Every year on January 22, the anniversary of the landmark case Roe v. Wade, hundreds of thousands of people march in our nation’s capital and around the country in support of a culture of life. The March for Life, as it’s known. But, you won’t see me marching. And here’s why. I believe that everyone… [Read More]
About Kathryn Whitaker
It’s Christmas Eve: Bust out the Cake & Candles!
Christmas Eve only means one thing: a baby is about to be born! The excitement is crackling in the air. Can’t you feel it? A birthday to celebrate. A new life to love! Many of my most favorite family traditions center around Christmas Eve. Yes, we attend Mass, have a delicious Christmas Eve dinner, open… [Read More]
What Kind of Life Are You Creating?
If people were to judge my life in random five-minute increments, I wonder what they would walk away thinking. Don’t kid yourself, we’ve all done it. To the mom in the grocery with the screaming baby. Well, that’s what happens when you bring a baby to the store during naptime. To the guy who honks… [Read More]
Finding Peace As a Mom of 5
I’m not sure Hail Mary’s are supposed to be yelled. Perhaps it’s a new way of praying them? For the last several months (years), I’ve struggled with finding peace in multiple areas of my life, at the same time. Maybe that’s my problem. I try to find too much peace, too many places and it’s… [Read More]
The 10-Minute Phone Call That Changed My Day
“You know, of the 10,080 minutes you have in a week, I sure am glad you spent 1/1,000 talking to me,” quipped my 87-year-old grandfather. The fact that I called him was a complete fluke. He’s been on my mind for weeks. I’ve wanted to call for longer than that, but I was busy. You… [Read More]
Encountering God, Encountering Beauty: The Dominican Sisters are Here to Stay!
“You encounter God when you encounter beauty.” While a Dominican Sister of Mary may have stolen those words from my brain, they are oh-so-true, aren’t they? From the first moment I met these Dominicans, three words came to mind: beauty, joy and faithfulness. Those same words could certainly describe the beautiful weekend at the Sister’s… [Read More]
So You Think Your Kid Needs a Cell Phone
Oh, how I wish there was an entry in the Catechism for questions such as these. We have five children, the oldest is twelve and in seventh grade. And, if my gray hairs are any indication, he has asked us for a cell phone no less than one billion times. The answer is still no…. [Read More]
The Catholic Student Backpack: 5 Things You Should Have
Say it isn’t so. Even though the pool is still cold and the heat index over 100, the start of school is in the air. I know this because of all those back-to-school commercials that started in July. Thanks, Target. Last August, I shared five things every Catholic family should do before school begins. We… [Read More]
Homeless People Aren’t Zoo Animals
The chaos in the backseat of my van was undeniable. There were screams, yells and giggles. It wasn’t a rockstar, a marching band or even Johnny Football that caught their attention. No, it was the homeless African-American single mom, holding a cardboard sign, baking in the hot 95-degree Texas heat. Her sign simply said, “please… [Read More]
Mommy, I Look Fat: A Lesson in Self-Worth
“Mommy, I look fat.” Oh those are words every mom dreams her child will say, no? Sometimes, when the mirror is placed directly before us, we plainly see the example we set for our children. Whether it’s the shorter shorts, the plethora of bikinis or changing fashion trends, summertime tends to bring body image and… [Read More]
Your Birthday: A Day To Celebrate or To Dread?
