great-grandmothers and salsa

I'm in the process of compiling some of our most treasured family recipes from both the Bendel's and the Yancey's & publishing them in cookbook form. It has proven to be quite the undertaking, but I know I'll love it once I'm done.

I've stumbled upon several old recipes and memories from my great-grandmother, Granny B. I vividly remember being 5 years old and walking into her Tupelo, MS home & being greeted by the savory smell of fried chicken, black-eyed peas and corn bread. She passed in 2005 and it has been such a blessing to remember the Granny B I knew. The Granny B who cooked to show her love, cared for her chickens in the coop, and who feared the Lord above all else. To remember the Granny B I knew, before the dementia came and the Lord called her Home.


It's been some time since I shared a recipe here on the blog. I thought I might start sharing one every now and then, while I'm putting this book together. After all, I've already typed it and a little copy-and-paste action doesn't require a magnificent effort.

Today I'm sharing a recipe I stumbled upon last year preparing for a super-bowl party. It has become quite the staple for family gatherings. Much like that darn cheesecake!
We are more of a finger food kind of family. We rarely do the big sit down, formal dinner. Easter and Thanksgiving are really the only times that we even sit in the dining room. (it serves us well as Christmas present storage the rest of the year.)  We like to have lots of options, and often serve more dips and "snack-y junk food type stuff." So this salsa recipe is perfect for us. Minimal effort, fantastic result.

 {via}

Restaurant Style Salsa

Ingredients:

• 1- 14 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1- 10 oz can original Rotel
• 1/2 small onion, roughly chopped
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed
• 1/2-1 jalapeno, seeded or not (depends on how spicy you like it)
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• small to medium size handful of cilantro, washed
• juice of 1 lime

Instructions

1. Put all the ingredients in the base of a food processor or good blender and pulse to combine for 30 seconds or so until all the ingredients are finely chopped and salsa is desired consistency. Taste for seasoning and adjust to taste. Serve with chips or over tacos.

brides, brothers and God.

Last Saturday began normal, uneventful.
Wake, shower, leave for work, morning meeting, appointments.

The same thing I do every Saturday.
That's where my day departed from routine.
I had two bridal appointments and a bridal party getting fitted when I noticed one of my brides from last fall looking at the flower girl dresses.
I called over to her, "Sunni, you doing alright sweetie?"
She looked as if she had something she wanted to ask, so I excused myself from my appointments to check on her. Once I reached her I could see that she had her fiance with her. She said that she had someone she wanted me to meet, and that she had a crazy story to tell me...

Sunni: "I have someone I want you to meet, this is a crazy story. This is Cody. (points to her fiance)"
I introduce myself and greet him with a simple "nice to meet you."
Cody: "What is your dad's name?"
Me: "My biological father?"
Cody: "Yeah, your biological father."
Me: "His name is Kenneth Barnett, he goes by Butch."
Cody: (grinning) "I'm your brother."

I look to Sunni, she's smiling and nodding. I look back to Cody. I really look at him, and I know that it's true. He looks so much like our father. Instantly I feel connected to a human that I've known only for about 30 seconds.

They go on to explain that Cody's mom and our dad dated just after high school and ended up conceiving a child. Him. But Cody and our father didn't meet until 2 years ago.

As for how they discovered that I was in fact Cody's sister, that's an even crazier story.
At Sunni's initial appointment last year I "happened" to be the consultant available to help her. She's funny and charismatic, we had a good time during her appointment. We found her gown, finalized her look and did all the paperwork.
I remember thinking, "She's such a doll."
At the end of her appointment she and her mother, Janet, asked if I would mind to take a picture with Sunni to commemorate the day. This is rare, but does happen, so I smiled and said "of course!"

Later that week they were at a church function, where they "happen" to attend with my father. Janet and he were discussing the fact that Sunni had found her gown and that she got it from the salon I work at. My father, knowing I work there, asked her what the consultant's name was. Janet showed him the picture that we "happened" to take at the end of Sunni's appointment.

Seeing a trend here?
All of these events "happened" to fall into place, ensuring that I would in the end meet the older brother I didn't know I had.
But we know that nothing just "happens." The Lord's hand is evident in every turn of this story.
He makes all things work together for our good.

