Tag Archives: Tanya Harris Franklin

On the Eleventh Day of Christmas, My Daughter Gave to me… Excitement Counting Down the Days Til Christmas

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On the Eleventh Day of Christmas, My Daughter Gave to me… Excitement Counting Down the Days Til Christmas! I remember being so excited for Christmas to come and marking down the days on my little calendar that seemed to go by so slowly, especially leading up to Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Christmas 2017

When Quinn was a toddler, I got her a Christmas Countdown tree, and still loves using it today. Just two more days until Christmas Eve, she told me!

That phrase took me right back to when I was eight years old anticipating the magic of Christmas Day.

All the best,

Tanya

On the Tenth Day of Christmas, My Daughter Gave to me… A Reminder That It’s Fun to Be Festive

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On the Tenth Day of Christmas, My Daughter Gave to me… A Reminder That It’s Fun to Be Festive. Something Quinn and I both love are decorations. We especially love decorating ourselves for the holidays.

When she put on Christmas tree glasses, headband boppers snd held up the “I’ve been nice” sign, I couldn’t resist taking her picture. That look with her standing in front of our photo collage of past Christmas memories just puts a huge smile on my face and reminds me to let loose and have a little fun!

All the best,

Tanya

On the Ninth Day of Christmas, My Daughter Gave to me… A Smile and Laughter As We Watched The Little Mermaid the Musical

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On the Ninth Day of Christmas, My Daughter Gave to me… A Smile and Laughter As We Watched The Little Mermaid the Musical. Quinn had her first theater experience at three years old to see Annie at the Walnut Street Theatre, and she loved it!

With the exception of last year, due to restrictions, we’ve seen a play together every December for the holiday season. One year, it was Christmas Story the Musical, another, Mathilde and even Shrek the Musical.

According to Quinn, “The Little Mermaid” was one of her favorites. The actress did such a lovely job and had a beautiful singing voice. All of the actors actually did a fantastic job.

I hope this is a tradition we will keep for years to come.

All the best,

Tanya

On the Eighth Day of Christmas, My “Family” Gave to me… A Wonderful Time at Our Holiday Party

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On the Eighth Day of Christmas, My “Family” Gave to me… A Wonderful Time at Our Holiday Party! I love my family, and I’m grateful for the time we get to spend together.

For over a decade, I’ve been hosting a holiday party, but last year it didn’t happen because of the restrictions. Though I love my extended and immediate family, this year, I made it much smaller with just my immediate family members.

Quinn, my daughter, was so excited, and I was too!

It was a fun time for all with good, sweets, games, talking and laughter. Yesterday put us all in a festive mood.

All the best,

Tanya

On the Sixth Day of Christmas, My Daughter Gave to me… A Fun and Memorable Picture with Santa

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On the Sixth Day of Christmas, My Daughter Gave to me… A Fun and Memorable Picture with Santa. Last year, was the first time in six years that Quinn did not get a picture with Santa. It wasn’t because she didn’t want to, but the Covid restrictions prevented it.

So this year, she was very excited to see Santa in person and to bring along her little brother and furry best friend, Zack. We both were surprised at how well he did. I was probably just as excited as Quinn to see Santa and take a picture once more.

There’s something magical and memorable about interacting with him and hearing his jolly voice in person. I’m so glad we were able to continue one of our Christmas traditions this year.

All the best,

Tanya

Best Moments with Best Friends: My Daughter & Our Dog

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When I saw my eight year old daughter and one and a half year old dog walking together, I couldn’t help but snap their picture and take a little video of them both running towards me. Yes, Quinn has walked Zack by the leash before, but lately, she’s shown a greater interest in helping out with him, and he most certainly enjoys his big sis.

These two are peas in a pod and love each other, but sometimes they squabble like siblings when Quinn sits in his bed or Zack tries to steal her blanket or leftover crumbs from the table after breakfast or dinner.

But something else I see is how they both can bring out the best in each other. Zack is protective over Quinn and is always happy to see her. Quinn has matured more each day and regularly helps to take care of her little bro. Seeing these two grow up together really puts a smile on my face.

All the best,

Tanya

On the First Day of Christmas, My Daughter Gave to me…the gift of picking out our Christmas Tree!

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On the first day of Christmas, my daughter gave to me…the gift of picking out our Christmas tree! This is one Christmas tradition with both love. This year, we did, however, break tradition. My family decided to vote. My husband wanted a less fluffy tree, and my eight year old wanted a shorter, less fluffy tree. Even though I prefer getting the tallest tree possible that almost scrapes our ceiling, seeing Quinn’s eyes light up when she found the tree she wanted made me feel merry.

All the best,

Tanya

A Great Holiday Adventure

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Yesterday, my daughter and I had a great holiday adventure at Six Flags with friends and had a terrific time. Though there was a chill in the air, it wasn’t extremely cold and didn’t stop Quinn and her friend from getting on rides high in the sky embracing all of that open air.

Though Christmas is still twenty days away, taking pictures, seeing all of the twinkling lights in the night’s sky, enjoying each other’s company, hearing the girls laugh and happily run to the different rides while my friend and I sipped on hot cocoa definitely put us all in the holiday spirit. It’s moments like this that make the great adventure of parent hood magical and memorable.

All the best,

Tanya

A Magical Time at the Philadelphia Zoo’s Luminature

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Yesterday, we were all bundled up and ready to brave the cold weather and darkness knowing that we would soon witness spectacular sights of twinkling lights and displays at the Philadelphia Zoo.’s Luminature event. We attended in 2019 and didn’t get to go in 2020 due to Covid restrictions, so it made it that much more special this year.

My daughter observed how we had to go at night when it was dark. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to fully see the lights. This made me think about the significance of darkness, especially with what many of us have endured with being away from our loved ones and spending most of our time indoors. Sometimes to have a greater appreciation for the light, we must welcome darkness.

It was even more amazing than we recalled, and there were new displays that left us captivated. I’m so glad we didn’t allow the cold and darkness to stop us from enjoying this special outing with our aunt and cousins.

All the best,

Tanya