Category Archives: Family

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Dolly’s Ambitions: A Tribute to Ammon and Carter

. Dolly Parton, Education, Family, friends, HOSA, Mental Fitness, Parenting, writing . , , , , , , , , , ,

Happy September 2026. I have not posted a blog in two years. After Dolly Parton’s death, I returned to my blog to share my initial heartbreak and thoughts; however, WordPress, the blog platform, had locked me out. Why? Well, the email I had used since I first created the blog was obsolete. The email provider was exclusive to our area of Ooltewah, yet not a provider here in our area of Knox County. The process to change the parent email to blog took over two weeks, y’all!

The process finally ended today, September 12. I was ecstatic. I wanted to dedicate my return blog to Dolly…. but something changed this morning. First, I want to blog ASAP so I will not lose the momentum. Second, I have several blog posts semi-ready for Dolly but not quite, so… Dolly is going to help me praise and lift up my most precious gifts, Carter and Ammon, in this blog. This morning  they just took another round of the Scholastic Aptitude Test. We brought them home after the test, and I began to clean the kitchen countertops. Near the coffee pot is a wooden, Dolly quote “Cup of Ambition” and two cute cups where another household member and I could share a cup of coffee together. My mother, Georgie Caylor, saws these sweet Dolly knick-knacks several years ago, and she bought them for our kitchen. My mother has been a Dolly Parton fan for nearly 60 years. I have been a fan for over 55 years.

Mamaw (Georgie Caylor) Bought this coffee set for us several years ago. As you can see the wooden “Cup of Ambition” and the cute, clear coffee cups with butterflies and Dolly’s signature.

Folks, I love and appreciate Ammon and Carter’s “ambition” to be both successful high school students as well as future pre-med and medical students. They also have such wonderful hearts for creating useful organizations and serving others. They have made their high school chapter of their HOSA https://hosa.org/ club grow by leaps and bounds. They were the only underclassmen to qualify for the 2025 international convention, and this year, Carter finished as #10 Internationally in his category of Nutrition. They have helped create their chapter of the National Science Club and they are co-presidents of the school’s Model United Nations. They are also very instrumental in driving their high school Key Club (service club) activities for its community. These two busy Beavers (pun intended… its their school mascot) will be sending in applications for prospective universities quite soon, and we are all anxious to see what God has in store for them.

As Carter and Ammon ambitiously step into their senior year and begin the journey of applying to colleges and universities, our hearts are so full. We are incredibly grateful for the bright, ambitious young adults they’ve grown into and for all the love and support you all have poured upon them since birth.

This next chapter brings big decisions, high hopes, and plenty of stress. Sean and I would be so deeply grateful if you would keep them in your thoughts and prayers during this season—for clarity as they choose where to apply, peace of mind through the waiting, and confidence in wherever their paths lead next.

Thank you for loving them alongside Sean and me! God is Great, and so are you all. Oh, and thanks, Dolly, for helping me connect your beautiful, heart-filled “ambition” to Ammon and Carter’s ambitions.

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Busy … from answered prayers

. Church, Family, Vols Football . , , , ,


Matthew 7:7  “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

The Caylor-Browns prayed and knocked, God opened the doors, and we are BUSY!!

Working through God’s answered prayers:

The house is wonderful, and we had to wait five months to
get it. God had the plan we just had to be patient. Boxes and bags abound. Sean is busy at the house while Carter, Ammon, and I are at our perspective schools.

I enjoy teaching high school Spanish again, and I am so
grateful God blessed me with my new school. I have zero unit plans or lessons plans from the past, so it’s all NEW and busy.

Ammon and Carter are getting their prayers answered by being
extra busy with public school Advanced Placement courses and honors courses. They really enjoy their clubs and football games so far.

The last and MOST important thing is using the gifts God gave us four to glorify Him, and He has guided us to a Spirit lead Methodist congregation. From May 30 until September 15, it was difficult being in Knoxville every Sunday. We had to move 20 years’ worth of Caylor-Brown collections to Knoxville while cleaning out and selling two houses , and the weekends were the only days we could transport the goods. So now that we have all our important things as well a “junky” things moved from McDonald Road, it’s time to GET BUSY serving our Creator here.

Happy Autumn, dear friends and loved ones. .  If you head to the Smoky Mountains going through Knoxville, spend a few days up here while enjoying a Tennessee Vols weekend, or simply want to visit this beautiful region of East Tennessee some weekend, give us a yell. You’re invited to our house. You can Text me or Sean, or you can send us a Direct Message on Facebook.

Love and Blessings to all

Haven


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Baking with my “Babies” (yep, almost 15 they are!)

