just her lip and nothing else. There was blood on her PJ's and my shirt and her hands and down her chin. I told Dallin to hurry and get a washcloth for me. I think maybe I scared him because after I calmed Maura down and got her washed up I couldn't find Dallin. I thought he was reading stories on the couch, but he wasn't there. I looked and found him already in his bed (not normal) and very very quiet. We started talking and he told me he was very worried about Maura. I reassured him that everything would be okay and he felt better, but it surprised me how upset he was.

He surprised me at the Primary Program a few weeks ago too when in the middle of it he came down off the stand and sat by us and cried for a little while. He said singing "I am a Child of God" made him miss Garrett.

Every once in a while he will get upset about something (usually when friends have to go home) and cry and scream and get really mad. After he calms down we talk about why he was so upset and how it's not an appropriate way to communicate with me. Often it leads to discussions about how much he misses Garrett.

I think his responses are pretty typical and to be expected. I feel the exact same way (although I cry and scream when I'm alone). I'm not worried about him and I don't think we need to find a counselor or anything, but every once in a while he surprises me with how emotional he gets over small things.

Overall, I think we have become better friends. He has become my helper for Maura and we do a lot of things together and I depend on him more to help around the house. If I am feeling sad he comes and gives me a hug and rubs my back-he doesn't say anything, he just hugs me like he understands. I guess it's normal for a family to cling together more after a traumatic experience.

I think I have gotten to know my own son better in the last few months than I ever have. In some ways I'm grateful for the closeness it has brought us. It's another blessing Garrett has brought to our family.

2008-10-27T19:44:00.000-07:00

Where's Garrett?

I get this question a lot from kids in the neighborhood. Often they will come over to play and in the middle of doing something come over and ask me, "Where's Garrett?". Then they stop and say "Oh, yeah, I forgot." .

It happens to me all the time too-I forget! I go in to wake up 'the boys'...and there's only Dallin sleeping in the bunk beds. I set the table for dinner and put a plate out for Garrett. I was just thinking about Halloween and what could 'the boys' be? There is always that little second before I remember.

I'm glad the kids in our neighborhood still remember him. I love that they will talk about him and share stories about him and imagine what he would be doing and talk about what kinds of things he liked to do.

I know exactly where Garrett is; he's here in our hearts and our memories until we are together forever.

2008-10-21T19:40:00.000-07:00

Those we miss

I borrowed this from my sister's blog.

My mom, brother, and sisters and lots of kiddos on a hike at the Heaton Ranch.

Blythe, Halle and Garrett locked in jail while visiting Aunt B. in Arizona. They were bad little kids!

My Grandpa Jones and Garrett. Garrett was never afraid to wear girl clothes! :-) Of course he wasn't old enough to know the difference. They are taking a time out from being pulled in a sled behind one of the four-wheelers. I love this picture of the two of them.
My cousin Jonathan, Bekki, Garrett, Grandpa Jones (dad), Grandma Jones (my mom who is in heaven keeping Garrett and Grandpa company), brother-in-law Kelly, and my brother David taking in the scenery in Colorado. This picture was taken about 2 weeks before my mom passed away suddenly.
Jude's best buddy, Garrett. They were chilling out with some popcorn and a movie on our vacation to Colorado.

Playing in the stream outside the cabin. Silly boys.

Our family had a lot of deaths within a two year period. It has been very hard on us but I'm grateful to know that families are eternal and we'll see them again. We love you!

Thanks Jennifer for the great pictures and nice thoughts.

2008-10-21T19:18:00.000-07:00

My Blog Book

I finally got my blog book (2007) in the mail! It took me a while to get up the courage to edit it and proofread it. I then had it printed by BLURB and they did a good job!

While I was looking at the newest book and all the photos from 2007 (189 pages worth) I was thinking about Garrett. I really enjoyed looking at the pictures of all of us together and I was just amazed that we had such a cute little guy with us all the time.

I remember feeling like I was so lucky back then to have him all of the time and I only get him some of the time now. That was such a weird thought to have popped into my head-I only get him sometimes now.

I didn't think about it much until a few days later I had one of the Young women in my ward pull me aside and tell me a little story. She said she saw me walking a few days ago and had to look twice because she saw Garrett holding onto the stroller and walking along with me. He was smiling and walking and enjoying the day with me. It was a really neat story. I'm happy she shared it.