Birthdays can be such a beautiful thing. Until they aren’t. We celebrate the milestones, like the first birthday, with much fanfare. Cake, friends, gifts and joy permeate the air. The first year is complete! Then there’s double digits, entrance to the teenage years, sweet sixteen and glorious 21. And then it stops. We start to… [Read More]
Summer Is For Living: Enjoying (not just surviving) the Season with Your Kids
Whether your children go to school, stay at home or do a combination of the two, there is no doubt that summer brings a new schedule to the house. I mean, you can smell the chlorine, taste the ice cream and feel the heat, am I right? At our house, there’s a schedule, albeit much… [Read More]
5 Things I Wish I Would’ve Known About Motherhood
Before I had children, I was an expert on parenting. Weren’t we all? But in twelve years of motherhood I’ve finally learned the one universal truth: we’re all just faking it. Pinterest World is not reality. Yes, we have “pin worthy” moments, but that is not our life. Did you hear me yelling at my… [Read More]
Don’t Let Your Children’s First Communion Be Their Last
Sometimes words just hit your heart, right where it matters. This past weekend was officially “First Communion Weekend” at our house. It’s a date we’ve had circled on the calendar for months. There were lots of preparations—the clothes, the party afterward, the invitations, the family travel schedules and, of course, the Sacramental preparation. During the… [Read More]
The *Best* Mother’s Day Gift
The older I get, the higher priority I place on spending quality time with my parents and the more I realize the profound role I have in shaping my own children.Perhaps it’s because I now have a middle schooler in the house and I see time slipping away. I’m beginning to understand what it means… [Read More]
Catholic Summer Camp Guide: 2013
There is one word that’s keeping me going until June: summer. I can see sweet tea, swimming pools and no alarm clocks on the horizon. If you’re a mom, you probably have summer camp on that list, as well. Perhaps you’ve been wondering just where you can find great Catholic summer camps for your children…. [Read More]
The 10 Commandments of Social Media use for Teens
Every kid does it. No matter how straight the A’s, smart the brain, talented the athlete or pious the altar server—at some point in life, your child is going to lie to you. A few weeks ago our 11-year-old did just that. He opened an Instagram account even though we expressly told him not to… [Read More]
40 Days of Awesome: Giving Up More Than Beer, Cokes & Candy
Be reckless this Lent. Oh, I mean it. I’m talking about the kind of reckless that’s make you seek, without abandon, God’s will. If St. Paul can do it, so can you. For far too many Lents, I’ve done the traditional “give up beer, Cokes and candy.” But, you know what? I think that makes… [Read More]
What Fajitas Taught me About Faith and Catholic Education
Before we cancelled cable, the Food Network was one of my favorite channels. Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Giada at Home, Throwdown with Bobby Flay. I can still see the butter dripping off Paula Deen’s spoon. There was one episode, however, that piqued my interest in both Catholic schools and cooking. Fr. Leo Patalinghug was challenged… [Read More]
A Top 20 Bucket List, Catholic Style
There are literally thousands of things I have on my list of things to do. Some people call them a Bucket List, others write them down and still others just keep a mental wish list. It wasn’t until I wrote the post about attending a Dedication Mass, that I wondered what other people had on… [Read More]
Why Attending a Dedication Mass Should Be On Your Bucket List
The 2007 movie, The Bucket List, was about two terminally ill men on a road trip with a wish list of things to do before they kicked the proverbial “bucket”. The movie inspired millions of people, whether they were ill or healthy, to start their own “bucket list.” May I be so bold as to… [Read More]
Parenting the Popular Kid
Whether we admit it to ourselves or not, we all want to be popular. Well, popular in the sense that all of us want to be loved, recognized, accepted and appreciated. Our oldest son began middle school this year and it has been a {ahem} transition. Yes, there are glimpses of a little boy left… [Read More]
Life is Not an Emergency: Preparing for Advent
Several months ago, a friend gave me the book, “One Thousand Gifts” by Ann Voskamp. Admittedly, it’s not the kind of book you can just breeze through in one sitting. It’s a hardcover meant to be enjoyed, over the course of many a couch sitting, preferably with a hot cup of tea. Precisely the kind… [Read More]
Prada for God? 5 Things Every Woman Should Wear at Mass
You’ve glanced at the Sunday readings. You shuttled all your children and a husband to the minivan. You even remembered to brush your teeth. You made it to Mass before the first reading, so does it *really* matter what you wore? Yes, yes it does. Below, I share why it matters, how it can make… [Read More]
What Does it Mean to “Vote Catholic”?
Well, I know what it doesn’t mean. Jesus loved both the elephant and the donkey. He created them both! For months (or has it been years?) we’ve been hearing from the two main political candidates running for office as to why they are the “right” choice for America. Today, millions of Americans will go to… [Read More]
40 Days for Life: Praying on The Sidewalk, Part 1
Two weeks ago I shared with you my reasons for joining the 40 Days for Life campaign here in Austin. I’d like to reiterate what a difficult, yet prayerful, decision it was to participate. Here I am, two weeks and two hours of praying on the sidewalk later, to reflect on my time at the… [Read More]
Feel the Love: 40 Days for Life
This past weekend, I made a big decision. It didn’t come easily. You see, standing on a sidewalk praying for the unborn is a bit out of my comfort zone, yet that’s exactly what I volunteered to do for the next six weeks. 40 Days for Life is a project that originated in College Station… [Read More]
Blogging for God: What’s Holding You Back?
