I was just perusing through all the Facebook status updated from New Year's last night - it's amazing how many people wish Happy New Year via FB or Twitter. Not to mention all those people who send out mass texts with "Happy New Year." I say it too - maybe not via a mass text or FB or Twitter, but have you stopped to think about what that really means?
Would you ever wish someone a Un-Happy New Year?
Brent started the morning off with his million dollar question, "What are your goals for 2011, Becca?" We have Tre, Brittany and Bronson with us for a few days, so of course he challenged them to make goals for 2011 as well. I just read my post from 2010 about goal planning - I didn't write out specific goals on our blog, but it did remind me that I accomplished a HUGE personal goal in 2010. One that's been on my goal list for about 2-3 years: I am really proud of my goal of completing a half marathon this year. I know you all are probably sick of hearing about it - it was just 13.1 miles, but it was more than just the 13.1 miles for me - it was about the journey to get there...here. (and I am not looking for anyone to say "I am so proud of you") And the opportunities that have come from being in better physical condition not just for me, but for my entire family.

So as I look to 2011, the Whitakers have some big things in store. We will both be 30 this year (yes, I am already 30 - Brent turns 30 in June) and we both had things we wanted to accomplish by now - we'll get there.
We have another round (or two) of Financial Peace University that we're leading beginning in February. We feel so strongly that this is our primary purpose for being at the church we are, that we are hoping to be able to coordinate multiple classes this spring.
We have a baby girl who is growing before our eyes and we want to make it a goal to enjoy every minute of her life. I truly feel God telling me to enjoy every minute of our lives instead of wondering what is to come.
Brent's job has been great, but I know God has so much in store for him - he is too much of a "big thinker" to stay inside a box. I know he will be challenged this year to do some really BIG things.
I have really enjoyed exploring the opportunities of A Cake Boutique - it has been great dipping my toe in to entrepreneurship. I am proud of the business I have built and I am anxious to continue to explore additional opportunities.
I cannot believe in three months I will embark on my first mission trip to Guatemala. I know it will be life changing and will definitely set a different tone for 2011.

What's in store for you all in 2011? Have you stopped to think about it and pray for God's direction before you set sail vs praying for protection after you've set sail?

Happy New Year Opp Knockers. Thank you all for being a part of our lives - even if it is only through "joining" our blog and being a private reader.


We had a little gathering of some good friends at our house for New Year's Eve - here are a few pictures from the night. It was so much fun to eat WAY too much food, play some REALLY fun games and hang out with great friends.


We got to play Bunco for the first time - MAN it is awesome!! Seriously, we are addicted and may actually start a little regular game night now.


My Aunt Sally got all of us "original" grand kids fireworks for Christmas so we got to shoot those off as well. We had 30+ mph winds last night, so it made things rather interesting when shooting these.

If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere. - Frank A. Clark

Amazing quote I read today:

Before you speak, listen.

Before you write, think.

Before you spend, earn.

Before you invest, investigate.

Before you criticize, wait.

Before you pray, forgive.

Before you quit, try.

Before you retire, save.

Before you die, give.

- William A. Ward

Fun Christmas Pictures from this year - the above is with Santa (obviously) and this one is us with the BABY frames we gave to tell our parents, sisters and brother in laws last year on Christmas when we announced we were pregnant. They have my original due date on them as well. No, it does not mean I'm pregnant again...

I remember when I was a teenager my dad telling me that as you age, your life goes by faster. That's hard to understand when you're a freshman in high school praying that you can fit in.
It seems like as soon as I got pregnant and started measuring time in weeks ("I'm 22 weeks") that my life suddenly hopped onto the fast forward button and it hasn't slowed back down. Now I'm measuring life in months ("she's 4 1/2 months") and every time I blink, we're in a new month. I've decided that my dad definitely knew what he was talking about way back then (I'm sure he'd love to know I'm admitting he said something wise and true), but it doesn't always make it easy.
I could post about how wonderful Gabbie's Christmas was, but I mean come on - will I ever really say it wasn't good? It was fabulous. She got WAY too many toys. If that's even possible at 4 months old. So now Brent and I get to decide what we're going to do about it. If you've ever been to my house you know I cannot stand clutter. My friend Kelly is amazed when we have yet another yard sale - it's truly because I don't like opening closets and having a bunch of stuff. (By the way, all of our pictures from Christmas and New Years are in an album on the right instead of in this posting)
Dear Lord, please help me figure out how to cope with the clutter that is about to come known as toys. YIKES
What a thing to complain about though, right?
(side note: if you gave Gabbie a toy for Christmas, please know we are SOOOO grateful and appreciative. And no, it will not end up in a yard sale....this year at least - just kidding)
Quick rundown of our Christmas events:
big Christmas party at our house with the UTC clan, Tre and Brittany spent a few days with me, then we were in Chattanooga for Christmas: Joel & Judy's one night, my grandparents the next, then Christmas day with my parents; I visited my friends Gena and Chad in Knoxville to meet Ariana for the first time, got to see Stephanie and Loni who came in from San Francisco, came back home to Nashville where my sister, brother in law, niece and nephews came in on New Year's Eve - we all celebrated together and hung out on NY Day, then the next day we drove to Birmingham to have Christmas with one side of the Whitakers, then drove to Hartselle the next day to have it with the other side of the Whitakers...whew...now we're home for a few days and we're not going ANYWHERE in the month of January. It's been crazy to say the least. But through it all, I still have the best little traveler EVER!!