Then I remembered the thoughts I had when I looked at my book. It seems a little strange now to talk about, but I feel like he's around once in a while. Sometimes I get a strong feeling that he is here with us enjoying a little time with his family. Other times I like to imagine how he would react to what we are doing and what kinds of things he would say. Like this past Sunday in church we had the Primary program and I could just imagine what he would be doing. Standing in the front with his buddy Mitchell with a super big grin on his face and waving to us and singing as loud as he could even if he didn't know the words. Then standing up to do his part and getting a little shy after seeing all the faces looking at him. It was a fun thing to imagine.

So, my book made me happy and sad. Happy I have such great memories and wonderful experiences of the time we had with Garrett and sad that for now we only get him once in a while.

It also made me hug Maura a little longer today and play an extra game with Dallin while he is home because I get them both for the whole day.

2008-10-13T19:58:00.000-07:00

More Treasures

Michelle (our friend now living with her family in Columbia) was looking through some pictures and found these cute ones for me.

Several years ago...I think it was during 2006 we traveled to Canada to spend a week with Adam's family. On the way home we had a layover in DC! Lucky for us the Fowler's and Corbett's lived there at the time. The Fowler family picked us up at the airport and gave us a driving tour of the city.

Then we went and walked around several monuments and had lunch on the lawn before heading back to the airport and on our way home to Arizona. It was a fun afternoon and we have such good memories of the times with our good friends.

I love finding pictures of him that look like this. He always loved the camera both taking pictures and having them taken of him. His "cheesy grin" is my favorite pose of his.

This picture was taken by another good friend Leslie at her house. I'm not sure when it was because Garrett (and Dallin and Maura) spend a lot of time at her house-it's their second home. (From the look of her furniture and the clothes he is wearing, it was probably taken sometime this year-2008.)

Thanks for the pictures! They sure make my day.

2008-10-05T16:30:00.000-07:00

Treasures

Just the other day I was looking through some pictures trying to organize and I found these. I hadn't seen them before. I think someone sent them to me right after Garrett died and I put them in a file and haven't looked at them since.

First they brought a little tear to my eye. Now a smile. He is such a special guy.

I'm not sure who took the picture, but it was taken at a splash park not far from our home. I'm sure we were there with a ton of friends. He was always up for going to the splash park to cool off and be with friends. (On a side note, notice the dent in his chest-it's one of the fun things he got from his dad.)

What a silly face, and an even sillier haircut. I'm not sure why he always had a haircut like this. We tried cutting it differently one summer and it just didn't look right. Of course this doesn't look too great either...poor kid. He inherited my hair, very fine and straight.

Haircut is better in this picture. It's grown out a little I am guessing. This is at my Aunt Ellen's house during a Jones party. Mostly we ate chocolate (notice the evidence) and looked at photo albums.

Garrett had such a sweet tooth! He was always up for treats.

He loved getting tossed around!

He and his cousin Kylan were super good buddies!

He was such a great brother. He LOVED to be near, pick up, hug and generally maul Maura. I remember one day having him call me into the family room after I had put her on the floor to entertain herself for a while. "Come and see" he yelled. I came and saw him jumping back and forth over her laughing and having a great time.

I think that's what I remember the most, him laughing and smiling and always having such a great time. He had such a cheerful disposition and was happy. If he was ever sad it was short lived. I want to be like Garrett.

Thanks, whoever sent these pictures to me. They were great treasures to find today.

2008-09-11T09:45:00.000-07:00

It's been 4 months and 11 days we've been without our little Garrett. Some days are easier than others. On a day like today, when everyone is remembering people they have lost, it's a little harder. He's been on my mind a lot today and I am finding little reminders of him everywhere.

Today we rode home in the shuttle from Superstition Springs Toyota with the same driver that drove Garrett and I. I remember him being SO excited to ride in the bright red van with the cool horns on the front.

I opened a little notebook this morning to make a list of things to do and found a page he had illustrated-I drew a Christmas tree for him and he drew the decorations.

We made his favorite for breakfast this morning-pancakes. It seems they don't get eaten as fast now as they use to. Garrett LOVED pancakes. He would eat them for every meal if I let him and "a pancake in my hand" for a snack.

