Chasing Noah

Kind of missing....

2011-06-27T14:35:00.000-07:00

I know I disappeared,

with the move and internet issues and vacations and going back to work part time and potty training,

my blog was put in last place through it all.

Sorry to all my followers, hopefully I will be back in full swing soon!

The Hawkins HOME

2011-05-30T17:59:00.000-07:00

We have found a house

a place to call our own

a place to make a home

a home where we will raise our family

a home were love will grow.

We are soooo excited to show you our new HOME:

We officially will move in this weekend

and I have to say I have never been more excited to pack,

to live out of boxes,

to unpack,

and to decorate

Horray!!!

Check back often and follow me as we make this house a home!

Vacation!!!

2011-05-25T15:07:00.000-07:00

This week we are on VACATION!

that means

a break from TV

from bills

from work

from cleaning

from laundry

from everyday life

Did I mention I LOVE VACATIONS?!?

We are at my family's Park City, Utah timeshare this week!

We get to sit in the hot tubs and pool for HOURS, with no worries!

and we get to explore this beautiful place

We even get to do silly things like fill momma's shoes with rocks... because we have all the time in the world!

and we get to just lounge around and play all day!

WINNER, WINNER, WINNER!!!!

2011-05-15T21:01:00.000-07:00

Can we have a DRUM ROLL PLEASE.....

Comment # 18 Michelle over at Delicate Construction said:

"I love love love it all! She could surprise me with whatever and I would be happy!"

Congrats Michelle!!! Please contact me (chasingmynoah@yahoo.com) by tomorrow at 10 pm MST to claim your prize or another winner will be chosen!!

Thanks to all who entered and showed your support to ME and Heather over at Floradornments!

Remember when?

2011-05-15T14:16:00.000-07:00

I just found this video I made a few years ago...

and it made me want to cry!

Do you Remember when your baby did this?

Do you remember when they started babbling?

Do you remember their first steps?

Do you remember the exact moment they said their first word?

We'll I cant, and I know why...

I was too busy saying "I cant wait for you to WALK"

"I cant wait for you to TALK"

"I cant wait for you to ENTERTAIN YOUR SELF"

"I cant wait for you to SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT"

and NOW I regret doing it the way I did

I regret not watching him sleep for hours on end, I should have laid there and watched him instead of cleaning the house

I should of held him longer instead of putting him in his bouncy because now he is "too busy" to let me hold him.

It wasnt until he was older I realized I should have held on tight to the moment.

I wish that I would have known that this will go by SO FAST and I cant get any of it back.

My new goal:

Cherish the new MOMENTS we have

let him play and be a BOY without worrying how dirty he gets

Hold him longer (when he lets me)

Play toys on the floor with him for as long as he needs

read him book after book after book without worrying about the dishes

stop staying "I cant wait"

is anyone with me?

Giveaway oops!

2011-05-14T17:53:00.000-07:00

Attention everyone who has entered the giveaway, during the blogger "outage" we may have lost a few comments, please go back and make sure your comments are still there. I would hate for anyone to not win who have though they entered!!

Giveaway Continued!!

2011-05-13T20:32:00.000-07:00

Yep, I am extending the Floradornments giveaway because as you all know blogger was down,

You all now have until Sunday night 5/15/11 at 10pm MST!!!

Go Enter here

Good luck!

Spring time FUN!

2011-05-12T09:56:00.000-07:00

Its Finally getting Warm...

So, I made Noah some side walk chalk PAINT!

All you need is:

1Tbl Corn Starch

1/2 cup water

and food coloring (go easy on the coloring,so it doesn't satin your sidewalks!)

and PAINT away!

Okay, I totally had to paint too!!

and guess what? It washes right away!!

Happy Warm Weather everyone!

Me? an Award? Really?!?!

2011-05-12T06:43:00.000-07:00

Today I received an award and I am stoked!

I am extremely honored!

The rules of accepting the award are as follows:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them.

