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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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My Birthday

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The Love, care, and delicious taste of a homemade birthday cake! (Hey, can you tell how old I am?)

Mama got me balloons!

My wonderful mother knew I would not be home for my birthday, so she made me a birthday cake last Thursday. She, Ammon, Carter, and I celebrated together.

New York City
I just spent my birthday morning jogging up 9th avenue over 46th Street, up Times Square to 51st Street, then back over to 9th avenue. as I jogged, I praised the Lord for Ammon and Carter, Sean, my family,and my friends. God bless you all, and thank you for reading and sharing.

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Summer fun has Begun

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fleeting-summer-fun

Once again, who needs a pool when you have sprinklers! April 30, 2012

For those tough stains on the floor, use Carter!

Hey, who replaced the mop with Ammon?

Ammon and Carter ushered in the summer season with their annual Running of the Sprinklers this week! It was great, and we can see how much they’ve grown since last August. Have a great Friday and Weekend, everyone!

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Napping 2012

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Ammon Napping: Tuesday May 1, 2012

Carter napping: Tuesday May 1, 2012

As millions of parents and grandparents would agree, children who are 3 ½ years old need a nap. If Ammon and Carter do not get naps, by 8:00 pm , they are MONSTEROUS! For nearly a year, they have not had a regular, napping schedule in the afternoons.
Carter and Ammon took their annual swimming lessons at the YMCA this past April. It was twice a week. On those days, I made Carter and Ammon take a nap so they would be refreshed to enjoy their lessons. It worked so well that I decided to continue the trend.
This past Tuesday after preschool then playing in the sprinklers it was time for their nap. They were yawning and relaxing on their couches, and I was nearby at the computer. I stood up and walked over to give them a kiss on their foreheads, and I said, “Have a great nap.” A delightful and surprising conversation came up:
Ammon: “You have a good nap too, Daddy!”
Daddy H: “I don’t nap sweetheart. I have a lot of chores to do.”
Ammon: “Oh?”
Carter: “You can lie down and nap with me, Daddy!”
Daddy: “I appreciate that, son, but I have chores to get done.”
They were both asleep within the next 5 minutes.
I couldn’t help but smile and think of how they took it for granted that I took a nap as well. I wish!!

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John, Jesus’ Friend/Apostle: Ephesus

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Sitting in the Ruins of St. John’s Basilica: October 16, 2011-Sunday

St. John’s Byzantine Basilica Ruins

Camel in Ephesus

Summary of John’s Life

John is the only Apostle who did not suffer a martyr’s death. He was human just like the rest of us, and he had his faults, but there was a spiritual connection and understanding that John had with Jesus that the other 11 did not. John and his family were well known in Jerusalem. He must have been liked by the Jewish rulers as well because he (Had to have been John!) was witness the trials of Jesus during the night of his arrest (John 18:15). John is then present at the crucifixion with Mary, the mother of Jesus. Because there was no Joseph, Jesus was traditionally and culturally responsible to take care of his mother. John was more family to Jesus than his own brothers and sisters, and on the cross, Jesus gave John the honor of becoming Mary’s adopted “firstborn” (John 19:26-27) to be responsible for her until her death. John carried out his appointment with love and dedication.

John the Apostle also died and is buried in Ephesus at approximately 100 years of age, and a huge church was built over his grave. Emperor Justinian and his wife, Empress Theodora of the Byzantine Empire replaced the large, simple church with a huge, Christian, Byzantine basilica. Based on the ruins ( earthquake), it looked quite impressive. It is said to be the first Christian church built in the form of a cross.

We had a great time searching through the ruins. There is even a Princess video that shows Ammon and Carter happily running and investigating their surroundings. The whole experience at Ephesus was excellent. We even got to have our pictures taken with a camel before we entered our tour bus to return to the port of Kusadasi.

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The Final House of Mary, the mother of Jesus: Ephesus

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The final house of Mary, the Mother of Jesus

My most memorable and spiritual experience while we were in Ephesus was at the house of Mary the mother of Jesus. It is a very small church that still has services. We did not have a service there, but we were allowed to enter and pass through. The five of us were just about all that could fit at one time, and we passed through quite quickly. However, while I passed through, I felt such happiness and peace, and it dawned on me that this lady DESERVED the happiness and peace she experienced the last years of her life.

She had lost her husband, Joseph. When her eldest son was 33, he was crucified for no reason yet rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. She knew since before his immaculate conception that he was the son of God, but can you imagine how she watched this miracle that she bore live, die, be resurrected, and ascend into heaven with such anxiety? After helping establish the church in Acts 1:14, she and the Christians in Jerusalem were persecuted, so John, her son appointed by Jesus, took her away to finally end up in Ephesus.

It is there that she died peacefully. I did not say a word how I felt the day I was at her house to ANYONE except to God through prayer. However, several evenings later, Sean and I were jogging. We reflected back to Ephesus, and while we were jogging on the deck of the Star Princess, Sean said, “You know I had such peace while we walked through Mary’s house!” I grinned and said, “You know, so did I!” Coincidence folks? No, it’s the Holy spirit working through the believers and followers of Jesus Christ, the son Mary bore.

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Ephesus, Turkey

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Library

Toilets

In the middle of Ancient EphesusEphesus: Headed the Library

Our trip to Ephesus/Kusadasi, Turkey last October entailed learning how the Mediterranean Sea has retreated in 2,000 years and Bible history.

Since the time of Paul the Apostle and the Apostle John, the Mediterranean Sea has retreated some 14 miles back to the port of Kusadasi. The people journeying to Ephesus via the Mediterranean would have ported very close to the Temple of Diana one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World. After all the years of fires, rebuilding, earthquakes, rebuilding, the temple was never reconstructed. In an open field there, is a single column remaining that represents the magnificent temple.

Ephesus was built on the side of a mountain. The tour began at the top of the city, and we worked our way down. It was so amazing to see the ancient roads, the ancient latrinum (bathroom of toilets) of the rich, and the amphitheaters.

Antony and Cleopatra also “hung out” in Ephesus for a while. While I was there, I learned that these two conniving love birds had Cleopatra’s sister, Arsinoe, murdered in Ephesus.

Ammon and Carter spent their FIRST excursion without a stroller. They did great, and it wasn’t easy for their little legs to make it over two hours of touring the ancient ruins.

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Ammon & Carter: Earth Day 2012

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Carter and Ammon’s 3 year old class from preschool along with the school’s four year olds sang at church yesterday in honor of Earth Day. The song, “God saw that it was Good” was the perfect title to magnify the creator of this wonderful terrestrial ball.
Helping Carter and Ammon learn to memorize the song was something new for us. We are so blessed to have two children with such good minds and bodies.

Two sweet things that happened:

Carter, who doesn’t like change, had a hard time lining up and going down to the stage to sing. As a matter of fact the director (Kathy Lookabill) of the preschool and fellow church member with us, sent an usher down to get me in the congregation so I could come back to the group and give support to Carter. Kathy said to me, “Why don’t you just walk beside him and walk in with us?” I agreed, and Carter got better.

As you can see from the video, I had trouble remembering how to focus and zoom in. I thought it was automatic, but it was manual (LOL). Okay, I mentioned that I was able to walk in (it was an honor) with Carter and Ammon. The children sang, I zoomed, I focused, and I sang with the children. Several hours later when I finally finished the video, I saw something I had not seen because of all the “camera crap”. When I finally focused in, Carter and Ammon were holding hands. I didn’t cry, but it made me a little “misty”. I was very proud of both of them.

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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.