We have been reflecting on 2009 and all that was accomplished, goals we achieved, some we just missed, and others that we'll return to for 2010. Instead of fretting over those goals we didn't achieve in 2009, we've decided to revisit them for 2010 and know that if you meet all your goals, maybe you're not pushing yourself enough to do things greater and bigger.

Brent and I have been working on our goals for 2010. We have a lot of exciting things in store and have asked God to lead us and guide us in our planning. I read great perspective on goal planning the other day: instead of making plans and asking God to bless them, seek first HIS plans for your life and ask for the direction and guidance you need to achieve those goals.

And while I didn't mean for this to turn into a motivation about goal planning, I would love to encourage you to sit down with your spouse (or even if you don't have a spouse, do it by yourself and find someone to hold you accountable) and make goals for this year. Just don't confuse them with resolutions. And because Brent and I are nerds, we actually have all our goals from every year that we've been married. We're able to go back and see how much our goals have changed from each year.
I will admit that it's not always as easy for me as it is for Brent. He always seems like it comes naturally for him, but for me, it takes time. That doesn't mean we don't do it. He sets his, I set mine, then we come together share our individual goals and determine goals we want to accomplish together, as a couple. Maybe it sounds cheesy to some of you, but look at it this way: if you don't have a road map, how will you ever know where you're going? (maybe we should think "if you don't have a GPS system...")
Instead of wandering through life looking for purpose and direction, use the month of January every year to decide where you want your life to go.

She definitely doesn't know any different, but today I took a few photos because it's my first official day that I can say I am a stay at home mom. It's a long story, but basically it all worked out amazingly for me to get to stay at home permanently with Gabbie girl. I am ecstatic to say the least. God continues to show Brent and I that He will provide more than enough for us and take care of us. If we ever needed confirmation that we made the right decision, the way everything played out with my job was definitely what we needed.
I thought I'd mark the day by posting a whole bunch of pictures of my sweet little girl.
Every day she does something amazing and cute and adorable. I know I'm probably the only one to think that but hey, it's my blog and I get to post what I want, right?


































































She LOVES this giraffe right now! I think because she can actually hold it and it always goes in her mouth - of course.














This picture cracks me up - it's like she knows she's not really supposed to be watching tv. No matter how I turn her, she manages to find the tv.

