I almost grew up in Atlanta. Even though I’m glad I didn’t because I have such fond memories of California, I occasionally wonder what it would have been like for me growing up as a young black girl in a city rich with Black history. When I think Atlanta, it translates to everything Black history to me. Whenever I perused through a JET or Ebony Magazine, it appeared that every page contained just one more exciting event that was happening in Atlanta.

Five historically Black colleges which include Clark Atlanta University (formerly Clark College and Atlanta University), Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC), Morehouse College, Morris Brown College, and Spelman College take residency in Atlanta. I have relatives that attended and graduated from almost every one of those schools. Yes, even I owe some of my intellect to the AU Center. Can you guess which school I attended? I’m sure you know which school Martin Luther King, Jr. attended.

Whether one was a member of Ebenezer Baptist Church where Dr. King and his father served as co-pastors or strolled down Auburn Avenue where many prominent black-owned businesses got their starts and prospered, history was being made.

People, ordinary people like you and me, were a part of it all and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy was in its infancy.

Last summer, the children and I took a road trip, and somewhere along the way we had the opportunity to visit the The King Center in Atlanta, Georgia.

Surprisingly, I had never visited the King Center, so we were able to take in the experience together for the first time.

It’s funny how we take so many things for granted when we live in and around them.

When I lived in Atlanta, I saw sights of the center on television often and on many occasions had driven by King’s birth home on Auburn Avenue, but had never taken the time to stop by and take a look around.

The children and I have talked a bit about race relations.

They have an understanding about slavery and racism, but don’t understand the justification behind either one.

We have also had conversations about the mistreatment Black people experienced in the past and how Martin Luther King, Jr. diligently worked to end segregation and to earn equal civil rights for all people.

They also learned how King promoted the spirit of God through his encouragement of non-violence and peace in his efforts for equality.

I’m hoping they will incorporate the same behavior in their daily interaction with each other. I too can dream.

Despite their understanding, there is still much curiosity and many questions now and I’m sure questions to follow.

How does one explain the true essence of a man who self-sacrificed, listened to, and followed the word of God despite the true nature of his opponents who called King their enemy? He was a man and a servant who endured injustices derived from hate, jealousy, and bigotry just to name a few.

He had hope and a dream for those people who walked with him.

Although he would never know them, he also thought about those who would later follow in his footsteps.

He hoped they too would dream just as big if not bigger than he had and rightly have a belief their dreams could also come true.

He believed this so strongly that even the constant threats of death didn’t deter him.

Unfortunately, it was pure hate, and not the love he preached that eventually took him from us.

To this day, the painful reminder of his death is still so strong for many and a new lesson for others as we continue to share his life and his impact on history with our children.

Despite the loss, we should continue to be inspired by his dream – inspired enough to make our own, humbled by his servitude – humbled enough to take our eyes off of ourselves for a moment and help another, and impassioned to continue his efforts of breaking the chains of hatred and embracing each other in arms of love.

We wish you a Happy Birthday Dr. King and we thank you. I remember you as well as my children and we will never forget you even though we never got to meet you.

How has the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. affected you?

Regardless of how I feel about menu planning…

1. It takes too much time to do.
2. I know I’m going to change my mind about what I want to eat before the month is over.
3. I’m sure it saves money, but back to #1.
4. I work better under pressure.

I must face the facts…

1. Once you get started and have menus in place, it gets a lot easier and grocery shopping is a breeze.
2. I decided that planning one month at a time was too intense for me because I do change my mind a lot. So I have been planning one week at a time and if I decide to change my mind, I make the changes for the upcoming week. It gives me something to look forward to.
3. We save money and waste less food when I plan our weekly meals.
4. Despite what laziness, procrastination, and poor planning may try to make me believe, I really don’t like “flying by the seat of my pants” when it comes to meals. Plus, if I can go with hearing “Mom, what’s for dinner?” and not break out into a cold sweat, then I’ve had a really good day.

Menu planning is not a resolution (lofty ideas – I don’t make those), but rather it is one of my many goals (I have a plan and I will implement it) for the New Year.

Some other things I’ve noticed is that we eat healthier when I plan. I actually do enjoy cooking, but not having a plan in place has made cooking an unpleasant chore. Over the past two months, I have gained five pounds (a lot for me), my children have eaten more cold cereal for breakfast and potato chips during lunch than I care to admit to*, and I have not been eating as healthy as I used to. Did you know that one box of Nabisco Nilla Wafers can be consumed in one night while using a computer? I wouldn’t advise you trying it, but now you could have a winning answer on Jeopardy one day.