Thank you, Whitney Ulrich. This totally made my day, week, month and year! I just love you!!
I found Ty and Whit's blog a while back after Whit became my follower, she has been an awesome support and has offered kind words on multiple occasions when I thought I would just give up the whole blogging thing. I am grateful that she and I have crossed paths, I want to so hang out with her and be her BFF!!!
Her blog is so cute, so is her little man and not to mention she is SUPER cute also!!
go check her out HERE

2. Tell 7 things about yourself.

This is always difficult for me, I hate talking about myself!

1. I love being a stay at home mom, when I first had Noah I wasn't sure if staying home would be the thing for me, but as I have grown through motherhood, I have realized there is no more important work than being with your children and I am extraordinarily grateful that I have the opportunity to stay home with him and teach him, there is nothing better!

2. I hate doing dishes and laundry, I think every mom/woman feels this way. But, I think I despise it the most! ;-)

3. I recently discovered my love for crafting/creating. Growing up my mom was always sewing and quilting and I SWORE I would never be anything like that! I couldnt even sew a straight line! But one day I worked on a quite book and realized how much I love it, That little old me can create something all by myself, I was hooked from there!!!

4. I had 10 children in my family, YEP, I said 10! Thats 6 brothers and 3 sisters and that makes 10 including me!!

5. Noah is my little 2 year old boy and I got his name from none other than, THE NOTEBOOK! I watched The Notebook when I was about 17 and swore my first boy would be a Noah!!!

6. If I could stay in my pajamas all day I so would!!!

7. I knew that my husband and I were going to be together forever, the night we met. It sounds stupid and cliche but I was comfortable with him and had never felt that way about anyone. It kind of was love at first sight!

3. Pay it forward and award the Versatile Blogger to 15 recently discovered new bloggers.

Here are some awesome blogs that I have found recently...some a few days ago and some a few months ago

Ash and Roz @ Trulie Scrumptious
These girls are the cutest, They found me actually from the UBP and I am grateful cause they are sooo cute!!

Ashley@ The Shine Project

She is SO cute, VERY inspirational, and has an amazing cause. Please go check her out!!

Jackie@ A Hen and Her Chicks

This is a real life friend of mine and she has a great blog with her mom and sisters and they have amazing ideas!! Check them out for sure!!

Kellie @ Another Day Stronger

This momma lost her sweet baby girl to SIDS, I Cant imagine that type of loss. But she is very strong,and is an inspiration to many.

Abby @ My Yellow Sandbox
I absolutely love this girl! She is doing a 30 day hair challenge and I love to follow along!!

Laura & others @ Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy
Love it! Great ideas!

Michell@ Girl in Air

Oh my gosh! This lady is pure genius! She has amazing ideas, and Its plain and simple, I LOVE HER

Elise@ Elise's pieces

This girl is to darn cute and I love just sitting here reading her blog, she makes me happy!

Lauren@ Busy Bee Lauren

Oh dear, this girlie is soooo fun, She shows off her outfits and most of them are vintage and thrifted and they rock! I wish I could have such cute outfits!

Ashley @ Divorced at 20
She is very inspiring, very tough story but its good she shares that life isnt all apple pie and birds chirping all the time

Dawn @Just Married with Coupons

I am absolutley in love with coupons lately and this blog helps me find great deals, I Love all the help I can get!

Kristan@ Confessions of a Cookbook Queen

This is one of my FAV cooking blogs,I LOVE LOVE LOVE her recipes, they make me happy!

Delia @ Delia Creates

This amazing lady has tutorials, projects, recipes, EVERYTHING. She is perfection in my eyes!

Heather@ Floradornments

Yes, I am on her blog because I am hosting a giveaway for her. HERE And Yes, I think she is amazing and does amazing work! She is just plain amazing. Check her out for sure!!

Michelle @ Delicate Construction

I love this blog because I get some great Ideas and projects for Noah to do!

Thanks everyone for checking out my favorite new blogs, please go over and see each of these ladies. SHOW SOME SUPPORT!!!!

And a BIG Thanks to Whitney! You rock!!!

NEW SPONSOR and a GIVEAWAY!!!

2011-05-06T12:06:00.000-07:00

Today I am pleased to introduce to you my NEWEST SPONSOR:

Floradornments is an etsy shop that totally and completely rocks!