The whirlwind called "the holidays" has begun.
I have always loved this time of year. Really. I love it. I think it is because it was never stressful for us growing up. My mom really really enjoys Christmas. I am talking wake up at 4:00 a.m. on Christmas morning using Jingle Bells saying Ho Ho Ho-can't open one single present until the morning of-you can't even peek into the living room until we're all awake-kind of LOVE Christmas. She definitely created traditions for our family. Until you get married and have to share the holidays, you cannot truly appreciate what you did as a family growing up.
I cannot imagine ever saying, "I dread Christmas." It saddens me deeply to hear anyone say that. What can you do to change that mentality?
While all of us might be guilty of dreading this time of year in some fashion, I want to challenge you to think about all those people (especially right now) who can't even afford to have a dinner with their family. They can't afford to pay their electric bill or mortgage. Much less buy Christmas presents for themselves, their children or anyone else.
Today I heard a 92 year old woman reminiscence about her Christmases as a child. She told really great stories about Christmas being so special to them as children because they literally had nothing. Stores at that time only sold toys during Christmas. No other time. There were no Black Friday sales. There was barely enough heat in their house. They would take one of their own black stockings and hang it on the fireplace to wake up on Christmas morning with it filled with an orange, a quarter in the toe and the "most wonderful nuts." Can you imagine your 11 year old getting excited about "the most wonderful nuts" in their stocking this year at Christmas? Pretty sure there would be some disappointed kids.
I have been thinking all day today about what simple times those were. Brent and I are so blessed to live with more than we need - we always have food on our table, fire in our fireplace, nice clothes to wear and a home bigger than we could ever need.
This Christmas, what do you have enough of?
Have you considered what YOU can do for SOMEONE else?
If you have children and you want to instill Christmas traditions, have you considered starting your own tradition of helping someone else at Christmas? or some other tradition to truly teach them what Christmas is really all about and not just what the commercialized version means...
I think many times we don't do something for other people because we think we have to spend a significant amount of money. If you've ever been in lack, were you really all that picky on what you received? Did you really care if the person who gave you something spent $50 or $5?
Tonight I struggled with wanting to spend $100+ for a family in our church in need this Christmas. I really wanted to do that but couldn't. Instead I picked up a few nice things from the $1 Target bins and I know these little girls are going to love it. Think about how humbling it had to be for these parents to admit they needed help for Christmas. Do you really think they'll care that I bought their little girls stuff from a dollar bin? Doubt it.
So I challenge you this Christmas to set aside some money from your Christmas budget and see what you can do to impact the lives of another family. The Salvation Army Angel Trees are packed full this year of families in need. Homeless shelters and food kitchens are struggling to make ends meet. Pick up a few extra cans of food when you shop for your meal this week and drop it off at your local non-profit.
If for nothing else, do it for the way you will feel once you've done it. But know that the impact on the recipient will be much greater.

Matthew 10:42
And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded.

"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it." - William Arthur Ward

Today we take the time to say that we are so thankful for everything God has blessed us with, including the amazing friends and family who have showered us in love these past few months upon the birth of our little angel. We love each of you and appreciate everything you have done for us!

Happy Thanksgiving

We've been on a journey for quite some time. 1 1/2 years to be exact. I don't know that we've reached our destination but it sure feels like we're getting there. A few weeks ago we had a good friend invite us to their church. The original week we were to attend we had to cancel, but the following weekend we managed to get a newborn and 2 adults to a church service and ON TIME. Yes, it truly was a miracle.
We've been to a lot of churches this past year and a half. All of them had the same thing in common: they were not the right fit for us. We knew there had to be something, somewhere here in our new community that had a little "God-shaped hole" for us. We're not jumping into the membership waters yet, but we do have our second visit under our belts and it is feeling good.
Last week I ventured into the "women's Tuesday morning Bible study" crowd. This was a new crowd for me (for obvious reasons), but I have been looking forward to finding camaraderie with other new moms. This group and the material it is studying is refreshing. Honestly. It's not cheesy. It has substance. It's real. And it's full of real women. Real moms. All of us coming together looking for friendship, a listening ear, and wisdom on this little job called motherhood.
Today's topic was on the heart that we should have as mothers. It may not sound as if it's something we should be concerned about, but think about this: we may be able to fool others, but we cannot fool our children. They know our hearts. And here's a fun fact: matters of the heart are mentioned more than 1,000 times in the Old Testament alone. Think God was trying to tell us something important? Kind of like in school when the teacher says, "if I repeat this or write it on the board - it's important."
Even as Gabbie is just 2 1/2 months old, I know she senses when I'm tired or in a hurry. I can only imagine how much more that will be amplified once I have to start verbally disciplining her. Last week we talked about the type of mother God calls us to be. I love this: God calls us to be the type of mother for the child that He gave us. He doesn't call us to be the type of mother that our own mothers were to us, or our mother in laws were, or our best friends. Why? We're married to a different man, we live in a different culture and we're raising a completely different child. Isn't that awesome? If you're a mother you can probably get such relief from this. For me it helps take that guilt that's already building over the million thoughts running through my head at. all. times. all because we're women and we do one thing REALLY well: we compare. You know you're guilty of it. You compare yourself to other women. You compare your husbands to other husbands. You compare your child's development to other children. And it's exhausting to say the least.
So what type of mother. woman. daughter. child. has God called you to be?
Don't think this isn't applicable just because you might not be a mother...yet. Think about how it applies to all of your current relationships. ESPECIALLY as a woman. No man can ever understand the battle going on in our mind. One over our thoughts. Actions. Words. No man can....except for God.

Three things you can't recover: The stone...after the throw. The words...after they're said. The time...after it's lost. The love...after it's gone.