Letter to 16 year old me

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!"

  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

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

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....

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!!!!

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...

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!