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Valentine’s Day 2013

. Holidays . , ,

In the late 1990s, an article appeared in the Diario de Yucatán (The Yucatan Journal http://bit.ly/12jViAi). It was my favorite newspaper when I lived in the Yucatan in 1994, but I used the electronic version frequently from 1995 to 1999 when I was teaching English as a Second Language. The students I was teaching were all Spanish speaking, so I would use the articles to translate into English. The article that appeared one Valentine’s Day during those years was absolutely spectacular. It covered the three Greek loves: eros (sexual), phileo (brotherly), and agape (self-less).

The lines about eros were not illicit, but very appropriate for that passion a person has for a boyfriend, girlfriend, or spouse especially on Valentine’s Day. My students and I appreciated the lines regarding the phileo due to the fact they were all pre-teens or young teens who had absolutely NO USE for eros. The Mexicans use the term “day of friendship” embedded in Valentine’s Day, and it’s nice to remember our beloved friends on February 14. For me, the most touching part was when the columnist wrote that Jesus Christ was the perfect example of agape on Valentine’s Day!

Okay, so folks, be sure to tell your significant others you love them today. Folks, tell your friends you love them today (Friends I love you!!!), and please tell Jesus Christ you love him today as well.  There is no price tag on love, and it doesn’t cost one cent to say, “I love you.”

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone.

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Monday Serenity

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I have never been one to post my music preferences on here. I did mention last year that Carter and Ammon really enjoyed Lady Ga Ga, but that is about it. Our friend and Kindermusik teacher, Anne Hendrix, had written a Facebook post regarding a Saint-Saens’ piece, and it inspired me to find this piece with Yo Yo Ma on Youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNbXuFBjncw

I heard the legendary flautist, James Galway, perform “The Swan” (Le Cygne) from Saint-Saens’ Carnival of the Animals (Le carnaval des animaux)  live in Nashville, Tennessee quite a few years ago, and I fell in love with the movement.

Maybe whatever you have on your mind this morning, you can turn off the televisions or CD players or whatever may be causing noise, and listen for these almost 4 minutes and kind of relax, clear your mind, and picture a serene lake in the spring or summer with a graceful swan gliding on it. Have a great Monday you all.

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Athens, Greece

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

Acropolis: The Porch of the Maidens (Ocbober 14, 2011)

The day had a nice coolness to it, the sky was blue, and the sun was shining. It was a pretty day in the city of Athens, Greece. However, it was so CROWDED! They may be in an economic crisis, but tourism is alive and well. The sites are ancient and wonderful, but it is so hard to step back and absorb the history that is around you.

Haven, Ammon, Carter, & Nana on the Acropolis

Acts 17:16-34 tells about Paul’s experience and sermon there. I particularly like verse 28 when Paul says concerning God, 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ The living and moving doesn’t come from Zeus, Apollo, Hera, Athena, Thor, Quetzalcoatl, Chac Mool, money, cars, television, or any other “gods”.

On our tour that day we also had some delicious, traditional foods: moussaka and baklava. It was quite an educational day.

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Ammon & Carter: Christ United Methodist Church

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Jumping for Jesus

Carter, Ammon, Sean, and I just placed membership at Christ United Methodist Church in East Brainerd. Christ Methodist has been Carter and Ammon’s preschool since September, and it has been such a blessing for all of us especially for Ammon and Carter.

The video is with Mark Flynn, the pastor. I hope you enjoy this wonderful, short video. His Sunday sermons are equally wonderful.

The preschool experience at Christ Methodist this year has been AWESOME. The director, Kathy Lookabill,  is an educator, a mother, a grandmother, and “works well with others”. It is not beneath her to direct traffic, carry children, pick up garbage, run errands for her staff, or any other such thing. She attends worship on a weekly, regular basis, and she is involved in BOTH the Sunday school program and the preschool program .

Kathy  invited us to church last October, and we decided to go to see what it was like for Carter and Ammon. They love it, and we love it for them. The Sunday school teachers have helped with potty training, they have Bible lessons, and they sing church hymns. The parents and the children are so friendly, and we all seem to be connecting well together. There was also a special Christmas Eve service just for families with young children.  EVERY child (member or visitor) who walked through that door was given the opportunity to be in the live nativity play. It was WONDERFUL. Ammon was an angel, and Carter was a shepherd.

Please wish us luck and prayers on our Christian walk especially the Christian walk of our beloved children, Carter and Ammon.

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Colds/Sinusitis/& an Answered Prayer

. Family . , ,

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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Old Dogs= New Habits

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Carter gets a Kiss from Ferd: Carter, Ferd, & Ammon 7-18-2011

Once again, I am down to 3 coonhounds. At any given time in the past 8 years, the most I have had at one time is 5. Since 2006, Josh the daddy Coon hound, Marshal, our baby who lived in Hixson from 2004 until 2008, and Caleb have all died. When we first moved to our new home with the mountain, the dogs would sometimes stay out for 18-24 hours and would “worry the hair off of me” until they came home, but they always did.

Katie the mama coon hound will be 10 this year, and Ferd and Sissy will be 9. Praise the Lord, they are in a habit of going out anywhere  between 7:30 am to 10:00 am, and they return  before sundown. They will even go to their home in the barn, lie down, and wait for supper. It is such a  BLESSING. I know a “true coon hound” will stay gone for many hours no matter how old they are,  but my sorry coon hounds come home for dinner. LOL

Seriously, I am truly thankful to God that my canine babies come home like that. It is one less thing I have to worry about, and with Carter, Ammon, my house, my yard, and my new part-time job with Sean, I have a lot to worry about.

I love my dogs, and I pray for their health and well-being every day. They are blessings from God. Just a reminder….dog spelled backwards is God. Happy Friday.

All the below pictures are from July 18, 2011

Katie

Ferd

Sissy