Book Review: Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball

I literally just received the books Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball in the mail yesterday and finished it before lunch time today. My son fell asleep in my arms and I really couldn't move and I honestly didn't want too because I was really enjoying this book!

Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball A Novella Written by Donita K. Paul

It is a super sweet story that was mixed with a bit of magic which I honestly found a bit odd being a Christian fiction book and I wasn't quite sure if the characters in the book were a form of angels, but I truly enjoyed the bit of magic that was seen through out the whole book. I loved the story of two very different families, two very different people and how they came to find God, and how they came together.

I also really loved the character Sandy. She truly is an angel and I love how she talks about being a true child of God and being childlike. It was amazing. This is definitely a book I'll be telling friends about and recommending to them to read! Especially those who have special angels of their own at home!

“I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review”

My Little Man is Getting Teeth!!

So our little prince is getting his first teeth at 8 months old! He's not getting one, or two, or even three but four at the same time! My poor little man! He has not been sleeping well and I'm sure he's in pain from all his fussiness, but he's a trooper and as long as mama is holding him he's a happy camper which makes me happy since normally he is totally a daddy's boy!

We did have his pictures taken over the weekend and from the previews I've seen so far they are stinking adorable!

Here is a little preview for all of you!

They were done by a wonderful photographer here in the local area. You can totally look her up here at Fritsche Photography and trust me you won't be disappointed with her work!!! Plus it helps that I have the cutest baby boy in the world!!!

Other than teeth and pictures not much else is new in our wonderful little family :) We had an awesome Thanksgiving. My little man ate a TON and loved every minute of it. We have decorated our tree and hung our stockings and I'll post pics of that later since they're on the other computer! Baby boy already has a whole tree full of gifts and I still have to wrap a couple more and wait for all the families to get here in the mail. As many of you can imagine being the only grandchild on both sides of the family is going to make for a very spoiled boy! I can't wait though :) Today is also his 8 month birthday :( means he's going to be 1 in four short months. Oh and Nathan is pulling himself up and standing and is practicing standing on his own which means walking isn't far behind which I'm terrified of!

Well I hope everyone is having an amazing time of year! I know we are enjoying it teething and all :)

I am thankful for....

I am thankful for so much this year. Its been a truly blessed year and we couldn't have asked for more!

• I am thankful for the most amazing and understanding hubby who ever walked this earth. 
• I am thankful for the chance to be a mommy to the most amazing baby boy ever!
• I am thankful that our adoption plan went quickly and smoothly.
• I am thankful that our adoption is final!
• I am thankful for our adoption group and the amazing people in it.
• I am thankful for amazing family and friends who have been forever supportive of our little family.
• I am thankful for the amazing opportunity to live in Italy and to be able to see some of the world. 
• I am thankful to have all the things and comforts in my life that so many live without. 
• I am thankful for an amazing sister and an amazing friend love you Meg!
• I am thankful that I've had the same best friend who is forever caring and giving love you Jennifer!
• I am thankful for my health, the health of my hubby, and my amazing little man. 
• I am thankful that God makes all things possible and without him none of this would be possible.
• I am thankful our housing situation worked out for the best.
• I am thankful we have amazing people to spend Thanksgiving with. 
• I am thankful my hubby has an amazing job to go to everyday now with awesome coworkers and super cool squadron to be a part of. 
• I am thankful for so much. I love the life I have. I love my family and am truly blessed. Thank you God for everything you have given us. I am thankful for all the above and so much more!

I hope everyone has a great holiday weekend. Remember to give thanks for all the great things that go on in our daily lives. We are a truly blessed people and have many amazing opportunities given to us at all times.

I'd also like to thank all of you who have been so supportive of our little family. We feel truly blessed to have you in our lives!

Another Year Almost Gone

I am absolutely amazed at how quickly this year has flown by!! I can't believe we have this month and next and we get another whole new year! Maybe it had a lot to do with my baby boy coming and realizing how quickly time truly does fly! I can't believe how big he's gotten, all the things babies learn so quickly in that short amount of time!! It still feels like we brought home our little giant just last week :( and to think he'll be one in four months (and yes being the freak that I am I have already started planning things and buying things for his birthday. It won't be exactly what I had in mind but still fun! If you wanna join in on the festivities let me know! LOL)

For some reason I have been reflecting on the past and our time here in Italy. Granted my first year here wasn't the happiest of ones, but after all is said and done we have truly enjoyed our time here. We have met some of the most amazing people who I know will be lifelong friends and we have also met others who tried to make our life hell for some unknown reason. Those of you who are great know who you are and those who tried to make our lives miserable know who they are as well (although if you're reading this you're way stalkerish! creepy!).

