Category Archives: Family

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Ammon & Carter: Museum of Natural History

. Family, Learning . , , ,

T-Rex: Tuesday May 8, 2012

Wooly Mammoth

New York City’s Museum of Natural History: May 8, 2012

Ammon and Carter had survived the Uffizi, the Accademia di Belle Arti, and The Sistine Chapel in Italy, The Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, The Louvre in Paris, and many other smaller museums of Europe and the United States. However, they were MADE to go.

During our week in New York City, we had several free mornings and afternoons, and it rained several of those days as well. On Tuesday (May 8), we couldn’t go to Central Park or other parks, so I scoured my mind in thinking of where Carter and Ammon might like to go. I asked if they wanted to see some statues of animals, and they both said, “Oh, yeah”.

Well, we traveled up the subway to the Museum of Natural History, and the subway went right into the basement of the museum (perfect because it was raining!). We went to 3rd floor, winded through the halls, and entered the well-known dinosaur room. Carter was asleep in his stroller, but Ammon walked in, looked up, smiled a HUGE smile, and yelled, “T-Rex!”. She ran and started jabbering. We were in the museum for over 2 hours, and the children loved every moment. Carter even woke up and enjoyed the animals as well. I was so relieved that we chose well. It was a great acclamation to museums for Ammon and Carter.

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Ammon & Carter’s Spring Portrait

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April 17, 2012…Carter & Ammon Caylor-Brown

We only had a day’s notice on spring pictures at school. During the school year, Ammon and Carter had several “formal-type” pictures. I had no intention to dress them up the Monday evening we got the email. Sean and I did concur that they could wear their new Burberry shirts we had gotten them in New York City before Christmas, and that was as “fancy” as it would get.

The pictures were back the NEXT TUESDAY! I sat down to pay for the pictures, and the lady helping pulled them out. The first one she showed me was the 11 ½ by 14, and I was dumbfounded! It was the best pose Ammon and Carter had ever done together, and it made tears come to eyes.

As most siblings do, they bicker and quarrel all the time, but they love each other dearly, and the photographer brought this out in his photo. You people here in the Chattanooga area, I do highly recommend Teddy Bear Portraits.

As I have heard all my life, many times those “spur of the moment” photos are the best. This was one of those moments for Carter and Ammon.

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Carter & Ammon: Laughter Memories (Haven & Nanny)

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Ammon's Irises

Carter & Ammon

Carter and Ammon
Okay, to begin with, I don’t have a bath picture of Carter and Ammon.
Ammon picked me some irises Saturday evening then Sean gave both Carter and Ammon a bath. During the bath, I stayed in the kitchen (some 40 feet away from the bathroom but with CLEAR ear shot) to do some cleaning. It wasn’t exactly the conversations that were clear and enjoyable but the laughter. I just had to stop and enclose the moment in my “Carter and Ammon treasure chest” that is in my heart.
My Nanny Caylor and I were parents at two different times in life: I became a parent at 42, and my Nanny became a parent at 21. However, when the laughter started I had a flashback of my Nanny telling a story about my father and his younger brother when she was a young parent. In 1944, Nanny, Granddaddy, my father, and uncle were in Brunswick, Georgia where Granddaddy was working in the shipyards to fulfill the government’s requests to keep Granddaddy working for the government without being drafted. They were living in “modern” apartments with showers: running water and showers were not a part of their house built in 1867 back in good ol’ Varnell, Georgia. Nanny was telling me the story in her kitchen about a year after my father, her son had died. It was probably the autumn of 1983. We were talking about modern conveniences, and she was telling about how modern the Brunswick apartments felt in 1944. Daddy and his brother were at the ages of like 5 and almost 2 in 1944, and they would play in the shower for fun and entertainment. That day in Nanny’s kitchen she had a flood of memories, and she said, “I can just hear them playing and laughing in the water now.” It had only been a year since the death of her eldest son, and we were all still grieving. She was standing at the stove, stopped, and tears began to fall down her cheeks. Missing my father, I got weepy as well. There was no wailing, but we had a brief cry then continued with our evening.
Last Saturday night, I became “misty-eyed” again thinking about my love for my father and my grandmother and shed a tear of happiness for having my Carter and Ammon. Since their births, their laughter has become my most favorite sound on earth.

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Carter & Ammon Moments (Back to back)

. Family, Parenting . , , , ,

Our holding hands evening, and the 1st Day of Spring
March 20, 2012 (Tuesday)

The two sweet things happened minutes apart but both meant SO MUCH. With the onset of Daylight Savings Time,  our chore schedule inside and outside the house shifts.  Since the time has changed and it so warm in the evenings, we have returned to jogging about an hour before darkness sets in. We also eat dinner earlier and feed the Coonhounds earlier.

After dinner, Ammon, Carter, and I had gathered up the Coonhounds’ dog food, and we headed to the barn.  The three dog food pans with the moist kibble, bread, and lunch meat probably weigh approximately 5 pounds in total, so I carry them. Ammon and Carter were lagging behind playing, and I was headed to the dog lot. I turned around to see Carter running up behind me. I thought he was going to ask to carry a pan; however, upon reaching me, he went to my left side with my free hand and placed his hand in mine so he could walk with me to the barn. I smiled, and My Daddy H heart was thrilled and soft. Ammon joined us in a few seconds, and we entered the dog lot.