. Education, Family, Family Kitchen Time, Food, Parenting . , , , , , , , , ,

Both Carter and Ammon enjoy cooking and baking in the kitchen. I know Mamaw Wimpy was an excellent, country cook, but I never talked with her and spent time actually cooking and preparing meals. With Nanny, on the other hand, I was constantly in the kitchen with her watching and learning and even trying new recipes. The food was always delicious, but, better yet were the conversations during our kitchen time. I loved that bonding time and learning family history time. Ammon, Carter, and I are not to the family history stories yet (too busy with their iPads and such) but we will get there! Just being together baking and cooking is wonderful enough.

Carter fixed a tasty Turkey-fried rice that I carried to school last week, yet I have no photos. It was admirable none the less. One reason I don’t have a photo is because they prepared it at 8:30 one night while I was doing lesson plans for school. Ammon has baked twice this past week while during “down time”, and  I’ve been free to snap some pics. Ammon made some blueberry scones with a biscuit recipe last week; they rivaled Bojangles’ Bo-Berrys. On Friday night we mixed and placed homemade biscuits in the fridge for this AM’s breakfast. They were AWESOME. Today’s breakfast was treat for me since I have been working with a calorie deficit since July 21. We had biscuits, fruit salad / ambrosia ( a Nanny Caylor -learned treat) , grits, and a breakfast casserole ( eggs, ground sausage, and tater tots ) . I was in “Breakfast Hog Heaven” !!

Baking with my children is such a blessing. Whenever I bake and give some culinary advice, I channel my Nanny, and know she would be proud that the Alexander-Caylor cooks live on with the Caylor-Browns during baking and cooking time.

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Pianos : Haven’s Seasons of their intrigue

. Education, Family, Learning, Music, piano, Preschool Unit Plans . , , , , , , , ,

I have a cousin who got an upright piano when she was 9 years old. I was 5 years old at the time. I was intrigued with her playing. No one in my family (not even her parents) was musically inclined, so neither my parents nor hers became mentors for Little Haven (LOL…. some of you probably don’t know that until my dad, Haven <6 ft. 4 inches>, died when I was 16, I was “Little Haven”…. still short of course but not being compared to Daddy) . I would peck out some notes from time to time when I visited her house, and she finally taught me ONE SONG ; “Bone Sweet Bone” . My “musical talents” were channeled into the French horn many years later where I became good enough to be 1st chair in high school 3 out of 4 years, District Band placement (5 years in a row), Solo & Ensemble ribbon winner, etc (never made All -State… LOL). However, I’ve always been intrigued with the piano. 

Fast forward to 2012 in the Caylor-Brown household with Haven, Sean, Carter & Ammon. Sean had a keyboard that he had bought but never learned how to play, and I hauled it out of storage into the Bonus Room for Ammon & Carter’s preschool, music lessons. They tried to concentrate but I found myself on it the most pecking out “Jingle Bells”, “Happy Birthday”, and simple, one-handed songs. One evening, I finished up the kitchen chores, walked upstairs into the Bonus Room, and one of the two or perhaps both children (they covered for each other) had walked on the keyboard and snapped off a key! They were reprimanded, but they didn’t care, and I put the keyboard away. 

2022 – Ammon takes an interest in the piano. A kind friend from church, Sierra Boyd, offers to give Ammon free lessons during the school year. Ammon accepts. Here at the house, Ammon practiced on the keyboard which we had “repaired” by replacing the snapped-off key. No matter what time of the day/ evening Ammon played, I would stop and enjoy the sounds of the keyboard “dreaming” of one day having a piano in our midst.

August 2023. While at school, Sean texts me about a “Piano to Give Away!” that was on Facebook. We all agreed that it would fit nicely in our living room. We simply had to find moving people to safely get the piano to our house. I was at school, so Sean began the communications. The piano arrived at our house on Friday evening (August 18, 2023!). It is even nicely tuned to be over 50 years old. I know the piano is first and foremost for Ammon, but I fell in love with it immediately. Carter is even interested in lessons now as well. Would you like to guess Haven’s inaugural tune?….. Weeeell, it was bum, bum, bum……. “Bone Sweet Bone”. The space where the piano sits looks as though it was waiting for the piano for these almost 19 years of living here.

As I close this blog entry, I simply want to give thanks to God for placing this opportunity in front of us and giving me an opportunity to, perhaps, fulfill a childhood dream of mine of learning how to play the piano ; a 52 years old dream! I hope and pray that, if you want, God will bless you with an opportunity to fulfill a dream or goal that you’ve had stored in your heart for a while. God is great and sometimes “mysterious” in His timing. 

