Category Archives: Family

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. Family

The only thing I want to add is that now Granddaddy would be 95! Every time I think of the love Grandmaw Stone had for her family, it makes me cry. What a woman!

Haven Caylor-Brown's avatarHaven's Ideals by Haven Caylor-Brown

September 10th (yesterday) would have been my
granddaddy’s 94th birthday. Once again, his name was Troy Dewitt
Caylor. He was born on September 10, 1917, and he died on March 29, 1979. He
was one of those grandfathers that could almost be an ideal cliché: He smoked a
pipe, he could do carpentry, was an excellent farmer, loved yard work, could
fix anything that had an engine, could make crafts and holiday sceneries, and
most of all, he loved his family. I was almost 13 when he died, but I have so
many cherished memories of that man. I loved him dearly, and he loved me. As I
have said before, he showed all of his grandchildren so much love. I have
someone else to add to my “Happy Birthday” to Granddaddy message. I simply know
her as Grandmaw Stone.

My granddaddy’s
family was hit hard by the…

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Copenhagen

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

The Little Mermaid, Ammon, & Haven: Copenhagen July 6, 2012

The Little Mermaid, Sean, & Carter: Copenhagen July 6, 2012

Tivoli Carousel

Tivoli Carousel: July 2, 2012

Early spring of 2012, Sean and I debated on several days in Copenhagen with a horrible itinerary flying back to the United States to home or making it to London, England with a very comfortable and accommodating itinerary home. Since we (Carter and Ammon included) enjoy London, we chose a one day tour in Copenhagen. Like several other places, guess what we’ve decided? You got it! We want to return to Copenhagen.

The Baltic Cruise was round trip out of Copenhagen. Both the embarkation and disembarkation days were cool and rainy: quite depressing. It was a shame that this lovely, seaside city looked so gray and dreary. However, like I said it is a pretty city.

Both Ammon and Carter thought it was cool to see the “original” Little Mermaid from Hans Christian Anderson’s fairy tale. We also visited a quaint cathedral, but the highlight of the excursion was Copenhagen’s famous Tivoli (a world-renowned amusement park). We did not have much time there, but Carter and Ammon got to ride a carousel (it’s kind of becoming their “thing” to ride carousels from around the world…LOL).
So, too quick of an excursion for such an interesting and pretty city. Lord willing, we will return.

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Helsinki, Finland

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Sean, Ammon, Haven, & Carter: Near Porvoo, Finland July 3, 2012

Carter inside the Rock Church

Porvoo, Finland

Sibelius monument: July 3, 2012

It was our second time to Helsinki, Finland, and we decided to take a more rural tour of the area. We did not go to the bustling downtown area this time. Our tour guide was EXCELLENT, and she made this experience EXCELLENT (our tour guide from 2010 was a dud).

We started early near the water, traveled to a village named Porvoo, had lunch in a restaurant that had been converted from a dairy barn, saw the Sibelius (music composer) monument of tubes, visited the The Temppeliaukio Kirkko (Rock Church) hewn from inside a huge boulder, then back to the ship.
The day was nice and “laid back”, and it was wonderful to recharge after the intense touring of St. Petersburg the previous two days.

We highly recommend traveling to Helsinki.

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Tallinn, Estonia June 30, 2012

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Tallinn, Estonia with the Emerald Princess in the Background: June, 30, 2012

Alexander Nevsky Russian Orthodox Cathedral

Tallinn’s Lower Town Square

Fat Margaret’s Tower: Tallinn, Estonia: June 30, 2012

Over 25 years ago, I remember having a geography class, and my professor had us label and recall Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania on a European map. The gist of the lecture when mentioning these were, “These are Baltic countries which are very similar in language and culture. They are a part of the Soviet Union.”….end of the lecture on Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. What a shame, right?