I am in so much love with all her super cute items!!!

Take a look at her stuff:

I want it all, especially that necklace!

So, I contacted Heather over at Floradornments and she made me my own custom made Floradornment for my hair,

and I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!!

Take a look:

(you can see it in the back of my hair HERE)

and look how she sends them:

SO CUTE, right!

She sends it in a floral box!!!

This lady is so darn creative and makes the best high quality stuff Ive seen around!!

And guess what?!??!!

Heather over at Floradornments is graciously giving away a FREE floradorment!!

You can pick anything from her shop up to 35 dollars!!

OR you can even have one custom made for you!!!

Giveaway entries: Leave a comment for each entry please!

1. MANDATORY: must be a follower of my blog!

2.MANDATORY: Must be a follower of floradornments!

3. head on over to Floradornment's esty shop and tell me what you would pick if you won!

4. Like Chasing Noah and floradornments on FB

5. FB, Blog or tweet this giveaway!

YOU ALL HAVE LOTS OF WAYS TO ENTER!!!

Giveaway ends Friday May 13th at 10pm MST

GOOD LUCK!

Just one of them days...

2011-05-05T15:58:00.000-07:00

Today has been just one of them days,

you know where your house is a mess

your toddler is sick and VERY cranky

you don't feel like cooking

laundry is everywhere

and all you can find that will make it better is this....

That's right, cherry chocolate Schwan's ice cream with my mom's homemade hot fudge sauce!

This stuff will fix any bad day!

now if only it were to do my laundry!!!!

Letter to 16 year old me

2011-05-02T09:59:00.000-07:00

I think I have said it before but I have to say it again! I LOVE Ashley over at Little Miss Momma, She is an inspiration to me and I adore her honesty and fearlessness.

She wrote a post about what she would say to her 16 year old self, and it got me thinking....

What do I wish I could have known at 16 that I know now?

So here is my letter to 16 year old Savannah:

(That's me in the blue uniform)

Oh Savannah, this is only the beginning,

these will be the simplest times in your life but with that said

Always remember who you are, I know it sounds cliche and dumb now but its very important not to loose your self in "teenage hood"

You will learn so many things along this journey, I know you think life is crazy now but just wait, wait until you learn about real LOVE

wait until you learn about real LIFE after high school

wait until you learn what LOSS feels like

and wait until you find your own FAITH

I remember the "dream" the dream that I would find my prince on his white horse someday and he would come rescue me and sweep me off into the sunset...

I would tell you that this dream isn't real, not to be a downer, but life throws us curve balls and we quickly learn to swerve.

I mean you will find your prince but it wont be like you "pictured" it to be.

Don't forget your family, you will look back someday and you wont be able to remember what it was like to watch your little brothers grow up and what they liked to do. You will feel so selfish that you weren't "involved" in their growing up.

(me and my little brother)

I will have to say that nothing you do in High school will determine who you will become,

those stupid fights with girlfriends

those first dates

your first failing grade

your best friend switching schools (which felt like the end of the world)

None of this will matter after high school, you and your BFF will still be BFF's!

you wont even remember your first dates

you wont care that you never fit in.

in Fact, you will be relieved that you never have to go back to be 16.

But, there will also be days that you will never forget

like Freshman year on your way to seminary when the twin towers fell, and for the first time you realized that this world is in a lot of danger.

There will be the day when you find out that your swimming buddy will be diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor and you will loose her shortly later, but you will always remember her courageous fight and the first time you ever heard the song "I can only imagine" by Mercy Me at her "early graduation" and it was that day you realized she gets to meet God and you will be grateful for your faith system

You will remember the countless swim meets and the life lessons it taught you,

like determination,

failure,

hope,

and the life long friendships you established

(Thats me on the far right in the swim cap and goggles on my head)

One more thing,

soak it all up,

be a little more involved,

hang on tighter

don't worry so much about the future

don't worry about what people think of you!

live for here and now

and hang on tight, its going to be one wild ride

EVERYTHING is going to turn out just fine, and one of these days you will learn to be grateful they turned out the way they did!