If you would like to see What’s on the Menu for us this week, then take a look.

*I have nothing against weight gain, cold cereal, or potato/tortilla chips. I just don’t like it on my belly when I’m not pregnant…Kashi brand and Wheaties cereals are winners here…and On the Border and Kirkland (Costco) brands of tortilla chips are the best.

One commitment I made was to acknowledge Advent in some way and I went as far as to purchase Amanda White’s Truth in the Tinsel: An Advent Experience for Little Hands which is a wonderful way to bring Jesus back into the season and celebrate Him with your children. The Truth in the Tinsel is a combination of five activities that you do daily with your child which include:

1. The Clue – 24 picture and word clues of the study for the day which are offered either as cutouts to put into your own Advent calendar or to make a printable paper chain.
2. The Scripture – The chosen Scripture passage for the day mentions the daily clue as well as offer words of meditation for your child.
3. The Ornament – The ornament is something from the passage read and offers your child a chance to be creative and bring to life something they heard about in the Scripture read for the day.
4. The Talk – While making the ornament, this is a great time to discuss what your child learned from the passage of the day.
5. More – Amanda includes some extras (DVD selections, additional Bible Scripture, etc.) to use if you want to pursue the daily study further with your child.

Although the study is written with 24 days of activities, Amanda knows there are mothers out there like me who needed another option because the month would get on top of us, so she also includes alternate schedules of six (Just the Basics or By Book of the Bible), seven (Prophecy), or ten (Characters) days of study that allow you to still accomplish celebrating the season the way you intended with your child.

Truth in the Tinsel is normally $4.99, but through midnight (ET) tonight, you can receive 20% off of the E-book using the promo code 12DAYS to celebrate her 12 Days till Christmas Sale. Amanda has also added a new 12-day schedule to count you down to December 24th.

That little incident was enough to send me home to the movies and that is where I have stayed all of these years enjoying lounging on a comfortable chair, eating homemade popcorn and other special treats on one of our Family Movie Nights. Well, this movie almost drew me back into the movie theater, only for one night, but I couldn’t do it and instead will prolong my excitement and wait for it to hit DVD which should be in a few months. If you aren’t wimpy like me, then go see it and tell me what you think.

Courageous is brought to the screen by the creators of Fireproof and with a tag-line of “Protecting the streets is second nature to these men. Raising their children in a God-honoring way” That’s courageous,” it promises to make an impact on the lives of fathers just as Fireproof did on marriages. I’m already a fan of the song “Courageous” (take a listen) which is sung by Casting Crowns (I la la love them!) Squeal! I’m just so excited!

Due to some of the content of the movie, it may make a better date night movie than a family night movie. So grab your husband (whether he is a father or not) and make it a date night to see this movie together.

Watch the trailer:

Tell me you’re not excited too! If you want to see the movie, then find a theater near you because Christian films are making an impact and they are showing up in neighborhoods everywhere. You go Sherwood Pictures!

I am in no way affiliated with this move. This is just me “yammerin’” away about something I love (or am sure I’ll love after seeing it).

They met each other on a Friday afternoon and in less than 24 hours later, they were inseparable. The kind where when you see the other, you run into each others arms and embrace.

We went to a family reunion and although the cousins I grew up with were not represented as usual at this reunion, there was a new generation making their mark that included River, Lily, and Canyon.

I’m not sure where they were coming from, but the little people cousins were everywhere. As you see, there is always ONE in the bunch and that one belongs to me. Canyon can be very silly sometimes.

It reminded me of the time we visited my aunt and the children instantly bonded with each other. That is just what children do when we adults step out of the way. They have a way of coming together and just getting along.

I think people should be more intentional about attending reunions or at least take the opportunity to get to know extended family if given the chance. There are some great relationships that were built during that weekend. I can speak from experience that the relationships I have with extended family is priceless and it is so much better when you get to build it from a young age (per my father – Mr. Family Tree and cousin finder extraordinaire).

Family. You can just count on them.

All of this cousin “stuff” reminded me of a special little book I use to read when I was younger. Beaten and a little tattered, I still have the book after all these years; Eighteen Cousins.

I was walking around my house the other day and I saw a lot of this.

I walked into another room and there it was again.

For a moment, I thought my eyes were definitely playing tricks on me, so I rubbed them, and walked into another room and I saw the same thing again.

With the exception of our school room/office, our walls are bare as in there is nothing on them as in there is no personality as in who lives here?