As with most things you truly do learn from your experiences and so have we. We're even thinking of extending here and traveling a bit more with our little man since we weren't able to do much this year with all the craziness that is adoption (which those of you on our same journey or been here before totally understand!).

The adoption is self my oh my was every emotion you could ever mix up into one person! Seriously! But it was so worth it in the end and we have the most amazing son ever! We LOVE and ADORE this little man. He is just amazing to watch. He is sooo smart, almost too smart of his own good and it drives me nuts sometimes, but boy does it make his daddy laugh! We are truly enjoying every minute we have with him and love everything he does. God truly blessed us with an amazing little soul. If you met him you totally understand what I'm talking about!

We are so looking forward to this whole holiday season as well. A lot more firsts for our little man! Plus my hubby's new squadron rocks and we have all sorts of activities to do on base as well! Totally looking forward to the lunchoen. I'm totally looking forward to taking my little prince to the MXG Children's Christmas party! How fun will it be to start doing family things like this every year?!?! Yes I already RSVP'd our little family to go!! I'll take pics of our little man. Plus the squadron party will be fun as well :) I can't wait to decorate for Christmas this  year! Now only if my new things will come in for the holidays! so excited!!

Even with the negatives we've endure during our time here the positives always seem to out way them. We've been truly blessed with everything :) 

Pictures of my little giant

My little giants hands are sooo big!

Baby boy enjoying his friend

He was so happy to have someone to play with and watch cartoons with it was so cute!

I just oiled his scalp and he looked so stinking cute in his durag!

Yes, its a disposable diaper...he gets one before bed so he doesn't wake up wet in the morning. It was only fair to him.

Hair Products

My newest obsession in life is hair products and not for myself but for my son! I know sounds weird at first but if you've seen pics of him you know he has the most amazing head of hair for a seven month old and I'm reading anything and everything I can get my hands on about his hair and about hair products. Man oh man if you want to confuse yourself def check out an African American Haircare line! There are all sorts of things you can use and no two heads of hair use the same products, amount of products, and it can get rather confusing! Thank goodness he is still a little guy so its pretty manageable and he's not having to go to school, but we are trying to keep his curls and hair as natural as possible so we know as parents how to properly care for it when he wants it grown out to braid or what not. So far I've tried a baby line for him its called It's a Curl...I'm not sure if I like the line or not...I think I'm leaning towards not because his hair still seems really dry to me. But it has a tear free shampoo its organic and made specifically for babies if you're interested in trying it. The website is www.curls.biz and they have a children's line and an adult line as well...

I am looking at a couple other online sites as well. www.darcysbotanicals.com and www.kinky-curly.com to buy products from as well. I prefer the all natural products for my son which is rather funny now that I think about all the horrible crap I put in my own hair, but I'll just deal with one head at a time! There are a few other sites I've been on that are all natural but these two have peaked my interest for the time being.

I've also been using pure coconut oil to oil his scalp with boy oh boy does it smell good and is absolutely one of the best oils out there. It can literally be used for everything! Haircare, skincare, and even cooking and eating it! I'm not a fan of eating coconut so we haven't tried this but our little man sure does smell good!!

If anyone else out there in cyber world has any suggestions on haircare lines I could look at def let me know!

I Love the Fall

There is just so much goodness everywhere during this time of year especially when you live overseas!

I love carving pumpkins and baking pumpkin seeds which we did this year and they turned out so yummy! Check out my recipe blog Recipes To Live By for Cinnasweet pumpkin seeds so good!!

I can't wait for Thanksgiving and all the yummy goodness that comes with that! I am already baking breads and will probably have to freeze a few! I will be posting the recipes soon :)

And the festivals here are amazing....its beautiful in Europe during the fall. My favorite time to be here!

I can't wait for Christmas...Little man's first one! We ordered new stockings, a family ornament, his first ornament, so many gifts for him! I love it!

I love the fall....