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Dublin Attractions- Part 1

. Family, Family Travel, Ireland, Irish History . , , , , , , , , ,

Dublin Attractions – Part 1

During our Ireland summer 2023 adventure, we would stay put in Dublin almost every other day. The traveling days were exhausting, so we all needed rest. Quite a few museums in Dublin are 100% free to tour, but they do ask for donations. The National Museum of Ireland-Natural History was a variable “step back into time” experience. The building is 2020’s updated, but it has not changed much in over 100 years. This section of this blog entry is dedicated to the extinct Giant Irish Deer / Irish Elk. The skeletons of these Ice Age mammals adorn many castles and museums throughout Ireland. All four of us were mesmerized by their skeletons. Check out Ireland’s plankton eating shark, the Basking Shark too.

A tour of Dublin Castle, however, is not free. The name “Dublin Castle” sounds a bit deceiving, right? Or, to Haven, Dublin Castle’s one, Medieval-style tower lends the idea of the Middle Ages. However, 95 % of the castle is Georgian in architecture. Dublin’s original, medieval castle is underground. When the majority of the Norman Castle burned in 1684, only one Medieval tower remained and city architects decided the complex would be rebuilt in “modern architecture” what was then, of course, Georgian – the British time period of the 4 King Georges of Great Britain 1714-1837. Some of you know that I am a language nerd, sooooooo ….. Dublin is Old-Irish Gaelic “Dubh Linn”. It means Black Pool. Unbeknownst to the general public, there is a river under Dublin Castle and the streets as well. The river is the River Poddle. Through hundreds of years, the river was rerouted around and under Dublin structures as it flows to the River Liffey. When the Middle Ages people created a fortress on the spot of today’s Dublin Castle the River Liffey and River Poddle were almost converging on that spot. Standing on concrete surrounded by 20th & 21st Century buildings you have NO IDEA about these things. Dublin Castle is so proud of an exhibition from Rome, Italy, so we snapped a few shots. Italy’s Davide Rivalta’s bronze lioness roams in the upper courtyard of Dublin Castle. The piece is part of an exhibition, called Grazing in Lucan, & is a collaboration between Rome’s National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art and Dublin Castle.

Our Dublin Castle guide is showing us how the fortress appeared some 800 years ago. Once again, no one can see Dublin Castle’s Medieval section unless they take the underground tour.

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Cashel & Cahir, Ireland: July 18, 2023

. Education, European Destinations, European History, Family, Family Travel, Ireland, Irish History . , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Our last traveling day across Ireland found us in Cashel and Cahir Ireland. The two towns are just 11 miles apart, but it took over 2 hours to get there from Dublin Airport. It was our second and final car rental while we were in Ireland. Since Cousin Beth Stoker, Mike, Ben and Bradley had visited the Rock of Cashel summer of 2022, we wanted to go. The limestone rock that appears as a mountain rising above the plains of Tipperary is quite impressive. The pre Christian, Celtic pagans used the hill for worship and other rituals before one of my favorite, Christian, historical figures, St. Patrick, preached to them on this very hill. St. Patrick then baptized their King Angus, and converted the area people to Christianity from this very spot.  I was a bit disappointed that the Cashel Gothic cathedral is in ruins and St. Patrick’s cross was a replica. We weren’t even allowed to see the original cross. However, Cashel’s Romanesque church that is/was attached to the Gothic cathedral is intact. It is called Cormac’s Chapel, and its sculptures, arches, and frescoes are classic Romanesque. The extraordinary Irish added their own “signature” to Romanesque art with its high pitched roof. The round tower and the Celtic cross-laden cemetery helped add to the extremely Irish-Celtic spirit of our travel day.

Cahir was just a few minutes away, and Carter had shared that we needed to tour Cahir Castle. Once again, Carter did a great job researching another Irish, historical gem. The Anglo-Normans literally built up a fortress rising from limestone rock in the middle of the River Suir. There were zero entrances/secret passages from the bottom of this fortress. It is a complete structure with no interior ruins like so many of the Irish castles people find. It was not taken by any invaders until one of Queen Elizabeth I’s “favorites” , Robert Dudley Earl of Essex took the castle in 1599. By the time the English Puritan Protector, Oliver Cromwell, took over the castle in the 1650s it was not the Butler hub-bub as it was. My two favorite parts of the castle were the sliding, portcullis gates that would trap a group in 3 seconds flat, and the trap doors in one of the towers. I was transfixed to the geese swimming in the Suir River. I had never seen domestic geese swimming thusly. Be sure to look for the Earl of Essex’s cannon balls in the sides of the castle.

