The Gift of Reading

Matt and I have decided to attempt "quick hitter" blog posts from now on, so here goes:

This morning, I completed my training as a literacy tutor at the Durham Literacy Center. Now that we're getting more settled and have more free time, Matt and I both want to volunteer more. We've been exploring opportunities that interest us, and once I came across the DLC (as it's affectionately called), I knew it's where I wanted to focus my energy.

For the last several months, I've been thinking about literacy and just how crucial it is to daily living. Reading and writing are skills that truly open up a person's world of opportunities. When we got to Durham, I did some searching and came across the DLC. When I learned that they offered tutor training in January each year, I put it on my calendar.

This week, I became qualified to be a tutor after 12 hours of training. What will I be doing, you ask? I'll be teaching an adult to read and write. I haven't been matched with my particular student yet, but it's likely that he or she will be at a 2nd - 4th grade reading level.

During our training, we heard amazing and inspiring stories of several DLC students. For instance, one lady (now in her late 40s) got passed through the school system as a child despite the fact that she could barely read. Her boss discovered that she struggled to read and referred her to the DLC. At one point and time, she had to ask her kids to read her mail for her, but now she does it on her own.

Another man (now in his late 50s) had to drop out of school after 3rd grade to take care of his brothers and sisters. Most of his siblings went on to graduate from high school, but he was never able to go back. He runs a ministry for people on the streets and decided to learn to read so, among other things, he could read the Bible to people and answer their questions. When he came to the DLC three years ago, he couldn't read or write at all. Now he's reading and spelling some more complex words and able to write some simple sentences.

My commitment to the DLC is for the next 6 months. Since I'll likely be assigned to someone at the beginning level, I could see myself staying with it for much longer (provided they'll have me). Although I have long taken my ability to read and write for granted, this opportunity is helping me to see how literacy is truly a gift for which I should be thankful each and every day.

January Highlights

January has flown by, and Matt and I can't believe it. After this weekend, we will have managed a whopping 3 out of 5 weekends IN town. For us, that's quite an accomplishment!

So that we can get current with our blog and start February off on the right foot, we're going to post some highlights from January. Here goes:

1. UNC vs. College of Charleston - Earlier in the month, we headed to the Dean Dome to see the Tar Heels take on College of Charleston. The Cougars kept it close for the first 15 minutes of the game, but thankfully, the Heels pulled away and ended up with a victory. We were sad to leave the Dean Dome, because it was the last UNC game we'd get to see in person this season...or so we thought : ) .





After the game; UNC won 108-71













2. Gatlinburg - During the weekend of my birthday, Matt and I headed to Gatlinburg to meet up with my cousin Skip and his wife Abbey. For our wedding (in 2006), Skip and Abbey gave us an awesome "romance gift basket" that included a stay in Abbey's family's chalet. Matt and I hadn't taken them up on the offer due to the difficulty of getting to Gatlinburg from D.C., but easier access from North Carolina allowed us to give it a go. Because we don't get to see Skip and Abbey that often, we decided to ask them to join us. It was a good decision, because we all had a blast. We laughed a lot throughout the weekend, which you may be able to gather from the below photos and video.

Mmmmm...Pancake Pantry, Gatlinburg Edition

















NOT Mmmmm; Pantry Plate o' Butter (the butter from each of our meals combined on one plate)









Being goofy at TreasureQuest Indoor Golf...















































In front of the frozen fountain in "The Village"...
























The guys showing some appreciation to the chef...












Sampling the birthday cake that Skip and Abbey got me












SO excited to discover the Museum of Salt & Pepper Shakers (honestly...who knew?)





















Beginning our 18-hole adventure at Camp Thunder












"We're #1!" - Matt (basketball) and Skip (football) both got the high score on their respective games













Fun with Go-Karts
(Abbey is the red #8, Matt is the silver #40, Skip is the blue #24)

By rule, whenever you see a shrimp mascot, you must stop and get a photo ("Say Shrimp!!")












My Birthday Surprise, Courtesy Bubba Gump


It snowed the morning we left...a great way to end the trip!













3. First North Carolina snowfall - Luckily for us, the snow from our last day in Gatlinburg made its way to North Carolina. We got back to our house the night of the 19th, and on the morning of the 20th, we woke up to several inches of snow in our yard. It was beautiful. Because of the Inauguration (and because I work out of our D.C. office), I was already off of work that day. After braving the slick roads into work only to discover that most of his co-workers had stayed home, Matt ended up home for half the day as well. So, we enjoyed our first snow in North Carolina by drinking hot chocolate, taking pictures outside, and watching the Inauguration on TV. It was great!

