I put away a puzzle Adam and Dallin put together a couple of days ago. It was a puzzle Garrett got for Christmas. He was a game kid. He always wanted me to play a game with him or "make somened" (his way of talking was very unique).

I drove by Banner Desert hospital yesterday and found a lump in my throat. Hospitals aren't scary to me, they just bring back really hard memories. While watching a silly show one night I completely fell apart because one of the characters was in the hospital. It seemed so ridiculous that it would effect me so strongly.

It's strange how a perfectly normal activity will make me sad. Not as horribly miserable as I use to feel, but just sad. That knot in my stomach has loosened a little.

It seems that when I'm doing okay or going about my normal activities, the ache builds a little and at the most inopportune times it becomes uncontrollable. Like when riding home in a shuttle from the car fix-it place. I owe the driver an explanation...

2008-08-31T08:47:00.001-07:00

Today is Garrett's birthday. He would have been 5 years old today. We had a bit of a 'party' last night. It felt like it should have been his birthday party. He would have loved it!

Dallin and I have been looking through photo albums this morning and we found the story of when he was born. Dallin had never read it and we had a good time talking about Garrett this morning. I don't have any digital pictures of Medim-G when he was born. I'll have to scan a few and post them when I get the chance.

August 2000:

It seems, Garrett, you are already following in the footsteps of your older brother. That's okay-he will be a good example to you, but don't you think you are taking this a little too far?

Dallin was born two weeks early, so naturally I thought babies should be born during their 38^th week. So when we got to that week I was ready for you to be born. You room was ready, complete with painted walls, a mobile, changing table, diapers, clothes and toys. One night I was awakened by contractions and was ready to rush off to the hospital, but I fell back to sleep-you weren't ready to come. Ironically I hadn't packed a bag for the hospital. I thought of it as a kind of jinx. If I packed a bag, you would be two weeks late! August 2st I had an appointment with my doctor. He said you weren't ready to come and for me to get comfortable. I was a little relieved, we had a Jones Family reunion planned for Labor Day weekend at the Flake Ranch and I wanted to go. The following week (Thursday before the reunion) I had another appointment and Dr. Tutt said it should be fine for me to go to the reunion (2 ½ hours away). Besides, he said, he was headed to the mountains as well and wouldn't be around.

Saturday morning, August 30^th we picked up Adam's mom at the airport and headed to the ranch. It was a nice drive getting to visit with Linda all the way there. We got there about 2:30 pm and found a large group of Joneses. My parents came from Wyoming and all of Grandpa's children were there including Ellen who braved the terrible drive to be with everyone. We had a great day visiting. Dallin enjoyed playing with his cousins in the dirt, and he was the star of the show playing softball with all the uncles. After dinner that night we all sat around the campfire singing songs and telling stories and having a great time. It had been a long day and I was tired, so we headed to bed. We were lucky enough to be in one of the cabins and slept in a nice bed. About 1am Dallin, sleeping on the floor next to us, stirred in his sleep and I got up to comfort him then rushed to the bathroom as my water broke! Nothing could have awakened Adam faster than the words “Psst, hey, I think my water broke!” We rushed around gathering our things, packing them in the car and we headed down the mountain.

My experience having Dallin was similar. My water broke early and I didn't go into labor. “Here we go again” I thought as we drove down the mountain. It was a little comforting this time knowing what would likely happen. And in keeping with tradition you were 9 days early! YIPEEEE!

Adam drove as fast as he thought he could in the dark watching out for elk and deer along the way and I nudged him every time I had a contraction. One of my greatest fears was having to pull over and deliver a baby half way between Heber and Mesa! But, my contractions weren't getting any stronger or closer together. On the way to the hospital we stopped at our house to drop off Dallin and Linda and pack a bag. Adam even took a shower not wanting to smell like a campfire for the rest of the day. We arrived at the hospital about 4:30 am and checked in.

4:30am Arrived at the hospital, checked in and sat around waiting for my contractions to get closer together. I was attached to a fetal monitor and then given an I.V. The nurse was afraid the baby was under stress from dehydration, so she wanted to make sure I had enough fluids. So, for the second tie, I was strapped to a bed and not able to get up and walk around.

6:30 am No change in contractions, so I was given an I.V. with pitocin to speed things along.