Relay for Life 2012

Tonight we celebrated 'Dee Dee' {my amazing mother-in-law,} we remembered those that we've lost and we fought for a cure. Such a bittersweet night for me. A night that brings back so many memories of those that have gone before, specifically my Paw Paw.
But we choose to live in joy and gratitude for the blessings that He has given us.

Olivia cheered and said "Yay Dee Dee" when Debbi went to receive her survivor medal. When Debbi started making her way back to our seats, Olivia took off after her. She was so proud of her Dee Dee- her little body just couldn't contain it! Sweet, sweet child.

Debbi {wearing her 'Team Dee Dee' shirt} starting her survivor's lap.

Debbi and her boys walking the care taker's lap.

Olivia 'walking' the caretaker's lap.

After we made our way around the track, we began our way from tent to tent. We had BBQ sandwiches from one, and Olivia got her face painted at another. She was so excited about her pink dragon fly. FYI- this lady had an awesome idea. For little ones, who tend to squirm a lot, she used foam stamps. One easy step- super cute result.  I'm not sure why I never thought of this, but it worked perfectly!

 

Olivia enjoyed popcorn, lots of 'prizes' that people just kept handing her left and right, and a balloon twisted into a flower. Oh that flower, I thought the world might stop when it popped. Luckily we had about 27 other goodies to distract her with.

Around 9:30 we finally called it a night and went home. Liv was so tired she barely made it through her bedtime prayers. She asked me to rock her to sleep, I don't even think it took 3 minutes. Sweet, sweet moments. Moments like this are what get me through the day to day of raising a head strong toddler.

It was a beautiful night and we are so thankful that we were able to celebrate life as a family.

The Fever.

Olivia was always a very healthy baby girl. Not so much as a runny nose of a diaper rash; until November. That's when the fevers started. Every 2-3 weeks, like clockwork she would spike a high fever, ranging anywhere from 101.7 to as high as 106. Terrifying. We went through 6 or more rounds of antibiotics, with no results. The fever kept coming back. She's had 5 chest x-rays, nasal and throat cultures, urine analysis {via a rather torturous catheter experience,} and more blood work than I can count; with no answers.

{at an appointment back in December.}

We kept getting the "it's a virus" run around. But I just didn't buy into that theory. A momma knows her baby, and I wasn't about to let it go at that. We reached the end of our rope in March of this year, and at her 24 month well visit Olivia's pediatrician decided that it might be time to seek another opinion. She referred us to the infectious disease clinic at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville. We discussed what they would do and say at our appointment. My stomach did a somersault when the words "spinal tap" escaped her lips. 

Big, scary words like cancer and immunodeficiency swam around in my head. It was a scary time for all of us. We tried to prepare ourselves and Olivia as much as possible. In true fashion, I researched the facility to the ends of the internet. Read tons of information on preparing your child for these kinds of procedures. My mother-in-law got Olivia a play doctor set and we began talking about what they would do when we got to the hospital- as best we could in terms a 2 yr. old could understand. We prepared for an over night stay in Nashville if that became necessary. And then we waited for April 19th, and prayed a lot.

Two days before her appointment we had a conference call with our pediatrician and his P.A. It was April 17th, and Olivia had not had a fever since March 26th. We started to think that maybe it was just a virus all along. We all agreed that it was not wise to put Olivia through the traumatizing invasive tests at Vanderbilt, unless we knew it was absolutely necessary. So, we canceled her appointment. The next day, on the 18th, she spiked a fever. Of course. This fever, however, did not go a high as the ones before and only lasted one day. 

So now we wait. We wait to see if she has another fever- or if the fever on 4-18-12 was an isolated incident. And we pray. We pray for peace and understanding, we pray for healing for Livi's little body, we pray that if she is sick- that the doctors are able to find out what's wrong, we pray for wisdom for her doctors. And then we pray some more.

a few things.

{I should note that most of the pictures, if not all of them are repeats from my instagram feed. So if you follow that too- these will be repeats. But let's be real here, what are the odds that the someone follows both my blog and my instagram feed?!}

Liv and I are trying something new, I think they call it exercise. I stole scored this jogging stroller at a yard sale for $15. We've laced up our walkin' shoes a few times. I'm hoping to get more routine with it. Momma's got some work to do.

