20/20 Activities for the Holiday Season

by Terri Whitmire and Joyice Harris

The Christmas Holiday is finally upon us and you may have visions swirling around in your head of sleeping in, catching your favorite TV shows, or hibernating like a black bear. After all, you deserve it. But if you're a parent then guess what?  Your children will have other plans!

You'll begin to discover that right around the fifth day of being home with the family, everyone will become a little antsy. If your family is anything like mine, then pesky arguments will erupt, a trail of destruction will follow and you'll be pulling your hair out wondering how many days until the kids go back to school. (And the spouse goes back to work.)

In order to save you from a last minute internet search for something to keep all your family members sane, I  have offered a few holiday happenings and suggestions. With the help of Joyice Harris, a Homeschool Mom and owner of the Writing Enhancer, we have compiled a list of twenty inside activities and twenty outside activities to enjoy with your holiday with family. After all, this is what the Christmas holiday is all about. (Keeping everyone alive)  Enjoy and Merry Christmas.     

Here are 20 INSIDE holiday, family activities:

1.    Create a birthday card for Jesus. (Older kids can write a letter to Jesus sharing their gratitude about 2012.)

2.    Make hot chocolate (or your favorite hot beverage) and have sharing time at the family table.

3.    Make Christmas play-dough (see recipe).

4.    Make Christmas cookies together (Be sure to ask for everyone’s favorite)

5.    Create a Christmas ornament (String Fruit Loops, popcorn, or life savers)

6.    Give an early gift to the members of your family.

7.    Research a “Big Question” (e.g. what’s the history of Christmas? why do we decorate Christmas trees? Ect.)

8.    Hide a holiday note under your sweetie’s and/or children’s pillow.

9.    Watch your own home movies and reminisce on the good ole’ days.

10. Watch a classic Christmas movie together. Have everyone write down and recite their favorite line.

11. Learn how to say “Merry Christmas” in different languages.

12. Decorate a gingerbread house together. (Use a pint size milk carton, graham crackers and your favorite candies.)

13.  Recreate the birth of Jesus by dressing your kids up in costumes (Joseph, Mary, 3 wise men, baby Jesus) Don’t forget your camcorder!

14. Create a countdown to Christmas calendar.

15. Find out how many smaller words you can make from “Christmas”.

      (Have a special treat for the winner)

16. Song Challenge: List all the Christmas songs you can think of in 3 minutes? (Cross off shared answers and the player with the most original response is the “Christmas King/Queen/Prince/Princess” for the day!)

17. Create a Christmas craft and set aside a place to display them gallery style.  (Enchanted Learning is one of our favorite sites for seasonal crafts!)

18. Make a homemade Christmas card to send to the troops.

19. Blindfold a member of your family and give him/her seasonal items to smell and record how many he/she get correct. (Seasonal Smells: peppermint, cinnamon, gingerbread, eggnog, pine/evergreen, nutmeg, sugar cookies, hot chocolate, sweet potatoes, etc.)

20.  Make a silly story.  (Each person starts with one sentence and then each person adds their sentence to the silly story. Record your story.)

Here are 20 OUTSIDE holiday, family activities:

1.    Catch a holiday or family movie at your local theater (“Parental  

    Guidance” is a promising film this year!)

2.    Attend a Christmas Light Display. (Our favorites in the city are Life of Lights and Centennial Park.)

3.    Take a drive around a neighborhood you’ve never been to see their light displays.

4.    See live reindeer (Chattahoochee Nature Center.)

5.   Go Christmas Caroling (senior communities, firehouses, children’s hospitals)

6.    Attend a Christmas show (Several listings in town including the Nutcracker at the Fox Theater and A Christmas Carol at the Alliance Theater.)

7.    Go to a basketball game. (Okay, I admit this isn’t a very holiday season event, but it is definitely family time and the Hawks v. Piston game just happens to be the day after Christmas!)

