Kristin Hill Taylor

Seeking God as the Author of Every Story

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{Vacation} Like a good book

July 3, 2012 by Kristin Leave a Comment

Isle of Palms, S.C. I love the beach, even on overcast days.



“So, what was your favorite part of the beach?” one of my dearest friends asked today over our weekly lunch.

I never really answered her question. Instead, I listed everything I loved about the week with my family near Charleston, S.C. And just after doing so, I realized that was the best way to approach the blog post to document my vacation.

So, here we go, hang on for my wordiness …

Soakin’ wet and no worries … 

My kids loved the beach.
Let me be honest, I want my kids to love the beach. But, you know, well, you just never know. Two years ago, Ben just wanted to eat the sand at the beach. And Cate has grown so much in the past two years and oh-so much since her first time at a beach.

But, with no pressure from their beach-lovin’ momma, my kids loved running and in and out of the waves, digging in the sand, searching for shells, and doing it all over again. They played with their clothes on when we weren’t planning on getting wet. And they swam among the waves with the sun was shining.

Cate and I were among the group that spent seven hours {with a lunch break back at the rental house} on the beach our last day in South Carolina. Ben went full steam ahead all morning and then took a nap in the afternoon.

Ben loved playing with my aunt Kim,
and he thought that tidal pool was his.



My aunt vacationed with us.
My mom’s sister, Kim, and her husband recently retired to a lake near Columbia, S.C, which is only a couple hours from where we were staying at Isle of Palms. We don’t see enough of Kim, who is an important person to me, so being able to catch up with her and watch her interact with my kids was such a highlight of vacation.

And Ben certainly agreed. You can see he took her as his playmate on the beach our last day there. He thought that tidal pool was made for him. Those two things gave me a chance to get a good start on Harlan Coben’s “Stay Close,” which I read in a day and a half. I’m sure you can imagine such speedy reading is really unheard of in this season of my life.

That’s my family, minus my dad.



Being with my family was fun. 
I live in a small town that is 3 1/2 hours from my closest family member. I love our life right where it is, but I also love it when my family converges at the same house. Our different philosophies collide in the doorway, yet we make room for each other and fall into the way we are together. They expect me to make a plan. My sister’s sarcasm makes us all laugh. My brother is calmer than he was as a kid. The kids adore their aunts and uncles, particularly my brother-in-law. My sister-in-law is so easy going that she brings a calmness to the original Hill family. In fact, all three of us married people who complement us. We laugh, we tell stories, we play games, we eat.

Hello, seafood.
Seriously, eating is one of my favorite things about vacations. Especially seafood near the beach. And even with not much planning and some quick Yelp recommendations, we happened upon some delicious food. Hyman’s Seafood. Charleston Crab House. Coconut Joe’s. Sullivan’s Restaurant. Henry’s House.

Cousins make everything more fun. And I love that bridge.



Downtown Charleston is worth exploring.
We had a couple rainy, overcast days that forced us inside, but we found plenty to do. The South Carolina Aquarium was fun and we found the nicest bowling alley I’ve ever experienced. Plus we saw downtown on a horse-drawn carriage and then took a boat to Fort Sumter. The guys did some fishing while the ladies and kids shopped at Charleston’s City Market. 


Want to see some of the sites we saw?

Two-story ocean tank at the aquarium.

That’s Dave leading us around.

The guys caught fish like this.

Capturing the moment while shopping … 

Ben thought the canons at Fort Sumter were meant to be talked into!

Pardon the wind, but that’s us … 

At Fort Sumter, with a view of our boat and that bridge I love.

Did I mention we ate well? Here is my sweet girl at Cupcake.

I didn’t want to leave South Carolina on Saturday morning. I could have gone for a few more days, even a week more, before settling back into normal life. But once I got home 12 1/2 hours after leaving our rental house, I was glad to be home.

You know, vacation is kind of like a good book. You get hooked and just want to soak it all in, page after page, not wanting to put it down. But then it’s over, but, thankfully, you have the stories to cherish. And, well, of course, I took many pictures to go along with the words we were living.

________

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Filed Under: Ben, Cate, family, food, summer, vacation

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About Me

Telling stories is my therapy and I love sharing them with friends on my porch.

The main characters in my stories are my entrepreneur husband, our ninth-grade girl who never forgets, our have-no-fear sixth-grade boy, and our joy-filled kindergarten girl. As we live out our stories, we seek God as the author of them all.

Learn more about my story here.

