Whittaker Woman

You ask, I'll answer set 19

*what is your favorite childrens book and why?
Posted by: Tracie | May 13, 2008 at 11:41 AM

This is a hard one for me to answer. I am going to go with the first book to pop into my head which is... Put Me In The Zoo by Dr. Seuss
  This is the first big kid book that I learned to read all by myself. I can now say it line by line. The reason this was a hard question to answer was because I began to think of the best written book, what book has the best story, finally I stopped and chose the book that brings the best memories. Go ahead... Whats yours? H

You ask, I'll answer set 18

2. Do you have a consistent "quiet time"  seriously where do you find your own time with God and what do you read/do to nurture that friendship? (locking yourself in the bathroom to read some Psalms counts :)
Posted by: jen | May 13, 2008 at 07:42 AM

I promise one day we will have each and everyone of these questions answered!
Wow this post got long! Here it is broken down:
-My answer then
-My answer now
-My journey

*My answer then: I must confess that back when Jen asked this question I was confident in the answer. I was at a good place in my "quite times". My routine was consistent, and I felt connected to God.
I would go to bed, (Carlos and I do not go to bed at the same time) so I was alone and I would do my study. I  had been doing Beth Moore studies for over a year and each and every one lead me deeper into learning more about God. Everyday I was able to see how the Bible is alive. I was able to hear God's love for me and my life.  Beth Moore made me dig into the Word! Was it hard? Absolutely. Were there nights I was so mad that I had to do it. Yep. Were there times when I would justify why I deserved a free pass. Yeah. But no matter what the connection it created between myself and God made every night worth it.
*My answer now: Summer happened. I worked on two studies that about killed me. Finally I gave up. Lately I have been consistent at reading the Psalms, but I am wanting to have a study to go along with it. I want to work. I want to study the word. When I would do a one of Beth Moores studies sometimes it would take me 3 days to complete one of her days, but regardless it made me dig deep into the Bible. I miss that.
My Journey with this: Seriously,  I used to carry a lot of guilt around in my Christian life. Guilt about not following all the "rules". I was overwhelmed with all the rules that I FELT, I HAD to cross off. No sex, no drinking, no gossiping. Read your bible everyday, pray everyday, go to Church every Sunday. Pray this way, dress this way, BE this way.  I was guilt ridden by my constant failures. Then in the midst of it God spoke loud "I AM NOT A GOD OF GUILT"  Ok, it was actually Beth Moore and her words, but I felt God saying it loud and clear to me through her... "Heather I am not the one who is putting this guilt on you, Release it."  I realized that God wants me to give him what I got. Some days I go from dawn to midnight non stop. He knows that. Yet he wants me to give him that. He knows I am a mom. He knows that I don't get to go to the restroom alone. He knows my time is limited.  But when I do set some time for him, I can only imagine how much that time means to him. I guess my simple answer is... I give him what I can.
One last thing. I suck at praying. Thankfully he knows that too. One thing he has shown me is that I need to be in a constant place of prayer.  The season of life that I am in right now does not have an option of sitting on the couch with my bible, coffee, and have one on one conversations with the creator of the universe.  I long for those days but right now diapers, milk and homework run my life. So I have learned the do it now principal. If I think of someone, pray. If I read a need for prayer, pray. If I hurt, pray. Do it now because later I may be knee deep in timeouts or playdough. 
Thats where I am at. That has been my journey in a long jumbled post.

I must ask. What has been the best study you have ever done! I need to get a new study! H

You ask, I'll answer set 17

Allow me to give a disclaimer... I NEVER thought that I would be a Christian fiction book lover. If you had to define the stereotypical "Christian fiction book lover" I don't think I would fall into that category. But that is why you can not judge a book by its cover because I LOVE ME SOME CHRISTIAN NOVELS.  I have spent many hours thinking about why I love reading CFNs.  Here are a few reasons why,
1. It is so much easier for me to grasp something when I am able to see it played out in someones life.
2. I am a multi-tasker and nothing can make me stop like a good book. I can not fold laundry and read a book,  I can not help the kids do anything while I am reading a book, I can not clean, make lists or talk while I am reading. It is the first thing I have found that forces me to stop. Which is a good thing.  I need Me time!
3. I have set a goal to read one book per month for the rest of my life. I read every night as I fall asleep. Its my nightly bed time story. :)
And that are the reasons, I confess I love Christian Novels!

Ok here are my answers to your questions...
*Other than the Bible, what one book has made the most impact on your thinking?
Posted by: pam
That is hard, I would say that Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers is my favorite book, it was the book that started me on the journey of Christan Fiction. However I am not sure if it has he most impact on my thinking. I try to write down what each book taught me after I read one and although I love this love story and how it humbles me, I am not sure if I could claim it as having the most impact. I am going to say that the Mark of the Lion Series by Francine Rivers has the most impact on me. The reason I say that is because I was able to understand the Bible so much more after reading these books. I was able to understand what words like slave, and master mean. My eyes were opened to what life was like back in the days of Jesus. Powerful stuff! It made the Bible come to life.

*Are you a book lover? What is the best book you have read? Or Top five...
Posted by: debraparker
Top five books and why
1. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers- Best Love story out there, I love books that keep me up till 4 in the morning because I can't stop reading!
2. Mark of the Lion Series by Francine Rivers- Books one and two are my favorite, three was ok but a little preachy at the end. 
3. I love the Series Abrams Daughters by Beverly Lewis- this is a book series on the Amish. I have admitted here before that I am fascinated by their lifestyle. I have wondered -Ok so I can admit to Christian Fiction but Amish Christian Fiction, now that sounds Grandma to me! But I've said it, I admit I love them. My reasoning? Because they teach me how to simplify my life. Slow down. Disconnect. Focus on Family. All the things I struggle doing, they do so well. That is what attracts me to these books. Don't make fun untill you have tried them.
4. I Love the Wedding which is the sequel to the Notebook. Now the book the Notebook, in my opinion was not as good as the movie. It had some amazing love notes in it but besides those I enjoyed the movie more. However the Wedding was so great.
5. I am gonna say that my final book is called the Scarlet Thread by Francine Rivers- I like this book because it taught me that there are always two sides to a story. It takes two to tango and it takes two to stop tangoing. :)

Ok my friends I have 20 pages left in the book I am reading right now. I need a new book. I enjoy easy mindless reading. I can't do those books where you have to read the same sentence 4 times just to understand it. Right now in my season of  life I like simple, feel good stories. So tell. What is your all time favorite book or give me your top 5.  H

And yes ladies, that is Carlos reading Redeeming Love on a plane!

You ask, I'll answer set 16

Our Adoption Story...

It was fall of 2004, when I was watching an Oprah Winfrey Show that unveiled the inhumane stories that were taking place in South Africa. The show educated the public and myself of an epidemic where babies as young as 5 months are being raped. There is a myth being spread in Africa that if you have sex with a virgin you will then become cured from AIDS. Consequently children, infants were being robbed of their humanity.  This story broke me. My heart began to grieve for them and desire to give life to soul that had been lost.  I struggled with this for a month or so. Finally I broke down and told Carlos that I want to adopt. At this time I was thinking in our future, after our biological children were raised. Then we could adopt a child whose soul has been stripped from them and build them back to who God intended them to be. Carlos was 100% on board from day one.
        It was not but a month later Carlos and I were watching Oprah (again) and she did a special on orphanages in China.  This time Carlos was moved. He began talking about adopting a girl from China. We still were thinking that this was later in our future, not now. Shortly after these two shows Carlos had a dream that made him question why we were waiting to adopt. Why not now?  When he told me about the dream we talked about it and decided that we would look into the process. We have always wanted 4 children and we loved the idea of having our adopted child be right in the middle of our biological children. We decided to begin the process!
        Carlos and I have followed Steven Curtis Chapman and have seen his presentation on adoption, so we decided to start with his organization. We trusted in the agencies he was recommending. We started with his list and one by one the doors were closed. We didn’t know that there were so many requirements of the parents. We looked into Africa but at that time non of his agencies adopted from Africa.  We then looked into China but they had a requirement was that both parents had to be 30 and I was not 30 yet.
Those were our two countries that were on our heart, at that point we didn’t know where were going to adopt from. We only had one final agency to look into. We were feeling sad and defeated. Maybe our decision to adopt now was not right. Our final agency to look into was Holt International. We began to read their requirements and we matched perfectly with Korea. We matched their requirements and they matched ours.  Korea it was.
        We began the application and attended the first class. We were excited to learn that we would be adopting a boy. We just naturally thought we would be adopting a little girl just because we had 2 girls of our own, plus the two adoption stories on Oprah were based on girls. So it was an exciting shock to hear that Korea favors mixed gender families and that they would be place with a boy.
        The application took longer than we had expected. There were a few bumps in the process but finally things got well on our way. We were assigned to Losiah in July of 2006! Here is the post from Carlos' blog on the day we were assigned to him...

Losiah

Posted on 26 July 2006 Comments (44)
Tags: Family

So Heather and I have been waiting for our “assignment” to come from South Korea. Waiting for months to find out who will be joining our family. I am sitting in a Days Inn parking lot in Oakhurst, CA because we just got a phone call from our social worker that we have been assigned. PRAISE GOD!!! God is shining bright upon us right now. We are overjoyed.
Ragamuffins.
Meet MY SON…Baek Dae-Selok (Korean Name)
His new name will be Losiah. We are unsure as to which Korean names to incorporate. We will decide soon,

God is Good,
Los

The final months before we traveled to pick him up,  were filled with fund raisers, preparing, and lots and lots of stress!
        With the assurance God gave us about this decision, we also had  peace that he will also provide the means to pay for this child. From the beginning God knew our income and we have to believe that if he is leading us to this decision he will lead us in the financial aspect of this process too.  And he did. We had 61 cents in our savings when we entered into this decision and because of  our family and friends and a couple of grants we were able to pay for all the expenses that came our way.
We finally got the call to go pick up our boy in November. We did have a few more bits of drama before that wonderful call came. He was coming home!

I think you will be able to spend hours reading our story, if you don't have time for them all look at this post and watch these two, they are my favorite. If you have a day or two... start on Carlos' blog and go to November 2006 and enjoy. It is quite the story! 

Wow, that was a lot of info! Thanks for hanging on! I could go on and on. I would love to answer any questions you have so ask away. I also would love to hear your stories, if you are or think you are going to adopt lets make a carnival of this. If you are or thinking about adopting, tell us your story.

It's simple,
1. Write your story on your blog and link to this post in yours.
2. Come back here and enter our URL into Mr. Linky below.

I really look forward to seeing pictures and hearing your stories. H

Look what I found!

I was on the web today just surfing, which believe it or not I do not do very often. I am on the computer all day but rarely do I get side tracked and surf mindlessly. However if you see my post below you can see that it has been a day of random internet rabbit chases! Ok back to my find...
I found this post about This Store which is in LA. I took one look and realized it was the store I got my fabulous blue couch at.
My $350 dollar couch that really cost me $650 because I got my car towed while I parked on the street to go check it out. I then had to walk 2 miles to get to the towing yard and pay all the fees just to get home. Ahh, the life of living in LA! This was also the day that Carlos called me and told me that North Point was flying us out that Friday because the were considering him for this job. There are lots of memories with this store. If you live there it is something to check out!

You ask, I'll answer set 15

*So how does the southern culture and way of life differ from that of the West Coast?
Posted by: Roland | May 13, 2008 at 06:05 AM

HA! I will have to say that once and a while Atlanta will occasionally give me a glimpse of Cali, but for the most part I am in a different land. One that is far far away!
The Comida, is so different! They "BBQ" here and in Cali they " BBQ", but if you ask any southerner about the way California BBQ's they will correct you and call it grilling.  There is a gigantic difference! When you talk about southern BBQ,  you are talking about greasy, messy and wet! In CA when you BBQ you "grill" your food and it is healthy and fresh! Plain and simple here there is more sauce than meat and in CA there is more meat than sauce. Oh and don't get me started on Mexican food here!
Neighborhoods: In CA you live in a neighborhood, but here you belong to a neighborhood. You are identified by your community you live in. Each community has a name and you better remember it because that is where you are from! It's very important. When the end of the school year came each community had a sign out by the neighborhood entrance that had each graduating senior's name on it. You would not see that in CA! I actually love the community spirit!
Environment: GA- Bugs, Trees, weather! CA- Bugs= really only ants and black widows, trees= only if you plant them, and weather= only sun!  I love the weather in GA, the seasons! The storms, oh it brings joy to my soul! The trees are fabulous I just wish there was a place I see a horizon, oh how I miss me a CA horizon! And the bugs, well you know how I feel about those guys.
Southern Manners/Politeness:  Hmm, lets just say in Cali,  I would NEVER get a thank you note from my dentist like I got today! That's a first for me!

 

So to answer the question, things are different. I miss my friends and family, I miss Mexican food and In N Out, I miss real mountains, but when push comes to shove I love it here! GA is home for now! H

Let me ask you now, How does where you live differ from your home town?

You ask, I'll answer set 14

Remember when you were a kid and someone asked you what you wanted to be when you grew up, the possibilities were endless. No amount of time or money or ability could stop you. There was a certain sense of freedom with it. There was no ceiling, the sky was the limit!
Then we age.
Reality sets in.
We realize we don't want to spend the next 25 years in college,  out of no where bills accrue, and life circumstances hold us back. Chapters in our life books close without ever seeing the light.  Essentially our dreams die.
When  Carlos and I stared dating our dreams were ramped! Millions of idea's were possible. We dreamed of where we would live, the kind of house we would live in, how many kids we would have, the trips we would go on. Our hearts collided for hours as we dreamed of what life would look like. Then it happened. We got married. Reality hit. Things were not as easy as we dreamed. We struggled and grew apart. Our dreams were dying.
We lived this way for a while, but I began to build up walls. I did not want to put hope into something that I assumed would fail. I had done that to many times. I decided I was closing my book of dreams. Life was going to happen the way the deck of cards were dealt.
Life worked fine this way. It was a bit sad at times. I still set goals, I had my list. But the things on it were things I knew I could achieve. I knew no time, money or ability would hold me back. I was not dreaming I was only surviving.
It was not until God put some circumstances in front of me that opened my eyes to HIS dreams. Even though I stopped dreaming about my marriage, my kids, my life HE DID NOT!
I had a choice. I could continue on the colorless path or I could get uncomfortable allow God to color my pages of my dream book. I am flabbergasted at his art. I am in shock when he does something that is 100% my hearts desire, and yet I would never allow myself to dream that big.

So Jen, I know your question was specific about how much time we dream/talk ministry/church in our marriage and I have not answered that directly. I wanted you to know about my life's journey with dreaming and how vital it is. In regards to your question I would have to say that we are always talking about it because it is our life. But we make it a point to go out at least once a month and dream together. Its a date, but one with a purpose. We bring our journal and we dream. We dream big. And let me tell you our marriage has changed. Drastically. Dreams keeps you alive and it has awoke our marriage! 

Let us to get real here. How many of you have stopped dreaming. Have  you let go of something that you once hoped for. Is time, money or ability stopping you? 

What did you want to be when you grew up? What's your dream Now? What's stopping you?
H

You ask I'll answer, set 13

I love your to-do-in-your-lifetime list. It inspired me to write down my own. What's the next thing you plan to mark off your list? Posted by:laura

I got to check something off of my list that I am so excited to cross off!
WE RAN A 1/2 MARATHON THIS MORNING! 13 miles. I know we posed for 31, lets just say we were tired!

THINGS TO DO WHILE I AM ALIVE!

*Climb half dome:   (2004, '05, '06, '07/video)
*Hike to "my tree"
*Skydive:   (Madera, 4/2005 and Kauai  8/2005)
*Learn to scuba dive:
*Dive to a ship wreck:
*Run a 1/2 Marathon: July 19, 2008
*Run a Marathon:
*Walk on the Great Wall of China:
*Drive across the country:
*Learn to surf:
*Hike the John Muir trail from Half dome to Whitney:
*Go on  Dog Sled Ride:
*Adopt a child: X (11/27/06) Korean Videos
*Go on a Safari:  (2/16/08)
*Volunteer in a hospital:
Learn to ride a motorcycle: (3/2006)
Work at a soup kitchen:
Climb Mt. Whitney, The highest peak in the lower 48 states! (8/15/2007)
Take a Massage class:
Ride along with a police officer: X ( 5/4/07)   Helicopter: (Sept 15, 2007)
Drive a race car:
Read a book once a month: X so far so good.
Travel to: Spain, South America, England's countryside, China, Africa, Korea, New Zealand
See Garth Brooks in Concert:
Backpack through Europe:
Jump off a cliff in Hawaii: X (08/2005)
Learn Spanish:
Go see a live Volcano:
Be on a  disaster relief team:
Bungee Jump off of Victoria Falls:
Swim in all 5 oceans: Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic, Indian, Southern
Run the great wall of china:
Heli-snowboard:
Ice Fishing:
Travel to Kodiak Island and see the bears.
Visit all 50 states (more than a  layover.) : Alabama
Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island
South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, District of Columbia.
*Visit all the continents: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe and  Australia  

You ask, I'll answer set 11

 1. What advice would you give to someone who is about to become the wife of a worship pastor?
Posted by: Beth
RUN!!! HeHe! Oh dear Miss Beth, advice huh? If you are dating someone who is in the ministry then you already know what this world is like. It is very hard. All eyes are on you. I would suggest to grab a hold of two to five close friends that you can get dirty with. Surround your self with a group of woman who can support you. Make sure that some of the people do not attend the church you will be serving in. Then invest and pour yourself into those relationships and make it a point that you ask those ladies to help you LOVE your man with all of your soul. Make them challenge you. Then I would say just enjoy it. I loved being a pastors wife. I think that the role of a PW looks very different depending on the church you attend. So its hard to get real specific!
2. What's the one thing you'd like to tell a budding pastor's wife to do/NOT to do?
Posted by: cathi
People just don’t get it until they walk in your shoes. It’s a tough job even at the best churches. I would tell a budding pastor’s wife to enjoy it, don’t take things personal, and lead the people who are following you into a real relationships!
3. A. How do you deal with so many people wanting so much of your husband's time?
B. What's the hardest thing about being a mom and married to someone in full time ministry?
Posted by: JudiFree | May 13, 2008 at 09:40 AM
A. I defiantly have gotten use to limited time with my man. I remember the days when we would sit and cuddle on the couch and watch marathon episodes of real world on MTV for hours. Those were the days before full time jobs, children and things like blogs and twitter. I think the way I have learned to deal with so many people wanting Carlos’ time is creating community for myself. I don’t want to just sit around and watch him have all the fun, so I take action. And if I keep busy it does not bother me. Now if your question was directed to everyone who stops us when we are leaving church or at the store, well he is the ham and I just sit back and let him be the politition/rockstar that he is. He loves it I would rather climb under a rock. That’s why we make a good team.
B. The hardest thing about being a mom married to someone in full time ministry is having him work his butt off and not get paid what he could get paid in the real world. I’m just sayin…

How many people in ministry are out there reading? What do you do?

You ask, I'll answer set 10

1. How did you guys choose your children's names? They're all beautiful!
Posted by: Paloma
2. What is the significance?
Posted by: Beth

Good questions!
I remember the day like it was just last week. Carlos and I were newlyweds and free as the wind. We went to the beach for the afternoon and just talked. Ok hold on... I am having a moment here peeps. Come with me for a second as I reminisce what life was like with no kids. Oh, to be able to just get out of your car and walk on the beach. NO whining because the sand is to hot, no extra bags to carry, just the sound of the waves and my mans voice. Ahhh...
 
So we are on the beach just chatting and Carlos bust out with, "when we have our kids and if we have a girl can we name her Sohaila?" "Sure" I replied and it was simple as that.
You see Carlos is not opinionated. He really never asks for anything and when he does I usually do it. :)
Sohaila was a girl he knew in college. Apparently her parents were missionaries when she was born over in middle east and they wanted to give her a native name. And Sohaila it was.
When we chose that name I was so excited, because it was so different. I knew she would never be able to walk into a gift shop and buy a mug with her name on it, but I was ok with that. It was different and I loved it.  Sohaila Teresa Whittaker. Oh we also agreed that the middle names were gonna be after our siblings. So Teresa is from one of my sisters.

 

Fast forward 17 months and our little bean was born. Seanna Jess.
Well once you name one kid Sohaila  your next one can't really be Madison, or Kate. So we began the hunt for different names. I liked a few, Laionie was one, but all I could think about was in first grade when kids pick apart your name they would just call her Lay-on-me. So that was a no go. We really did not have a huge list but a friend, James (our roommate who lives with us now)  went online and made a list of different names and Seanna was on that list. I loved it, and now is just perfect for her. 

Now for Losiah. See if we were gonna have a boy when we were pregnant with Sohaila we were gonna name him Isaiah. We both liked the name, but there were a few reasons why we did not go with that name when it came around for our second child. First reason being the fact that Isaiah is a common name. We were now in the club of "no one can pronounce my childs name or spell it right" And so Isaiah just would not work. Another factor was that I dated a guy named Isaiah and not that it mattered because Carlos did not care about that, but it did add some incentive to not use it.
So, again I remember this conversation like it was yesterday. Carlos and I had gone on a vacation with our best friends Brian and Jacinda. We were out on a date and Carlos, busts out with "lets play with the name Isaiah" HUH? "you know lets see if we can use that name but change it up a little" So we sat there that night and thought of different names that sounded like it but were a little more unique. Then Carlos says "I always wanted my son to be named Carlos" and I said "NO"! But then he said, "what if we took the LOS (which is Carlos' nickname) and combined it with Isaiah and we make LOSIAH. And walla, there you go. Losiah Eddie Whittaker.
Now you must know that we had Losiah picked out for Seanna, before we knew she was a boy or girl. But I think what I love the most is that we named our adopted baby after his daddy. I don't know there is just something special about that.

So tell me what are your kids names?

***Update: Prounications

Sohaila: So-Hay-La
Seanna: Say-anna
Losiah: Los-iah

You ask, I'll answer set 9

I am gonna try to get one question out a day. Lets see how long this goal will last!

Do you have any ink/tatoos/piercings?
Posted by: cathi

Yes Cathi I do have two tattoos, both are small. The first one is on my foot.  We went to Banff Canada with our best friends Eric and Angela. Our goal was to get tattoos together.  Carlos and Angela knew what they wanted. Eric and I had no idea. Once Angela got hers I looked at it and thought it was so cool. She convinced me to get the same thing. Heck she lived in Atlanta and there was no way in hell i was ever going to move there so who cares if we were twins. :) Eric ended up getting the same one as Carlos. I know cheesy, but I love it.

And the second Tattoo, I got when I went to LA Erotica. Everyone was getting lingerie for their husbands and so did I. I just don't take mine off. There was a tattoo booth in the convention and so I got my mans initials.

I am wanting to get something big, actually my mom, grandma and myself all are going to go together and get one but I do not know what to get! Ahh so frustrating.
Ok do tell, who has ink out there? Oh and do we have any artist that want to draw me up something? H

You ask, I'll answer set 8

#1 What's your favorite thing to do to relax?
My favorite thing to do to relax everyday is blog or be online. However if you are talking really relaxing... Put me at a house in the mountains! You could add a lake where I can ski and sit and read books.  I will move from the dock to the hammock to the sofa, and I will be in relaxing heaven!
#2 Are you naturally a neat person or a messy person?
I am one of those everything-has-its-own-place kind of people, but my shower doors are fogged up because I won't sqweegy them after I shower, and heaven knows when the last time I took a sponge to them.  But if you open any cabinet it is organized. 
#3 Where do you shop?
 Well believe it or not I really don't like to shop. However if I had to pick two stores to shop at the rest of my life it would be Nordstrom's Rack and Forever 21.  Cheap expensive stuff and just plain cheap stuff!
Posted by: Amanda

#4 Have you ever put the kibosh on something Carlos wanted to blog about?
Do you think he would listen? Ha!  No, I do however wager things... Umm, well lets just say I have my way of getting things how I like them. I know how to get things either put on or off his blog. :)
Posted by: Mud Puppy | May 13, 2008 at 06:18 AM

#5  Can i come hang out with you?
Sure as long as you are not going to harm me or my family.
#7 - What is the best & worst thing about having your husband in a sometimes all consuming ministry?
Ahh, this is not a simple question, The worst is easy... it's having to be more reserved than I think I am by nature. I do not mean having a reserved personality, I mean in what I say or what is going on in our lives. Not everyone can know everything. That is hard for me because I am a open book. It is hard to keep things in.  The best part of him being in ministry is just knowing we are doing what God has asked us to do. It's as simple as that. We know God has asked us to do this and there is no better feeling.
Posted by: ruthanne | May 13, 2008 at 06:31 AM

#8 How do you balance personal and private? I would love to blog but my family doesn't think putting our pictures on the internet is safe. What would you say to them to convince them that it's o.k. I keep saying "But Heather does it..." but they aren't buying it.  
Obviously I am not very good at having boundaries (see question #5). No, honestly this is hard for many people and here is my jacked up mind frame... I took this psychopathic mind class is college. Long story short, the class talked about different killers and how they targeted their prey. There is no rhyme or reason. Yes you can take precautions, but honestly if my blog is going to Glorify God, get His Name out and help others understand what living a full life is all about, then I am going to keep doing what I am doing and trust God is going to protect us. Now please hear me. I have adjusted as my blog as it has grown. I attempt to not share any specifics, but truth be told people could find us if they wanted to. So I simply do not worry about tomorrow because there is enough to worry about today.
Posted by: Cindi | May 13, 2008 at 12:54 PM

All right your turn again... Lets go with question #2 with a twist... Tell me where you messy spot is. Everyone has one. You know the place all your stuff collects and you just can never get it under control.

I would say our spot is the Car. It is always a disaster!

You ask, I'll answer set 7

*What's for dinner?
Posted by: RickyG |

Rice.
Rice and chicken...NO
Rice and vegetables...NOPE
Rice casserole... NO, the Whittaker's had Brown Rice for dinner. Just Rice.
 
Why? Well our friend Brian and his family started to make a change in this world and The Whittaker Team is on board. Here is what caught my heart on Brian's blog,
" I don’t know how much you have read about the global food crisis that is currently happening, but the need is massive and the poor are suffering. A combination of natural disasters, rising oil prices, and a reduction in staple food items like rice are ravaging families who were already struggling to buy food for their family. Because of these factors inflation has kicked in and caused food prices to soar over the past few months. This rise in food prices triggered the recent outbreak of violence in Haiti and in Bangladesh the cost of a kilo of rice went from $.31 to $.56 in less than 3 months. Most of these families living in poverty earn less than $2 per day and most of them are skipping meals because of the increase in costs.
families affected by this crisis. I will write a weekly guide for each week with stories from these countries and their specific needs so we can end that weekly meal praying for those in that specific country."

Brian goes on to share how his family is going to make a difference...
"As a family we have committed to do something small that can make a big difference in the lives of families very much like us around the world. Here is our plan:

1) Take 10% of our food budget each week and give that money directly to the Compassion Food Crisis Fund. We have $300 budgeted for each week on all food/restaurant/vegetable co-op related items and we will give $30 each week to help these families.

2) Spend one meal a week eating rice and learning about the different countries and families affected by this crisis. I will write a weekly guide for each week with stories from these countries and their specific needs so we can end that weekly meal praying for those in that specific country."

And that is what we are doing. Now this is his families plan. Our budget is different than theirs, so we adjust. That is not the point. The point is to stop and take a stand. One meal a week for the sake of another humans life. Really its not a question for us.

So tonight we focused on Haiti. We looked at pictures of the country and how people live their lives. We talked about the lack of food and why, and finally while we ate, we prayed for them. Compassion has a link on their site that gives specific prayer requests! We are excited about it. I look forward to learning about the other countries in the weeks to come.  
Anyone willing to give up flavorful meal for a bowl of rice?

You ask, I'll answer set 6

 
Ahh, the family night questions! I know many of you ask me each week about them and so here I will give you our answers. I say ours because I tag team with my best friend Jacinda and we brainstorm together to get idea's. Check out her Family Night's here.

*Is there a book or website you get your party night ideas from or are you just making them up yourself? Posted by: nina bunk
No there is no book. Yes there is a website. We basically will find a theme, sometimes something ex. strawberry season, triggered an idea and so we will Google it and see what we can find. Other times we are surfing the web and see a great idea and it begins that way. So the WWW is absolutely a fabulous springboard to get ideas from!

Where do you get the inspiration for your creativity, such as for the family nights you have put together so awesomely? Posted by: Linny Best
Ok so here is what we Google, we usually start with Birthday Party sites because the themes are already there. I don't have a favorite I just click away. So say I am having a bowling night, I look for parties that had a "at home bowling night". I try to take what I can from them and add a little of my ideas to that. I try to pick out a couple of things that define that theme. Like our bowling shirts. The kids had these name stickers in their closet and they worked out perfect on the back of their shirts. Some nights the food goes along with the meal and sometimes it is just the dessert that goes with the theme. Again Google, Google, Google!

*We too have Friday Family Fun nights however, I am running out of ideas so I would love any ideas you are willing to share? Posted by: Sarah
Girl get on those birthday websites and you will have plenty. Or between Jacinda's and my posts you will have a few months worth at least!

*I know this may sound completely cheesy but I want to know how you make the family themed dinner night happen. I keep thinking I want to start it but can't even think about how???? I know, crazy but WOW, I love the idea! Posted by: Tamara Cosby
Ahh, this is a question I ask myself each week. I can say that each Thursday I wish I did not start this tradition. I feel to busy and most of the time don't want to do it. HOWEVER, time is what you make of it. If you think this is important to your kids than you will find the time. Even if it is something simple to start with, like having dessert before dinner one night a week try to start small and then you will get the hang of it. Really it does not take much time or money. Use what you have and have fun. Trust me you don't see the stress and chaos that happens before these blog entires!

*Where do you get the inspiration for your creativity, such as for the family nights you have put together so awesomely? Posted by: Linny Best
Ok so beyond Google other inspiration comes from the 99 cent store.  I also get inspiration from the toys the kids have such as our princess night. Seasons, Holidays, any event can be a theme. Take a small piece and then begin by Googling it. Just like last week Goldilocks and the three bears was inspired by a gift that Sohaila got for her birthday. It had three bears and we made a whole night of it. Once you start to think differently things will flow.

Whittaker Family Nights: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9,
Hale Family Nights:  #1, #2, #3 , #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12,

You ask, I'll answer set 5

Your questions...
OK, ummmm, we just brought our beautiful daughter home from Korea 2 months ago..... I have 2 older bio daughters. When I look into my lovely adopted daughter's face, I know she's ours, she fits, God put her here and I love her just as much as my other two; BUT, there's just something different there in my emotions that I can't put my finger on......... So hard to describe cause I'm still trying to wrap my brain around it........ Could you describe some emotions you processed after bringing Losiah home.....

Posted by: Chelle |
I love it when people write things that many others would rather just live with, than admit. This might be one of my favorite questions about our adoption. Why… Because it causes me to have to decide… How far do I go? Do I tell them everything.  What can they handle? Is honesty always the best policy? And so here I sit, willing to share my heart in hopes of helping someone else out there in the HIDE-IT-AND-IT-WILL-GO-AWAY world we live in.
I know I have not told our adoption story, but regardless what I want to share today has to do with a mom of a adopted son and her emotions. The other part of the story will come in time. Just not yet.We decided to adopt because we could. We lived in a country rich beyond all means and lived a life that had enough love to pour on to someone who was less fortunate. And so instead of talking about it we did it. We had no plan of attack we just did it, one step at a time. We brought Losiah home.
There is nothing to prepare you for the emotions you will experience with adoption. Just like any life situation, you just don’t know until you have walked in the shoes. You can hear what others have experienced, you can take adoption classes, you can read a gazillion books, but there is nothing out there that can tell you what YOU will experience. It’s just like having a child, you have no idea what that love feels like until you have one for yourself. So with that said. I was not prepared.
I thought I had some kind of idea of how things would transpire. I had two biological kids, I knew what a mothers love felt like. I also knew that with both of my girls it took me some time to love them. I mean I loved the idea of them. I loved the dream of them. But when they slapped that nasty, slimy crying thing that just put me through torture on my stomach, well lets just say it was not love at first sight. BUT THAT IS JUST ME. I did not know this child I had just delivered. It took me quality time to form a relationship and fall in love with them. So, I knew, well I assumed the same would be true with Losiah.  And it was. It has just taken a little longer than I thought it would.
One of the hardest things I have ever had to do was physically take Losiah from the arms of his foster mom (the woman who raised him since birth). Here I was, his future mother having to take him away from the only mother he had known. Now that was torture! He was not my child, he was hers. I did not know him. I did not know how to make him laugh, what his cries meant, how to put him to bed. I knew nothing about him and yet I was taking him away from the one who did. I knew in my head he was mine. He is who God chose for our family, I knew one day I would love him. But at that moment I did not love him. I loved him like I love all humanity, I loved the idea of him, I loved the dream of him but I did not know him and the emotions I felt were almost… empty.
This is my story, it’s how I felt when all the experiences in my life collided and how this mother of three experienced an adoption. We got home and I was beat, exhausted. Physically, emotionally and spiritually. Done. However I was back in baby-land and if you know anything about that foreign place there is not rest. So off I went. Changing diapers, juggling kids and the worst of all no sleep. Its amazing how much pregnancy prepares you for having a baby in the house. I was still in shell shock that I had a baby. This was one factor that lead to a slower bonding time with my little man. Another factor was the miserable flu we all got one week after I got back. It was so bad! I pooped my pants, which is another story, but it sets you up to see how terrible things were. So again a few more weeks of no bonding.  Things began to get in the groove, life happened. Slowly we made memories, slowly I got to know his cries, slowly I have felt like I am his mom.
Now are you ready for the hard part? If you are sensitive or will judge me for telling the truth please stop reading now. I struggle if I would choose him over the girls.  One of those whacked out thoughts I have is all of us in a car and I only had time to pull 2 kids out.  Or maybe one?  Which one would I choose?  I know that sounds crazy.  But I think about those things and end in the same place every time.  God placed these kids in my life for a reason.  That is some honesty for you. Do I love him? Absolutely, Would I die for him? Yep! He is so precious to me. I LOVE HIM! But the truth is there is something different.  On some days, trust me, I would love to send one of my girls back and just keep him.  Love is a decision and we decided when we first held Losiah…He was ours.  Feelings or not.  I wish I had some answers for you Chelle. I wish I could put my finger on it but 2 years later I still question.  I am sure you have experience some things differently. But one thing that is for sure we have both given our love to a life that did not have it. No matter how many questions we have to battle one thing is definite, our babies are more of a blessing to us than we are to them. H

You ask, I'll answer set 4

*What did you do (career) before you had kids?? College degree?
Posted by: Susanne  | May 13, 2008 at 05:42 AM
I got my BA in Psychology from California Baptist University. It was the fastest degree I could get with the credits I transferred in with.  As far as a career before kids well, I actually had Sohaila on a Sunday and the following Saturday I graduated. So I guess you can say I got my BA to stay home. No career.

*Did you go to college? What would you be doing right now if you weren't a stay at home mom?
Posted by: Jackie | May 13, 2008 at 08:15 AM 
If I did not have kids or a husband I would be living on a mountain teaching snowboarding in the winter and doing some mountaineering job during the summer. If I was married without kids I would be working in the culinary arts somewhere. Probably not in a restaurant, been there and done that and hated it. Well unless the restaurant was mine. ☺

*where have you worked (outside of home)...specifically the Mission Inn, and what did you do there?
Posted by: Sue  | May 13, 2008 at 11:47 AM
My first job was at Longs Drug Store. ( I sure miss Longs, it reminds me of home)
Then I worked up at a Sierra Summit Ski Resort. (Thats where I met Carlos but thats another post)
I worked at a few random retail shops, the bank, and finally at the Mission Inn. I cooked in the kitchen. After college I was going to go to culinary school and the one thing Carlos asked me to do is talk to a Chef and see if I needed to go to school to make it in the industry. So I went to the best restaurant in town and talked to the Chef. His name was Victor and he told me not to go to school and to get into the field before I decided to pay that money for school. So I asked him for a job and continued to ask until he gave me one. I loved the pace and the art of it but he turned out to be the meanest man I have ever personally met. I then got pregnant and had back issues and had to quit. Thank God!
After Sohaila I taught different cooking classes at our local adult community education in Riverside. Besides that no other jobs here.  And I love it. I have absolutely no desire to be in the working world. It actually sounds like torture to me. I love being home.

*If you had a day completely to yourself, what would you do with it?
Posted by: Anna | May 13, 2008 at 06:41 AM
Well first I would find someone to spend it with. ☺ Why waste a lovely day all by myself.
Once I found someone, I would wake up before the sun rose, drink a cup of coffee, put on my tennis shoes and start up some mountain. Watch the sun rise, expand my lungs till I feel like they are going to pop, burn my leg muscles until I am complaining, create some blisters on my feet and reach some mountain peak and praise God for his creation. Oh and you can’t forget to eat snickers all day long! I would make it down the mountain in time for a fabulous dinner and drinks and if we are having a dream day… end it with a massage! Now that is my kind of day. Oh I need to plan one right now!

*What hair products do you use?
Whatever is on sale… Seriously .99cent kind of stuff. Oh, I do buy Big and Sexy hair spray. I have frizzy hair and I need kind that will dry immediately or else my hair frizzes up. Not pretty.
*What skin care products do you use?
None, I am bad! I don’t even wash my face or use cream… Terrible. Shh don’t tell my grandma she will die!
*What scent do you wear daily?
Nothing, I am sounding pretty boring
*What scent if for "special occasions"?
I do have a spray from that lotion store, I think it is brown sugar something, maybe plum?
I also wear Pink Sugar from Sephora. That would be my special occasion fragrance.
Posted by: Mandy | May 13, 2008 at 07:36 AM

My turn...
If you had a day to yourself what would you do?

You ask, I'll answer set 3

When and how did you meet Jesus?
Posted by: pam |

Ahh, a question that I would LOVE to answer…
I grew up in a very open house… open to love, open to humanity but well they were open to everything but Christianity.  Most of my family would some how claim they are Catholic.  You know the ones who put their kids in catechism, but never actually attend church. They had faith and believed that there is a God, Jesus in fact, but by no means was a relationship with God a part of what I was taught. 
A significant turn of events happened in my life when I was 16 years old, suddenly my dad passed away. It was October when it happened and on the following New Years I made a resolution to attend church 2 times a month. The resolution was kept and in March I began to date a guy (this is his wife’s blog who, now through this lovely blogosphere has become a friend). Anyways I began to date a guy and one day I asked him when I could meet his family, he said that he did know if he could bring me home. ???? Really I did not think I was that bad. ☺  We continued to talk and he said that his parents would want him to date a Christian and I was not, so he did not know if he could bring me home. What ended up happening was his mom heard about this conversation and asked me to go and meet her oldest daughter who had married a man who’s family came from a Catholic background.  She wanted me to be able to hear from him what the difference between having a religion and being a follower of Christ. I remember going to his sisters house, they talked to me and every thing they said made sense. I believed it. I believed Jesus was Gods son, I believed he died on the cross, but what I never heard before was having a relationship with God. So I prayed for that to happen that night. There was no strong conviction, there was no walk down the aisle, it was just a faith that was already there and that was ready to move deeper. And that is what happened. I began to go to a fabulous youth group, and little by little learned what it meant to put my faith in Jesus. After a few years in Fresno, I moved down to Riverside Ca where I began to attend Sandals Church. This is where I became who I am in Christ. I began to learn what it means to have a real relationship with God. What it looks like to be transparent with others and to be all of who God made me to be. And now I am in Atlanta because God has been clear to me that I am to bring what I learned at Sandals to the people here.
There you go my friends, in  a long nutshell that was when and how I met Christ.