I more than love my new coffee up that was given away at the (in)RL meet up I attended in Nashville. It can be found here. Seriously, this would make a wonderful mom day gift.

Summer has arrived here in western KY and this little lady is loving it. We have been soaking up as much sun as possible, and making some exciting plans with friends for the next few weeks. {She also loves strawberries.}

I almost don't want to post this, for fear of jinxing it. But I know that it could give hope to someone else struggling in this area. Olivia, who used to co-sleep with us, has slept in her big girl bed every night for a month. As with everything else in her life. She transitioned when she was ready to. So thankful that she has such a strong spirit.

Liv is loving her new swing. It's quite the up-grade from the "baby swing" that we bought her for her half birthday. We attached it under the arbor in the back yard. I see hours of pushing and many "wee's" in our future.

This girl is becoming more and more independent by the day. On this particular day she insisted on wearing this bow. The regular pink bow? It simply would not do.

In true form, it's taking me far to long to finish this book. I promise it's not for lack of interest. Because, let me tell you sister,  it is awesome. It has truly been a blessing to me, and Olivia apparently.

This picture reminds me how thankful I am that our Heavenly Father provided Olivia with an Earthly Daddy that loves her, and loves her well. They have the sweetest bond.

We sang "How Marvelous" during our worship at church this morning. What a beautiful song. It reminds me of my great-grandmother, Granny B. That woman is singing in the angel choir, I know it.
Praising the One who makes all things possible; that he has blessed us beyond measure. My cup runneth over.

730 days..

63,072,000 seconds..
1,051,200 minutes..
17,520 hours..
104 weeks ago my world changed.
In an instant my view of the world shifted.


It's difficult for me, sometimes, the realization that it was only 2 years ago that she joined our family. I can't remember a time when we didn't love her.


This week we celebrate her.

Last Saturday.

Last Saturday I faced one of my greatest fears. Last Saturday I thought I might lose my best friend, my husband.

To say it was scary would be an understatement. It's no secret that Chance and I have been through our share of 'rough patches,' and I have spent many hours wondering what my life would be like with out Chance. But there was a finality in my fears that night. It was paralyzing.

We were eating dinner on a rare night out. Having a great time- I was thanking God for those moments. Chance told me he wasn't feeling right. We'd been passing a nasty cold around at our house; so at first I thought that maybe he was starting to feel bad again. Then he bit his tongue, hard and started getting really hot. He was instantly drenched in sweat.. He stood up and then he fell.
Words like heart attack, stroke and seizures were swimming in my head. Just moments before I was thanking God for the night we were having and in a heartbeat my prayers switched to begging the Lord to give us more time.

When the paramedics arrived his blood pressure was 76/42. We were transported by ambulance to a local hospital, where we spent the next 2 nights. After a chest x-ray, many panels of blood work, 2 EKG's, a cat scan, a 2D echo of his throat and heart, a full stroke assessment, and an MRI the final diagnosis was that he had what is known as a vagal response. Which caused his blood vessels to open up {making him feel disoriented} and when he stood up from his seat his body was unable to fight the gravitational pull on his blood. All this to say that his brain was deprived of oxygen and he lost consciousness.
Odds are that this was a one time ordeal and it will never happen again. I pray that this is the case.

That night reminded me that nothing is guaranteed. My next breath could very well be my last. I want to know that I have lived not only the length of my life-- but also the width of it.

Wyatt Parker Davidson

Allow me to introduce you to the newest member of our family.

Wyatt Parker Davidson

Born January 11, 2012 at 4:58 pm

7 lbs. 5.4 oz.

19 inches.

Born to Lindsay and Brandon Davidson.

Eagerly welcomed by big brother, Shade Brian Davidson

The first boy to join our family in 3 generations.

Be still my heart.

Our kind of Christmas...

It was delightful.
Busy, but not crazy. The good kind of busy- filled with lots of love, good food, family, traditions and laughter.

Olivia was sick the entire weekend. {That was no fun} But we all managed to stay in the spirit.

Christmas Eve both families came together to celebrate. No presents, just togetherness. {I am so thankful that both sides of our family come together for things like this so that we can ALL enjoy the magical moments in life.} I love traditions. Some of my happiest childhood memories are of Christmas traditions. One of my favorites was every Christmas Eve my Gran would read me "Twas the Night Before Christmas;" it was a very special moment for me to share that with Olivia this year.