4. UNC vs. Clemson - The day after the snowfall, we got an unexpected chance to see the Tar Heels play basketball again...this time at an ACC conference game. One of our friends, Nathan (the husband of Angie, my roommate for 3 years at VU), travels to Durham for business once every month or two. Since he's a Clemson grad, he wanted to meet up for the UNC/Clemson game. As it turns out, he was able to get a couple of free tickets. After buying a third ticket right before the game, we were off to the Dean Dome yet again. Luckily for us (but not so much for Nathan), the Tar Heels won 94-70.

One of our favorite parts of Carolina games..."Jump Around" at Tip-Off



Some shots made possible by the AMAZING courtside seats we were able to sit in...

























UNC's Chancellor (light blue shirt, right of the security guard) sat 3 rows from us; here he's singing the Carolina fight song with his family












5. Rutgers/Seton Hall Watch Party - Last night, we headed to Champp's at nearby Southpoint Mall for the Rutgers/Seton Hall basketball game. Matt is VP of the local Rutgers alumni club, and they did a joint watch party with Seton Hall grads. We had a good time hanging out with everyone, but unfortunately, Rutgers lost by three points.













As you can tell, January has been a full and exciting month for us. We've been so happy to be in town so much, because it's really helping us settle our house and connect more to this area. It's a great place to live, and we're excited about what the future holds here.

New Year's in Nashville

As you can tell, our New Year's resolution did not involve keeping current with our blog. In the spirit of optimism, we're going to chalk it up to lag from the holidays and try to do better in the coming weeks.

To bring our holiday chronicles to a close, we'll talk about our trip to Nashville. Matt and I arrived at the Nashville airport on the morning of New Year's Eve. Our first 18 hours in Tennessee consisted of lunch at the Spaghetti Factory, a trip to the Music City Bowl (to see the Vanderbilt Commodores pull of their first bowl win since 1955), and family fun at my sister's house to celebrate the arrival of 2009.


The Fam at the Old Spaghetti Factory














The Shrinky Dinks are Finished!













Freezing at the Music City Bowl












We awoke on New Year's Day to a wonderful breakfast courtesy of my mom. She's an awesome cook, and I love trips home to sample her creations. After a bit of down time, we headed to my sister's house for a relaxing New Year's brunch. That evening, we headed back to my mom and dad's house to exchange Christmas gifts with my immediate family. We had a great time--including lots of laughs provided by our brother-in-law's antics--and were excited to get so many wonderful gifts.




Serious...















...and not so much.











Good times at Cracker Barrel














Ryan the Magician













Kids These Days: The Motorized K'Nex Ferris Wheel that Rachel and Ryan Built in a Matter of Hours



The Jester and Horton

Christmas in Catonsville

First, the good news: our Wise Man is wise again.

More than two years after an unfortunate mishap occurred while I was opening a wedding gift that had arrived in the mail, the Wise Man - whose head and gift for the Baby Jesus broke off in said mishap - is back in one piece. It simply took some superglue and some initiative.

Just as it would seem strange to have Two Musketeers or Two Stooges, the Two Wisemen in our Nativity Scene were indeed an odd sight. Thankfully, that problem has been remedied. The holidays are happy once more.

Now, on to the update. We visited Catonsville on Christmas afternoon and stayed until the morning of New Year's Eve. If it tells you anything, I was quite homesick by the end of the visit, which, for the record, is better than being sick of home.

Arriving in Catonsville in the afternoon meant that we had to miss the traditional Christmas Day family brunch at Denise's house. Being the thoughtful person that she is, Denise had us over for our own, smaller brunch on Dec. 26.

I've always known that Denise is a loving person, but it was particularly evident this holiday season. Perhaps the best example I can offer is that Denise joined in the "fun" without complaint as I photographed 41 bronze baseballs that are embedded into the sidewalk in front of the Camden Yards Warehouse. If that doesn't scream excitement, I don't know what does. (To explain: I haven't been able to find an archive of the home runs that have landed on Eutaw Street, so I'm trying to create one on my Orioles blog, "Roar from 34.")

I don't think Denise knew what she was getting into - cold, rainy Rutgers football games, random photography at the baseball stadium, etc. - when she met my father. Dad and Erica helped with the effort as well, meaning that the phrase "I owe you one" applies three times over for me.

The atypical photographic effort came as part of a fun trip to downtown Baltimore where the four of us visited historic Fort McHenry, the site where the Star Spangled Banner was penned; had lunch at Cross Street Market in Federal Hill; enjoyed coffee at Spoons; and ended our trip at Camden Yards.