8:30 am Things started to move along and I was feeling very uncomfortable. Luckily, I had Adam to encourage me and talk to me. He did a great job making me feel better.

10:30 am Things were moving faster (at least I thought so), but the nurse seemed unconcerned expecting this to last a while. We had explained that with Dallin things progressed quickly, but she seemed hesitant to call the doctor on call. (Dr. Tutt was out of town, but the doctor on call was Dr. McNeal. We met her earlier in the day when she was in helping deliver another baby.)

11:00 am The nurse finally called the doctor and told me and told me not to push, but to just breathe until the doctor arrived! You've got to be kidding me! Not an experience I will forget for a while.

11:25 am The doctor finally arrives, calmly says “Let's see how far along you are” then quickly changes her tune when she realizes she had better hurry up and put something over her clothing before little Garrett crashes to the floor. Two pushes and a squirming redhead was welcomed into the world.

11:30 am Garrett Wayne Russell was born weighing 7lbs 2oz. And measuring 19 ¾ in. long. We hadn't picked out the name we liked yet, and had a few we were considering, but just couldn't make the decision. Upon seeing Garrett, the nurse commented on what seemed to be very red hair and asked what we were going to name him. Adam looked at me and said “We like the name Garrett”. Horrified the nurse looked back at him and asked “Carrots?” and the name stuck. Garrett it is!

The hospital stay was uneventful. You were a good eater right from the start (once we woke you up) and have been very patient with mom, dad and older brother while we get use to having a new person in our home. You are a special little spirit, with strawberry-blond hair, a cute nose, full lips and a serene personality. We sure do love you!

Happy Birthday little Garrett-we miss you!

We are LOVED

2008-08-12T10:10:00.000-07:00

There aren't enough words to say how grateful we are for our Ward Family. During the last few months we have been the recipients of countless acts of kindness. I honestly don't think there has been a day when we haven't had someone leave a kind message or do a kind act of service for us. It makes some really hard days bearable.

There are those who have helped us physically by caring for our home and ourselves (like mowing our lawn, fixing our sprinklers, bringing us food, taking out our trash...)when we couldn't really think of doing that ourselves. Others cared for our children when we weren't in the right mind to do that either. Many cared for our spirits as they brought books and words and stories of comfort. We have felt the prayers of many as we've found the strength to get out of bed and live. We've had monetary gifts that have humbled us and been such a blessing, and arms to hold us up when we couldn't stand on our own any longer.

Some small things that were (and still are) especially helpful:
Notes
Knowing looks and a big hug
Specific questions about how we are feeling-just asking “How are you doing?” is difficult to answer
Patience with our wildly fluctuating emotions
Remembering Garrett with us by sharing stories about him

There are so many, many people we feel a deep gratitude towards. We are at a loss to know how to repay such kindness and love. Reading one of the books that was given to us titled The Gateway We Call Death by Russell M. Nelson he explains that one of the reasons we experience pain and loss is so that we can be empathetic to those around us and use our newfound sensitivity to serve and support others. In essence we learn to “pay it forward” and pass along the service we have been shown by serving others.

We have taken that to heart and pray we are sensitive to those around us and serve unselfishly as we have been served.

Thank you, Ward Family, we love you and feel your love.

2008-08-12T10:06:00.000-07:00

First Day of School

This was Garrett's first day of school last year. He sure did love school. He loved riding the bus, seeing his teacher, meeting new friends, singing songs, and doing projects. I'm sure he would have loved school again this year. He often talked about wanting to walk to school with his big brother Dallin.

His good friend Mitchell started school yesterday and was a little anxious about going. I wish Garrett were here to go with him. They were such good friends, I think it would have made it easier on Mitchell if Garrett were in his class with him and walking with him to school.

2008-07-28T19:08:00.000-07:00

We were so glad to have the headstone in place in time for us to see it during our vacation in Wyoming. The company went out of their way to get it set for us to see.

The Grover cemetery where Garrett is buried (it is still hard to believe) is not far from my sister's home. You can see it from her house and most mornings we would walk up the hill behind the cemetery and back for exercise.

Love this picture.

The woolf kids, Fullmer kids, and Russell Kids

Our flake cousins also came to visit in Wyoming and we all went to the cemetery.

2008-06-12T21:13:00.000-07:00

How is Dallin doing?

