My friend, Jenny, was gracious enough to share "how we Advent" here at Team Whitaker over at Catholic News Agency. It's definitely been an evolution. This week, I'll be sharing some photos of what Advent and Christmas look like. That means I actually need to vacuum and pick up the 8,000 toys, 4,500 art projects and 35 kids' cups that are all over my house so you can actually see it all. In the meantime, let's catch up on a ...

I hear there's a small, low-budget film coming out today. {insert all the crying laughing emojis} Star Wars has been a film for the ages, literally. Just about every boy I know (and his dad) loves the film and all those Yoda quotes. Throw in a light saber war and they're fans for life. But, this party I'm about to share is no ordinary shindig. Yes, it has all the usual suspects of a Whitaker party, but the recipient and how ...

Entering into the Santa vs. Non-Santa or St. Nicholas camps can be as heated as to Harry Potter, or not. This is not that post. Honestly? I don't concern myself with whether families choose to celebrate the jolly man in red or not. Their family, their culture, their choice. My beef has always been with kids who tell mine they're wrong for believing in Santa. Or, worse yet, parents who tell me I'm doing it wrong. I'm pretty sure we have ...

My apologies for going all radio silent on you this past week. I can 100% blame it on two things: life and a stomach bug. Those are always fun, aren't they? I went down last Saturday night and was sick all through the weekend. I don't really feel like I came out of it until Wednesday or Thursday of last week. Whew. Rough. But, enough about my gut, let's move on to better things. Advent! December! Or, as I like ...

I'll preface this by saying it has been a long, hard fall. Four deaths in two months. Four deaths that rocked us. Four families forever changed. My heart has never been in this place before, perhaps yours has. So I know you get me. While I write this letter with two different mamas grieving the loss of their amazing sons in mind, it's really for all of you. All of you friends out there who are supporting and loving someone ...

While our Thanksgiving wasn't filled with the traditional family around the table - we had many friends instead - it was full of love, laughter and a fair amount of vino. And pie. Always the pie. My favorite thing about the day may be the way Anna-Laura spelled "deviled eggs" - I know. I die. I'm not much of a traditionalist when it comes to the food on this holiday. About the only traditional thing I made was the turkey. ...