8.    Visit Stone Mountain Park for “Snow Mountain.”

9.    Visit a Christmas tree farm.

10. See the Snow Show @ Atlantic Station.

11. Grab a blanket and some hot chocolate. Sit outside on a clear night and star gaze.

12. Give back! Volunteer with an organization together for the day. (There are many organizations that allow children to volunteer alongside their parents.)

13. Cook a meal together and take it to a less-fortunate family.

14. Go ice-skating (in/outdoor).

15. Ride the Pink Pig @ Lenox Mall (for small children.)

16. Hear the Winter Wonder Jam @ Atlantic Station.

17. Attend a Live Nativity Scene. (There are several in local cities all over, but we found a free one at Rock Spring Presbyterian Church in Atlanta the weekend before Christmas)

18. Design art @ The High Museum. (“Holidays at the High”, free w/ admissions)

19. See “Rudolph” at the Center for Puppetry Arts.

20. Build a Christmas tree together at Lego® Land.

Edited by: The Writing Enhancer

Top 10 ways to stay safe this season

Christmas is my favorite time of the year.  It's a special time to remember the birth of our Lord and to honor all that He has done in our lives. Christmas trees, frosty air and twinkling lights all signify the beginning of this glorious season.  For most this is a wonderful time to spread cheer to family, friends and neighbors.  Unfortunately, this is also the time where criminals seek to take advantage of the season.  Here are a few tips that may help in making sure your Yule tide is a happy one. 

10.  Always park in a well lit space.
9. Do not leave your house dark if you are leaving for the day or for the week.  (Purchase timers to turn lights and TV on and off)
8. Do not announce on Facebook or twitter that you are leaving for vacation. (Post pictures and updates after you've returned)
7. When shopping, wear a whistle (on a string) around your neck.  (tuck it inside your shirt to keep it hidden)
6. If you are shopping alone.  Wait to leave the store with a group of people so you do not appear to be alone.
5. Do not sit in your car and talk on your cellphone with the doors unlocked.  
4. Observe your surroundings and do not get distracted with phones, kids, etc.
3. Do not set out empty TV boxes, stereo boxes or anything that looks valuable for trash pickup.
2. Do not return to your car to drop off shopping bags.  If you do drive around to another parking spot.
1. Play close attention to what your spirit tells you.  Many people have been spared because they listened to their spirit that told them something wasn't quite right.

Suspicious, paranoid, overly cautious and neurotic

Welcome to Alaina Parker's world.

Chapter 1

Alaina’s heart pounded through her chest like a jack hammer. Her breathing was short and strained as if filtered through a straw.  She laid there; eyes heavy and unwilling to open. Sweat had accumulated around her neck, on her chest and on the lower half of her plump baby-soft skin.  She was ill-prepared to discover if the torrid events were real or nothing more than a disgusting dream. 

She slowly released her clenched eyelids. A sliver of light made its way into her pitch black bedroom reassuring her that there was no truth to where her subconscious had taken her.  She erected herself quickly in her bed and leaned against the wooden headboard.  Her white down comforter added to the incineration that her body felt. Using the corner of her blanket, she wiped her sweaty face and neck before flinging it to the foot of the bed.  She hesitantly turned to the clock positioned on her nightstand where it revealed the time—four am.  Three consecutive days of waking up early in a pool of sweat was infuriating. 

This is the worst one yet, she thought to herself. The pesky switch to the lamp continued to dodge her reach, further aggravating her. The sound of glass crashing to the floor echoed throughout her nine-hundred square feet condo.

        “Crap! You’re so stupid,” Alaina said aloud.

She finally caught hold of the gold chain and gave it a gentle tug. The flood of light revealed an impeccably decorated bedroom —coral colored walls, black bamboo floors, a weathered book shelf filled with her favorite books, and wall art created by various local artists.

  Her brain rattled and her thoughts took off in a million different directions much like the shattered glass that now lay on her floor. She returned her head to the pillow, feeling disgusted. Her eyes followed the circular motion of the oscillating ceiling fan. Frustrated and weary, Alaina hoisted herself out of bed and carefully circumvented the object of her current distress.

