Helen with grandchildren Liam 7, and Katy 3, being silly.
I love life! I am at such an interesting stage in my life right now, (retired, disabled, too dependant for my liking) that it’s fun to stand back and analyze a bit. As a teen and young adult college student I was busy achieving and playing…like most of us at that age. Fun was my middle name.
Then I married and became a responsible adult with children of my own and a profession. I taught community seminars on parenting for heaven’s sake, who does that who actually has children! LOL I lived in fear of my children throwing a temper tantrum at the grocery store! LOL Not my kids, they were perfect! LOL My husband and I were active in church, PTA, Band Boosters…Scouts…you name it, we did it! LOL We lived through, and lived with dying parents, such a sad time for all of us.
Then we lived through Max and I turning 50 and falling apart, so young! His open heart surgery was a fix and he has remained the rock and engine of our family with his mechanical heart valve! Mine however, was experimental because I couldn’t be fixed, and yet, although predicted to die in five years, here I am 17 years later–looking forward to more! Everyday, I am thankful that I married Max who cares for me and opens my world. Our kids are grown and add joy to our lives in different ways.
Annie learned well from her Dad all about baking…but she went further as kids are wont to do…and is an amateur pastry chef now.
Ali, our musician, is a mother of three kids from 17 months to 7! Can you say BUSY?! 
Still, with life and sickness…comes hobbies and interests that make our lives thrive. Max’s woodworking, my Red Hatters, genealogy and our gardening more often fill our days. 
But then there are the surprises…
Six weeks or so ago a good friend and I piled into her car and joined my sister on a garden tour in Virginia! On this tour, I got to see the church my grandparents met in just after the Civil War! Can you believe it! Wheelchair dependant, there I was, having a fancy lunch at the premier Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, Virginia with my sister, friend, and reuniting with old highschool friends, an unexpected blessing. 
Last week we were in the midst of a hot-air balloon festival! So beautiful, so majestic, so peaceful!
Last night, I was at Falls Lake State Park here in Raleigh, NC with all of our immediate family and extended family from South Carolina. My grandkids, ages 7, 3, and 17 months, provide unbounded joy in their enthusiastic enjoyment of the moment! Sticks become swords or magic wands, sand and water become a huge playground of exuberance! Showers of sand, splashes of water, running, jumping, tumbling…oh to be a child with this kind of freedom on a summer evening again! Fireflies…lightening bugs…oh my gracious..they are magical for a child and adults! Campfires, hamburgers and hot dogs, roasting marshmallows! We met other campers also, hiking/rolling trails, and just enjoying the weather….campers are generally friendly, helpful people with interesting lives of their own of course. How much fun to meet strangers who are living next door or across the way in that tent or RV.
Last week, my last beautiful Iris bloomed, this week the daylilies are opening their cheerful colors to our days! The morning glories are singing, and yesterday, my first magnolia blossom opened! Tonight it looks like I’ll get to watch the first moonflower of this season quiver its way open and perfume the night!
Life….it is….enjoy! Thank you God.
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Helen with grandchildren Liam and Katy
I’ll never forget the high school orchestra concert when I first heard my daughter Ali play the xylophone in concert. We were used to seeing her play the marching bells in the Marching Band, and used to hearing her playing piano at home, while she played timpani and other percussion instruments in the orchestra. But this night was special, as they spotlighted her solo on the xylophone! She played the Flight of the Bumble Bees! If you have never heard this song, give a listen to the recording below. It is so fast, oh my gracious, you could hardly see the mallets moving they were flying so fast as she struck the keys! As a mother, I’m pretty sure, my mouth fell open, LOL, and I sat up a bit straighter–why are we so often the least prepared to know how talented our children are? Perhaps because to us they are children, our children forever. When they excel, its like…”My child, when, how, what?” I have been extremely blessed in that I have two daughters, Ali and Annie, who play multiple instruments and both sing! Music has always been a large part of our lives and a joy for our family. (I’m sure you noticed, but just in case, this is not a video tape of our daughter playing the xylophone, but somone else from youtube. We do have a vhs recording, but we have yet to get it changed to a more usuable format, so sad! Hope you enjoy the above.)
What brings you and your family joy?
