Hometown: Houston, Texas

Occupation: High School Math Teacher

Pet: My dog, Freddie

Nicknames: Garv, G, Gaga

Favorite snack: Buttered Popcorn

2025 has been a wonderful year so far!

I've continued to play guitar, and recently played in a show at my music school with some friends! I was very nervous, but I made it all the way through Dead Flowers by The Rolling Stones, and I can't wait to play up on stage again soon. In February, I took a trip to New Orleans with my aunts and cousins. We had a blast exploring the city (the weather was fantastic), eating amazing New Orleans food, and spending time with one another. Freddie met one of my friends babies and was a very good boy! He was curious and gentle. It made me so happy to see him engage with this tiny soul. Freddie is also happy to report that he is still devestatingly handsome. My nephew Johnny is in the first grade! I can't believe how time has flown. He loves reading, art, and magic tricks.

2024 was a wonderful year filled with travel, music, and friends.

I started off the year by trying to teach myself to play guitar using YouTube videos. My dad had an old Martin that he wasn't using, and he gave it to me, so I have a beautiful guitar to play on. After a few weeks of YouTube lessons, I decided to find a guitar teacher. I've been taking lessons for almst a year now, and it is the best thing I've ever done for myself. It has helped me understand artistic collaboration, has given me a greater sense of empathy for my students (learning is hard work!), and has even prompted me to get up on stage a few times to perform in front of my students, colleagues, and friends. Music has always been a part of my life, but now I get to participate in it, and it feels amazing. This is a love I will certainly pass along to my child. In the summer of 2024, I took an incredible trip to Mexico City with my two best friends, Kk and Bethany. We explored the city, took a tour of Teotihuacan, and ate amazing food. In the week I was there I fell in love with the city, and I can't wait to take my child there to visit. Thanksgiving and Christmas were great fun in my family this year. Everyone was in town to celebrate together. My mom cooked a tasty Thanksgiving dinner, and my dad made his signature standing rib roast for Christmas lunch. I'm looking forward to carrying on old traditions and creating new ones as my family grows. These holidays are also my opportunity to catch up with my high school girlfriends, some of whom have moved away and are only home once a year to visit.

Hello! I am Caroline, Garv's sister. I am a mom and an artist, and my favorite hobby is growing as a human. My relationship with my sister is one of the things I am most proud of in my life. We have always turned to one another to figure out life's curveballs, and we have taken on life's challenges knowing that we have each other, no matter what. Garvin is centered, dependable, adventurous, hilarious, organized,responsible, and honest. Her kindness comes from the deepest well. My son, Johnny, just turned 6. Gaga, as he calls her, is his favorite person after me. Being a single mom is hard -nothing has ever tested me so much. At the same time, nothing has ever caused me to listen, learn, and grow as much. I know that my sister understands that because I see the same happening within her. She is not just Johnny's aunt. She is a trusted caretaker who plays a large part in shaping his understanding of the world. It brings me so much peace to know that Garvin is here with me. I know that she is even more capable than I am of navigating life with a little partner by her side. I learn so much from her every time I see her interact with Johnny. When I pick him up from her house there is SO MUCH for them to show me. Physics projects, secret hideouts under the stairs, adventures across the city, and gardens they have planted. It's utterly amazing. I joke that she took all ofthe energy genes and there were none left for me once I was born. Garvin is always concerned for Johnny's feelings and I look forward to our conversations about what they talked about and what she observed after they've spent one-on-one time together. It brings me so much joy to hear how she encourages him to be kind, independent, curious, and comfortable asking questions. She teaches him to be a problem solver--to know that everything he needs to find a solution is within him. Garvin reminds me, without ever saying it, that these are the things that we want for our children. I promise to do the same for her. Garv is a deeply caring person. She loves and cares for her pets, for Johnny, for her friends and for her students. Even for her plants! She is incredibly strong and has been since we were kids. She knows who she is and I think that allows her to accept others exactly as they are, never wanting to change them. Thank you again for considering my sister - we are so excited to welcome a new child into our family. ~ Caroline

My mom, Gaynor, and my stepdad, Tony, have been married since 1999. My mother is from west Texas and Tony is from England. They enjoy cooking, traveling, and spending time with their two pugs, Mikey and Stella. Tony has two children as well, Alix (Houston) and Claire (London). My mom and Tony love getting to spend time with Johnny and Seneca, Alix's son.