For several years, Sean and I had heard very positive things regarding the sites and people of Tallinn. We were not disappointed. The mixture of middle ages architecture, Russian Orthodox (we actually saw a funeral in the Russian Orthodox Church while we were there) named the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, and other historical architecture was very quaint and pleasing to the traveler’s eye.
If the opportunity arises, we will return to Tallinn.

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Oslo, Norway: June 26, 2012

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Oslo Hard Rock Cafe: June 26, 2012

Viking Museum

Public Ski Jump Park

Vigeland Sculpture Park

Oslo’s Opera House: June 26, 2012

Since I was a teenager, I have wanted to visit Oslo, Norway. My Nanny Caylor always spoke HIGHLY of this nation. During my one day visit, I was not disappointed.

During World War II, Norway was occupied by the Nazis. However, the Norwegian people fought tenaciously and tirelessly to kick them out. I know it was common, but the first time I heard about them battling on snow skis, I was soooooooooooo impressed! My Nanny always thought Norway was so pretty, and it was shared between Norway and the United States that Norwary paid off all its debt to the United States after World War II.

Oslo’s port with Princess Cruise Lines had to be THE BEST port we had ever experienced. The downtown area was less than a 10 minute walk from the ported ship! The Oslo Fjord itself was such a beautiful, natural wonder too.
We know we want to go back to Oslo: 6 hours there were not enough.

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Head Shaving for Pediatric Cancer

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

Chattanoggins: June 10, 2012

If any of my family ever has cancer (Mamaw is a 13 year survivor of Breast Cancer), goes through chemotherapy, and loses hair, I want Carter and Ammon to look back and see that it’s okay to be bald and “different” especially when you are battling a disease.

Carter hasn’t been too happy with my hair cut and has told me so several times, but Ammon has been supportive with hugs and kisses and rubbing my head “for luck”. It was also a cool thing to give a donation to the Children’s Hospital of Chattanooga.

Hoping and praying that all is well in your worlds this Monday, and I am sending up prayers for those who are battling cancer or know someone who is battling cancer. Haven and the Crew

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Dual Memorial Day 2012

. Family, Holidays, Parenting . , , , , , , ,

Image

 

Image

Dual Purpose Memorial Day

To our Soldiers Past, Present, and Future:

Words cannot say “Thank you!” enough to our service men and women from the past, present, and future. There have been many of my family members who have fought for the colonies, fought for both the Union and the Confederacy, fought in World War I, and served in World War II, and we have several who have served in peace time as well. Both of these men are dead, but my Granddaddy (Troy Caylor) was drafted into the Army in the spring of 1945, did not do combat (praise the Lord), but helped in the United State’s Japanese occupation from 1945-1946. His brother-in-law, Charles Kirk, was drafted earlier in World War II, entered the Navy, and served on the now famous-floating museum, the Intrepid .

My May 28 Memorial Day

I had mixed emotions on Sunday evening. I could not decide what to write for Memorial Day 2012 because it was a unique day. I chose to write about Memorial Day 2012 the day after the holiday. 

This year’s Memorial Day was May 28. It’s a national holiday. My family and I have another “memorial day” on May 28: The anniversary death of my father. Yesterday, my father died 30 years ago. My goodness, it was 30 years ago! I can still hear him talk, hear him laugh, and call my name. For years, I dreamed about him, and he still appears in my dreams but not as frequently. One positive thing about a parent dying young (he was 42) and unexpectedly is that the parent is always “ageless” and frozen in time. I did not have to see my father become old, suffer from any disease, lose his memory, or lose his physical strength. Until the day I die or lose MY memory, he will be my 42 year old father. As I’ve said before, I don’t feel sad for myself, because I had a wonderful father, and we had a great relationship (NO REGRETS), but I do wish Ammon and Carter could experience his grandfatherly love, sense of humor, Christian love, and love of life. However, I’m glad our Papa Caylor Angel can see us in heaven.

 

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Ammon & Carter: Museum of Natural History

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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.