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Goggle Earth view of Cinderella’s Castle at Disney World, 2015
Walt Disney World in Florida, USA–is there a more magical place on earth?! We don’t think so, and our family has had some very special adventures there over the last 45 years! Yes! I said 45 years, Max and I got to go to Disney World for a preview in December, 1970, a full ten months before they officially opened in October, 1971! We had gone down to visit his cousin Ronnie Kennerly who was a police officer in Jacksonville, Florida. Disney had invited the law enforcement officers to come visit, and Max and I got to go also! We had no idea the magnitude of what we were seeing, nor of how privileged we were to see it before it opened to the public! All we knew was that our 21 year-old selves loved it and thought it was magical for sure!
By 1989, Max and I realized our first child, Ali was 15 and our second child Annie was 7, and we had not taken them to Disney World yet! How had we let this happen! Off we went for our great adventure! Then in 2005, our daughter Annie did an internship at Disney World for her Hospitality and Tourism Degree at Appalachian State University. While she lived at Disney for eight months, we went down to visit her during the Christmas holidays that year. The family now included Greg Orcutt as Ali had gotten married in 2001. Max and I have not been to Disney World since that 2005 trip, but in nine days, our daughter Ali and her family, Greg and three kids 7, 3, and 15 months are taking the plunge and touring the wonderful world of Disney, I can hardly wait to see pictures!
Look at the difference in tickets alone between when we went in 1989, and for Ali and her family to go now in 2015! While we used paper tickets, treasures in our family scrap books, Ali and her family will wear electronic bracelets, called Magic Bands, which they will scan to get in, proving they have previously bought their admission tickets. The bands not only replace the tickets to the parks, but also room keys, charges to the room, and fast passes for rides. How cool is that!
In 1989, Max and I stayed off campus in a condominium. It was lovely, but we decided it would be easier to stay in a Disney Resort if you had kids. When our children and grandchildren go next week, they will be staying on Disney. To this day, I remember how lovely it was to visit Disney World. From the moment we parked and entered Disney, we were met and catered to by Disney cast members who saw to our every whim–with a smile! If that alone didn’t put a smile on your face, surely the parades, the Castle, the riverboat where we had breakfast with Mickey, Minnie and all the characters–to the Broadway play we saw in the Contemporary Resort, every moment was awesome, for us adults and the kids! We rode rides, and visited backstage at Disney MGM Studios to see how movies were made. Back at Magic Kingdom, we actually had lunch with Cinderella in the Castle, an event we had signed up for six months ahead of time! To this day, Annie remembers seeing her favorite Princess and that when lunch was over, Cinderella said, “I have to go now, because I have to go feed the Prince!” That amazed 7-year-old Annie! The days and nights were filled with parades, fireworks, oh my, and we shopped ’til we dropped! We left Disney thinking what a fabulous trip we had.
In May 2005 through January 2006, our daughter Annie completed the Disney College Program (an internship) at Walt Disney World! During that time she took classes at Disney College, became a cast member and worked at Pop Century Resort in retail and in the food court. She also had the opportunity to work special events like the Food and Wine Festival and Star Wars Weekends. She even joined the cast choir which allowed us to hear her sing along with celebrities on Christmas Eve in Epcot Center! We had never been to Disney at Christmas time, and the sight took my breath away! Luxurious greenery and decorations covered every door, arch, and window! By then, I was sick and using a wheelchair. Getting on and off the monorail, getting in and out of plays, restaurants, stores–always, ALWAYS there was someone to lend a hand and see that my needs were met! My life might have been stressful for me and my family at home, but at Disney World, being handicapped brought support beyond belief, so that only joy remained! Annie learned the ins and outs of Disney, including the underground, cast only, tunnels to get them from one place to another. With all the normal trials of working at a place that large and busy, Annie finished still loving Disney, and having made a lifelong friend. A sick Mom, and the eminent birth of her nephew, persuaded Annie to come home, but she has always considered returning for a career at Disney. She is a family person, true, but she is a Disney girl as well. One of our cousins calls her “Disney Girl” in fact–a nickname she loves!
I want to share with you some pictures and a video from the Candlelight Processional which they have at Epcot Center every Christmas season. If you are ever at Disney during the Christmas season, you might find this as awe-inspiring as I did. I will never forget the trumpets, the candlelight procession, and the beautiful voices raised in praise that night in 2005, including our daughter Annie’s voice.