Except for her heavy footsteps the place was completely silent. Still she felt as if she was being studied—a stalker, a spy or perhaps the eyes of a killer following her. The possibility wasn’t at all absurd given the events from her past.  But the probability was highly unlikely. 

Alaina’s inquisitive nature and sharp intuition was what made her successful at her job. She was consistently rewarded for being a top performer. From day one, URS drilled into their employee’s the rules for security protocol.  These regulations fit nicely in Alaina’s world and were a mere extension of her own set of self-imposed parameters. They gave her life stability and reassured her that she was now in control. 

Contributing to her suspicious nature was a healthy dose of self consciousness, directed squarely toward her jiggling butt and thick thighs. She felt their involuntary movement as she teetered down the half lit hallway—her blue nightgown swaying behind her like the American flag. Alaina reached inside her neatly packed closet to retrieve a small lobby broom and dust pan.

She returned to the bedroom and snatched off the rest of her scarf that as a result of her nightmare had gone cock-eyed.  Her black wavy, hair bounced out and rested just past her bra line. Her mother’s Latino descent endowed her with olive undertones and envious hair, making up for the paunchy package that she had also been dealt.

Life in the Parker family was anything but predictable. Being the only child offered no solutions to her lack of friends.  Her mother, Josephina, stepped in and provided the social interaction that Alaina needed. Alaina’s whimsical world of midnight hide-and-seek, whipped crème casserole, and unexcused absences came to a screeching halt the day her father died.

Uncle Martin and his family lived in a typical middle class neighborhood that was forty minutes away but worlds apart. When Alaina was sent to live with them she quickly learned who was in charge.  Uncle Martin was the king of his holy castle, assigning, scheduling and praying his family into submission.  Gone were the days of tent building, star-gazing and Pig Latin classes. Uncle Martin and Aunt Rachel stressed the importance of family, church, school and chores; in that order

        “Eleven year olds do not set their own bedtime,” he would remind her.

Like a well-trained soldier, Alaina eventually fell in line with his odd set of instructions. His rules certainly gave her life order and molded her into a well-disciplined ‘contributing member of society’.  It wasn’t until her untimely discovery of Uncle Martin’s distressing secret that she began to question his teachings.

        Alaina swept up the last few pieces of glass and damp mopped the floor to capture the smaller shards.  She plopped down on the bed, restless and confused. Her reprieve from the cause of her interrupted sleep had left. She was drawn to a place she dreaded, a place where disturbing thoughts invaded her saneness.

Alaina, when you feel like your world no longer makes sense, get it out of your head and give it to the paper gods, her mother would say.

She riffled through her lower drawer and pulled out her blue journal.  The hardback cover was unevenly faded and the corners slightly bent. Still it remained in pretty good condition even after all these years. The date of her last entry was on her twenty-first birthday.  It read October 2005.

Wow!  It’s been seven years, she thought.

She traced her hands alongside the top of the journal and felt the silver stitching that spelled out her name. Paging through each entry, she finally landed on a blank sheet. Her mind struggled with whether to commit the words to paper. Until now she dared not write it down. 

She grabbed the pen, pulled the top off and uneasily wrote:

I have got to stop this.  Right now! These crazy dreams that leap into my subconscious are driving me crazy.  I don’t know where they are coming from and they make no sense.  Maybe I shouldn’t have been so stingy with Kyle, making every excuse in the book to not show him my body.   I’m 28 years old without a prospect in sight.  So where is my soul mate? Maybe his absence is the reason why my mind keeps going there. I don’t like women. I’ve never liked women. This has got to stop!

Shadows due out fall 2012

Please leave your comments here or on the Shadows facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/Shadowsthenovel.  
Thank you.

How to Survive Summer with Your Kids

I have been in a sour mood all week.  Trudging through the day and rolling my eyes haven't helped.  The weather is beautiful, my house is fairly clean and the bills are pretty much getting paid. So I ask myself what's with the funky mood?  Have you ever found yourself feeling like this? How did you snap out of it?  And please don't tell me to pray and read the Bible. I already do that.   