Ok now my turn...Here is to my readers...
If and when did you meet Jesus?

H

You ask, I'll answer set 2

I am trying to figure how to answer these questions. Should I do a bunch, should I post one a day. I don't know. Here are some easy ones.

*Do you prefer :
Folding laundry or doing dishes?  Dishes! I have a dishwasher!
Rock and roll or hip hop? Does classic rock count?
White or off white? Neither, lots and lots of color!
Tempurpedic or sleep number? Any kind of sleep!
Drakkar Noir or Joop? HUH? My man does not wear this stuff, I think my dad used to wear Drakkar but that is my dads smell. So I don't know.
Posted by: lisa | May 13, 2008 at 12:14 PM

Have you been anywhere else in Africa besides Uganda?
Nope, someday!
Posted by: Maureen | May 13, 2008 at 02:29 PM

*3) And on a total shallow-but-still-of-somewhat-importance-to-people-like-me level, where do you get your jewelry from? I love funky jewelry, mostly from Forever 21 (cool and cheap!).
You are a girl after my own heart. I have most of my stuff from Forever 21, some things are from downtown LA jewelry district, but not much. Keep shopping!
Posted by: Kaley | May 13, 2008 at 10:11 AM

*Ok question, what's the craziest thing you have ever eaten..
We were on a cave tubing expedition in Belize when our guide stopped at a tree and asked if we wanted some termites... And of course I said YES! They tasted like peppermint gum!
Posted by: emmelia | May 13, 2008 at 10:56 PM

*Are you thinking of adopting again? From where? (You are awesome parents)
YES! We both know we will adopt again. From Africa. Just not yet!
Posted by: alexsandra | May 13, 2008 at 10:05 AM

*what's your middle name? Rachel
*what's your favorite number? 16
*when's your birthday? July 16, 1978
*have you ever fallen going up stairs? (i did that the other day and it made me laugh at myself for a good while) Uh, no not that I can remember. But my grandma did the first day she got here last month. :)
Posted by: Eryn | May 13, 2008 at 12:37 PM

***OK so I ask this of you... What is the craziest thing you have ever eaten?

You ask, I'll answer set 1

So here we go…
I began to organize all the questions in a spread sheet so I can get an idea of what I had infront of me, and  then I ended up leaving my computer in Birmingham when I went to visit my friend last night. I tried to be organized and in control and now,  I sit here on an old computer feeling totally unorganized. I think that might tell you a little more about me. But anyways I picked some questions to answer so lets begin this journey of ME. Oh that gives me a stomach ache! Have fun reading. H

1.How did you first come to blogging?  It is something you enjoy or is it more of a chore on some days?
Posted by: C.C. aka LorelaiCC | May 13, 2008 at 06:29 AM

How did I first come to blogging? Can anyone answer for me? Maybe I should start with one of the marriage questions so everyone would know that I am married to a  blogstar. He began to blog and begged me to start, times were tough around Christmas time and one of his presents was that I committed to blog for a  year. And now I CAN’T STOP! It really is something I enjoy.  There are a few days here and there that I have nothing to blog and on those days it feels like a chore. Typically on those days I just throw up a picture. So it’s an easy fix.

2.If you could be Carlos for one day, what part of his life would you want to experience from his perspective?
Posted by: Kyle | May 13, 2008 at 07:32 AM

OOOO, I would love to do the worship/ singing part. I would love to be able to sing and it not sound like a cat dying. I can’t even wrap my mind around that and would love to experience it. Good question!

3.For your kids--private school, public school, or homeschool?  what was your thought process in the decision?

Posted by: amy s. | May 13, 2008 at 01:03 PM

For us this decision was made due to where we live. When we were in Riverside we were going to do a Charter School where she went to school 2 days a week and she had homeschool the other days. When we moved here we moved into one of the top 5 schools in GA! I knew I could not beat that! As the year has passed and I have seen Sohaila learn so much for school itself. I know it was the right decision for us. I am just amazed, not only at the education she is receiving, but how she is becoming a beautiful soul because of the relationships she has to interact with everyday. My advice if you want, I know it’s not part of the question but this is my only parenting advice I will ever give, and that is to do what is right for you and your family. No one can tell you the WAY to do it. It is up to you!

4. Where did you get that fantastic couch??
Posted by: Julie | May 13, 2008 at 06:37 AM

Oh I love my couch. I got it in Hollywood. Right around Beverly and Melrose there is this junk lot with tons of stuff. Deep in the piles I found it I think I paid $400ish for it. I LOVE IT!

5.Are you still able to be a part of the Jesus Girls ministry (I think that is what it is called)? Can you share a story from that ministry with us?
Posted by: TiNA | May 14, 2008 at 07:37 AM

JC’s Girls wow, that was such a great experience for me in my life. I  grew so much in my faith and my view of people. It was such a wonderful experience, unfortunately I moved and left the group I did it with and so I am no longer apart of the ministry. Actually Sandals Church, even though it is not my home church anymore I respect their leadership and they no longer support the ministry and so any new news you may hear about it I also do not support.
As for a story wow there are many, probably most I should not share here. 

Here are my posts on it if you have never seen them.
They are safe.
La Erotica 2006
Vegas 2007
Vegas 2007

Whatcha wanna know?

Ok, the time has come to do what many of the other bloggers out there have done already...
You ask I'll answer.
So whatcha wanna know friends?  You have till 5pm tonight.

On your marks, get set, ask!  H

Yes my house is always perfect

This is what Kim asked "    Please tell me it's not always that
perfectly perfect in the kids' rooms??!?"

Ha! This is what it looks like now and that happened
Oh about 2 hours after the first picture. Why I ask Why?