Tag Archives: Ammon

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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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2014 Summer Swims

. Family . , , , , , , ,

Carter & his Cannoball

Carter & his Cannoball

Ammon & her Cannonball

Ammon & her Cannonball

At the end of Summer 2013, I asked Carter and Ammon if they wanted to join a local swim team that has an awesome facility for year-round swimming (Olympic size pool with a retractable roof). They said they would consider it, and I asked the coach for a trial. Carter and Ammon did wonderfully considering they were 4 years old. However, they were the youngest, needed extra coaching, were always behind the group (they were practicing the WHOLE length of the pool….tired little fellers they were!), and by the time they were finishing, the group was starting their next thing to practice. Sean and I both walked up and down the pool giving instructions from what we had heard from the coach. Our last trial day the coach didn’t even get in the pool for half the instruction time. We decided that we wouldn’t continue with the team….maybe later.

This summer’s swimming at our house has been awesome! We’ve practiced several strokes, but not much. It’s purely fun and adventure. We have been so blessed to have a pool, been able to provide swimming lessons for Ammon and Carter, and been able to give them some of our own tips for jumping off the diving board, swimming, and diving to the bottom for pool toys.

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Happy Birthday, Ammon

. Family . , ,

How time flies, and what a blessing Ammon has been. Heart melting moment(s). Ammon has a new, wonderful habit of saying, “I love you.” at different times and places.

Once again the kitchen is the setting (all you parental care-givers understand how much TIME  is spent in the kitchen): Haven cleaning surfaces when Ammon bounces into the kitchen from the living room. The sink is open to the rest of the kitchen-eating area with no back drop, so Ammon and Carter can peer above the counter and see me working at the stove or wherever.

“Daddy?! (an interrogative exclamation), “Yes, Ammon?” . “Daddy, I just wanted to say…, ‘I love you.’  “Thank you, sweetheart. I love you too.” : just like her brother, she melted my heart. Happy Birthday, Ammon. We love you.

Happy 4th Birthday, Ammon! 11-6-2012

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Happy Birthday, Ammon!

. Family, Family Travel . , , ,

Ponte Vecchio: Florence, Italy

Happy 3rd birthday to Ammon! She is such a joy and a blessing from God.

Ammon, I love you so much as well as the whole family. Your
Daddy H

P. S. Birthday party pics on Monday!

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Babies and the Couch

. Family, Parenting, Parenting Strategies on the Go . , , ,

 

Carter and Ammon haven’t been sleeping too well these past few nights. Carter woke up during the early morning hours at approximately 4:00 (I think…my eyes couldn’t focus on the clock…LOL) I rubbed his back, and, eventually, he went back to sleep; however, he was mumbling a bit. Because I didn’t want to keep getting in and out of bed, I gathered up my gear to sleep on the couch that is in the living room right outside Carter and Ammon’s room in case Carter or Ammon cried again. Oh, it brought back some memories….

When Ammon and Carter were newborns, we all three slept in the living room. They would be fed at 10:00 at night, and I would put them down to sleep in their bassinets. I then would plant myself on the couch anticipating a few hours of coveted sleep. About 2:00 AM one of the two would make a peep, I would dash off the couch, grab whoever it was, change it, feed it (with me being half asleep of course), get it back in the bassinet, grab the other one (awake or asleep), change it, feed it, and return it to its bassinet as well, and all was done! Right before they started sleeping through the night, I had the process down to right at an hour. Routine, routine, routine. I miss my newborns, but I am so thankful that the OVERWHELMING majority of the time, I get a complete night’s sleep, and I get to play and communicate with my toddlers. Time moves on.