Yep! You guessed it. A Kreative Whim is officially closing the keyboard and Studio-Kate is here with a new name, new space, and the same voice you’re used to. Thanks so much for joining me as I grow into this space on the world wide web.  

Daring Greatly.

Imperfect Courage.

Immeasurably More. 

Abide.

Submit.

I love words. Weirdly so. Be it a phrase that is powerful or just a word that sounds fun (ahem- Habersham) I just love them. And the words up there in bold are the ones that have been on my mind and my heart in the recent weeks and days. Some because they sound fun, some because they resonate deep into my core. Two are <a href="http://”>books that are speaking to me. One is my life verse. One is a word that keeps ringing around in my mind. One is what I think it takes.

So here I am trying to gather all the thoughts I want to share and those 5 phrases are the best way I know to do. So get comfy, people. This one might take a while.

First things first- if the title didn’t give it away, I have officially decided to move away from A Kreative Whim. But you know me. I can’t stay quiet for long so you can find me HERE! I considered keeping this space all professional and portrait-y while using AKW for my personal life. But the logistics just seemed overwhelming and, honestly, my purpose in blogging has evolved.  (That’s probably pretty obvious since my presence on AKW has been abysmal for the last 12 months.)

So What’s Been Going On?

I shared a small portion of my journey to embracing photography as a career before Christmas. But what exactly have I been doing for the last year?

1- Reclaiming my joy.

2- Hard things.

Stolen Joy.

When I started blogging it was all for me. I was home with tiny kids and desperately lonely. I wrote because it was cathartic. I wrote because I loved it. But then I went down the rabbit hole (as I’m apt to do) and learned all about blogging and branding and using social media to build a following and THEN use that following to make a living. Suddenly, sharing Whitlee’s birthday party pictures and a few tutorials wasn’t enough. I had to PIN the post, Facebook the post, Instagram the post, read other bloggers’ posts and comment in hopes they would comment back- it was a full time job. And I already had a full time job- MOM.

Somewhere in the midst of building A Kreative Whim I also came face to face with all I was NOT. I was not a mom-blogger that found it effortless. I was not a mom-blogger that loved creating a curated Instagram account showing off the fancy outfit I wore for date night (truthfully, I’m more comfortable behind the camera than in front of it, anyways). I was not a mom-blogger with a perfectly lit house and a trendy home.I was not a mom-blogger that could get my DIY projects completed during nap time while natural sunlight made all my pictures perfect. I was also not a mom-blogger that could turn it off.

I struggled to create boundaries and found myself taking on too many sponsored posts, pulling all-nighters, and being a complete zombie the next day with my kids.

So I walked away. I wrote the few times I actually felt inspired and simply. let. go.

Instead, I completed DIY projects in half the time because I did not document every step. I practiced being a neighbor and a friend. I took a lot of pictures and embraced the fact that I was much more passionate about photography than blogging. I got an acceptable amount of sleep at night. I made my physical health a priority. I put my phone down and played outside with my kids instead of using that time to build a social media following.

Doing Hard Things.

Clarification here- I was not fighting a terminal illness or recovering from a horrific accident or anything so dramatic and inspiring. But I was doing a few hard things that needed the same time slot I was using for A Kreative Whim and I just didn’t have the brain power for both.

In the months following Sikes arrival my body quit me. It was tired. It was angry. I had grown and delivered 3 kids in less than 4 years and my body decided we were enemies. Moving hurt. Exercising hurt. Getting dressed hurt (my feelings, at least). My energy was non-existent- and I accepted it was time to make some major changes. So I committed to putting my health first- eating well, making exercise a priority, and building sleep into my day (although I’m still quite terrible at that!). It was time consuming. It required a lot of effort and planning and saying “No” to things I really, really like. But then I lost one pant size and another. I began to look back at old pictures and find the old me unrecognizable and I realized I WAS DOING THE HARD THING.

You know the funny thing about hard things? They are a little addictive.

Changing my entire diet led my body to perform better. CrossFit felt good again. Hiking felt good again. And for reasons unknown, running felt good again. (An activity I had long decided was just not meant for me post-babies).

So now I’m doing more hard things like opening an actual portrait business, hanging out with Dave Ramsey on his podcast, setting PR’s and hitting the RX+ button at CrossFit, and waking up BEFORE SUNRISE just to get a run in a few days a week. And on those runs, these are the words, thoughts, and verses that filter through my mind and whisper to my heart (because we all know you can’t think coherently during CrossFit).

(Yep. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. We’ve made it back to my words. Are you still with me? I promise I’m about to weave it all together).

Daring Greatly.

Imperfect Courage.

Immeasurably More. 

Abide.

Submit.

At the beginning of each year it’s quite trendy to choose a word to focus on for the year. For the LIFE of me I can’t remember what my 2018 word was. But as I look back, those words in bold describe the themes of the journey I am on.

Last year I dared greatly to submit to the whispers in my heart to walk away from a career as a blogger that was beginning to take off After so. much. work. because it wasn’t leading me to a life of immeasurably more. I practiced (very) imperfect courage and took a scary, humbling step into a career that may not flourish- yet I know I am abiding in God’s promises to me.

But just as I’m learning to pace my body for long distance runs, I’m recognizing the need to embrace one more hard thing and pace my mind and heart for 2019. So I will continue to meditate on, pray over, practice, and study my words .

I will be vulnerable and brave in the path before me. Pushing forward with Studio-Kate when the easier option is to put my camera away and go back to teaching school. I will trust that this is my next step knowing I may fail, I may make huge messes of the whole thing. But believing all the whole that the culmination of this journey will be immeasurably more, ABUNDANTLY more, than all I can ask or imagine.

 

 

Want to learn more? I highly recommend  <a href="http://”>Daring Greatly and <a href="http://”>Imperfect Courage.