“Catholic bloggers can change the world,” proclaimed Jennifer Fulwiler, National Catholic Register contributor and blogger at the ever-popular Conversion Diary. She said those words at the recent Catholic New Media Conference, held in Dallas last week. I have to admit, when she first said those words, I tweeted them, but I wasn’t 100% sold. At… [Read More]
Stop Apologizing for Your Catholic Faith
I mean it. Stop it. Stop saying, “Well, you know, it’s because we’re Catholic.” I hear and see it all the time. We decide not to wear that religious necklace or that saint bracelet. We tell our kids to keep their Catholic Bibles home from summer camp. We find ourselves conveniently “busy” when a neighbor… [Read More]
First Week of School? 5 Things Every Catholic Family Should Do
For many of us, the school bell is ringing this week. Oh summer, we already miss you. Then again, the Texas heat will make it summertime well into October, I’m sure. To kick off the school year right, here are a few things every Catholic family can do. It doesn’t matter whether your children are… [Read More]
Family Vacations: Are We There Yet?
“Mom, how much longer ’til we get there?” If you’re a parent, no doubt you’ve been asked that question countless times on a roadtrip. I always feel like replying with a Mr. Incredible-ism: “We’ll get there when we get there!” On our recent family vacation that included 1,800 miles and five states, we heard that… [Read More]
Parents: Quit Dumbing Down Sex for Your Kids
“Oh, we haven’t had ‘the talk’, but I’m dreading the day he asks,” a friend recently lamented. I was at a loss for what to say. You see, I think we dumb down the wrong things for our kids and focus, instead, on the silly things.We’re quick to buy that ticket to “Magic Mike” or… [Read More]
Yo, God, Are You There?
“Mrs. Whitaker, what do you want us to do?” Those are nine words I never thought I’d hear and I certainly never thought I’d have to answer them. Nearly three years ago I gave birth to our son prematurely. After nine days in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) he coded, had to be resuscitated, intubated and… [Read More]
VBS is for Catholics, Too
As a Protestant “it” was a must-do summer event. Every church I knew saw “it” as their greatest evangelizing week. Of course, I’m talking about one of the greatest weeks of summer, Vacation Bible School, otherwise known as VBS. Growing up as an evangelical and mainstream Christian, some of my fondest “Jesus memories” stem from… [Read More]
To Bikini or Not?
“Moooommmm. WHY do we have to wear a coverup with our swimsuit?” my oldest daughter whined. “Because, sweetheart, it’s what girls do,” I replied. But is it really what girls do? Do girls and women really know how to be modest? Do they know how to feel beautiful without adding sexy into the mix? I’ll be… [Read More]
When Mass Hits Home
Sometimes Mass just hits home. Completely out of the blue, you’re showered with the Holy Spirit. That happened this weekend and it was awesome. During this weekend’s Mass, newly ordained Deacon Barry Cuba gave the homily. He always approaches the pulpit with humility, humor and insight so I was excited to hear what he had to say. … [Read More]
A Priest and A Sister Dish on Religious Life
A little over a month ago, I asked you to send in your best questions to local Dominican Sister, Sr. Elizabeth Ann, O.P., of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist. There were some great questions (and she gave some great answers, below). But, I thought it would be equally fun to ask… [Read More]
First Communion Took my Breath Away
This past weekend, my second child celebrated his First Communion. I’ve been thinking about this day for years and planning for *almost* that long (hey, party planning is my vice). To think I almost missed the big event during Mass makes me chuckle. But, more on that in just a moment. As I opened my… [Read More]
Was Your Easter Mass Heaven or Hell?
Easter Mass is supposed to conjure up images of Christ’s Resurrection, Easter lilies, Alleluia’s and white vestments. For some, though, it’s a test of patience and faith. While it’s not the Superbowl of Masses, like the Easter Vigil, it’s typically a little longer than the normal one hour Mass and attendance is usually a lot higher. … [Read More]
Pray Like a Mom, Not a Nun
Those wise words still echo in my head. They were spoken to me by the priest during confession several years ago. It was Lent and I’d finally decided to get my act together and celebrate the Sacrament. In preparation, though, I had been beating myself up about my lack of a prayer life. Everyone kept… [Read More]