Oh, and one last thing, someday when you meet your son, your whole world will make sense and that

"real love" stuff I was telling you about will come into play

everything you worked so hard for will pay off!

Love,

24 year old Savannah

"its a bootiful day mommy!"

2011-05-01T19:41:00.000-07:00

A "Bootiful" Day in pictures...

("bootiful" is how Noah pronounces Beautiful)
Noah looked at me this morning and said "its a bootiful day mommy!"
Needless to say, My heart melted!
So we packed up a picnic lunch and headed down into the canyon...

....and it was absolutely BREATHTAKING

I am so grateful for the beauty of where we live, The beauty in an amazing two year old little boy, and the beauty in time spent as a family.

Easter Fun

2011-04-25T08:56:00.000-07:00

I know that I have been kind of missing in the blogging world, there has been so much going on.... But I wanted to show everyone Noah's Easter and the fun we had.
After 4 easter baskets, 3 egg hunts, countless candy, and many sugar highs
I'd say Noah had a spectacular Easter {week}!!!

want to see where I got this tie pattern Noah is wearing? Click HERE

It was days like this that made me so happy and content to be with family, Grateful that I have my Noah and that he is healthy and beautiful, and thankful that our Savior was risen on this day for us.

I hope all of you found happiness on your Easter as well!

P.S. We have a great giveaway coming soon, so stay tuned!!!

These are the moments

2011-04-15T15:15:00.000-07:00

Its these moments that remind me that I can and WILL keep going on

Its these moments that remind me of the beauty of childhood innocence

Its in these moments that I remember why God sends us such beautiful blessings like little boys

It was in this moment that I was GRATEFUL that it still doesn't look like spring in the middle of April

(but only for a moment) ;-)

I love you Noah

P.S. Sorry for the lack of posts lately, I have been feeling discouraged about my blog.... But I am out of my "rut" and will be a better "blogger"! I promise!

Letting go....

2011-04-07T11:33:00.000-07:00

SITS is an amazing blogging community of women just like me... and they just launched a new blogging series where we take a stand and say THIS IS ME, I am a Real woman and I am Vulnerable and I am completely okay with that!!!

SO here I am joining in because I think its time I let go...

If my dishes sit in the sink for days and pile high, its okay because I am NOT Perfect

If Noah plays in his diaper until noon that is okay because I am NOT perfect

If my bed never gets made thats okay because I am NOT perfect.

Today I am setting a new goal, to let go...

to let go of the imperfections

to let go of the worry of what people will think of me if my dishes are piled HIGH

to let go of that "perfect" vision and realize we can have a different version of perfection

Join in with us at SITS and lets be REAL and let's let go together!!!

What will you let go?

We have ourselves a WINNER!!!!

2011-04-06T21:56:00.000-07:00

So, before we get to the winner of the giveaway

I wanted to give a big shout-out to the Girls over at Sadie James Patterns on Etsy for letting me host their giveaway!!

Everyone go check out their great shop and I promise you will be impressed, these girls ROCK!!!

Also, I wanted to thank those of you who entered the giveaway and are new to my blog,

I am SO GREATFUL for the support!!!!

DRUM ROLL PLEASE.......

the winner is Ty and Whitt

Comment #8

Please email me within 48 hours and I will have the girls over at Sadie James Patterns send your E-book pattern of your choice!!

My Childhood dream lived through Noah...

2011-04-05T16:14:00.000-07:00

Ever since I was little I dreamed of living in the country and I dreamed of everything it entailed, like feeding animals on a farm

riding on tire swings

riding on a tractor

you know the whole "country" Life style?

Well, we have moved to the country and I couldn't be more pleased to watch my son do all of those things

I never got to do

My heart melted when I walked outside and saw this... it was something just as simple as watching my son on a tire swing!

Okay, so its not a tractor but its close enough,
Here's Noah helping grandpa plow the garden

And my Noah feeding the chickens,

He also gets to feed Llamas

cows and horses!!

I have to say he is A VERY LUCKY BOY!

I absolutely LOVE that he gets to raised in the simplicity of "farm life"

This is how it should be!

The Ultimate BLOG party!!!