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Trim, Ireland & Trim Castle

. European Destinations, European History, Family, Family Travel, Food, Ireland, Irish History, Learning . , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday July 15 found us traveling on a local bus to the town of Trim as well as Trim Castle. You can see the River Boyne from the tower of the castle. Downtown, the bridge over the River Boyne is the oldest, still used, bridge in Ireland. The bridge dates to approximately 1330. The actor/director, Mel Gibson, used the town of Trim in several main sequences in his movie, “Braveheart”. He cleverly trimmed (LOL… get it??!!) Trim to create a Middle Ages, York, England as well as piecing together parts of Trim to make it appear like a Middle Ages, London square. The castle is the largest Anglo-Norman fortification in Ireland. Hugh de Lacy and his successors took 30 years to build it. The central fortification is a monumental three-story keep. This massive 20-sided tower, which is cross in shape, was all but impregnable in its day. It was protected by a ditch, curtain wall and water-filled moat.The castle is often called King John’s Castle although when he visited the town he preferred to stay in his tent on the other side of the river. Why? I guess this needs more research … LOL…

The wind in Trim this day destroyed three umbrellas. Since returning home, Sean bought us “wind-resistant” umbrellas for our next visit to a windy region. Right before our tour of the castle, we ate at a local, Irish family owned Take-Away Restaurant called, Castle Takeaway ! LOL If you all make it to Trim you need to eat there!! Such a diverse menu, but we chose cheeseburgers, onion rings, and French fries! Yuuuuuuum!

Enjoy the photos

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Westminster Abbey: Poets’ Corner – December 28, 2022

. Books, Education, European Destinations, Family, Family Travel . , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Crossing the bar

ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON

Sunset and evening star,

      And one clear call for me!

And may there be no moaning of the bar,

      When I put out to sea,

   But such a tide as moving seems asleep,

      Too full for sound and foam,

When that which drew from out the boundless deep

      Turns again home.

   Twilight and evening bell,

      And after that the dark!

And may there be no sadness of farewell,

      When I embark;

   For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place

      The flood may bear me far,

I hope to see my Pilot face to face

      When I have crost the bar.

After traveling the world since 1984, my favorite “museum” (it’s really a living, breathing church) is Westminster Abbey. For anyone who is nerdy and loves some world famous literature, they will not want to leave Poets’ Corner of the abbey.

I opened with Tennyson’s “Crossing the Bar”. Alfred, Lord Tennyson is buried in Poets’ Corner at Westminster Abbey. He was England’s Poet Laureate 1850-1892. I researched Lord Tennyson for a literature project in college many years ago. “The Charge of the Light Brigade” is a world famous poem as well.  The Bronte Sisters have a memorial in Poets’ corner. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte gives me chills when I read such quotes as Cathy’s “Nelly, I am Heathcliff!”. For us who have felt a spiritual bond to a loved one it is a “punch to your soul”. My favorite short story of all time, “The Happy Prince”, was written by Oscar Wilde. If you read only one of his short stories, read that story. It still makes me cry; “You have rightly chosen,” said God, “for in my garden of Paradise this little bird shall sing for evermore, and in my city of gold the Happy Prince shall praise me. What the heck happened??, you have to read the story. You won’t be sorry. Oscar Wilde is NOT buried at Westminster Abbey, but in Paris, France. He was a pauper when he died, but fans raised money for his monument where he is buried. Sean and I visited the famous cemetery the spring of 2008. However, Oscar Wilde also has a stained glass window at Westminster Abbey.

I am not a huge fan of Medieval pieces of literature, but every few years, I enjoy a review and read of “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer. He is buried at Poets’ Corner as well. Musical composers at Westminster Abbey? Well, George Frederic Handel , composer of “The Messiah” is buried at Westminster Abbey. He was, indeed, German, but lived and composed in England. The first public performance of Handel’s Messiah took place in Neal’s Musick Hall, Fishamble Street, Dublin, in the shadows of Christ Church Cathedral on April 13,  1742. Ammon, Carter, Sean, and I toured that cathedral and locale on December 22, 2022-Thursday. I am finishing with the world famous, Charles Dickens. He is the author of “A Christmas Carol” ( 1843) and my 2nd favorite novel (Gone with the Wind is my first) A Tale of Two Cities (1859). I love and think of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ, when I read “ It was in vain for Madame Defarge to struggle and to strike; Miss Pross, with the vigorous tenacity of love, always so much stronger than hate…”  Please read and see how love triumphs over hatred written through Charles Dicken’s plume to paper.

I hope you all can enjoy some of our photos from Poets’ Corner, a bit of this read, then find some of these pieces of literature to enjoy, ponder upon, and perhaps develop a liking for.