Everyone has their share of ups and downs in life.  It may seem for some like as soon as one storm is over here comes another.  In those instances it's totally warranted to feel drained and weary.  But for this particular case none of that applied.  

My husband and kids are well aware that when mommy is feeling a little antsy, it's best to not ask for anything extra.  I even shared my sour mood with a friend, hoping to receive some wise words to pull me out of my funk. Then I remembered. School was out in three days and I didn't have the first plans as to what my four kids would be doing this summer.

The thought of them home all summer caused a tad bit of anxiety.  Visions of me chasing behind them, chauffeuring them around town and the endless snacking, hit me like a ton of bricks.  Factor in the noise level, the fussing, the in and out, and the trail of destruction, that's enough to give anyone the heebie jeebies.

So what are you doing to make sure you survive summer with your kids?  I really want to know. I checked out our local community magazine and found several churches in my area that have VBS. Many were free or very inexpensive.  Then I found several three day camps available for my future tennis champion, my volleyball expert and my football running back.  The month of June was finally shaping up.  But camps can be expensive so July would have to involve some creativity.

I contacted one of my friends who lives in the area and we agreed to set up times where we swap kids. Yes!  I shared my frustration with my husband and we decided to rent new Wii games, purchase a Foosball table and a volleyball net for lots of outdoor fun. And lastly we instituted "morning learning".  

In order to participate in any fun activities our kids will be required to read for 30 minutes in the morning, complete one hour of online tutoring, (Check out Khan Academy) and read 30 more minutes before bed. This is how they bank their play time. A good friend of mine reminded me that my son who is sixteen going on twenty-five can also help chauffeur and assist them with their studies.

The shadow of darkness is lifted and I can breathe now! (pun intended)  My next novel "Shadows" is fifteen thousand words from being finished and I just might make my deadline.).  

What plans do you have for your kids this summer?

-Terri Whitmire
Author, Writer, Workshop Host

Finally Our Work is Paying Off

In January of 2011 my husband and I decided to take on the responsibility of raising his eight year old nephew.  He is a sweet, bright-eyed, curious boy who can be quite stubborn at times.  At first I didn't understand why.  Then I had to think back to his previous living situation.  As you can imagine this eight-year old was left to make many decisions on his own.  Much like Tara, my character from Breathe for Me, there was very little supervision or positive influence. 


When he first arrived, I was often times met with that deer-in-headlights  stare when I asked him to perform simple tasks such as: brushing his teeth, finishing his food or tying his shoe.  Each request was often followed by a confusing pause as if he were deciding in his mind if he should comply.   


If any of you have a blended family you'll know what I mean when I say that it is truly a test of patience.  Our discipline tactics were often times met with tears and it seemed that things were getting worse.  I'm ashamed to say but I started to question my commitment to this set of circumstances.  We continued to pray with and for him and our whole family.  I had to remember that my kids were adjusting as well and to continue to give to them their own portion of attention and affection. 


Just when we thought we were getting nowhere fast, we both attended a school function called portfolio breakfast at his school.  This is a time when the children can show off their work to their parents.  The program started at 8:15 am and my husband and I went almost begrudgingly.   He read to us all the fun stories he had written and also shared with us the great art work he crafted.   But one piece quickly caught my attention.  The paper was entitled Love is:  


Each page of  the "Love Is" booklet included a short description on what he felt exhibited love.  On page three it read:

Love Is:  When my aunt prays for me and kisses me on the forehead.

I sat there stunned with my heart in my throat. My husband also had his love page that shared with us how his nephew felt about him.  We looked at each other and thought, "Wow all our hard work is finally paying off" .   

So parents whenever you think you're beating your head against the wall,  remember that your words will eventually sink in and this will be revealed when you least expect it.

Take care and continue nurturing your seed.