2011-03-31T22:10:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Welcome to Chasing Noah all my new friends from The Ultimate Blog Party 2011!!!

I should mention that I LOVE TO PARTY!!!!!

My name is Savannah,

I am a momma to a beautiful two year old boy named Noah.

He is my whole world.

He makes me laugh,

smile,

cry,

angry,

happy,

most of all he makes me LOVE

and I am grateful that he has taught me the meaning behind "unconditional love" I think thats what I was lacking before he came along and changed my whole world.

I started this blog because I found my self lost in "mommyhood" and I felt like I was the only one going through
infertility,

sleepless nights,

brand new emotions,

constant trips to the doctor,

temper tantrums,

feeding issues,

allergies to MILK and peanuts and eggs,

eczema,

and so on...

But I learned that I wasn't alone,

I wasnt doing all this mommy thing by myself at all!

I have come across some amazing women and have realized that there are
moms out there JUST LIKE ME!

and it captivated me, it made me feel better, it made my BLOG COME ALIVE and it has become my outlet.

So here I am learning to soak in every moment I have with my baby,
grasping every project,
taking on every picture moment,
and living for here and now all because of this BLOG and of course NOAH!

So needless to say I am grateful!

Source

Be sure to Check THIS STUFF OUT while your here too:

I am sooooo excited for my second giveaway EVER on my blog HERE
I love to craft!! check out THIS post for a great toddler tie tee tutorial
I got THIS in the mail a few weeks ago and went NUTS!!
I love when Noah has fun things to keep him busy so we did THIS craft
On a more serious note, I am trying to raise awareness for THIS
And THIS post will make your heart melt

Thanks for stopping by and I hope that you will FOLLOW me
and we can become
"bloggy BFF's"
I love to hear from other amazing women!!

ENTER MY GIVEAWAY HERE

NEW SPONSOR and A GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!!!----CLOSED------

2011-03-30T18:48:00.000-07:00

Today I am SUPER EXCITED to introduce you to my new sponsor!

Introducing:

These ladies over at Sadie James are pure awesome

They are sisters and even better, they are TWINS!

( I always thought the twin thing is awesome! I don't know why!)

I was on a quest to find a Easter tie for my little man and I came across this amazing little shop,

they make patterns for little boy ties,

little girl skirts,

color book and crayon totes

Hooded Towels

And so much more!

And the best part... THEY ARE SOOOO EASY!!!

These patterns are meant for beginners so anyone can do it!

I am all about EASY when it comes to sewing!

So I ordered my pattern (which they emailed super fast as an E-book!)

and went to work...

They give you step by step directions for these great little man ties

and believe me I NEED step by step directions as I am a beginner sewer!

here are the ones I made:

Oh my heart just melts when little boys wear ties!

So, I contacted this girls over at Sadie James and they graciously wanted to do a

GIVEAWAY

for my loyal fans!!!

One lucky winner will get a FREE pattern of their choice from their shop!

Here's how to enter:

LEAVE A COMMENT FOR EACH ENTRY letting me know you did these!

1. MANDATORY- become a follower of my blog

2.MANDATORY- Follow their blog here

2. Head over to their shop and tell me which pattern you'd like to WIN

3. "Like" Sadie James on FB

4. "like" chasing Noah on Facebook

5. FB, Blog, or tweet this giveaway

Im giving you lots of opportunity to win here everyone!!!

Don't you just want to eat him up?

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!!

Contest ends Wednesday March 6, 2011 at 10:00pm MST

"Lost and Found"

2011-03-28T08:08:00.000-07:00

Most of my posts have been fun, sweet, funny and light hearted...

Not today....

Today is more serious

Two years ago TODAY I lost a piece of my heart

and a piece of me DIED

I lost not only my friend but my BIG brother

Two years ago, My brother tragically died.

I say tragically because

He wasn't sick

We didn't know this was coming

He committed suicide.

I had a hard time with the reality of suicide for A LONG TIME

I had never come face to face with the reality of loosing someone close to me until that day.

Which I remember vividly.

