Meet My Friends!

These ladies are absolutely fantastic!  I'm honored to introduce you to each of them, and know you'll love getting to know them as much as I have! :)

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Right after my daughter was born, I found myself calling her "pretty little baby" or "pretty little girl". Eventually all of the cute nicknames got shortened. I simply called her "Pretty Little". And you know what? That nickname fit! Not only is she pretty, but she's also pretty little! That's how I chose a name for this blog, and "Pretty Little" almost found it's way to my wrist in the form of a tattoo......This blog is where you'll find writing about our daily life, complete with milestones big and small. I also post a lot of photos, and I love making bloggy friends and enjoy a good link-up every now and then. I love big, and take note of all the little things in life.....those are usually the most important! I hope you'll stick around and get to know us a little. Welcome to our Pretty Little Life!

My favorite Holiday tradition is my family's Christmas Eve get-together. My dad's side of the family comes together and it's always a good time! I love seeing my cousins, who range in age from 5-35. And now we have lots of little ones to add to the mix.....seeing my cousin's child play with my own is mind-blowing. These are the memories I want for myself and my daughter. It's the simple things that make Christmas Eve special to me: family, our menu of German meats and cheeses (even if we have to commute hours to find the perfect little shop that still sells these delicacies), singing Christmas carols, and listening to the Christmas story. Just thinking about it makes me all sorts of warm and fuzzy.

The best thing about being a mother is that I've finally found my reason in life. It's purpose and a reason for living, all rolled into one!

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Hi, I'm Joanna from over at Brock Paper Scissors! Wife to handsome sailor, Dan; mother to Nico and Lola. I'm working girl turned stay-at-home mom and military wife. Join my adventures in raising a witty, rambunctious toddler, his equally adorable baby sister and everything in between.

My favorite holiday tradition is how we spend the day after Thanksgiving! We put up the tree, listen to Christmas music and watch Christmas movies all day long. This really gets everyone into the Christmas spirit and pumped for the holiday! It's pretty much the shiz!

There are so many great things about being a mother, but probably my favorite thing? Is living life again, through the eyes of my children. They get so excited about everything, which in turn, excites me. I know it sounds cheesy, but it's really magical.

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I'm wife to a wonderful and supportive husband and mami to 3 wonderful little kiddos, 5 1/2, 3 and 9 months. I left the NYC corporate world when my baby was born to become a stay-at-home mom and my life has never been more full of adventure! My life-long desire to is to draw closer to the heart of my Heavenly Father and be the wife and mother he has destined me to be. We have recently begun a Traditional Food/Real Food journey with more of a focus on whole body healing and organic living. The things I post here on my blog are my opinion only and what work for our family based on research and learning that I've done. 

My favorite holiday tradition: the day after Thanksgiving we always go out as a family (with extended family) and pick out our yearly ornaments. The kids all get a new one and we write names and the year on them and then each year as we decorate the tree, we get to sit back and remember how each one was obtained and why we picked that one. This year we're making our ornaments to make it a bit more fun. So excited about it! 

My favorite part about being a mother: The unexpected moments when cherished memories are made or sweet lessons are learned. It usually happens when you least expect or the least amount of planning has happened and I treasure those moments in my heart as a mother, knowing that all too soon, my babies will be all grown up

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I have been making my Beenana Bread for over 20 years, and it has seen more states then I have! I make by hand using only a potato masher, and a wooden spoon! Consistency is key, so I never vary from the main ingredients, and will make to order, I have made it so that those allergic to dairy and nuts can enjoy!

My favorite Holiday is Christmas….I love the music, and buying and or making of gifts. I love sending Christmas Cards, and buying the kids each an ornament that represents them or their interests at the time.

The best thing about being a mother? Is watching your children grow, I have 4 ages 18 to 30, and they are so independent, yet even if I don’t see them or talk to them for a few weeks, when we catch up its so much fun! I might not agree with what they say or do, but I give them room to make their own mistakes, and learn from them.


So glad to have each of these fantastic ladies in my life…and hope you will stop by and introduce yourself today! ;)

Welcome Carly of Texas Love Birds!

Hello Life with the Baxtrons readers! My name is Carly and I write over at the blog Texas Lovebirds. I was so excited to win Courtney's amazing giveaway of the extra large feature and ad, and I am so excited to be posting here today.

I live in Texas (hence the blog name) with my husband, our two dogs (a Great Dane and a Boston Terrier), and we have a little boy named Gunner on the way. Texas Lovebirds started as a blog of "Dear Peanut" letters to my son and soon became a way for me to document my beautiful life. I still write my "Dear Peanut" letters, but you'll also see posts about my random thoughts, our daily life, crafts, recipes, and much more.

Courtney gave me lots of great suggestions of what to write about in my feature post, so instead of picking just one or two, I thought I'd briefly address them all.

What's your six word memoir (read more about six word memoirs here)? "So called youngins, so in love." I haven't written about it on my blog (yet), but Cody and I are "young." I'm 22, he's 25. We've been married for two and half years, and like I said, we have our first child on the way. We were so ready for marriage and we are now so ready for a child, but that doesn't keep others from judging. I feel like Cody and I can live our lives as a strong example of "youngins" who are living and loving in the greatest way.

