Hammons Family: 2011

Thursday, December 8, 2011

I finally did it!

Going back a year..... Emily and I were sitting in the kitchen at my father's house one Sunday evening and Emily asked me "Hey have you ever thought about writing a book?" That was all she had to say to get me on board. We both love to read and can't wait to get our hands on the next trend of book that came out. The next month seemed like a whirl wind of planning and coming up with ideas. Emily had already been thinking about a story about a boy named Knox and a magical world that he did not know existed. Within the next two months the story of Knox and his journey started to form. In writing a book we never thought of all the detail that had to go into a story. There was a lot of planning in coming up with back stories of each character. What were their likes and dislikes not to mention what these characters might look like. We both now appreciate more now than before what writers really have to go through in coming up with a great story.

In mid September we were finally able to dive in to that magical world that we have grown to love. A world full of love and betrayal for Knox in his journey of finding out who he really is becoming. There are some days that life can get to crazy and we are not able to write and it is on those days that we could not wait to jump back into a world that is different from our own.

Moving ahead 6 months down the road we finally finished our first book. For both of us living in two different states I think that finishing a book in less than a year was a great accomplishment.

The Infinite's Journey: Awakening is a young adult novel. This is the first book of three in the series. For those of you who are interested look for the link on the right and you can buy our book on amazon and lulu.com.

It is available for all e readers. Make sure that you go back and write a review too.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

The rebuilding begins

I seem to have not posted since the tornado hit our little town of Ringgold. There's a lot that has happened with the town and of course our family. For over a month the church in our area was in full force in trying to help as many families as possible to try and bring some sort of normal icy back into their lives. Even after two and a half months have gone by it still looks like a war zone. Every now and then you can catch a small glimpse of becoming a town again. The businesses that lost everything are starting to rebuild. Even though Ringgold lost a lot it is awesome to see the way that people can come together after a disaster. The schools were closed for a week after the storm to get the roads cleared but to also find a place to house the middle and high school students for the rest of the school year. Madison was one of the students that had to finish her school year in a school that was not hers. A school that was hard to call home. The neighboring school Heritage Middle and High school were gracious enough to open their doors. (by the way Heritage is a big rival against Ringgold.) This group of students were not cheerful in spending the last month in a school that they disliked but were overwhelmed with the kindness of the students from both schools. These two schools came together as one. There was no way that two schools would be able to have full days of classes so with special permission from the state of Georgia the students would be able to have half days of the remainder of the school year. (Madison liked this idea) Heritage meet in the morning and Ringgold in the afternoon. Even though these students suffered a great disaster they made the rest of the school as fun and unstressfull as they possible could. So what could they do that would help with that.... they canceled finals!!!!!

The school year is over and to get the school running as best they can they have decided to start the new year on Sept 6. One extra month of summer vacation!!!! There will still be a lot of work to do at the school. The eighth grade wing will still be under construction. Sending the eighth graders to tag along with the high school students. The band, art and chorus rooms will still be needing work (Madison is very upset about this but I keep telling her that it will be better when it is all done.) The football field will not be able to house our Tigers this season. The middle school will have to play away games for this season. I am not looking forward to that just because I will be traveling a lot with Madison since she is now in pep band.

They are hoping to at least be done by the beginning of the new year. I am still unsure if that will happen since there is so much to accomplish. We will just have to wait and see.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

You can see the High School from the distance (before all of this you could not see the high school because of all the trees)

Tornado April 27, 2011

This is a trailer that was thrown into a tree.

A house that was thrown against the side of the road

These pictures were taken a few streets over from where we live.

Tornado April 27, 2011

You always say it will never happen to me. We could not have been more wrong. In the many years that I have lived in Ringgold it felt like our little town was always in a bubble. Every strong storm that came by would just disappear or move completely around us. Now we understand how safe we have been. Last night around 8:00 things started to get a little scary for our family. The news reported that a tornado was heading towards Ringgold with winds over 80mph. The kids were quickly put into the closet and we waited listening until the time was clear and was safe. We were not out of the closet for more than 10 minutes when we heard that the reporter say that it was on Cherokee Valley Rd. (This road is just a street over from where we live) We rushed the kids back in the closet and stuck it out for a little while longer. When the reports started coming in there was nothing that we could say but where in complete shock. Our little town was destroyed. There were many businesses that lost everything and some that had major damage. There were also three hotels that had roofs taken off. There were also 3 different gas stations that were completely destroyed and there is nothing left. The middle school where Madison goes is destroyed. The eight grade wing has no roof. The football field that is in between the high school and middle school only one light remains standing. The press box is in the parking lot. Field houses are half missing. There are also a lot of houses surrounding the school that looks like nothing more than rubble. The devastation is massive but we are truly blessed that we have a Heavenly Father that kept our family safe and our families surrounding us. We need to have faith and hope that we will prevail from this disaster and become stronger. Our little town will rebuild and we will be better than ever. WE ARE RINGGOLD

Monday, April 25, 2011

Dance Competition Chattanooga Tn. Mar. 2011

She could not get anything on her make up

Getting ready back stage

"Don't blink Madison"

Ian's first soccer game April 2011

Olivia waiting for the game to start

Ian making the last minute adjustment before kick off

My little soccer player. The won there game 4-1 and Ian made 2 goals!!!!

Madison's birthday pics Mar. 2011

Madison's cake

She had a few friend over and they wanted to do blind make over.

They had so much fun but it was a mess to get off :)

Madison's 12th Birthday Mar. 2011

I still cannot believe that I have a daughter who is 12. I most be getting really old! Madison is always full of energy and wants to try everything that she can get her hands on. This year in Middle school she started band playing the clarinet (after her mother) which she loves. She also has been in dance for 6 years and this year started going to competitions. In the 4 that her team had done so far this year they have placed 1st! If that was not enough she want to try out for cheer leading for the following school year. And yes she is the newest addition to the Ringgold Middle School cheer leading squad. She will be cheering for the Basketball team since she will also be in pep band next year playing at the football games. In doing all this I am proud that she has kept a 4.0 GPA during her 6th grade year. She amazes me in everything that she does. I could not have asked for such a wonderful daughter.

Miniature Golf in Piegon Forge Feb 2011

Jaxon and Olivia taking a quick picture while Paige plays through

Everyone wanted to go first

Paige trying hard to hit the ball

"Almost there Jaxon"

On each hole Paige wanted to stop and take her picture by each animal that was there.

More from Gatlinburg Feb. 2011

Dance Competition in Gatlinburg TN.

She had to kiss the bear!

Taking pictures right before she went on stage

This was Madison's first competition of this year. The competition was held in Gatlinburg Tn. The song that they will be dancing to all the competitions this year is "Naturally". She place first in her group. Way to start off a great year.