FABULOUSLY FEATURED: TEAM WHITAKER

Welcome to Catholic Sistas’ newest series, featuring some of our friends in the Catholic blogging world entitled Fabulously Featured which will run on Wednesdays. I have always wanted to introduce you to some new blogs to follow and support, but seriously lacked the time to put this together before now. In a Facebook group of fellow Catholic women bloggers, I asked ladies to answer some questions for this series, and they were all too excited to participate! I give you their answers in their own words.

FF Team Whitaker

Today we feature Team Whitaker in our Fabulously Featured series. If you need a little repreive to talk about big families, faith, DIY projects, and maybe even have a glass of wine then you have found the right blog to visit! Grab your wine glass and your favorite Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay and get to know Kathryn. She’ll make you laugh and inspire you all at the same time!

ESTABLISHED:

2007

THEME:

My focus is on life as a mom – from prematurity to party planning, organization/DIY projects to Catholicism, my love for the Aggies to motherhood

INSPIRATION/MOTIVATION:

I had a good friend who said, “Kathryn, you should blog. You’d love it.” And she was right. I began as just a way to update family and close friends and what began as a digital scrapbook has become so much more. Mostly? I want my kids to look back on my writings, remember the awesome memories, appreciate the struggles and be grateful for our time together as a family.

FAVORITE ELEMENT:

I never dreamed how cathartic it would be to write, specifically to write about my daily struggles and successes of motherhood. My faith is interwoven into the blog, but it’s not the only thing I talk about! I adore the sense of community and the support I’ve received, particularly when I share the hard moments. It’s reminded me that we really are all in this motherhood gig together.

FAVORITE POST:

There are two: 1) every year I write love letters to my kids on their birthdays. Those are my six favorite days of the year on the blog! And, 2) The Mom I Want to Be. I wrote it nearly three years ago, but the words? They are still so true.

BALANCE:

My blog has never been about making money, it’s always been about saving my sanity. When I have time to blog, I know that my life is in balance. I also know that I have to make time for the things I love. Some days, the kids eat frozen nuggets because mommy needs a half hour of computer time. Other nights, I sacrifice an evening with my husband on the couch because I am touched out and need time to myself. Balance is a tricky thing. I’m starting to realize the specific, and very predictable, seasons of our family life. Being honest with myself and lowering the expectations has helped tremendously. When I want to find time to blog, I switch off all social media. Because, time suck. And I’m usually happier for it. Once upon a time, I had a blog calendar and that really helped. Note to self: pull out the calendar again!

AUDIENCE:

Anybody who will listen? HA! No, seriously. I suppose I just write as if I’m having a conversation with someone at my kitchen table. Some posts really are geared toward preemie moms (mom of a preemie here!), while some are meant for moms of lots of littles and still others are written for non-Catholics. I write about DIY and organization projects and there’s no faith or motherhood component. It just depends on the day. But, I always write with authenticity. That’s the big thing for me.

CATCH PHRASE/TAGLINE:

A peek at the world from our branch. That’s been my tagline for about four years. I’m a huge lover of owls and my header has a branch with all of us sitting upon it. I never proclaim to be an expert on anything, except my own family. Sometimes, my kids would disagree that I’m an expert on even that! Regardless, I never want folks to think I’m the be-all, end-all of everything motherhood. It’s just my take.

ADVICE:

Be yourself. I think we’re always tempted to read other people’s writing and try to emulate that style. It doesn’t take long before you get worn out trying to be someone else. Hey, maybe it works for them. But, you know your life, your circumstances, your passions – write about them. If people follow along, sweet. If not, don’t change because you want more pageviews. As for the look and feel of your blog, think and pray long and hard about what you’re called to do and called to write about. Just because you’re a Catholic blogger doesn’t mean you have to talk all things Catholic, all the time.

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?

Have a question or comment for our featured blogger? Please leave them in the comments below!

Would you {or someone you know} like to be fabulously featured?

Send an email to Martina@CatholicSistas.comand reference the Fabulously Featured series and we’ll get the ball rolling to get you or your friend featured!