Haven

From Poets’ Corner, Westminster Abbey, the Caylor-Browns wish Everyone a Happy New Year 2023!

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2022 University of Tennessee Vols Football

. Family, Vols Football . , , , , , , , , , ,

Take this quote from Haven TO THE BANK: “If UT does not win over UGA today, it’s because God has something better planned!”

Thanks to my niece, Jennifer Barrett-Tatum, I enjoy watching The Tennessee Vols. When she completed both her undergraduate degree and master’s degree from The University of Tennessee at Knoxville, I began visiting Jennifer “Little Sister” [ I was 15 when she was born … kinda helped raise her … helped take care of Orrin a little bit … LOVED being a part of her college career & watching her become a phenomenal (perhaps like Uncle Small) ] who now is almost 10 years into being a Doctor of Philosophy/ Education … okay, you get the picture that I’m a fan of my niece. She lived in Knoxville for about 10 years. OMGeez.. Neyland Stadium was a “sea of orange”, the crowd singing “Rocky Top” penetrated my soul (both the Caylor’s and the Cox’s came from East Tennessee) , the COONHOUND (if you know me, you know my love of coonhounds) Smokey the Bluetick, the pioneer waving the UT flag!!!! Haven was HOOKED!!

I watched Casey Clausen (a few years too late for Peyton Manning, I was) and Erik Ainge. Haven even spent $$ on a “#10” Ainge Jersey. I had NEVER done anything like that in my life, and I was 40 years old at the time. Then, bum, bum, bum…. Carter & Ammon! Then…. Back to work … then… Pandemic … NOW 2022, Josh Heupel and Hendon Hooker (possible Heisman Trophy Winner … as of 11-3-2022 , he is the frontrunner for the Heisman!! I’m tearing up. NO ONE is perfect, but Hendon gives every sign of being a faithful Christian young man who gives glory to God for his gifts. People (some whom I’ve met) who have met him says Hendon’s spirit is very “Christ-like”

https://theathletic.com/3755735/2022/11/02/heisman-trophy-odds-hooker-stroud/

It’s been a treat to watch Head Coach Josh Heupel since the Music City Bowl in January. Carter and I KNOW the Vols really won over Purdue. Speaking of Carter, it’s been a Father’s Joy to have Carter by my side this 2022-2023 NCAA football season watching the Vols to what is today their 8-0 record. Our whole family and Jennifer’s family attended the UT vs. Akron game in Knoxville on September 17. When Tennessee beat Alabama on October 15, 2022, Carter and I were in our living room. We sat in enthralled, disbelief when that buzzer sounded and the Vols had won 52-49 . Y’all 101 combined points. What a testimony to the greatness of these two teams. Both offenses had battled beautifully, but the talent of the ever-improving Vols triumphed. Heupel, Hooker, Small, Hyatt and the WHOLE team working together for the art that is college football is some like an animated painting that is constantly evolving and electrifying your brain synapses to keep enjoying and returning to the painting over and over. And, oh, man , the recruiting is gleaning STAR QUALITY players from across the nation: Nicholaus Iamaleava, Sham Umarov, and Chandavian Bradley are only a “drop in the bucket” of rising greatness headed for Knoxville and the UT Vols.

Back to my quote “If UT does not win over UGA today, it’s because God has something better planned!” … EVERYONE I have listened to. Yes, even primary resource whom have been in the physical midst of this 2022-2023 UT Vols team, says something special . “They are a good group of boys.” … many of whom are Christians and know that it’s CHRIST FIRST. So, God does use crazy sports to Glorify Him, and whether this team loses to Georgia today or not, God will use this Vols team to glorify Him, and it WILL BE CLEARLY VISIBILE before the January 9, 2023 NCAA Football Championship in Los Angeles. Happy Saturday, and “It’s great to be a Tennessee Vol!”

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It’s Blogging Time, Again

. Family, Family Travel, Parenting . , , , , ,

Thursday October 27, 2022

I am embarrassed that I haven’t blogged since last year. So many awesome things (our Trip to Italy) have happened as well as sad things (Our Nana passing). There is a blog in the works. I know we posted of Italy 2022 in Facebook, but there are so many more things to share. If I am mentally and physically well during Thanksgiving Break, I will probably blog about Italy 2022. Until then … Haven

Read more: It’s Blogging Time, Again

Links to previous Autumn Antics

Fall Break 2020
Read more: It’s Blogging Time, Again
Burt’s Pumpkin Farm
Mesmerizing Maples
“Joy to the Earth” (TO build your schema…this blog entry IS NOT about Christmas)