January 2021

While we closed out 2020 with a bang, there was also a lot of sadness in our house to close out the year with the loss of our kitty, Scout. The day after Christmas he escaped out the back door when we were letting the dogs out and he never returned. We figured the only way to help us move on was to adopt two new kitties. So we have two new members of the Nowlin house, Pebbles and Jet. They are hilarious and into EVERYTHING! They are a bit more high maintenance than Scout ... always on the counter looking for human food, in the sink, climbing the curtains, knocking over lamps, etc. They are a mess! But we love them so much already!  

The day we picked them up at Memphis Animal Services

Emery is a bit partial to Pebbles

Pebble was TINY when we brought her home

James is always the favorite

They love sleeping all cuddled up

Starting to warm up to the dogs ... it's taking Jet a bit longer

Nana celebrated her 70th birthday!

We were out of school for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and it was a beautiful day so the kids and I headed downtown for a bit of a Memphis Civil Rights tour, lunch at our favorite downtown Mexican restaurant and some fun along the Mud Island Greenline. 

Started off at the Clayborn Temple.

In the 1960’s, Clayborn Temple continued to be a home of worship for the large AME congregation. Under the leadership of Rev. Benjamin Booker, Clayborn Temple served as a safe haven for gatherings to plan, strategize, and implement efforts for racial equality within Memphis. During Dr. Martin Luther King’s leadership of the Civil Rights Movement he visited Clayborn Temple on multiple occasions. The Sanitation Workers’ Strike in 1968 served as the Church’s most famous and successful contribution to the legacy of Dr. King and the Civil Rights movement as a whole. It was at Clayborn that the “I Am a Man” Signs were distributed. Clayborn’s central location within the city, and active presence within the community, made the building a natural starting point for the Sanitation Workers to assemble before their solidarity march. As a result, Clayborn has long been considered Memphis’ third most important Civil Rights location. The iconic “I Am a Man” images have been seen by millions of people who know Clayborn as a thriving location within the heart of Memphis. 

Then we hit the Lorraine Hotel where MLK was shot on April 4, 1968. 

Then stopped to see the Ja Morant mural on our way home. It is HUGE and so cool. 

And then a couple of random futsal action shots of Emery.