Julie's Salsa

This week, we have devoured lots of Salsa at this house!  I thought I would post the "recipe".  It's not really a recipe - it's just stuff thrown together! 

3 cans of Rotel
1 onion
cilantro
lime juice

In a handy, dandy food processor, put all of the above ingredients and chop to desired "chunkiness".  I don't know how much cilantro or lime juice I put in there, because I just pour until it looks right.  I know there's a LOT of cilantro - maybe 2 Tablespoons, maybe more - and there's not a lot of lime juice (I basically just turn the bottle of lime juice over for one splash into the food processor).  You can add salt, but it's really salty enough just like this.

Mix it up and pour into a pretty yellow or blue bowl - that makes the red really stand out! (I'll post a picture the next time I make some) and enjoy with some tortilla chips!  We especially like "Uncle Ray's Restaurant Style" chips from Clement's grocery in Mineral Springs.  HA!  I don't know if it's because they are really thin, or because they are a dollar a bag!  But, we LOVE 'em!!!! 

55555 Questions Game

Found this fun little game on Jenna's blog and thought it was fun.  Yeah, I stole it....Thanks Jenna!  :)

Question 1: Where were you five years ago?

- I was living at mom and dad's house
- I was working as a Probation/Parole Officer
- I was working on college courses so I could get into teacher certification program
- Roy and I were dating
- Rylee Grace was not even thought of


Question 2: What is/was on your to-do list today?

- Go to church (check)
- Fix lunch (check)
- put Rylee down for a nap (check)
- get house back in order after Spring Break
- get clothes washed, dried and put up for the work week

Question 3: What 5 snacks do you enjoy?

- Indulgence Trail Mix from WalMart
- Cheese and Crackers
- Popcorn and a Diet Coke
- Pretzels
- chips and salsa - MY salsa


Question 4: Name 5 places you have lived

- Arkadelphia, AR
- Ashdown, AR
- Texarkana, TX
- Nashville, AR
- Mineral Springs, AR


Question 5: What 5 things would you do if you were a billionaire?

- Pay off ALL of our debt
- Build my dream house on Pop's Farm
- Pay for Rylee's College
- Buy Roy a new Ranger Bass Boat
- Invest the rest!

Now......tag - you're it.......
 
Kristi @ Life's Little Blessings
Shelley@ The McKinnon Family
Kacey @ The Young's
Cassi @ The Mount's Family
Julie @ A Year in Julie's Life

Build-A-Bear

Last month, before Brittany's cheer competition, we killed a little time by hanging out at the mall.  Mammaw insisted on taking Rylee into Build-A-Bear Workshop to pick out an Easter Bunny.  Zach insisted that he be included, too!  :) 

It starts as a flat bunny with no life!

Then, this nice lady puts in the heart and the sound - Zach chose a 'grrrrr' sound and Rylee picked out the lullaby music.  Zach's is the cammo bear here in the picture.  Rylee was not real sure about this whole procedure.

Here, they are washing their animals - bear and bunny.  Rylee DID like this part, once she got over the initial fear of the loud noise! 

Fun times!

Ready? O-Kay!

Cheerleading today is much different than cheerleading in the past!  There is no more "Ready? Okay!  slap" to start a cheer....there is no more half-way jumps, there is no more half-way tumbling......you're either in it totally or your not!  Last month, we enjoyed watching Brittany enter a new phase!  She has been on a competition cheer team out of Redwater, Texas for this school year.  Roy and I had not been able to go due to conflicts in scheduling until this past weekend.  Sunday night, she cheered in Little Rock and we made the trip to go watch.  We had a lot of fun and Brittany and her team were really good!  A few dropped stunts moved them into 3rd place, but we were very proud of how well Brittany cheered! 

The Friday before that was cheerleader tryouts for Nashville Jr High Cheerleader squad.  Rylee and I were able to go to the Mock tryouts on the Thursday before the "real thing".  I could tell Brittany was nervous but she did so good!  There were a LOT of people in attendence to watch the mocks.  I told her that if she could cheer in front of the crowd on Thursday, Friday's 3 judges would be a BREEZE!  HA! 

When Friday afternoon rolled around, tryouts began at 4:00.  I met Mandy at the gym to pick Zach up at 4:45 and waited for Brittany to come out.  She came out and was very excited about how she performed.  She said she didn't fall and got all her jumps and tumbling so she felt good about it. 

Tryouts in my day consisted of trying out and then being told who made it when we left the gym.  That's "old-school"!  Today, the decision of the judges is told over the Nashville radio station.  Soooooo......Rylee, Zach and I returned home and anxiously awaited with Roy to listen to the radio for the results.  We were SO excited to hear Brittany's name!  We yelled and screamed and I'm sure everybody in Mineral Springs heard us! 