When I was younger, there was rarely a chance you would find a bare spot on my wall to hang anything because everywhere there was to hang something, I had something on my walls. I have not had pictures on my walls anywhere that I’ve lived since I was in college. I think when I was younger, there was more of a need and a desire to define myself and what you put on your walls does that. Beyond the paint color, which has been the interpretation of me as I’ve gotten older, I’m longing for a little more definition. It’s time to get something on the walls to define the people who live here and then there will be no more questions.

I don’t know what you’re up to at your house on Friday nights, but over here in our house it’s Family Movie Night. If I’ve planned properly, then I check the mailbox to see what Netflix has sent us or scroll through our long list of movies I’ve DVR’d or check the television listing to see if there are any family friendly movies being shown that evening. Darling D pops popcorn on the stove top with loose kernels (no Jiffy Pop or microwave even though a micorwave bag has been slipped into the house before) and we sing the family popcorn song.

With all of the movie choices out there, you would think that finding a movie for Family Night would be really easy, but the key word is family and sometimes finding a movie that doesn’t require fast forwarding or completely shutting off can be difficult. A few times I have been surprised like when I stumbled upon Family Movie Night and found Change of Plans and you can’t really go wrong with a Hallmark movie like The Lost Valentine starring Jennifer Love Hewitt which was especially welcomed since I, on occasion, still go through Ghost Whisperer withdrawals. Two other Hallmark movies we enjoyed are Beyond the Blackboard and Front of the Class, both true stories, that left a few of us in tears. So far, Lily’s favorite Hallmark movie is Meet My Mom (also known as Soldier Love Story). We’ve seen it ah,…hmm…quite a few times. It’s cute.

Every Friday night is a surprise as to what we will watch. We have seen a few classics like Pollyanna, The Parent Trap (I’ve always loved it and the original is the best.), Journey to the Center of the Earth (we’ve seen the original and remake), Meet Me in St. Louis, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, just to name a few. Yes, we venture back to the old movie days a lot.

Turn the camera onto some of the newer movies and I have to say that I’ve been surprised by some of the movies we have seen. I say this meaning I’ve enjoyed them better than I thought I would. My kids are easy sells with anything animated, but I’m not really a big fan and usually try to find movies with people (human beings) in them. A few movies we have seen that surprised me are:

Everyone’s Hero My kids started watching this movie when they were back flat at the dentist a few years ago. I was able to get them out of the chairs with the promise we would rent the movie to see. Well, after a while none of us could remember the title and it wasn’t until a few years later that we remembered it, finally rented it and enjoyed it.

Everyone’s Hero is a movie directed and produced by the late Christopher Reeves. We meet Yankee Irving, a young baseball and Yankee’s fan (of course), who witnesses the stealing of Babe Ruth’s famous bat. To restore his family’s reputation and help the Yankee’s win the World Series, he sets off on an exciting adventure to retrieve the bat and return it to its owner. You can see a lot of Christopher Reeve in this movie that encourages people to never give up despite one’s challenges.

Watch Everyone’s Hero Trailer | Buy Everyone’s Hero

Bolt If I’m going animated, then I do people better than animals BUT this movie was totally cute and really funny. I remember when this movie was first advertised and I changed the channel because it had talking animals in it. How it got in my house and into my DVD player, I’ll never know, but I can stand these talking animals. Think Jim Carey in The Truman Show, but replace him with a cartoon dog, and you have Bolt.

Bolt is fierce, can shoot lasers from his eyes, can destroy most anything with his super bark, and works side by side Penny, his secret agent owner, protecting the world from evil doers. Ah, yeah right, but Bolt doesn’t know it, because he is living what he believes is his real life; instead it’s all just a television show. Bolt’s reality is revealed when he escapes to rescue Penny and that is when the fun begins. The pigeons totally crack me up, but I got a great laugh (it makes me smile now) when I remember the conversation Bolt has with the cat nemesis at the beginning of the movie. Funny!

Watch Bolt Trailer | Buy Bolt

Tangled “Sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll.” Yep! I thought it when I saw the trailer for Tangled and I already decided my kids wouldn’t be seeing this movie. I guess “Mama, ain’t always right.” Well, I am, but I was wrong about this movie. There was no sex and no drugs, but there is some singing by Mandy Moore who is the voice of Rapunzel.