{she wore her cupcake shirt because we were throwing a birthday party for baby Jesus. She chose her outfit this evening, everything down to the leopard print ballet flats. What can I say- she's definitely my child.}

Another tradition was leaving cookies for Santa and sprinkling 'reindeer food' for Santa's flight crew.

{Don't tell Olivia, but we were out of milk from all the baking so Santa's milk is actually expired liquid coffee creamer. Sure hope he liked hazelnut as much as I do!}

Olivia sprinkled the reindeer food all by herself.

This Christmas morning was super special. My Mom, Step-Dad Robert, and Grandmother came to see Olivia open her presents. She got so much! Best part.. she said 'thank you' a lot!

Santa brought her a toy kitchen and a tricycle. You know, because she was a super special girl all year!

We rounded out the day with a visit to our "bonus parents." Chance's best friend, Terry's parents. They spoiled us, as always. They are so good to us and treat Olivia as though she's their granddaughter. So thankful to have so many people in our girls life that love her.
 

{excuse our scary eyes!}

I hope your Christmas was as wonderful as ours!!

December 13, 1963

December 13th. It's a difficult day for my family and myself. On that day in 1963, my grandparents were married. This would have been their 48th wedding anniversary. Now being married I understand just how truly incredible that is. Sadly, this is an anniversary that won't be celebrated. My sweet PawPaw passed away on Oct. 31, 2007. (I can't believe it's been 4 years.)This is what I wrote for his memorial site. Today I wanted to share it on this platform as well.

On December 13, 1963 Beverly A. Nichols & Bobby G. Yancey were wed.
(For any of you who don't know- that's my Grandparents)
It was an intimate wedding, without all the muss and fuss that usually go along with weddings (what mine was filled to the brim with) but it was a beautiful one, or so I'm told. Just a few family, friends and a preacher in the church that my Grandmother grew up in, in Tupelo MS.
The bride wore a simple ivory dress, no veil. There was no reception, no photographer; actually there is only one photo from that day it's of the two of them, and I've never seen a picture capture so much love. They so loved each other. That's not to say that my Grandparents marriage was perfect, they had their hard times just like everyone else (maybe more than anyone else) but through it all they never stopped loving each other. They were the role model that taught me to love, that taught me how marriage should be. I often told them when I was younger that I hoped one day to have as full of a marriage as they did. The same still remains true today.

My Grandfather was many things to me. He was, of course my Grandfather; but he was also my Daddy and my best friend. He held my hand as a little girl learning to walk. He held the handle bars of my bicycle and taught me to ride a bike. He held my hand and congratulated me on the day of graduation. And he gave my hand to Chance on our wedding day.
In the last few years of my Grandfather's life he was not well, several years ago he was diagnosed with a malignant tumor on his right lung. Thanks to the marvels of modern science, the doctor's removed the cancer. He went into remission. He never completely recovered though, he had several other health issues that we contributed this to. And then the phone call came that changed all of our lives forever. In early January 2007 on a Friday night at around 9 pm Pawpaw's physician called the house. He had a tumor on his brain, near the cerebellum. The surgeons did their best but admittedly were not able to get it all. In the ten months that followed he got better, got worse, got better, and then got worse again. I believe that God led my Grandmother to nursing so many years ago so that she could take care of him in his final days. She nursed him through it all, staying up all hours of the day and night, neglecting herself so that he might not feel the pain. She was so selfless. In his final days we were all by his side. Eventually we all, in our own time told him it was ok to go. We all said our goodbyes, we were as prepared as you could be for that kind of situation. But he kept holding on, then on Oct. 31, my Grandmother (& sisters) birthday she told him it was time. A few hours later we went peacefully. He waited until he knew that she'd be ok, until she was ready. I had never seen that measure of love, he was dying and he was still taking care of her. (It's what he did best)
My Grandparents enjoyed two daughters together, sometimes more than others. And reveled in the glory of being Grandparents. I may be partial but I think the excelled at the latter. Their marriage was a rock that their two daughters and 5 grand-daughters will be able to look to as guidance for the rest of our lives. It was a blessing to us all. Their's is my favorite love story.