The best thing about being a wife or a mother?Since I'm not "officially" a momma yet, I'll go the wife route. For me, one of the best things about being a wife is serving my husband. I must admit, it's something I just recently found the joy in, but I really love it. I'm so thankful that God has begun to create this servant heart in me. It brings a smile to my face to get out of bed a few minutes before Cody and make him a pot of coffee. I truly believe in the calling of service and really enjoy partially fulfilling that calling with my husband.

How do you maintain your "self" while flourishing as a wife/mother/any other role? I again went the wife route with this question...for me, this is a tough one. My husband is my best friend and we enjoy so many of the same things (football, Sons of Anarchy, The Hunger Games book series, etc.), plus his work schedule at the fire station already makes our time together limited...thus, maintaining my "self" is definitely something I could work on, and something I've really thought about lately. Blogging is really a me thing and I try to make time to just be by myself with a cup of coffee and my thoughts...I know I need more though, any suggestions?? I'd love to hear them!

If you could change one thing about today (about anything), what would it be?I think I'd have to change the society and culture that kids are growing up in today. Sure, I know it's a big task, but the question said anything. There's so much to be worried about...idolization of reality TV stars, girls starving to be a size zero, the willingness to do anything for money... Man, oh man.
If you've made it through this entire post, thank you so much for reading. Again, thank you to Courtney for giving me the opportunity to post. I really enjoyed sharing my thoughts and I'd love for you to stop by my blog and say hi! Leave me a comment or email me if you have a blog you'd like me to check out, I'm always looking for new reads.

Below are just a few places you can find me and one way you can contact me:

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Love to all, Carly

Carly, I'm thrilled to have "met" you through this giveaway and I'm very excited to watch your adventures unfold as a new mother!!  Lovely readers, be sure to visit Carly at Texas LoveBirds to say hello! XO, Courtney

Fall Firsts - Part II: Pumpkin Patch + Corn Maze

This is my Wordless{ish} Wednesday.  :) Enjoy!

Silly Pumpkin Faces

We have a winner!

We actually got lost in the corn maze, 6 adults and 1 toddler, we left via the entrance, lol.

We finished the day at Coogan's Restaurant in Washington Heights…that burger was massive!

Let's Connect! XO, Courtney

       

Fall Firsts - Part I: Apple Picking!

This year, we've decided to nix our usual holiday travel plans:  Thanksgiving in Ohio, Christmas in Seattle.  We've been all over the place the last couple of years and its time for us to take a break.  In order to make the most of this decision we've made plans to do things around NYC that we have never done before.  Instead of focusing on how we'll be missing out on our family traditions, we've broadened our horizons to participate in local traditions, and we'll be creating some of our own traditions as well.

I am so happy that my in-laws came out for a visit this past weekend, together we were able to do a lot of things we'd never done before.  So without  any further delay, I present to you a short series of posts which I will call "Fall Firsts."

We left bright and early from our place in Washington Heights, with a bounty of fancy coffee drinks, fresh baked cinnamon rolls and banana muffins, and headed over to the GW Bridge into New Jersey.  The drive was stunning, even in Jersey you can find beautiful red, orange and gold leaved trees lining the highway.  About an hour and some change later, we arrived at Stonyhill Farm & Gardens in Chester, NJ.

Apple picking was a blast, not only did we experience this very traditional NYC annual pilgrimage, we were able to bring our best friends and my lovely in-laws.  The weather was gorgeous, maybe slightly too warm, but not worth a complaint.  Zion had a great time, and I think we must of all heard, "Ahhh-pull" or "Aaahpuh-pie" a million times, plus as an added bonus she got to ride in a little red wagon for the first time.  :)

Stonyhill also had a wonderful farmers market with apple cider donuts, hot and cold apple cider and other delightful items.  After buying 10lbs of apples, I couldn't wait to get home and make my first apple pie using this fantastic recipe I found.  And it turned out DELICIOUS!!

Are you staying home this holiday season?  What local traditions do you enjoy?

XO,

Let's Connect!

       

Far Away From Home: Why Community Matters

I have a rather large family, which continues to grow.  Pictured above are my 5 sisters, 1 brother and 3 step brothers.  (Not shown is 1 brother and 2 brother-in-laws, 1 sister-in-law).  As crazy and ridiculous as it can be to have so many siblings, it is also a ton of fun.

When my sisters and I were younger we used to dream about living on the same street, raising our families together...growing old together.  We never anticipated that we'd end up spread out across the country, thousands of miles away from each other.

Where Do I Go From Here?

I never realized the amount of introspection and reflection that would absorb my time in the weeks and months leading to my big 3-0.  It is as if a complete inventory of my life was somehow mandated.

I struggled through a lot of inner turmoil and as a result struggled outwardly as well.  I wrestled with questions, so many questions, about my life and the current direction set before me.

Who are my friends?  Who am I?  Am I happy?  Is this where I want to be?  Am I doing my best?  What is God's plan for my life?  Am I living according to His will or mine?  Do I have joy?  What example am I setting for my daughter?  Does my husband still love me?  Am I failing?

I'm not going to lie, I uncovered a lot of hard truths in the process.  Truths that I didn't want to face.  But I also discovered that I have choices to make.  If I am to live the life I long to have, I have to be the woman I am called to be.  I need to rise to a new level of understanding, of appreciation, of devotion to my Lord and His purpose for my life.