This movie is fantasy SO there is magic in a flower and then in Rapunzel’s hair, but once you get past that, the movie is fun and enjoyable. Rapunzel has been locked in a tower for years “for her protection” from the world. When the dashing thief Flynn Rider (with the birth name of Eugene, but don’t tell anyone) seeks refuge in Rapunzel’s tower, she musters up courage and sees an opportunity. With Flynn’s unwilling help, Rapunzel leaves her tower to see the world and to get a first hand look at the floating lights she has seen once a year, every year, from her window. Rapunzel also gives you another reason to love your frying pan.

Watch Tangled Trailer | Buy Tangled

Do you have a Family Movie Night at home? What movies have you and your family enjoyed together?

I have always wanted a tree with just enough grass around the base for comfort and just enough leaves to give me shade on a cool summer day, but not to many leaves that would stifle the gentle rays of the sun as it shines through.

Under the tree would be perfect for quietly reading a good familiar classic (or comic book)…

or for just taking a long needed nap brought on by the heat of the day…

or for continuing to provide me the shade and coolness from the sun as I ponder the problems of the world and how I might solve maybe just one of them.

It is a dream I have. A simple one. One about a simple tree.

My mom left on a jet plane…okay, just a regular old plane, but jet plane sounded better because I felt like singing a song and we really don’t know when she’ll be back again, but we hope it is soon.

The children really enjoyed their time with Gram and so did I. It was nice getting to spend so much time with her and I think she would have stayed if Granddaddy wasn’t expecting her home sometime soon. A few times, while nobody was listening, I asked her to take me back to California with her. She just smiled at me. I’m not sure if she smiled because she thought I was kidding or maybe she just thought I was crazy. Hmm!

Well, as always, my mom left me with a few things to ponder and some lessons learned…

Yes, it is true that you can actually shop until you drop. We spent the last few days of her trip shopping. It was fun (a whole lot of fun) like Christmas in July kind of fun, but by the time the end of the week rolled around my children didn’t want to go riding in the car anymore and I was just a little bit dizzy and so tired that I couldn’t sleep. Just think zombie and that was me.

Don’t put off for tomorrow (or next week) what you can do today. My mother had been talking about visiting this intersection even before she arrived because of a happy childhood memory.

It was near that place that the first black Baptist Church in West Tennessee was built. My mother and her family had traveled all the way from Georgia to visit her aunt who was the church secretary at the time and my mother had talked the whole way. (If you can read the little bitty letters on the sign, then you can read a little church history.)

Since our family is known as talkers, I have a tendency to believe that she really did talk all the way.

I’ve always enjoyed listening to my mother’s stories about when she grew up and visiting those places. There was a lot that had changed over the years like the new buildings behind the church, but everything else was pretty much the same.

There was something that showed the sign of the times…First Baptist Church is expanding and with that expansion comes the demolition of the oldest black business in Memphis, T.H. Hayes and Sons Funeral Home.

If we had shown up next week or decided to visit the area on her next visit, then the building would have no longer been standing and my mother wouldn’t have been able to see it one last time.

The last bit she left me with is that absence really does make the heart grow fonder and we already miss you so much Gram.

Death became them…

Well, a few weeks later, I killed ALL of those same beautiful seedlings we grew and they have joined the other weeds in the area where they were to have grown. It hasn’t been a good growing season in our house.

A resurrection took place…

My computer died. Well, it would come on, but I couldn’t access anything in it, so to me it was dead. After suffering through weeks wondering why I hadn’t backed up my system more often, trying to figure out how to recreate all of my files, and reminiscing about all of the photographs that were now trapped in my computer, I decided to give it one more try. By the grace of God, I was once again able to access my computer and the first thing Darling D did I did was back up my system. So far, everything has been fine.

We discovered that evil incarnate lives in our backyard and front yard and everywhere outside and around our house…

We found out that Lily is allergic to poison oak and/or poison ivy. This was discovered after she had sat down in, rolled around in, and rested unknowingly in a patch in our yard. Fortunately, it didn’t take over her whole body, but it was enough to cause her to experience a few uncomfortable weeks. After surveying our yard, we have found that both plants have taken up residence here and we issued eviction notices.

We made a sweet acquaintance who is civic-minded…

Emily (I didn’t have my camera when I met her, but later got this shot) and a few hundred of her “friends” are biking across the US (she’s biking from NC to San Diego) with Bike and Build. Bike and Build is a non-profit that organizes “service-oriented cycling trips” and promotes civic responsibility in young adults who ride during the summer to raise funds for affordable housing.

So that is just a little bit of where we have been and what we have been doing. It’s nice to be back here with all of you.