I get that question a lot. Mostly he is doing well. He has sad times where he will come and sit on my lap and just be quiet for a while. Most of the time he looks for kids to play with to distract himself. He misses his little shadow that followed him everywhere! He use to have a built-in playmate and he misses that constant companionship. Lately he has been a little more dramatic than usual (and that's saying a lot) the melt-downs happen more often and are more intense. But overall he's doing really well.

He didn't want to sleep in his room alone for a long time, but we've had friends staying with us so it hasn't been much of an issue. He doesn't like to take baths anymore because he has to do it alone, so he takes showers instead. Adam is trying extra hard to give him more attention and he is starting to abuse it a little stretching his bed time for just another few minutes, and "just one more story dad", and on and on.

Every once in a while I overhear him talking to friends about what Garrett use to do and how he acted. Just the other day while riding home from our reunion we brought my little cousin Rebecca with us. Dallin told her several times about how Garrett use to say something and how they use to play together. He seemed very matter-of-fact about it.

Today I decided to make banana bread (a tough chore without my little buddy to help me-Garrett was the chef in our family) and asked Dallin to help. While we were doing it we started talking about Garrett. I asked him if he was sad and missed Garrett and he said yes. I told him that I missed Garrett too and sometimes that made me sad, but it was fun to remember the things Garrett use to do. So, we started remembering things about Garrett.

He loved to sing songs-any songs and many times with the wrong words like "Transformers, robots in the skies" (it's suppose to be DISGUISE).

Dallin and Garrett would always do the McDonald theme when they saw the golden arches-you know:"duh duh duh duh duh, I'm lovin' it!" They also did the funny song from Sesame Street (let's see if I can do this) "ma-na-ma-na, do-do-ba-do-ba, ma-na-ma-na, do-do-ba-do! " Then they would use the same melody and put in funny words like "banana bread, do-do-ba-do-ba, banana bread, do-do-ba-do!"

Dalllin misses doing many things with him like: Battling in the tub with cars and boats, 2 person computer games where the guys would fight, Garrett hanging on Dallin's back, Garrett following him around, and Garrett playing with Maura.

Funny things we remembered about Garrett: One day while walking home from the Woolf's house he picked up a pine cone from under the tree and said "Mom, look a pineapple!". He always said "Oh my freatin' dosh!" (oh my freaking gosh) and "Oh my het" (oh my heck)j

Foods Dalllin remembers Garrett loved to eat: Strawberries, pancakes, Oatmeal breakfast cookies, bananas, and beans

We will miss that cute little guy, but we sure do have some terrific memories!

2008-06-09T21:19:00.000-07:00

The Phillip Russell Family

I finally found someone who has these pictures! I've been searching for pictures of Adam's family from the funeral and couldn't find any-thanks Sarah!

This is the first time in a couple of years Adam and his siblings have been together. We are missing Maura (she was asleep on someone's shoulder) and Jason's wife Bobby Joy (BJ) and their 5 1/2 kids.

Adam, Sarah, and Jason

Adam, Sarah and Jason about 30 years ago!

Dallin's hair looks just like Adam's in this picture!

2008-06-03T22:23:00.000-07:00

Half mast for Garrett.

My son Dallin goes to Helen Keller Elementary School and I am part of the PTO. Garrett and I were at the school several times a week doing different things and he made some great friends. One of those friends is Bob-he keeps the school running and he is awesome! Garrett calls him "Bob the builder" and would give him a hug each time he saw him.

One day we were on our way home from the school and Garrett said; "*sigh* Mom, I just love Bob the builder!" it was so cute. They were good buddies Bob and Garrett.

The day Bob found out about Garrett he flew the flag at the school at half mast and said he didn't care if he got into trouble, Garrett deserved it!

We are so blessed to have such wonderful people who love us.

It's been a month since Garrett died. In some ways it seems so short and then again it feels like I've lived three life times in these few weeks. Some days are harder than others. Sometimes it physically hurts I miss him so much and at other times I'm not so sad and realize that life goes on and I have happy moments.

I don't know which are worse; the times when I am sad or the times when I am happy and then I feel sad (guilty?) that I'm not sad. It's a funny thing to try and figure out what to do. I know my life needs to go on but I don't want to forget Garrett and sometimes I think that if I'm not thinking about him and missing him that I am forgetting him. I know it's not right and that I won't ever forget him, but it's a hard thing to figure out how to feel. It is confusing... I'm confused, but the thing that makes everything easier are the great friends and family I have. Thanks!