Being the amateur genealogist that I am , I cannot close this post without sharing with you that I discovered that my husband and children are actually related to Walt Disney himself! The relationship chart, showing that they are 9th cousins, 3x removed looks like this:
Forty-five years of trips to Walt Disney World includes my daughter Ali and her family’s trip this coming week. I can hardly wait to hear about my grandchildren’s first trip to Disney and to add some of their pictures to our collection.
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© April 22, 2015
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I have been blogging for a couple years now, mostly genealogical in nature. A couple weeks ago, my 7 year old, first grader, grandson Liam and his class at school started blogging! I was very surprised, and thrilled! Another writer in the family! Of couse, don’t tell him that, he’ll tell you quickly he’s going to be a State Park Ranger like his Papa!
Liam is the son of my daughter Ali and her husband Greg Orcutt. Liam is a nickname, named for his Great-Grandfather William Donald Brown, and his Great- Uncle William Donald Brown II, called Bill (Greg’s mother–Kaysie Brown’s father and brother). So three in a row we have William, Bill, now Liam, all from the same name! I think that is very cool! A wonderful tribute to beloved family members as well.
Liam does so many wonderful and fun things, as you can see from above, but today, I wanted to share his blog with you. It is on a site for his school, not available to the general public. However, he was kind enough to let me repost his blog posts!
Liam’s Blog Thursday night, me and my sister got new shoes. I thought mine were best!
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March 30, 2015, 4:05 pm
“My Base”
I built a new base on “Disney Infinity.” It has a hiding place. I made a world for it myself.
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April 7, 2015, 4:50pm
Walt Disney World
My family is going to Disney World. We are so, so , SO excited. I ‘m really excited to go to Star Tours and Animal Kingdom.
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Katy turned 3 on January 21, 2015, Princess cupcake cake made by Aunt Annie Holshouser was a hit!
Kathryn Marie Orcutt, called Katy, my precious granddaughter, lights up our lives with her sweetness and joy. She is the daughter of Gregory Orcutt and Alexandra Kathryn Orcutt, my daughter.
When she is sitting calmly by herself –sometimes, you can hear her singing her current favorite song–“Everything is Awesome!”
“Look at me! First I pulled all the videos off the shelf, then I climbed right up and leaned, fell, jumped over to the back of the chair! Now, how am I going to get down?! Help, Mommy! “
Katy is a daredevil too, however, so she keeps us on the edge of our seats! She loves to climb and nothing is too daunting for her! She once tried to climb the long chain hanging down from a stained glass lamp and pulled the treasured lamp, made by her Granddaddy, right out of the ceiling! Thank heavens, she wasn’t hurt, nor was the lamp, miraculously!
Graceful flower girl in her Aunt Amy Orcutt Pickering’s wedding.
Katy is named after several beloved family members– first and foremost, her mother Ali, Alexandra Kathryn Holshouser Orcutt. We also have my beloved cousin Kathryn Youngblood Fuller, and my mother’s sister Katherine named after her mother–my maternal grandmother Katherine Steptoe Houchins Kearse/Kerse (called Kate) . These are some of the treasured family members her parents were thinking of when they named her Katy.
Her middle name Marie, is just as, or even more prevalent in our family. Max Holshouser, my husband, Ali’s father, Katy’s granddaddy–his mother was Helen Marie Wagner Holshouser. Helen Marie named her daughter Brenda Marie, Max’s sister. Brenda named one of her three daughters Patrice Marie, Patrice had Amanda Marie, who has Paisley Marie! That’s five generations of Marie’s in Ali’s father’s family!
I also had an Aunt Helen Marie Youngblood Webb, who had a daughter Grace Marie Webb Wingo , and a granddaughter through her son Philip named Maria Webb. In the South, we love family legacies, and family names, it makes genealogy harder, but it is a loving tribute.
Katy pretends she can fly as she jumps off the sofa, fairy wings held high!
Katy was a premature baby like both of her siblings. She was 6 weeks early, and had to be in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for about three weeks. That was an extremely stressful time! Every developmental milestone she reaches, counting, recognizing letters, talking– is duly noted by her mom, and her psychologist grandmother! We are very aware of the concerns–possible leaning difficulties. So far she is meeting or exceeding every developmental milestone, counts and knows all her letters, and even laughs at her grandmother’s jokes!
