During the past 10 days, Ammon and Carter have been
practicing being doctors. They have treated Sean at the hospital for the
hiccups, driven to work to their doctors offices in their “Flintstone” cars, and
actually helped take care of Mamaw’s wasp sting the other day. On Friday, I
remembered a Christmas gift each of them got last year: a doctor’s coat with
doctor’s instruments. They had not seen it in 8 months, and they LOVED IT! Will we
have two more doctors in the family in about 27 years? It’s possible. I hope
everyone enjoys their Saturday! Take care.

Dr. Carter (8-19-2011)

Dr. Ammon (8-19-2011)

The summer of 2008 I made several charitable contributions
to some Chattanooga organizations. One of them was to the Partnership for
Families, Children, and Adults (The office on McCallie Avenue is our hub). The
day I went to Partnership I met a wonderful lady named Ann Gunter. Every time I
make a donation, I prefer to go in person so I can talk with Ann. She has been
my friend since before Carter and Ammon were born, and she has watched them
grow these past 3 years. She is a wonderful lady, and we appreciate her work at
Partnership. She is also so loving and giving to Ammon and Carter.  On Thursday when we visited, Ann gave them a gift bag with stickers, fun straws, candy, and snack sets for
snack time! They love it all!

Partnership helps so many people. I cannot begin to list
everything they do, but I have donated to help abused children and to the elderly
in instances where an older person is still independent but needs a helping
hand with buying groceries, postage stamps, paying a utility bill, or whatever,
Partnership provides that assistance. Thank you Partnership for all you do, and
thank you Ann! You’re great!

www.partnershipfca.com

423-755-2822 (Main Office)

I knew Carter and Ammon had been in a growth spurt lately; however, I didn’t really see it until Aunt Karen took these pictures on Tuesday. I am so grateful they are healthy and growing.

Tall Boy Carter (August 16, 2011)

Tall Girl Ammon (August 16, 2011)

Ammon and Carter went to Mamaw’s to spend Tuesday, Tuesday
night, and a good part of the day Wednesday (today). As soon I I got home from Mamaw’s
I began chores: picking up toys through the house, laundry, gathering garbage,
etc. I even had time to finish a future article for publication. In my mind, I
had the remainder of the evening planned to do more chores and finish the
evening with a jog and typing. However, there was a pleasant change.

Sean had finished with all of his patients, completed all
his computer work, and did his charts for the day. When he came home early, he
said, “ We need to go get some office supplies.” I immediately looked at the
time, and it was 3:00. I also found a movie that started at 4:30. Things flew
into place. We got the office supplies, saw Captain
America, ate a quick, healthy dinner, came home and jogged. It was a great
change of pace for the week! I was even able to come home and do some typing.
We need these types of days every once in a while don’t we? And, yes, I do advise you to see Captain America if you enjoy those type of Americana adventures.

Parents you can all relate to this because it is timeless.
We decided that we wanted Ammon and Carter to enroll in Kindermusik. This program
is usually in conjunction with a college or university’s music academy. Our
children love music: Mozart, children’s songs, Chopin, Lady Gaga, etc.;
however, we wanted them to be in an environment with other children growing and
learning with music.

Carter, Ammon, and I went to class, and they did, indeed,
enjoy their first day. It is a 15 week program, and we received two mesh-net
packages with CDs, books, and musical instruments. When we got home, Ammon and
Carter emptied their bags. Ammon’s bag became a “pocket book” stuffed with
black walnuts and shoes, and Carter’s bag became a “suit case” stuffed with toy
cars and black walnuts. When Mamaw asked how Kindermusik went I laughed and
chided and said, “We paid $300 for a pocket book and a suit case!”

Ammon at the pool: summer 2011

On Sunday afternoon, we were all enjoying our Sunday swim.
Carter and Ammon were having a glorious time! They had both been climbing out
of the pool and jumping back in. One time Ammon jumped in, swam to the steps,
and stood up. While standing, she brushed her “wild” looking swimming hair out
of her eyes, and Sean smiled and said, “You look crazy!” Ammon quickly came
back with a grin and said, “I’m not crazy. I’m happy!”

P. S. The picture from above is earlier in the summer. Water wings are already passé.

I hope and pray that everyone has a blessed Sunday. Love, Haven and the Crew

On Friday morning, Carter, Ammon, and I had been out several
times enjoying the warm morning. After we had allowed the coonhounds to slobber
on us a while, we came in for a break. As we sat watching “Fairly Odd Parents”,
I found myself sitting next to Carter on the sofa while he watched television,
sucked his fingers, and held his blanket. I found a spare blanket nearby,
picked it up, put my fingers in my mouth, and thought I would mimic him. Carter
stood up, laughed, and said, “No, like this.” For the next minute or so I
was schooled in the art of finger sucking and blanket handling by my son.  I received no instructions on the finger part;however, I did not hold the blanket correctly: I was supposed to hold it by the satin edging instead of the combed material. I then sat side by side with Carter and pretended to be him. He smiled and watched T. V., and Ammon sat
nearby in her rocking chair grinning ear to ear watching us and watching television as well. It was another, priceless Carter moment.

Carter & Baby (Blanket)

Right before we opened our pool in May, we had several weeks of rain. During those weeks, toads laid eggs on our pool cover. I scooped out as many as possible and placed them in a cooler. After several days, I decided to move them to our koi pond. Ammon, Carter, and I enjoyed visiting “our” tadpoles from time to time and watching them peep at us then suddenly swim to bottom of the shallow pond. When we returned home from our cruise they were all gone; however, I have recently seen quite a few small toads around our back patio. It does my heart good to think they are the tadpoles we saved! This summer we have also had a large number of blue tailed skinks. They are so funny and quick. I am so glad we have both the toads and the skinks. I know they are eating some pesky bugs such as mosquitoes and gnats.  I will miss them in this coming winter.

"The Daughter" & "The Son" (Ammon & Carter)

These two pieces of Lladró as well as our “Fatherhoods” are
on the mantle now with Jesus. Their names are very appropriate: “The Daughter”
& “The Son”. Sean got these for me Christmas 2010. The person who made
these molds has either had their own children or studied the actions of
children. These figurines depict the fun and mischievous nature of Carter and
Ammon, and I love them dearly. These pieces will be in the middle of the living
room for years to come.