Caroline is a wonderful mother to my nephew Johnny. They share a love of playing Minecraft, enjoy trips to the Houston Museum of Natural Science, and have a dog named Hugo. Caro, Johnny, and I spend a lot of time together exploring the city, cooking great food, and building memories.

My dad, John, and my stepmom, Cindy were both born and raised in Houston. They share a love of trying the latest Houston restaurants, traveling with their friends, and spending time with their grandchildren. In addition to Johnny, Cindy has two more grandchildren, Luca and Ella, who live in East Africa. My dad and Cindy are currently pet-less, but I'm working on them!

The day that Johnny was born has been the happiest day of my life so far. I was fortunate to be in the delivery room, and I'll never forget seeing his sweet little face the second he was born. Since then, we have had many adventures together. We share a love of building contraptions, going on nature walks, and attending arts performances at my school. Johnny loves music - his favorite bands are AC/DC and The Kinks. He is a budding guitarist, baseball pllayer,and magician. Johnny will begin Kindergarten in August of 2023. I can'tbelieve he's already so grown up! Johnny will be an amazing cousin, and really, he'll be a pseudo big brother to my child. My sister and I spend a lot of time together and Johnny will be a big part of my child's life. Johnny is an incredibly caring, sensitive, and respectful kid, and I know he'll be so excited to have a little cousin!

I am a high school mathematics teacher at an independent school in Houston. I teach primarily 11th and 12th grade students. I love taching math every day, and learning even more from my students. I enjoy the challenge of empoweing teens with knowledge while watching them build self confidence. It's also exciting for me to have the apportunity to teach new courses - I love to study!

I am also a faculty associate on the Community & Inclusion committee at myschool. In this role, I have the opportunity to attend professional development events throughout the year in diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and belonging. My hope is that I'm able to affect change in my school and pass along an inclusive mindset to my colleagues and students.

And finally, I am the advisor to 8 upper school students in four-year blocks. My seniors graduated in the spring of 2023 and I will meet my new group of freshmen in August 2023. I will get to advise, guide, and be an adult advocate for these eight students for the next four years. It's one of the most rewarding parts of my job, and it is very tough to let them fly away when it's time.

I have loved math for as long as I can remember. Even though I struggled with it in high school, I always enjoyed the puzzle aspect of math. After college I eventually started working as a math teacher in Houston, and after a few years I decided to go back to school. I earned my Masters in Mathematics in 2017 before returning to Houston to continue teaching.

My favorite math topics to teach are:

Inverse trigonometry

Finding the nth roots of a complex number

Eigenvalues and eigenvectors of a matrix

We spend a lot of time together as a family on the Texas coast. We enjoy fishing, sailing, games, and relaxing.

Cindy's bay house is a special place for me and my family. It's where we go to enjoy time together in the outdoors. My sister and I have great memories of being kids there, and I'm so excited to build core memories there for my own child one day soon. We sail, fish, grill, and remember to slowdown and enjoy one another.

Dogs have always been part of my life. I grew up with dogs and they have always been members of our family. I think that family dogs can play a valuable role in teaching children empathy and boundaries, and Freddie has done just that with my nephew Johnny. Freddie loves to go on adventures in the neighborhood and at the bay. He is an active and affectionate dog who loves kids and will no doubt be a great dog brother.

Watching Freddie run around at the bay.

Helping my students grow as learners.

Johnny's laughter and curiosity.

Solving puzzles.

Winter weather - I love snow!

Spending time by the water.

Cooking.

Figuring out a difficult math problem.

Playing Animal Crossing.

Going to my neighborhood farmer's market.

Music: The Clash, Queen, David Bowie, Lady Gaga, Dwight Yoakam

Books: The Great Believers, High Fidelity, Crime and Punishment, Demon Copperhead, The Goldfinch

Televison: The Bear, Schitt's Creek, Friday Night Lights, Succession, Top Chef

Flowers: Gardenia, Hydrangea, Peony, Ranunculus, Bougainvillea

Movies: Clueless, Father of the Bride, The Family Stone, Rushmore, High Fidelity

Things to cook: Gnocchi, Pierogies, Bolognese, Scallop potatoes, Boeuf Bourguignon

I am in awe of the courage and love you have in your heart to choose this path for your child. As a potential adoptive parent, I am so grateful to you and I acknowledge the position you are in and hold you in my heart. I believe that the love within all of our hearts combined is what will shape the world that this childis born into. I promise to raise him or her with my whole heart. Our home will be a place of love, curiosity, conversation, fun, security, safety, honesty, and acceptance. I promise to prioritize kindness, community, creativity, and education. And I promise to always, always lead with love.