Katy’s current favorite joke is this one which sends her off into peals of laughter!
Knock Knock
Who’s there
Banana 
Banana who…
Knock Knock
Who’s there
Banana
Banana who…
Knock Knock
Who’s there
Banana
Banana who…
(This bit can go on for some time!!)
Knock Knock
Who’s there
Orange
Orange who…
Orange you glad I didn’t say banana again!! 
She even likes to tell it herself, dress herself, walk by herself, eat by herself, and just do everything–“by myself!” Miss Independent! I love it and her. (Sorry if it doesn’t show, LOL) I’d love to hear about the special kids in your own life! Thanks for sharing with me. Helen
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Evelyn Noel Orcutt is my youngest grandchild – the youngest of three, Liam 7, Katy 3, and Evie 15 months, who belong to my daughter Ali-Alexandra Kathryn Holshouser and her husband Gregory Alan Orcutt. Pictured above with her Grandaddy Max, my husband, who made that beautiful mahogany and oak rocking horse for the children for Easter, 2015.
Evie is just coming into her own as a little person, not just a baby. I love to see her playing games with us like when she is in her high chair and throws her sippy cup onto the floor for the 10th time, and says “Oh-oh! “ so convincingly as if it were an accident!” Someone picks it up, and within a second it is back on the floor, as long as someone is playing! She laughs and giggles..oh my gracious, is there better food for the soul than the sound of a child’s laughter?
Evie has quite a genealogical history behind her name, as do many in our family. Her paternal grandmother, whom she adores, is named Evelyn Kaye Brown, called Kaysie. Grammy Kaysie, to the kids, is full of energy and joyful fun! Kaysie’s maternal grandmother was also an Evelyn, her name was Hulda Evelyn Haslop Marcelle. Evie’s relationship chart to her looks like this:
Hulda Evelyn Haslop (1895 – 1977)
is your 2nd great grandmother
Constance Marcelle (1920 – 1991)
daughter of Hulda Evelyn Haslop
daughter of Constance Marcelle
son of Evelyn Kaye Brown
You are the daughter of Gregory Alan Orcutt
On her maternal side, Evie has a Great Aunt Evelyn, also called Evie by the family. Her whole name was Mary Evelyn Langhorne Kearse. She was the oldest of seven children and my mother’s sister. She also has a third great grandmother named Evaline or Evelyn Langhorne. Their relationship chart looks like this:
Evaline Langhorne (1866 – 1900)
is your 3rd great grandmother
Katherine Steptoe Houchins(1883 – 1943)
daughter of Evaline (going blind when died young)) Langhorne
Margaret Steptoe Kearse (1918 – 1980), sister of Mary Evelyn Langhorne
daughters of Katherine Steptoe Houchins
Helen Spear Youngblood(1949 – )
daughter of Margaret Steptoe Kearse
Alexandra “Ali” Kathryn Holshouser (1974 – )
daughter of Helen Spear Youngblood
You are the daughter of Alexandra “Ali” Kathryn Holshouser
Mary Evelyn Langhorne Kearse
Isn’t that an interesting legacy, at least 4 Evelyn namesakes , two from her Father’s side of the family and two from her Mother’s side.
Actually, there are more Evelyn’s in our tree I am sure, but perhaps the most important one is her relationship to Eve of Adam and Eve! Truly, I have gathered together, with the help of other researchers, our family line from Eve Orcutt, b. 2013, to Eve born about 4020 BC! I cannot print the ancestral line in this post, because I have it in a notebook, and it takes up about 22 pages. I have not had it checked by a Biblical scholar, but I would truly like to have that done one day. I put it together as a gift for Evie and for our whole family, and it feels awesome to I look at it. If you have a strong desire to look at this information, leave me a message in a comment and we’ll see what we can do.
I’d love to hear about your own name legacies in your families, who are you named for, do you know? Is there a story? I’d love to hear about it.
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-from 10 Minute Novelists, Katherine Grubb
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My precious granddaughter Katy turns two years old today! We celebrated with her last night! I thought I’d present this slideshow to honor her and commemorate her life! I love you Katy darling! If I may suggest–Katy loves Elmo, so I thought you could listen to his songs while you watched the slideshow! Hope you enjoy it! Helen
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Heart of a Southern Woman 