Your good side

What image are you portraying? What do others think of you? Are you living in the mission that God has called you to?

These are the types of questions I have been wrestling with lately. I've been thinking of the bigger purpose of my life, Gregory's life, Finn's life, and my heritage for that matter. Over the years (especially since having a child), I'm WAY more conscious of how I act and what I portray to others.

It's almost like you have to go backwards. You have to search your heart and pray that God will reveal what He wants for you. Once you find that out, you must live your life in a way that draws out that image. It's hard because flesh always wants to take you back. And this isn't a natural way to live.

All I know is that I want to go to Heaven and hear God say "Well done Rachael, my good and faithful servant."

Now, I must go and improve my image which I like to call my good side...


How about you? How's your good side? And what type of image are you portraying for others? Is it the real you? The you that God wants you to be?

Social networking...

Twitter, Facebook, blogs, LinkedIn, Myspace, YouTube...

The list could go on and on. Social networking, it's the thing these days.

Even though I have been playing along, time is causing me to think more deeply about this. Social networking takes time. Valuable time. Precious time. And it's stealing away my time. Social networking is stealing time from me my family my friends MY LIFE . And I don't like that!

So what am I gonna do about it?

I decided that I'm gonna make a change. Over the next few weeks, I will be cleaning up my Facebook page and phasing it out. Facebook is the one time stealer that I see no purpose for. So for those are you that have followed my blog from Facebook, please save the link to this blog and follow me here. http://www.walkupfam.blogspot.com

I will be updating more often so keep a look out. Some fun posts to come...

Can you believe we are 4 weeks away from this little guy being a year old? Wow, time moves too fast!

"Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom" Psalms 90:12

Fun videos of Finn

I love having an iPhone because it makes it so easy to capture milestones and other cute videos of Finn. Here are two videos that I thought I'd share...enjoy!

This video is capturing Finn's first word...Dada!



And this is Finn singing right on cue (please excuse the mess on his mouth and table, he was singing during lunch time!)

10 years later

I just attended my 10 year reunion last weekend. While I was there, it seemed like not much had changed. But a week later I realize so much has changed in the last 10 years. I still remember the summer after I graduated high school thinking "I wonder where I'll be in 10 years?" I had no idea all that God had in store for me. Below is a brief overview of my last 10 years!

June of 2000
I graduated from Sprayberry High School in Marietta, GA

2001-2004
I put myself through a small private college in Waleska, GA called Reinhardt College. I met Gregory in August of 2003 (thanks Natasha!)

May 2004
I graduated from college with honors and a Bachelors in Business Entrepreneurship

January 2006
I was asked at the stroke of midnight on New Years Eve to spend the rest of my life Gregory Alan Walkup. And of course I said YES!

May 2006
I married my best friend on the beach I grew up going to every summer

April 2007
I started working at North Point Community Church (still there and can't imagine working anywhere else)

June 2008
I left a piece of heart in Cambodia when I went on a mission trip there.

January 2009
Found out I was pregnant!

September 2009
I gave birth to a beautiful son named Finn Wallace

2000...
And after all these years, i'm still best friends with Kristen! She was the maid of honor for my wedding and I was the matron of honor in hers. So thankful for her true friendship!

Thank you Lord for blessing me with a beautiful family and amazing friends. I've been through so much but you have never left my side. And for that I will always be thankful.

Heathly eating...

I just recently did the Daniel fast and learned so much. I wanted to share what I learned because I think it's pretty important!

1-You do not need dairy with every meal. I didn't realize it but I literally had a lot of dairy with every meal (yogurt for breakfast, cream in my coffee, sour cream on my lunch, cheese makes everything better, milk to drink, etc)
2-Why are all meals centered and planned around what the meat is going to be? There are some great meals out there that are based on the veggies! A few of my favorite recipes are below...
3-Healthy food really does taste good!

Here are a few recipes I really enjoyed. Even my husband who didn't do the fast agreed these were delicious!

Taco Soup
1 can of black beans
1 can of sweet white corn
1 can of pinto beans
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of tomato sauce
1 can of garbanzo beans
4 tbsp of cumin or taco seasoning
2 tbsp of olive oil
1 medium onion peeled and diced
1 whole avocado peeled and diced

Sautee onion with the olive oil, once the onions are cooked a little add all the ingredients together (except the avocado). Cook until boils, then cook on low for 20-30 minutes. When ready to eat, put sliced avocado on top.