I remember the call,

the words said

the pain

the hurt

the anger

the sadness

I couldn't fathom that he could leave us here like that,

That his decision would leave his two beautiful little girls with NO FATHER

That OUR MOM and DAD would have to deal with the pain of loosing a child

That I wouldn't have him to talk to when I needed him

That his WIFE was now left to be a WIDOW.

How could this be?

TWO years have passed, and although the pain of loosing him still grips me and my family as if it were yesterday,

we are going on with FAITH that he walks with our Maker,

KNOWLEDGE that we will hold him again someday and that he is FREE from his PAIN

and with COURAGE to move forward holding up his legacy

His Legacy of his two beautiful baby girls:

We have worked on healing and remembering the good man he was,

he was kind

and sweet

and caring

and generous

and very funny

He was a proud Irish man :-)

and an amazing father

he would give the world to his two baby girls if he could

He would go out of his way to make someone happy

He was a VERY GOOD MAN.

My goal with this post is to not only remember my brother on this day but to help prevent suicide,
if we could all just understand the warning signs

give a stranger a smile, a kind word, a helping hand

Let someone know that you love them and they are needed

for more information please visit:

http://www.afsp.org/

http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/

http://www.save.org/

Lets make a difference and help prevent just one person from feeling like there is no other way!

I love you for forever Thomas Hunter Ballard

July 29, 1983- March 28, 2009

(the only picture I have of him with my Noah)

"lost and found" by Greg Olson

I like to think this is Hunter with Christ

"Im Scared Mommy"

2011-03-25T20:27:00.000-07:00

Some of you may know, we live near the Snake River Canyon in Idaho

I thought I would let Noah get out one day and go look because every time we go over the bridge he begs to look at it,

he screams "mommy, I see the bridge?"

SO I thought being the good mommy that I thought I was, I would stop the car and let him go look....

BUT, this is the closest we could get...

the closer we got the louder he would scream "I scared Mommy"

(luckily he kind of stood still and half smiled for a picture)

He wasn't having any part of this canyon!

So this is him making a run for it... I couldn't help but laugh!

I think we stayed there oh, maybe a total of 2 MINUTES!!!

I thought this boy was fearless!

Noah, you surprise me everyday!

"N" is for Noah

2011-03-25T08:38:00.000-07:00

In an effort to keep my Noah busy we've found some great indoor crafts for him to do and we wanted to share this one for sure!

We used foam core board and cut out a "N" for Noah

We then got out our fabric scraps, buttons, glitter, stars, glue, stickers, etc and went to town!

and we glued and glued and glued....

Noah glued his fabric scraps everywhere and I trimmed the edges as we went...

....almost there...

And thats it!

And in Noah's words "perfect,mommy"

Here is another one that we did:

(even the big boys got involved)

Better LATE than NEVER...

2011-03-22T10:09:00.000-07:00

I know this is a little late (these were taken on St.Patty's Day)

but, he melts my heart,

This two year baby boy

(who will always be considered my "baby" even though he is a toddler now)

makes me smile even in the worst of situations

He makes my heart melt

He makes me happy

He makes me feel like I never have

He makes me greatful

for life

for small things

for innocence

and for other things such as

smiles

holding him at night

his new choice of words like "poop"

the many times i've watched Wubzy

and Little Bear

and Dora

and for jumping on the bed

and chasing him around the house and dressing him while he fights like an octopus

and for the many shots it took to take this picture:

I am truly blessed

and I am reminded everyday especially when I see this pure, beautiful toddler face!

MY CRUSH

2011-03-21T17:57:00.000-07:00

I Just read this book:

in just 3 days!!!!

I am officially in LOVE with her.

This book is an autobiography about her and when she met her "cowboy" and their LOVE story.

I have to say that, I am a sucker for LOVE STORIES!

This is the kind of book that you read and are totally completely enthralled in it, I felt like I was almost there with her as she explains her romance with "Marlboro Man"

This is Ree Drummond:

She is also an amazing cook

and a homeschooling mama

And is married to this cowboy hunk

and she even has a cookbook out

WHICH IS AN ABSOLUTE MUST!!

I am praying for a part two of her book now!!!!

Check out her website/blog here

and Im sure you will be in LOVE too!