Happy Thanksgiving

On Thanksgiving morning, our family volunteered outside at a downtown restaurant, where we assembled 650 hot meals for people in our community.

Each meal included turkey, gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, green beans, sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese, cranberry sauce, a roll, and dessert.

The girls and I worked at the end of the assembly line. Hadley opened the bags of rolls and separated them. Then, Savannah and I put cutlery and a roll inside the container and closed it. 


When the meals were ready, Tal immediately loaded them into vehicles. Some meals were delivered to senior citizens in a retirement community, to local hospital staff who were working on Thanksgiving Day, and to a church in a nearby town. The rest of the meals were delivered to people with special needs, people living in motels, and to people who came to the restaurant for a free hot meal.

When we got home, Savannah and I made stromboli and chocolate chip cookies. While our lunch was baking, the girls rode their bikes outside, while Tal raked leaves. 

Tomorrow we will be making and eating our Thanksgiving meal, but today we enjoyed serving others and practicing compassion. Happy Thanksgiving!

Great Wolf Lodge

This week the girls and I started our Thanksgiving vacation by traveling three hours to Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg, VA. We enjoyed playing with our dear friends Emily, Xavier, and Felix at the water park, which had six water areas. Our favorites were the wave pool, hot tub, and lazy river. Going to Great Wolf Lodge was a fun way to enjoy some water activities, burn some energy, and to spend time with our friends!

Felix, Xavier, Savannah, and Hadley

In Memory

2019 has been filled with grief and loss. Three members of our family have passed away, including both of Tal's grandfathers and his Uncle Kenny. These three men leave huge voids in our family. We will miss them forever and treasure the memories in our hearts.

Uncle Kenny, Granddaddy Ralph, and Granddaddy Harold 

Granddaddy and Uncle Kenny were father and son. They passed away unexpectedly from different illnesses the same week in April 2019. Below is a picture of Granddaddy and Gran at their 60th wedding anniversary celebration in 2013.

Uncle Kenny was a talented carpenter with a happy attitude and a hilarious sense of humor.

Granddaddy Harold passed away this week. He was 91 years old and a pastor for over 60 years. Below is a picture of four generations, including Granddaddy, Tal, Savannah, and Barbara at Savannah's 3rd birthday party in 2012. 

Tal had a special connection with Granddaddy because they shared the same name (Harold T). Unfortunately, now that Tal's grandfather and father have passed away, Tal (HTA III) is the only HTA remaining to carry on the family name. 

Sadly, all of Savannah and Hadley's grandfathers and great grandfathers have passed away. Looking at the picture below, I'm thankful that I took pictures of four generations.

Christmas Parade

Savannah and I walked in today's Raleigh Christmas Parade with the 5th grade Safety Patrollers from our school. We enjoyed leading the parade with the police department, holding the Safety Patrol sign, and waving to the crowds in downtown Raleigh on the 1.4 mile parade route. What a fun experience!

NC State Marching Band

Go Wolfpack!

At the beginning of the parade, Savannah held the Safety Patrol banner:

We walked around the State Capitol:

Tal and Hadley found seats near the end of the parade. When Savannah and I were done, we watched the last two hours of the parade with Tal and Hadley.

Hadley turned up the ear flaps on her hat and said,

"I am a sheep."

Everyday Moments

Life...unedited. 

These random iPhone photos are dark, blurry, and untouched,

but they capture everyday moments from the last couple weeks.

I enjoyed eating lunch with Savannah and her friends in the school cafeteria:

For the first time, Hadley made a large, multi-colored dolphin with Perler beads...

...while Savannah made of an outline of horse.

(By the way, Savannah lost tooth #5 this week! She still needs to lose more three bottom teeth before she starts phase 2 of braces in early 2020.)

On November 16, Savannah and I had Saturday School to make-up a school day that we missed due to Hurricane Dorian in September.

Preschool Moments

Below are some highlights of Hadley at preschool over the last couple weeks. Hadley learned about community helpers and maps. 

Some local firefighters visited Hadley's class and talked about their equipment and fire safety:

Shaving Cream Art

Halloween 2019

On Halloween, our family had a wonderful time trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. Savannah dressed up as a cheerleader, and Hadley dressed up as Elsa from Frozen.  It was a beautiful, warm evening with temps in the upper 70's. For 1.5 hours, we walked on our street, which is a one-mile circle. Lots of houses passed out candy, and we talked to many friends and students from our school who live in our neighborhood. It was a fun evening!

Everyday Moments

Life...unedited. 

These random iPhone photos are dark, blurry, and untouched,

but they capture everyday moments from this week.

On Monday night, I volunteered at the Book Fair family event in my library. Tal and the girls shopped at the Book Fair and then made ice cream sundaes in the cafeteria:

On Wednesday morning, Savannah and I attended the moms event at the Book Fair and then ate breakfast together in the cafeteria:

On Wednesday, I had a workday. While a sub taught my classes, I surprised Savannah by bringing her PDQ for lunch and eating chicken tenders with her in the cafeteria:

On Friday and Saturday, Savannah lost 4 teeth! On Friday, the orthodontist told Savannah that she needed to lose 8 baby teeth by the end of 2019, so she could start phase 2 of braces in early 2020. 

On Friday, the orthodontist wiggled out two of Savannah's loose baby teeth. Later that night, Savannah wiggled out tooth #3!

On Saturday morning, Savannah wiggled out tooth #4! Over two days, Savannah lost four top teeth...two on the left side and two on the right side. Until her permanent teeth come in, Savannah is going to have to be careful when she chews food:

The tooth fairy brought Savannah $13 after she lost four teeth:

This week we turned on our fireplace for the first time this fall. The girls roasted marshmallows and made s'mores:

Savannah asked me to take a picture of her recent Perler bead creations:

Over the last year, Savannah's creations have become more detailed and challenging:

For example, Savannah used Perler beads to spell out NC State (Tal's alma mater):

This week Savannah cancelled gymnastics. After taking gymnastics for almost five years, she decided that she was ready for a break. Below are some pictures of Savannah at her gold medal ceremony in January 2019:

4 years of gymnastics medals

This week Tal and I had a day date. We enjoyed spending the day together while we ran errands and ate lunch at City Barbecue:

On Saturday afternoon, the girls and I enjoyed celebrating our friend Tyson's 5th birthday. Hadley and Tyson have been friends since birth!

This afternoon the girls and I waited while Tal got his haircut, and then we all went out for frozen yogurt: