Our Precious New Addition

Back in April, we received a big surprise from our little girls. We went to one of Karsyn's Blast Ball games, and the girls came running up to us with a "present". Since it was Easter weekend, I thought they had an Easter treat for us.

Needless to say, we were totally shocked when we pulled out a baby outfit and were told they were having a new baby. At that time, the girls were 5 and 7. We have always known that Jennifer and Lamar would love to have a little boy, but figured the time had passed.

We were so excited to find out in July that the baby was going to be a little boy. Perfect addition for a football coach.

After much anticipation and a tough delivery, we welcomed baby Ryan Marshall.  The two hours prior to his birth were filled with much anxiety and I was afraid Lolly was going to have a heart attack.  I can't begin to tell you how happy I was to know that we had a healthy baby and Mommy!!

He has been the best baby, and one of the reasons is because he has the best Mommy and Daddy.  Being that he was born on December 15th, there were lots of Christmas events going on and they didn't miss a thing.  He came home from the hospital on Saturday and he was at his first party on Sunday.

This is a photo from his 2nd photo shoot.  I believe he was 2 weeks old when this was taken.

When he was 6 days old, we went to Dallas to see a very special Santa.  He is the grandfather of one of our Gladney babies that we had for about 6 weeks.  It was so special to meet him and we will visit him every year. 

Now that Christmas break is over, I have gotten to have my little Easton again.  I love getting the boys together.  Easton doesn't have much reaction to Ryan, but every once in a while, I think he gets a little jealous of Lolly holding the baby.  He better get used to it because in February, I will have both of them.  That will keep me busy!

Lolly loves her boys!

She Said YES!!!

Just realized that this is my 500th post. I can't think of a better post to write than - Jordan and James are engaged!!

James has got to be the most romantic person I know.  He is so good at planning great surprises for so many different occasions.  Just an example:  For Jordan's birthday, he flew her best friend Melissa in from Mississippi and had an entire weekend planned at The Gaylord.

Jordan and James have been dating for about a year and a half.  They knew they had something special from the first night they met (hung out until 5 a.m. talking).  They have been designing her ring and he told her to save the date - December 31st for their engagement.

Jordan and Melissa have been planning a girl's weekend in Oxford, Mississippi for a few months.  That is where Melissa and her husband Matt live.  Jordan flew in to Memphis, late in the afternoon after she missed her first flight.  (I still haven't figured out how she missed it since she was sitting at the gate for a long time before the flight left.  Must have been her new IPod).

When she got to the airport, Melissa told her that Matt wanted them to have a great weekend and that he had gotten them a hotel for the weekend.  Much to her surprise, when they walked into the room, James was there, waiting on one knee with flowers and the ring.

Needless to say, she was just a little bit shocked and so excited.  They went back to Matt and Melissa's and had a candlelight dinner to celebrate. 

They are planning a wedding for next fall in Las Vegas.

Long Time!

Well, it has been four months since I have checked on "the blog".  A lot has happened since then.  My last post was about Easton's arrival.  We have enjoyed him SO much!!  Hard to believe it has been four months.  Shannon started back to school in August, so we have been keeping Easton.  I have just about figured him out.  He is on a perfect 4 hour schedule and I am learning what his cries mean.

I still pick up Landrie and Karsyn after school and they get to spend some time with Easton.  They have so much fun with him!  They are really liking him now that he will respond with a smile or a coo.  It is going to really get crazy when we have baby brother with us. 

YES, baby brother, Ryan.  On July 4th, the Kirk's revealed with balloons and sparklers, that they are having a boy.  Such a shock.  I really thought it would be another girl.  We are all excited that Easton will have a playmate.  I can't imagine what it will be like in a couple of months, but I can see two little boys roughhousing together in another couple of years.

Ryan's due date is December 16th.  That is also the date of the State Championship football game.  What great timing for a Daddy that is a football coach.  His team has been in the final game for the past several years.  It will be interesting to see what happens!  Fun Times!!!

Easton Is Here!!!

We have waited a long time for this little guy to get here!  Back in September, Justin and Shannon came over to show us a picture of their positive pregnancy test.  We were so excited.  They told us, "Don't tell anyone until after Shannon has gone to the Dr."  That was a hard secret to keep, but we did it.

We had a family dinner planned for the night of Shannon's Dr.'s appointment, where they were going to make the big announcement.  When they went to the appointment, it was too early to hear/see the heartbeat.  They were told to come back the next week.  We still had the family dinner, but just pretended it was a "just because" dinner.  We were thrilled the next week when we learned that Shannon was expecting a healthy baby, due May 29, 2011.  It was so hard to keep a secret for 3 weeks!!!

Shannon was scheduled to go into the hospital on May 23rd to start the induction process for Easton to be born on May 24th.  Unfortunately, it was not successful.  After many hours and lots of pitocin, Shannon's body did NOTHING.  Much to their disappointment, they were sent home.

They went back to their doctor on May 27th.  He told them they could try again on May 31st if there was bed available at the hospital.  If a bed was not available, they would have to wait until June 6th.  OUCH!

Luckily, there was one opening on May 31st.  Justin and Shannon went into the hospital at 5:00 a.m.  Pitocin was started and the contractions started coming.  By 8:30, the doctor came by to check her and . . . nothing.  He dilated her and broke her water.  By noon, she was at a 4 and that is where she got stuck.

She never got past a 4 and Easton was face up and not moving down at all.  At that time, they decided to do a C-section.

All of their family was at home waiting.  We got the call a little after 2 to come to the hospital.  We all rushed like crazy.  We made it by 2:36.  I was so worried about Shannon's parents.  They live in West Texas, but had come the night before.  I was so afraid the traffic and directions were so crazy that they were going to miss Easton's birth.  They made it and he was born at 2:43 p.m.

It took about 40 minutes for Justin to come out and let us know that he had been born.  They were having a little family bonding time.

Finally, Justin came out and made the long walk down the hall.  He was walking very slowly and wiping his eyes, and I just knew there was bad news.  Much to our relief, Shannon and Easton were just fine and doing great.

This is their first family picture when he was a day old.  Doesn't Shannon look great?

Pops and Lolly holding Easton for the first time.  I sure wish I had Photo Shop to edit out my chins!!!

Easton came home from the hospital on Friday.  Aunt Jennifer stopped by to take a few pictures.  This is one of my favorites.

We have been visiting Easton about every other day.  This picture was from Tuesday.  He is changing so much each and every day.

Easton, we love you so much!!!

Quick and Easy Mexican Rice

Ingredients
1 T butter
1 C long grain rice
1 1/2 T Knorr tomato bullion with chicken flavor
1/2 t. cumin
1 t. sugar
1 tbsp dried minced onions or chopped onion
2 cups water

In saucepan, sauté onion and rice in butter, until browned.

 Add seasonings and water. Bring to a boil. 

Turn down heat to low, cover pan, and simmer for 20 minutes. Take off burner. Let stand for 5 minutes and fluff with fork.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Cream Cake

This is one of my favorite cakes and it is so quick and easy! There is nothing like a cold piece of cake on a hot day. Yum!  The recipe starts off with a cake mix, so it has very few ingredients and it is quick.

The first step is to make your cake according to the directions on the box.

Pour the yummy batter into your baking dish.  For those of you that like to lick the bowl, this is some good batter!

The cake bakes in about 30 minutes and it is a pretty golden brown.  While you are waiting for the cake to cook, poke holes throughout the cake with the end of a wooden spoon.  Make sure you poke lots of holes, because that is where all of the yummy strawberry goodness will end up.

When your strawberries are thawed, just throw them in the food processor or blender and puree until smooth, juice and all.

Now it is time to pour the strawberry goodness over the cake.  After a few hours, the strawberries will get really soaked up by the cake.

This is what your cake will look like after you have topped it with the luscious whipped cream topping.

And the best part, ENJOY!

STRAWBERRY CREAM CAKE

1 Duncan Hines Strawberry Supreme Cake Mix

2 10 oz. packages frozen strawberries (pureed in food processor)

Topping

1 3.4 oz. pkg. Instant Vanilla Pudding

1 C. milk
1 small container of Cool Whip

Grease a 9 x 13 baking pan.  Prepare cake following the package directions.  Bake as directed.  Cool.

Poke holes all over top of cake with the end of a wooden spoon.  Spread pureed strawberries over the top and let them soak in for a few minutes.

Combine pudding mix with milk.  Add cool whip.  Top cake.

Refrigerate for several hours before serving.

ENJOY!

Quick Summer Meal - Supper

By the time summer rolls around, I am tired of cooking and it is just too hot in this Texas weather to be in the kitchen. I have a few "go to" meals that are quick and easy. These meals are some of our favorites and would be perfect for company.

Anything that has to do with rotisserie chicken fits into this category. I love to have half of my ingredients cooked and ready to go before I ever start my cooking.

One of my favorite meals is, King Ranch Casserole, Mexican Salad and Mexican Rice.

I developed the recipe for my King Ranch Casserole after tasting many others through the years that just didn't have enough flavor. I don't think I ever follow a recipe without tweaking it.



Here is the recipe for the King Ranch Casserole:

1 bag Nacho Cheese Doritos
1 rotisserie chicken deboned and shredded (about 2 cups of chicken)
1 10 oz. can enchilada sauce
1 4 oz can diced green chilies
1 small chopped onion
1 10 oz can cream of chicken soup
1 10 oz can cream of mushroom soup
1 12 oz can evaporated milk
2 cups cheese (cheddar or Mexican blend)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9 x 13 pan.

Layer Doritos in bottom of pan. Mix chicken, soups, chilies, evaporated milk and enchilada sauce in a bowl. Pour over Doritos. Bake for 30 minutes. Top with cheese and a few crushed Doritos and bake for another 5 minutes, until cheese is melted. Delicious & EASY!!

I love a good Mexican salad. Here, I used a bagged spring mix, grated cheese, ranch style beans, rinsed and drained, and garnished the salad with Frito's. The best part is the dressing. I drizzled Kraft Classic Catalina over the salad and tossed. I could eat this as a meal by itself. You can add tomatoes, olives, onions, green onions, avocado, or anything else you like. Sometimes, I will season some ground beef with Taco Seasoning and add this and it is a complete meal. Now that is quick and easy.
Below is my Mexican Rice. It is very quick and easy with just a few ingredients. A couple of those ingredients are unusual for a rice recipe.

And we can't forget dessert! That is almost the best part. Some of my favorite summer desserts are refrigerated cakes. This cake is a delicious Strawberry Cream cake. I could just about eat the whole thing myself. It is so light and cold and perfect for summer.

Tomorrow, I will be posting the recipes for the Mexican Rice and the Strawberry Cream Cake. Yum!