Catherine answers the question people react to most—why she chose to have seven children while living in poverty. With humor and honesty, she walks through early motherhood, the chaos of raising four kids under five, and the reality of building a family without financial stability. A health scare (including hair loss and a frightening diagnosis) led her to believe she couldn’t have more children—until an unexpected pregnancy changed everything and became a turning point in her healing. From there, Catherine shares how foster care became part of her family’s story, with more than 30 children coming through her home, and how two adoptions ultimately reshaped the trajectory of her life and her kids’ lives. Looking back, she doesn’t glamorize the struggle—but she honors the love, resilience, and legacy that grew from it.

💬 What You'll Hear

• Why Catherine refuses to judge anyone’s decision to have kids—poor or not
• What it was like raising four children under five while barely getting by
• The health scare that made her think her life (and motherhood) was about to change
• The surprise pregnancy she was told was impossible—and why it felt like healing
• Why she became a foster mom, and what foster care is truly about
• How adoption impacted her children and the “version of family” each child experienced
• A full-circle moment: seeing her values show up in her adult children’s lives

✨ Takeaway

Your story doesn’t have to look perfect to be meaningful. Catherine’s journey is a reminder that love, consistency, and perspective can build a legacy—even when the external circumstances feel unstable or unfinished.

⚖️ Disclaimer

This episode is for educational and inspirational purposes only and reflects Catherine’s personal experiences and opinions. It is not medical, legal, financial, or mental health advice. If you need support, please consult a qualified professional.

🌿 Connect with Catherine

If this episode resonated, share it with someone who needs permission to release shame and honor their story. And if you’ve ever felt judged for the way your life looks “on paper,” send Catherine a message on social media and tell her: what part of your story are you learning to hold with more compassion?

Follow Catherine on Instagram to keep following the story.

Theme Song Written and Composed by Trevor Lynch and Michaela Dennis and recorded by Trevor Lynch in Chicago IL
Photo: Baumgardner Studio Yakima, WA
Production: Red Trux Productions Snohomish, WA

Catherine dives into her "policing era" - a time when she believed she was right about everything and everyone else was wrong. From picketing to lecturing friends about their life choices, she shares how her strict Catholic upbringing led her to judge others' bedrooms, politics, and personal decisions. But this embarrassing chapter became her greatest teacher in humility. Through divorce, bankruptcy, loss, and the forgiveness of those she hurt, Catherine learned that life's hardest lessons are often our most transformative ones.

💬 What You'll Hear

The Policing Era Begins: Growing up in a strict Catholic household where church was never missed, even on vacation in the Wyoming wilderness

Charismatic Catholic College: Transferring to a more religious school hoping it would complete her, while secretly meeting a "spicy guy" on the baseball field

Justifying Everything: Using faith to justify living poor, submitting to her husband, homeschooling, and judging everyone else's choices

The Judgment List: Picketing, lecturing friends about premarital sex and cohabitation, and warning people they'd burn in hell

The Contrast: Being front and center with her kids (the beautiful part) while exhausting herself policing everyone else's lives

Humble 101: Life's classroom teaching humility through divorce, bankruptcy, loss, public shame, and parenting alone

The Power of Forgiveness: Every single person she policed - friends and family - still loves her and watched her evolve

Receiving Love: Learning that true love means being forgiven and getting a second chance, which healed her nervous system

Different Lessons Now: Moving from major life lessons to micro-focused heart work, like not caring what her kids do as a reflection of her

The A/B Student: Now handling life's tests (like a surprise $500 IRS bill) with calm instead of panic

✨ Takeaway
Your most embarrassing era might become your greatest teacher. When you think you're the judge of everyone else's choices, life will enroll you in Humble 101 until you learn the lesson. The people you hurt with your judgment can teach you what real love looks like through their forgiveness. Everyone is in the school of life, just in different classrooms with different teachers. The sooner you learn your lessons, the less they appear on the test. Humility is the most beautiful of the virtues.

⚖️ Disclaimer
These stories are mine — told through my eyes, my lens, and my lived experience. Each person moves through life in their own way. I own these stories, and I share them to inspire us all to live truthfully, freely, and as our most authentic selves.

🌿 Connect with Catherine
If this episode made you reflect on a time when you judged others or needed forgiveness yourself, share it with someone who showed you grace when you didn't deserve it.

Follow Catherine on Instagram to keep following the story.

Theme Song Written and Composed by Trevor Lynch and Michaela Dennis and recorded by Trevor Lynch in Chicago IL
Photo: Baumgardner Studio Yakima, WA
Production: Red Trux Productions Snohomish, WA

Catherine opens up about love in its many forms - from the exhausting performance-based love of her past to the transformative power of being loved "just because." She vulnerably shares the profound loss of her partner David during COVID, how grief became a catalyst for change, and her journey to finding love again with someone who teaches her she doesn't need to perform to be worthy.

💬 What You’ll Hear

• Agape Love: Understanding unconditional love and how it was the only love Catherine felt comfortable giving
• Performance-Based Love: Growing up believing she had to earn love through achievements, appearance, and over-giving
• The Comparison Trap: Watching friends in effortless relationships while she obsessed over perceived flaws
• Dating Disasters: From the guy with the clinker in his eyelash to repelling men who actually wanted to love her
• Meeting David: Finding someone who loved her in her "broken divorced self" without requiring performance
• March 23rd, 2020: The devastating day David died suddenly of a heart attack during the first day of COVID lockdown
• Moving Through Grief: Walking to move grief through her body and the mistakes of dating too soon
• Leveraging Loss: How David's death became the catalyst for coming home to herself
• Back to the Apps: Four months later, downloading dating apps and learning about ENM and poly via Google
• Finding Love Again: Meeting her current partner who teaches her "this is not a call to action" - she can simply receive

✨ Takeaway

Love doesn't require performance. You don't have to earn it through achievement, appearance, or over-giving. The exhausting pattern of proving your worth can be broken. Sometimes profound loss becomes the catalyst for discovering you're worthy of love simply for being who you are. Finding home within yourself first allows you to show up authentically in relationships - and that's when real love finds you.

⚖️ Disclaimer

These stories are mine — told through my eyes, my lens, and my lived experience. Each person moves through life in their own way. I own these stories, and I share them to inspire us all to live truthfully, freely, and as our most authentic selves.

🌿 Connect with Catherine

If this episode made you reflect on the ones you love, share it with them to let them know how much they mean to you.

Follow Catherine on Instagram to keep following the story.

Theme Song Written and Composed by Trevor Lynch and Michaela Dennis and recorded by Trevor Lynch in Chicago IL
Photo: Baumgardner Studio Yakima, WA
Production: Red Trux Productions Snohomish, WA