December, really?

First things first, a very dear family friend is struggling right now in the ICU at a local hospital. They believe he may have had a stroke but has been in pretty much the same condition since early last week. Please pray for his healing, for comfort for his family and wisdom for the doctors and nurses caring for him.

December snuck up on me. Big time!
I was so busy with the bustle of Thanksgiving, I feel like I blinked and November was over! And here we are in December- the happiest month of the year. I love everything about the holiday season; especially all the fun traditions.

Last Firday was Chance's birthday, he's 28 now.

Olivia helped make his birthday cupcakes- carrot cake with cream cheese icing. He's the only one in the house that likes them. (I gag a little just thinking about them)

Saturday was a big day for us too. We took Olivia to see her very first Christmas parade. We were able to meet up with our dear friends the Pooles. You've heard me talk about our awesome play dates before.
Olivia and Adley just have the best time together, and it's so fun to watch them learn to interact.

Adley (Right) & Olivia (Left)

Olivia liked the marching bands and the gymnastics teams... Adley liked the pup-pups (dogs) best.

These girls make my heart smile. I love that Olivia is building friendships even at her young age. She asks for Adley all the time. I sure hope we're able to squeeze in a few playdates before the Christmas craziness starts!



Olivia is at such a fun age right now. She is so articulate, and has no problem telling you exactly what it is she wants!

In other fun news, and adding to the craziness, Olivia and I get to spend the week in Lexington, VA. We fly out on the 14th and won't be back until the 21st!! So the Bendel Christmas has to be planned and prepared for by the 13th! Whew- I feel a list coming on.

Our days now..

Today I'm linking up to Gussy Sews for her inspiration workshop. This week's challenge is "A Day in My Life," and since the real reason I blog is to record our family memories I thought it would be neat to write {in detail} what an average day consists of for the Bendel's at this stage in our lives.

Our day starts with two alarms at 7:30; one for Chance - one for me. I proceed to poke, kick, and whisper/yell until Chance finally gets out of bed around 7:45. I do my best to keep Olivia asleep through all this non-sense, but I'm rarely successful. Once I'm up and moving around the first thing I do is to look at our calendar that hangs on the wall. For now our schedule isn't too crazy but I over analyze every minute of the day and I'm constantly afraid I'm going to drop one of the many balls I'm juggling. Hence the color-coded calendar.

Second on our to do list is breakfast, typically Olivia eats a waffle with raspberry jam or syrup. It's her fave. This almost always results in a bath. I let her play for about 15 minutes {or until my butt starts going numb from sitting on the floor.} While she plays, I "wake up" - enter coffee.

Oh sweet coffee, what would I do with out you?? While she's in the bath I try to clean the bathroom as best I can from my spot next to the tub. {this includes: cleaning the toilet, straightening the shelves, refolding any towels that Olivia unfolded while waiting for her bath water etc.} I find that for me, several small daily rituals like this eliminate the need for entire days spent cleaning. It makes life so much easier.

After Liv's bath we both get dressed for the day. She always wears a bow- always. It's a southern thing. Her hair is getting so long, though it's very fine.

By now it's about 9:00, and we make the bed and do a quick straightening up of the bedroom. {another one of my small daily rituals.}

This is when Olivia watches the bulk of her t.v. shows. Her favorites are Olivia, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Yo Gabba Gabba, Big Music Show, The Fresh Beat Band, and Bubble Guppies. She sits on the bed and watches t.v. - sometimes I sit with her, others I fold and put away laundry. {I try to wash laundry every time a load builds up. Instead of waiting and doing it once a week- that's just too much for me to tackle at once.
One of the greatest things I've done for myself this year was realizing and accepting my limits. I feel so much more in control now. Like all my many 'jobs' are manageable. It has completely changed my life.

Around 12:00 we have lunch. Olivia likes to eat peanut butter sandwiches, cucumbers, grapes, grilled cheese, hot dogs, and spaghetti-o's. She's such a good eater. Not picky at all! After lunch we strip down and clean up. Then I try for about 45 minutes to get Olivia down for a nap. Eventually she gives in and I can finally lay her down. While she naps I tackle any large projects that I can't do when she's awake. If there are no biggies on my to do list, I catch up on my blog roll, posting, and DVR. She's usually sleeps for about and hour and a half.