Breakfast Cookies
3 ripe bananas
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup dates, pitted and chopped(I use raisins)
1/3 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mash the bananas. Stir in oats, dates, applesauce, vanilla, and I like to add cinnamon and fresh nutmeg. Mix well, and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.Bake for 20 minutes;at 375.

Potato Leek Soup
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups sliced leeks, white and green parts
1 teaspoon minced garlic
6 cups vegetable stock
1 ½ pounds boiling potatoes, peeled and quartered
Salt and white pepper
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons Italian herbs

1. In a large pot, heat olive oil over low heat. Add the leeks and cook, stirring often, until
tender, about 3 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
3. Add the vegetable stock and potatoes. Cover and simmer gently until the vegetables are
tender, about 30 minutes.
4. Remove from the heat. With a hand-held immersion blender, or in batches in a food
processor, puree the soup until smooth.
5. Season, to taste with salt, ground white pepper and Italian herbs.
6. Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with parsley. Serve immediately.
Yield: six to eight servings

10 Months!

Feeding
We have moved completely to table foods. Finn eats what we eat. And wow, this is so much easier! We went to Savannah for vacation and he ate his first kid meal- grilled cheese and fries. He also tried chicken fingers, sweet potato fries, and coconut gelato. Of course he loved everything.

Weight
I'm thinking he's still around 21-22 pounds. Seems like his weight is staying the same these days.

Sleep
Sleep is still going good. He naps twice a day-10:00 and 2:00.  And goes to bed around 7:30. On the weekends, Finn only takes 1 nap so he can spend more time with us. :)

Wake Time
Finn is such a bruiser. He cruises all over the place barely holding on to the furniture. He has started standing up and squatting down to pick up toys and then standing back up. Its so fun watching him. I love seeing him learn!

Clothes
Finn is still wearing 9-12 month clothes. The outfit Finn is in is very special. I was out shopping a few weeks after Gregory and I got married and saw this cute Jordan outfit on clearance. So I bought it not knowing when we would have a child. Here it is 4 years later fitting our first son. So special!!

Fun fact
We took our first real vacation as a family of 3. We went to Savannah for a week and it was so much fun. We decided that is going to be our Walkup family vacation every year. It will be fun to see each year how much Finn has changed. Below are a few pictures from our trip.

Finn and daddy playing in the fountain at the square across from City Market.

Hanging out on River St.

 Daddy loves his son :)

Mommy and son time!

Finn playing on the bed in our hotel room before bedtime.

Daddy is so silly-he rolled you up in Mommy's pillow like a burrito!

While walking around in the historic part of Savannah, Finn feel deep asleep.

9 Months!!

Feeding
This month opened up a WHOLE new world. Finn has moved to eating all table food. He has had lots of spanish food. So far he has loved rice and beans the most. He's also had veggie pizza, meatballs, quesadillas, and chicken poppy seed. There hasn't been anything he didn't like. I love that we have such a good eater. Hope he stays this way!

Weight
At his 9 month check up he was 21 lbs and 7 oz. Love my big boy. Seems like his weight gain is slowing down.

Sleep
Finn is still a great sleeper. Taking two naps (10 and 2) and going to bed at 7:30. This month while we were out of town we only let him nap once during the day and he did great!

Wake Time
As I say almost every month, this month has been the most fun! He is crawling all over the place. And he just loves exploring our house. We have really child proofed downstairs so he can roam free. He has been cruising along the couches and even taken a few steps here and there. So I'm sure he will be walking soon!

Clothes
Finn can pretty much fit in anything between 9-12 months now. He looks adorable in his little shorts and t-shirts. Really looking like a lil' boy these days.

Fun fact
I'm not sure if fun fact is the right title for this. Finn has had quite the month when it comes to growing.  He had 8 teeth pop through. Yes that's right, I said 8! So he now has a total of 10 teeth-that's 4 on the bottom and 6 on the top. I can hardly believe that the sweet gummy smile is going away.