We are still getting cards and letters and phone calls from so many people-thank you, it helps to know we are loved and remembered.

Monument

2008-05-20T21:21:00.000-07:00

I struggle with what to call this...headstone? Grave marker? Monument? They all sound really weird to me, so if you have a good name for it PLEASE pass it on!

We have a rough draft from the company that makes the ________. I like it. Adam even drew the cute little ILY hand. He worked extra hard to make it look like a child's hand and not an adult hand. He did a great job!

Inside the rectangles and the circle will be a lighter unpolished granite whereas the area on the outside will be a darker, polished granite.

The saying at the bottom has special meaning for our family. Whenever anyone left or as we were tucking the boys into bed this is the conversation we had:

"Bye, I love you!"
"I love you more!"
"No, I love you more!"
"I love you more than the world!"
"I love you more than all the trees!"
"I love you more than...etc" We really got creative.

Lastly we would say: "I love you more than space!" (To which Dallin would add "I love you more than a thousand spaces!" and on and on and on.)

It sometimes got out of hand, but looking back I'm so glad we say "I love you" so often!

2008-05-20T20:56:00.000-07:00

Family

It was good to see Adam's family. They came all the way from Cobourg, Ontario Canada and spent more than a week taking care of things for us. Maura enjoyed grandma and grandpa time.

Aren't sisters (and brothers) the best? I know whenever I need them they come-even if it means a 4 hour drive and a 2 hour plane ride with a newborn baby.

Funny story, when people asked if my family was coming I said "Yes, my sisters are flying in from Salt Lake City-Gina, Jennifer and David...oh, I mean and my brother David!" Love ya, Daze!

Again, Mookie is spoiled by her Aunt Jenny-fer-fer. I love the uncontrollable urge everyone has to open their mouths when feeding babies!

2008-05-20T20:53:00.000-07:00

Garrett LOOOOVED riding the bus!

The bus driver was always so friendly and happy to see Garrett. He would wait on the curb for her to pull up and open the doors. Then came the ritual of waving over and over while the bus pulled away.

After school I was suppose to meet him on the curb again and sometimes I was late so he got to honk the horn! How cool is that??

2008-05-20T20:44:00.000-07:00

"A Mother's Lullaby"

Peaceful, lie peaceful, my dear little one,
Under the starlight, under the sun.
Summer and winter roll soft your head.

Sleep, gently sleep in your small earthen bed.

Yesterday, yesterday two little feet
Ran through the meadow, the wildflowers sweet.
Snow-time and flower-time cover you deep.
Peaceful, lie peaceful as I lay you to sleep.

Yesterday, yesterday two little feet
Romped on their way, and the summer was sweet.
But now faith whispers soft as I bid you goodnight.
My angel walks through a garden of light.

Blessed, oh blessed the day of our Lord,
Blessed the dead who shall rise at his word.
Blessed the angels who swing wide the door.
Blessed the time when I hold you once more.

*My dad found this poem and read it at the funeral. I can almost read the whole thing without sobbing.

2008-05-19T21:10:00.000-07:00

My Brother and sisters who were with us in Wyoming. We are only missing my youngest brother David who came to Mesa, but had to get back to work in Salt Lake City.

Kathleen(#5), Bekki(#1), Trenton(#4), Jennifer(#3), Gina(#2)

This is the marker for my mother's grave just a few feet away from Garrett.

2008-05-19T20:59:00.000-07:00

Grave side service in Wyoming

I finally got some pictures of us in Wyoming-thanks Gina!

Those you can see: Kelly (brother-in-law), Trenton (brother), Adam and Dalllin (you can also see the arm of Kyle (brother-in-law), Brady (Dallin's cousin) also helped.

Dallin is a sensitive kid. He saw that I was sad so he came to sit on my lap. He will often give me a hug when I am not happy and pat my back or just hold my hand and pat it.

The flowers survived the trip from Mesa.

The wind was blowing, so we don't have many good pictures of us...

This one is a little better.

It's sad to think how small Maura is...she'll never really get to know her brother Garrett.

He LOVED water!