I was happy that our trip downtown allowed Erica to enjoy some Baltimore-esque experiences. As it turned out, we had another authentic Baltimore experience that evening when we went duckpin bowling with some friends after dinner. The game, which originated in Baltimore in the late-19th century, allows you three turns to use a small ball to knock down miniature-sized pins. Duckpin bowling is more difficult than ten-pin bowling, but Erica was a natural. In fact, she carried her team to victory in the first of what turned out to be some very intense "guys vs. girls" match-ups.














Other of the many highlights of our trip to "Music City Maryland" included lots of quality time with my three favorite little girls - Emily, Lindsay, and Madelyn - and our second annual "Double Date Night" with Pete and Michele. Just as we did last year, the four of us enjoyed dinner at Nacho Mama's in Canton followed by dessert at Vaccaro's next door. Afterward, we played Pete's DVD "Price is Right" game. Not to brag or anything, but when was the last time you saw a contestant hit the $10,000 spot in Plinko and have the Showcase Showdown wheel stop at a dollar? Call me, Drew.

Here's what it looks like when someone hits $10,000 twice at Plinko (note: my reaction was, um, different from this guy's).



Two additional traditions that continued this year were the holiday family gathering with my mom's side of the family and Erica and my holiday lights tour through the towns neighboring Catonsville. Some pictures and video from our trip follow.






















Above: Nacho Mama's Outing; Playing the Role of Santa Elvis Outside Nacho Mama's; Opening Emily's Christmas Gift to Uncle Matt (all men got calculators so they could "pay the bills"); Christmas Night with the Taylor Girls;Outside Pete and Michele's House.




Video: "Where's Madelyn?"

Christmas Morning in Durham

Continuing our holiday chronicles...

After our late night on Christmas Eve, morning came early at 8107. Matt and I woke up around 8 a.m. After a few calls to family members, we headed downstairs to exchange gifts.


The Taylor family Christmas tree (with our new tree train)

































Our gift exchange was wonderful...and a reminder of how very blessed we are. I gave Matt a few things, including a month's worth of piano lessons (he's trying to learn again), new cologne (Acqua di Gio), a new book (Working at the Ballpark), and a t-shirt and hat from his new favorite place (Chick-fil-A). Among the things Matt gave me were a new robe, Diner Dash 2, and a new point-and-shoot camera. He did a great job!

Showing off our gifts on Christmas morning

































Our Christmas Morning Photo












Our relaxing morning quickly turned into a rush, as we had to finish packing and shutting down the house for our travels. We were running a bit late, but fortunately for us, our flight was as well. Thanks to a 50-minute delay, we managed to make it to RDU, park in the long-term lot, and get inside with some time to spare. At 2:05 p.m. on Christmas day, our plane was en route to Baltimore.

Christmas Eve in Durham

As promised, we're posting updates on all Christmas happenings. Our holiday travel included celebrations in three states: North Carolina, Maryland, and Tennessee. We'll start with our first Christmas in Durham.

Matt was off on Christmas Eve, but I had to work a half day. Once I wrapped up, we ran a few errands and finished up our Christmas shopping. That evening, we had much to do to prepare for our holiday trip. So, most of Christmas Eve found us prepping our house for vacation, packing our bags, and wrapping gifts (although we did manage to make it to church for a candlelight Christmas Eve service).

At about 10:30 p.m., we finally found time for ourselves. Matt and I relaxed on the couch in our living room with mugs of hot chocolate and the sounds of Christmas CDs filling the air. Our Christmas decorations were the only thing that lit the room, and it was beautiful (the photo below gives you an idea, but it really doesn't do it justice). Matt and I really enjoyed our much needed break from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the day. After our relaxation time, we finished what needed to be done around the house and hit the bed around 2 a.m.


Christmas Eve at 8107

New Year, New Blog - Part Two

Happy 2009! Matt and I are back from a 12-day holiday tour to see family and friends. We had a great time in both Catonsville (Baltimore) and Goodlettsville (Nashville), and we plan to post a multi-part update with details about both trips as well as about our first Christmas at home in Durham.

If you're reading this, you obviously know that we've switched blog addresses. As we mentioned on our last Wordpress post, we wanted an easier way to upload photos and video. So, we've switched to Blogger.

If you've bookmarked our blog or linked to it from your own blog, please make sure to change the URL you've noted from our old one to the new one.

OLD blog address:
www.thetaylors.wordpress.com

NEW blog address:
http://taylorsonthemove.blogspot.com

Since it is easier to post photos to Blogger, we'll be adding Christmas pics and video very soon. Until then, take care and happy new year!