We are so proud of her and of all of the other girls who made it!  My cousin, Brooke Bowden, also made it and we are very proud of her too!  They are both very good, Christian girls and are proud of what they do in everything in life, not just cheerleading!  Nashville Jr. High will be represented well, as far as I'm concerned! 

Here are some pictures and videos of the tryouts and of Britt's Competition in Little Rock.......

Brittany and Rylee after Mock Tryouts - Rylee was more interested in what was in "Sissy's" bag than taking a picture!

Roy, Zach, Brittany and Rylee at Cheer Competition in Little Rock.  Rylee had been asleep.....LOL!

Happy Valentine's Day

Mammaw visited Rylee today and brought Valentine goodies. She even brought chocolate for mommy and daddy!

Sr Night

Last night, Tiffany Burns, Shalie Day and Jamie Grimes played their last basketball game in Parker Gymnasium. All three girls are special girls to our whole family. We have watched them grow up while at Ashdown. They decided to buy Coach Backus a new shirt and tie as a momento of their special night. I pray that God will protect each one of them in the future as they continue their journey of life.

Final Checkup and Ronald McDonald House

Wednesday morning, Roy and Rylee and I left to go to Children's Hospital for a follow-up CT scan on Rylee's head for her skull fracture.  Roy and I dreaded the trip, but were anxious to get it over with and see if her head was healed.  We arrived around 12:00 and around 2:00, we were called back into the CT room.  Rylee could not eat or drink anything after 8:00 because they were anticipating having to sedate her to get the scan.  So, Roy and I didn't eat or drink anything, either, because of course - that wouldn't be fair to Rylee! 

When they called us back, Rylee immediately started screaming.....she knew something was gonna happen!  We talked to her about what a big girl she was gonna be....really tried to pump her up.  They put us in a room and we watched Barney until she fell asleep.  I thought The Lord had answered my prayers and that I would be able to lay her down and she would sleep thru the scan.  WRONG!!!  That child popped up the second her head hit the table and she was fightin' until it was all over about an hour later! 

They bundled her up like a burrito and strapped her little head to the table, in an effort to get her still.  Well, she fought and fought and the first scan didn't take because she was moving too much.  Sooooo.....they suggested that we count VERY LOUDLY to ten over and over.  I don't know what it was about doing that, but Roy and I screamed 1-10 about 100 times and she just laid there.   I figure she was either trying to figure out what on earth her momma and daddy were doing, or she was just completely worn out from trying to get out of those strappings......probably the latter! 

Anyway - the second scan worked and when we took her out, she was soaking wet from sweating.  The lady said - she's one strong 2 year old!  LOL!  The lady asked her if she wanted some apple juice and Rylee said she did.  When the nurse brought it in the room, I started to take the top off and give it to her and she said "No - carry it momma".  I laughed and told the nurse she didn't want any more reason to stay in that room!  She was ready to GO!   So we told them "Bye-Bye" and took our bubbles, coloring books, crayons, new Beanie Baby and apple juice (all given to Rylee in an effort to win her over with the CT staff, to no avail) and we got outta there! 

We went to On the Border and ate like we were all starving.  Rylee scarfed down some chips and salsa and cheese dip and chicken nuggets!  She was so hungry!

After we ate, we went to our "home" for the night.  The hospital put us up in the Ronald McDonald House since we lived so far away.  After arriving, I felt REALLY bad about staying there.  There are so many families who really needed to stay worse than us, and I expressed my concern to the staff.  They assured me that our room was strictly for over night only guests and that even if we left, they would not be able to put anyone in that room.  So, we stayed and folks....if you ever feel like making a contribution or donation and really don't know who or where to do it with....let me suggest the Ronald McDonald House!  It is GREAT for families who have children in ACH on a long-term basis.  They provide EVERYTHING for those families and only request a $10.00 per night donation.  They provide a refrigerator with food, several kitchen and dining areas, all meals, all linens, towels, laundry services, etc.  It is a wonderful wonderful place to have here in Arkansas!  I plan to clean Rylee's many toys that she does not need/play with and haul a load up there, along with towels and sheets. 

On Thursday, we met with the neurosurgeon who informed us that Rylee's head was healing well and that it should heal completely in another 3 weeks.  The good news is we do not have to go back!  Praise God for anwering prayers! 

Checkup

Please pray for our little Rylee Grace tomorrow. We will return to ACH for followup CT scan. Pray for the nurse that will be with her as they monitor her while she's sedated! God is good and He hears our prayers!

Happy Anniversary!

Today, we're celebrating 4 years of wedded bliss!!!  Time flies when you're havin' fun!!! 

Checkup for Rylee

We have a date for Rylee’s checkup with Dr. O’Brien, Neurologist .  We will go on February 3 at 2:00 for another CT scan and spend the night in the Ronald McDonald House that Wednesday night.  We’ll have to be back in his office on Thursday morning at 10:00 for him to read the scan and tell us the results.  Please pray that all is okay.