Life as a Big Family Mom

**I’m turning my blog over to guest bloggers while I’m in Los Angeles with Ella. I hope you love them as much as I do! First up is Kathryn from Team Whitaker

“I just don’t know how you do it.” I must hear that at least a half dozen times a day, maybe more if I’m at Costco. You know, big carts, nosey people.

I’m the mom of six, teenager to baby. Yes, they’re all mine. Yes, they’re from the same dad and no, I’m not a supermom. Yet.

People are always itching to know how we do it. And by “it,” I mean everything. What kind of car we drive, how I cook for all these people, wash their underwear in a timely manner, manage carpool and of course, the biggie, afford them all.

The answer? I have no freaking idea.

That’s the honest truth.

Yes, we’ve got systems in place for chores, getting out the door semi-on time (okay, nevermind, we’re always five minutes late), doing the laundry and doing our best to make ends meet. But, the real truth is that every day we have to figure it out.

My life is one big Jeopardy! quiz. The world has the answers and I’m still figuring out the questions. I joke that it took me six kids to finally realize I really don’t know it all. But I’m not really joking. Actually, it took me five kids, a premature birth that almost broke us and one last healing birth that finally got me on my knees, with a healthy sense of humor.

Case in point. Two weeks ago I broke my knee cap, with all six kids in tow, while at swim lessons for my two youngest. “How did you get yourself to the ER?” was the most asked question.

I drove myself because my fairy Godmother was on a break.

It’s true. If you had asked me to write out a plan for how to handle that situation, I would’ve obsessed for weeks about the finer points of making it perfect. It would’ve been a never-ending Rubix cube of who could take what kid when, where and for how long. I’ve learned to do things on the fly. Knee gets broken, your kids jump into action and you figure it out.

Kid number two busts his head open at the pool requiring five staples, you figure it out.

Battery dies at the grocery store in pouring down rain and your cell phone is dead, you figure it out.

Your teenager opens up an account on social media without your permission, you figure it out.

The premature birth lands you and your husband in marriage counseling, you figure it out.

Bottom line? The Holy Spirit plays a mighty big role in our family. He guides my words (usually, when I let Him), directs my feet and softens my heart so that I can be a loving mother and wife. I’ve found that when I obsess about the details of life, they never go as planned and I find myself in a dark corner with a tissue, cussing the situation. But when I lean into the unknown, when I stop fighting my plans and turn over the car keys to God? That’s when we figure it out together.

So, this mom of many gig? You’ll just figure it out.

I promise.

Kathryn blogs at Team Whitaker, runs a freelance graphic design business and is still trying to figure the motherhood gig out with her six kids and rock star husband. She hails from Texas and likes her tea sweet, her Dr Pepper cold and her music country. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram: @kwhitaker96