The ATL Feb 2009

Last week the TLH Huffs ventured to the ATL for some family time, entertainment, shopping, & education! I've been planning this trip since October. A friend from work told me about Alvin Ailey's 50th celebration & I found a tour stop in the ATL. Hannah is in her fourth season of dance and needed a little inspiration to keep going. So, we decided to make it a little family reunion as well. Leonard's mom, son, and nephew were able to join us from Detroit. Thursday we enjoyed the GA aquarium - a great homeschool field trip. It was really nice! Thursday night Hannah & I witnessed Alvin Ailey's glory at the Fox. Amazing show...If you get a chance it is a MUST see!!!

My American Girls

Alvin Ailey

Thursday night, Feb 19th, Hannah and I stepped out into the bright lights of downtown Atlanta. The weather was frigid & us Florida girls were not prepared. Yet, the anticipation of being a part of Alvin Ailey's 50th celebration kept us warm! That's right...Hannah & I enjoyed 2 1/2 hrs of the world's best dancers in Atlanta's infamous Fox Theater! Great orchestra seats and the company of Grandma Florene and we were two happy campers. We were all amazed! Hannah leaned over and whispered into my ear half way thru the show, "Mommy, I want to dance like that." Jack pot! Mission accomplished!

Meals on Wheels

On January 20, 2009, the girls & I watched in amazement as Barack Obama was inaugurated the first black President of the United States of America. He called for ALL Americans to help him usher in a new a day in America...a "change." Hannah asked me, "what can we do to help?" I told her that we could do ANYthing she wanted to do.

During the past couple of years she has come to enjoy the American Doll collection. The collection includes many historical dolls from different eras in America's history. Each doll has its own series of books...to encourage reading! Hannah's first doll, Addy, is a young slave girl who escapes to freedom with her mother. Hannah learns how Addy and her Momma struggle with their new freedom because they don't have any money. However, God blesses them with friends who help them. Another story that Hannah enjoys is that of Kitt. Kitt is coming of age during the Great Depression. Her wealthy family looses almost everything, her dad has to leave town to find work, and her mom takes in boarders to help out. Kitt & her classmates volunteer in a "soup kitchen" to help. Where is all this going? Well, that's what Hannah wants to do. She wants to be a friend to someone in need and provide food for the less fortunate.

With that said, I promptly "googled" volunteer work in the Big Bend. Hannah continued to remind me exactly what she wanted to do. FYI...there are several great volunteer opportunities in our area. As I scrolled thru pages and pages of organizations, I came across Elder Care Service. http://www.ecsbigbend.org/ I remembered doing a couple of Meals on Wheels routes in Nursing School. Jack Pot! We filled out the application on-line and within hours received a phone call. That was it! The TLH Huffs had adopted a Meals on Wheels route. Every Tuesday morning the girls & I pick up meals from the Elder Care Service and deliver them to 11 elderly people. The women enjoy seeing the girls & the girls are starting to warm up to them...Sarah more so than Hannah, but she working on it. Even after her birthday sleepover, her gal pals accompanied us...they all enjoyed it as well.

http://www.mowaa.org/Page.aspx?pid=183

February HomeSchool Update

OK...I really truly cannot believe that it is already February. We are officially over 5mos into homeschooling. I feel like a tape recorder...but honesty, we are enjoying it & having tons of fun! Our dinning room continues to grow into our "classroom" daily. Even though, I have already learned that the world is our new classroom. I finally tackled the infamous "chalkboard wall." And I must say that it looks darn good! The girls are loving it!

It wasn't hard to do at all. It took 3 coats and less than 30min to dry....hung up a boarder...and the girls were off!
I'm actually quite proud of myself! No applause, please :)

February is the shortest month of the year, but we've got it jammed packed with activities. Sarah has officially been moved up in her creative dance and will begin ballet & tap tomorrow....no more Mommy & Me :( Hannah is preparing for her end of the year dance recital and excited about seeing the Alvin Ailey Company later this month. Most importantly, we are enjoying one another and leaning more and more about one another. This is precious time that Leonard & I will never be able to have again with our girls!

Banana is 8 yrs old!