Upon feeding the dogs, we three exited the lot. Carter ran ahead to the swing set, and this time Ammon joined me and took my hand. I smiled again and thought about how 3 minutes earlier Carter had taken my hand, but this time, I had some dog food grease on it. I looked down at Ammon, and I said, “I’m holding your hand lightly because it’s dirty after I fed the dogs.” Without saying a word, Ammon took the back of hand, kissed it, and looked up and smiled. My dirty hand did not matter to her. As Carter, Ammon, and I approached the swings, I said a quick, silent prayer. “God thank you so much for my Carter and Ammon! They are such blessings!”

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Rhodes, Greece

. European Destinations, Family, Family Travel . , , , , , , ,

October 17, 2011

It was the first rain of the autumn in Rhodes. It had not rained for MONTHS!

Rhodes, Greece

I think we were all surprised how Medieval Rhodes was. The crusading knights who went to the Holy Land to deliver it from the Muslims decided to hang out there for several hundred years, and they built some medieval structures..

Rhodes City

One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, The Colossus, stood in the harbor several thousand years ago. It only stood for about 50 years, and it was toppled by an earthquake. Historians are saying that it did not strattle the harbor as depicted in many drawings because it would have hampered trade while it was being built, so, they say it probably stood at one side of the harbor.

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Colds/Sinusitis/& an Answered Prayer

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After reading about colds & sinusitis, come back and enjoy some of my latest works.

http://www.manaboutworld.com/?p=2266

http://www.manaboutworld.com/?p=2590

Okay, winter colds/sinusitis…. I have a crappy cold right now. booooooooooo!

Since I started my blog last March, I must not have had bout of sinusitis, because to my knowledge I haven’t written about it. The more I think about it the more I do believe it has been two winters ago since my last experience. The family and I had taken a cruise in the Southern Caribbean (St. Lucia, Barbados, Puerto Rico, St. Croix, etc.), and when we transitioned from warm weather back to cold weather, my sinuses had a “meltdown”.

I think my most incredible year that I escaped a cold and sinusitis was the winter of 2008-2009. During the work week, I had decided that the babies and I would sleep in our living room. I slept on the couch, and Carter and Ammon were nearby in their bassinets. That way Sean would not be disturbed, and he could wake up fresh for work. We would feed the babies around 10:30 at night, and put them down to sleep. Around 2:30 am, one of the two hungry babies would make a peep, and I would dash off of the couch, grab the baby, change it, feed it, rock it back to sleep, get it in back in the bassinet, and whether it was awake or not, do the same for the other baby.

One night after I gotAmm on and Carter back to sleep, I had a scratchy throat, and I was a little fatigued. I remember standing in the utility room bathroom praying, “God, I CANNOT get sick right now. I have to take care of Carter and Ammon.” 24 hours later I was fine! It was an answered prayer. This cold I have right now started like that one, but God helped me “erase” that cold because I couldn’t bear it and do what I was doing with my babies. I was so blessed and thankful that God answered my prayer.

For all you people who are experiencing winter colds, I am totally empathetic. Let’s all pray that we get better soon.

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Christian Worship

. Family, Jesus Christ Follower . , , , , , , ,

I hope you all can find somewhere to worship today, or by the time you read this you will have worshipped. The fellowshipping, the singing, the prayers, the communion/Lord’s Supper/Eucharist centering on Jesus Christ…it’s all for our Christian fortification because we need it as we face our daily lives and jobs.

Hebrews 10:25- “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Have a Blessed Sunday, Everyone!

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Santorini, Greece

. European Destinations, Family, Family Travel . , , , , , , , , ,

Welcome Santorini Fans! Isn’t it an exceptional & unique place!

October 18, 2011

 

 

 

On Friday evening, I was skimming through my photographs of last October’s cruise, and I could not believe that I had never shared about Santorini, Greece. It is a Mediterranean marvel. About 4,000 years ago, it was a complete, round island. However, a volcanic eruption blew off half the island and caused a huge caldera (a volcano crater).

Sean, Carter (can you believe he was napping?LOL), Ammon, & Haven

Our tour of the island was very enjoyable, and it included a black-sand beach. We also had a very good lunch, breath-taking views, and a tram ride back down to the ship that was phenomenal.

Notice the Star Princess anchored in the caldera

I hope you enjoyed this practical, real-life, look at Stunning Santorini. If you have a penchant for European Destinations, check out some of my other entries.
Give me a Google “Haven Caylor” for some of my other works and enjoy a few links as well.

Dollywood (Country Music Singer’s Theme Park) in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

Christmas Hawk

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Costa Rica/Carter & Ammon look for Dora the Explorer

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Ammon & Carter in the Costa Rican Rain Forest

The more I see of Dora the Explorer from  Nickelodeon, her home in the rain forest, and parts of Central America, the more I think she is suppose to be from Costa Rica. A memorable part of Ammon and Carter’s recent cruise was a tram ride in the Costa Rican Rain Forest. It was so much like an episode from Dora where Dora and her friends play Hide and Go Seek.

Tram in the Rain Forest: Quick , was that Señor Tucán?

The last character to find in the episode is Señor Tucán (coincidence that it is Costa Rica’s national bird). The mode of transportation to find the toucan is a tram through the Rain Forest. Carter and Ammon got take a tram ride through the Costa Rican Rain Forest. The guide for Ammon and Carter’s tram was more interested in the flora, but the guide behind pointed out animals such as a sleeping sloth. Dora’s episode shows a sloth hanging upside down.

I think Dora is supposed to be a representative of all Hispanic children, but she does live in a rain forest. I have lived in the Yucatan near Rain Forests, and we did not have any trams, toucans, or sloths running around. Hey, Daddy H is thinking Dora is Costa Rican….we kinda have some proof now.