2008-05-17T10:27:00.000-07:00

We live in Arizona, so it's no surprise that we visit water parks whenever we can. Garrett was crazy about water whether it was at a splash park, a pool, or just playing in the sprinklers at home.

Cousins at the Tempe town lake splash park-summer 2007

The tub was as good of a place as any to play in the water.

Swimming lessons were one of his favorite things. After the first lesson it became apparent that Garrett was the "bad kid" in class. He was more interested in going under, blowing bubbles, and trying to swim than he was listening to the teacher. But, I think he was still well liked because at the end of each lesson he would wave to his teacher or hug her and say "Bye teacher, I love you!"

Such fun memories...thanks for the pictures Gina!

2008-05-16T11:45:00.000-07:00

So, what happened?

I can see this question in almost every face that gives me a hug. It's the elephant in the room that no one wants to point out, but everyone can feel. I don't mind talking about it. I'm not sure why. Maybe because I can talk about facts, it's my emotions I can't talk about.

So here it is in a nutshell:

Garrett didn't feel too good on Sunday, but I wasn't worried. He had a low-grade fever off and on, and was just sleepy. He didn't want to eat much but drank fine. We stayed home from church and snuggled a lot. That night was rough-he didn't sleep well and started throwing up, so first thing in the morning I got him in to see our doctor. She listened to his lungs and thought maybe he had pneumonia. So, she gave him an antibiotic shot and another shot Fenigrin (sp?) for his nausea along with an antibiotic prescription and instructions to make him drink. We were worried that he wasn't hydrated enough (none of us are really, it's Arizona for goodness sakes) but if he urinated in the next few hours then just keep pushing liquids, if not then take him to the ER and get an I.V. She also warned me that he would be really sleepy that day because of the shots.

That day he slept a lot and I pushed fluids and he ate a little but not much. He was just very lethargic but he urinated and wanted Burger King for dinner :-). That night was restless again and I was worried so off to the ER early in the morning.

They gave him an I.V. and ran some tests. He was somewhat responsive to us but acted very very tired almost like he was drugged. The doctors suspected it was still the medication from the shot. We spent 12 hours in the ER with no big concern, just letting him sleep and getting him hydrated. Because he was still not responsive they wanted to admit him.

Late that night we got into a room. The night was restless again even being very restless at some points. Around midnight I called Adam (he was at a conference in San Diego) and said "Come home, I can't do this alone". He planned to get on the next plane and be home by 9am. During the night there were bouts of restlessness where he would call out as if something hurt and I couldn't understand him. Then his heart rate became erratic slowing often and setting off alarms. It would speed up when I touched him and talked to him, so I touched and talked and hugged him often.

The nurses were concerned and brought in the PICU doctor for a consult. She thought that maybe they would transfer him so they could keep a better eye on him, but would consult with another doctor first. Up till now, no one acted very concerned. He had what they thought was a virus his body would fight with the help of antibiotics, antivirals and the I.V. I wasn't super concerned either, just very very tired.

While we were waiting for them to talk Garrett started to have seizures. We called in the doctor and it seemed as if the entire PICU staff came running. They whisked us down the hall and got him into the PICU where he continued to have seizures. They gave him medication to stop them and medication to stop any swelling of the brain. He had a CT scan previously in the ER and everything was normal then, but they wanted to do another CT and an MRI as well because of the seizing.

He continued to seize and they had to intubate him. Then off to the CT and it looked normal, no swelling but small spots that meant the brain did not get enough oxygen in very small places-no huge worries.

A couple hours later off to get an MRI. When the results came back the doctor, with his shoulders slumped said "It is very bad news." His brain had massive trauma. He gave him a zero chance for recovery but they would do more tests and help as much as they could for 24 hours.

That's how fast it was. From the second CT scan that showed a slight concern to massive trauma it happened in about 4 hours. We still don't know what he had. They said he died of encephalitis, which really means a swelling of the brain that can be caused by numerous things, bacteria, viruses, etc. They assume, because of the low-grade fever, it was some kind of virus. The center for infectious diseases ran tests on known viruses for the area (20 of them such as West Nile and others) but the results came back negative. They don't know.

Those are the facts. The emotions of it are very different and hard to talk about, but one thing I know-it was his time to go. That's the comfort I have had through all of this. God is powerful. If Garrett was meant to stay with us he would still be here.