-Terri Whitmire

Top Five People I'm Angry With (The Trayvon Martin Murder)

     Anger is a powerful emotion. Celebrities, politicians and even prophets from the Bible have found themselves enraged.   This most recent event involving the murder of young Trayvon Martin has caused anger to swell in all of us. I literally felt my breath vacate my lungs, upon hearing how Trayvon was hunted down and killed like a stray animal.

     I am not what you would consider a news junky by any means.  As a matter of fact, I intentionally steer clear of the news because of all the graphic and violent stories that continue to invade our minds.  But as every TV, Facebook, Google and Yahoo news site displayed the tender, baby face of Treyvon Martin, I couldn’t help but become drawn in.

     My husband and I discussed this tragedy at length one morning causing our blood to boil. Yet another senseless death mounted upon the backs of African Americans, we argued.  I by no means believe African Americans have the market on suffering.  My experience as a previous business owner taught me that other races have their own share of affliction. But it seems that these senseless killings continue to be the unsolvable thorn in our proverbial side.

     Number one on the list of who’s to blame is George Zimmerman. His self-proclaimed neighborhood watch position was a sad attempt to assuage his endeavor to become a real police officer.  After Zimmerman gave his “account” of what happened, the Sanford Police department (SPD) quickly released Zimmerman and washed their hands of this whole big mess. It is my belief that the SPD’s eyes must be clouded right along with their judgment. You and I clearly see that Zimmerman is, as the old folk say, “guilty as a fox in a chicken coop.”

     Running a close second is the Sanford Police department.  What kind of Cracker Jack (no pun intended) station are they running down there? What audacity and ignorance they displayed in trying to justify this murder under the guise of this idiotic “Stand Your Ground Law”.  And now they have resorted to the old ‘blame the victim’ routine. The Sanford Police knew Zimmerman exhibited psychological problems.  Yet they continued to pacify Zimmerman, allowing him to call 911 more than forty-six times over the past eight years.

     Third on the list is the states district attorney. He too was confused regarding how to handle Zimmerman’s vigilantisms and made no attempt to bring charges upon him.  Now he claims to be gathering all the facts.  George Zimmerman who had nothing better to do with his miserable life, chased down an innocent kid and killed him.  Those are the facts. Additionally, CNN reported this from one witness, "(Zimmerman) was standing over the body, basically straddling the body with his hand on Trayvon's back," said Cutcher, adding that they called three times to him before he finally asked them to call police. "It didn't seem to me that he was trying to help him in any way. Police have not released Cutcher's official police statement." No surprise there.

     Fourth in line is the neighborhood itself.  Most of the community understood Zimmerman to be a ticking time bomb, yet they allowed him to carry on with his keystone cop tactics. A few neighbors called 911 and offered their account of the event and even testified that they too were annoyed with Zimmerman overzealous antics. All a little bit too late. I would however like to applaud Mary Cutcher and her roommate Selma Mora Lamilla, for running outside seconds after the shots were fired, in an effort to decipher the situation.

     Rounding out the top five people I was angry with is God.  Yes for a second I felt awful as I asked God Why?  

“Why does this keep happening to your children?” I yelled.  

     I sat in my car for a minute expecting God to answer me in an audible voice.  I heard nothing.  Real people like Trayvon Martin or fictional characters like Tara, from my novel Breathe for Me are subjected to unprovoked, unfounded, seemingly senseless, violent and abusive acts.  I wanted to know why your children, who are the least among us, must be subjected to this. I would imagine many people share my troublesome thought.  He told us “All things work together for the good…” Really?  All?  

     I believe I have the type of relationship with God where He expects me to come to Him with the good, the bad, and the ugly. I’m sure He is just as pained and hurt as we are from the things that happen in this world. And He being All-present  and All-knowing  continually  searches the Earth to and fro’ looking for someone who is willing to step up and say enough is enough.  What leader, prophet, elder or average citizen has the appointed purpose to stop all of this nonsense? I don’t have an answer yet but I know God will one day reveal it to us and it will all make perfect sense. 

     If your top five didn’t make this list, then by all means get it off your chest and share it with the rest of us.  


-Author Terri Whitmire
www.Terriwhitmire.com