She wakes up somewhere between 3:30 and 4:00. And we have play time. She loves to play with her dollies. Bay-bee {with extra emphasis on those e's} as she calls them. She also can't get enough of my jewelry! Such a girlie-girl!!

 

Not too long after she wakes up it's time for us to go downstairs and start dinner. I do my best to have dinner ready just after Chance gets home from work. Sometimes I even succeed! Liv is really good about playing in the den while I cook. On fussier days I sit her in her high chair and let her play with spoons of give her a light snack. Chance walks through the door around 5:15. We eat around 6:00. Then I clean up while Chance and Olivia have a little 'Daddy/Daughter time'. Bath time is 7:30. Liv plays, while I do another mini touch-up in the bathroom again. After her bath we have family snuggles. Chance is usually playing video games in the bedroom and Liv loves to 'play' with him. It's precious!!

These moments are so precious to me. When I can see the bond they have. She has such different relationships with both of us. It's funny to see the different aspects of her personalities that come out with each of us. We do our best to have her in bed by 8:30. She usually falls asleep around 9:15. We move her to her bed and Chance and I catch up on our over-burdened DVR and we fall asleep around 11:30.

Then we start all over again.

Sorry if this post completely bored you. But I know I'll appreciate it 4 years from now when I can look back at the 'easy' days!

25 years.

I had plans of posting about being a stay at home mom today. Heck, I even started writing and then the phone rang. It was my momma with a "funny tidbit." She went on to say.. "today would have been mine and your father's 25th wedding anniversary."

My first thought was, "wow. 25 years huh? You dodged a bullet there."
My second thought was, "wow. 25 years."

You will not often hear {uh, read} me speak of my biological father. Due to many of his choices I have chosen to not allow him to be a part of my life. I.simply.can't.do.it. But today I feel compelled to purge.
To give you a little background he and my mother were married July 12, 1986. He joined the military 6 months later.  I was born 13 months after they were married on August 18, 1987, he wasn't there. They officially separated in November 1987. The divorce was final in spring of 1988. He and I never lived in the same house while they were married. He never changed a diaper. And there were certainly no night time feedings. I saw him only a handful of times throughout my childhood. I remember sitting in the kitchen floor, crying, asking my mom why "my daddy didn't want to be my daddy." I felt so abandoned by him, so unwanted.

Fast forward a couple of decades -- and here I am. A married, 23 year old mommy to a wonderful little girl. It may sound odd- but I am glad that they divorced. I'm thankful that he was not a bigger part of my life. I was blessed with an amazing grandfather that was all the "daddy" I will ever need. But for some reason I can't get past that "25 years." A quarter of a century, their silver anniversary.

What if they had stayed together. My life would be drastically different. My marriage would be different. I would be different. Heaven only knows who I would be. So I guess what I want to take away from today is that even though my parent's divorce may not have been ideal. It was all part of His plan, a plan that molded me to the woman, wife and mother that I am today.

A Wedding and a Cake.

My beautiful sister, Lindsay was married last weekend. She was GORGEOUS. The wedding was sweet and simple, and the food was awesome. {It definitely made standing in the kitchen from 8 am - 10 pm on Thursday worth while!} We had just 3 short weeks to pull it off - and pull it off we did! Here are some pictures from the day.

The beautiful Bride.

Her bouquet.

Part of the spread.

 The Groom's Cake
{I'll be sure to share the recipe next week. It was AMAZING!}

The Wedding Cake

I made it using this tutorial. Lindsay was so pleased with how it turned out. Thank you Pinterest!

The  new brothers-in-law - my husband, Chance and Lindsay's husband, Brandon.
Silly boys. We'll have a good time a family get-togethers that's for sure!

A sweet candid of the Bride and Groom before the ceremony.

My little family.

Olivia had a GREAT time!
She loves being a flower girl!

She also loves pretty things.

 Our Family.

Mr. & Mrs. Davidson

Lindsay and Brandon, I am so happy for both of you and for this new adventure that you are departing on.

I hope you'll be as happy the rest of your lives as you were on Saturday!

I love you both endlessly.