I know he is happy and in a good place, but the selfish person that I am misses him terribly and wishes he were still here.

Thank You

2008-05-12T12:03:00.000-07:00

Thank you for the food, the cards, phone calls, treats for the drive, taking care of our house, the hugs, the great expression of love and prayers from so many. We are blessed to have so many people who care about us. There aren't words to express how much comfort we have gotten from your kind words. Thank you!

One of the many gifts and kind words was a picture book I found on my dresser as we were packing for Wyoming. I thought it was a picture book for Dallin, so I threw it in the car to read on the way. When I finally was able to open it and read, I found it was actually a book for our whole family called "Tear Soup". I think I read it 10 times on the drive, then had my sister, dad, and anyone else I could latch on to read it as well. It is a great book for how to deal with loss of any kind.

Take a look if you are interested, or ask me-I'll be happy to share it with you!

Again, thank you for everything.

Family trip

2008-05-12T11:37:00.000-07:00

Sunday afternoon we began our family trip. Some would think it was strange to have Garrett riding with us, to me it was more comforting than strange.

It's a long drive to Star Valley Wyoming-about 14 hours. We made it an even longer trip stopping often and even staying a night in Panguich, a small town in southern Utah.

We stopped at places we've always wanted to stop and climbed rocks, looked at the scenery and talked a lot. I don't think we even turned on the radio or listened to a CD. It was a hard trip going up, coming home was even harder.

The grave-side services in Wyoming were very nice-so many people came to show their love and concern for us. We are so blessed. (I haven't found a picture of it yet, but I will)

A couple of days later we went and got a shepherd's hook and a wind sock to put at the grave-site. We also put a small granite slab for now that has the words "Families are Forever" engraved on it. Hopefully the monument will be set before we go up this summer.

Garrett is buried next to my mom-you can see her headstone not far away.

It's hard to be home without him.

2008-05-04T21:56:00.000-07:00

If you would like to share your memories or pictures of Garrett, please send them to

garrettmemories @ gmail . com

(without all the spaces).

2008-05-03T22:10:00.000-07:00

Graveside Service
Tuesday, May 6
11:00 a.m.
Grover Wyoming Cemetery

2008-05-02T12:57:00.000-07:00

Thank you, thank you, thank you to soooo many people for food, flowers, kind words, prayers, thoughts, help in organizing all the stuff that has to be done but doesn't really seem important to me right now, and so much more.

It has given me some much needed time to look at pictures and write down thoughts and memories. Here are a few pictures that are my favorite!

I know I'm a mother, and I'm biased, but this kid should have been a star!

He and his bestest brother are "cool dudes".

2008-05-01T14:19:00.000-07:00

We have had so many people generously offer to help or donate in some way. Rather than plants or flowers that Adam would forget to water, we suggest a donation to help cover medical expenses.

They can be sent to:
PMB 93
1235 S. Gilbert Rd. Ste 3
Mesa, Az 85204

Thank you again for thinking of us.

(Note: This is a Postal Mail Box--similar to a P.O. Box. Checks can be made out to Adam or Bekki Russell.)

2008-05-01T14:12:00.000-07:00

We have many friends and family who need the services of ASL interpreters. There will be interpreters at the service.

Chris Hansen has generously offered to be the interpreter coordinator (thanks!).

If you would like to volunteer to help by interpreting please contact him.

2008-05-01T12:25:00.001-07:00

Garrett Wayne Russell, the sweetest, cutest, happiest little guy you could have ever known left this life Thursday, May 1, 2008. Although we know we will be together again someday we will miss him terribly.

Thank you all for your prayers and kind thoughts on our behalf.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, May 3rd in Mesa at the Mesa South Stake Building of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day saints. The building is located in Mesa on Southern ave. between Stapley and Gilbert (1415 E. Southern Ave. 85204).

The viewing will be from 1:30-2:15 with funeral services at 2:30pm.

All are welcome.

We will then be taking a family drive to Wyoming where he will be buried in Grover next to his Grandma Jonesy and where his Aunt Gina can babysit him :-).

Those of you in the northern regions who won't be able to come to Mesa are welcome to come to a grave-side service that is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, May 6th.

We will continue to update information as it changes.

2008-05-01T07:57:00.000-07:00

Self portrait!

Information will be posted as we have it. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.