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I miss … … a few particular friends from whom I miss …

… a few particular friends from whom I’m separated by circumstances, logistics, and distances. 

When I make a friend, I intend to stay friends forever. Of course, life doesn’t always work out that way. 

I don’t miss my kids being young, but I miss the ease of socializing with my friends during that season. It was easy then to meet at the park or go somewhere for lunch. Now there are so many schedules to work around. 

Scheduling time to lunch or get together is still my love language, it just takes a little more work, patience, and persistence now. And sometimes that’s exhausting. But it’s always worth it. 

#OneDayMay #maydays #bettertogether #livingfaithfully #reallife
School’s out FOR THE SUMMER! #88daysofsummer #mo School’s out FOR THE SUMMER! #88daysofsummer #momlife #siblinglove #summerisbest #maydays
I’m proud of myself for … … surviving and t I’m proud of myself for …

… surviving and thriving this school year. I resist change almost all of the time, and the past nine months have been full of so many transitions for our whole family. I know, that’s life, but these changes seem like the kind that will mark us forever. 

My kids navigated new beginnings in kindergarten, middle school, and high school. As a mom, sometimes I’m too close to see the growth, but this year it happened in each of them right before my eyes. They navigated friendship hurdles, embraced new friends, and settled a little more into who God created them to be. Middle school isn’t for the faint of heart, but I feel like I’ve come out of this year closer to my son, so I will take it. 

I’m proud of myself for leaning into where God has me. I’ve grown deeper friendships, invested in my kids’ school as a board member and business manager, and seen God work in our ordinary days. 

Y’all know I’m a summer girl, so I’m proud of myself through getting through the winter and coming into summer stronger and braver. 

#OneDayMay #maydays #livingfaithfully #choosingJOY #momlife #summerisbest #bettertogether
I’m honestly surprised I didn’t read this book I’m honestly surprised I didn’t read this book sooner. I loved so much about it, but I did want some of her stories to be  less repetitive and offer more practical advice for living out “radical, ordinary hospitality.” Rosaria Butterfield defines hospitality like this as sharing what you have in real time, preparing to continually life this lifestyle, and bringing strangers in so they become neighbors who become family. 

I took notes throughout, but especially during the introduction. I came away with an appreciation that hospitality can involve lists, schedules, and habits. I felt encouraged, even if I thought the book could have been organized better to include practical tips and other people’s stories. 

#KHTreads #bookstagram #audiobooks #livingfaithfully #bookreview #booklover
Something I don’t usually share (online) … I Something I don’t usually share (online) …

I am an opinionated person, but I don’t usually share political opinions on social media. People who know me in real life know I value being pro-life, having less government involvement in our everyday lives, defining marriage as God intended it, and being fiscally conservative. As a former newspaper reporter, I still get excited about elections. I admittedly pay a little less attention in the almost 15 years I haven’t been in a newsroom. But I still care and have plenty of opinions. 

I voted today in Kentucky’s Primary Election. I’m thankful for the freedom to share my opinion by darkening some blocks on a paper ballot. 

#OneDayMay #maydays #reallife #livingfaithfully
Old friends and live music are two of my favorite Old friends and live music are two of my favorite things, so having them together is the best. My friend Aaron and I went to multiple Dave Matthews Band shows together during our college years, so now two decades later it’s fun to do it again as grown ups with our spouses for a band that speaks truth into our lives. 

@needtobreathe put on the loudest acoustic tour I’ve ever seen, but it sure was good! And its encore of completely unplugged songs was especially sweet. 

#NTBlive #needtobreathe #bettertogether #choosingJOY #favoritethings #livingfaithfully #weekending
Happiness is … … a slow morning that gave me Happiness is …

… a slow morning that gave me a chance to finish reading a good book right after I fixed my favorite cinnamon toast. 

… some shade to invite me to pick some more weeds around the house. But why doesn’t my Apple Watch count this as exercise? It felt like exercise to me! 

… an appointment with my oldest girl for us both to get our nails done this morning. 

… my youngest girl’s last soccer game of the season, even though the heat made her a little grumpy. 

… pool time, another good book to read, my mom visiting for the second weekend in a row, a little more weeding, and a night at home with no specific plans. 

Happiness is everyday, normal life with my people, especially when it comes with a slower pace after a hectic week. 

#OneDayMay #maydays #soccermom #KHTreads #momlife #weekending #choosingJOY #livingfaithfully #poolpeople #PorchStories
I regretted having to go to sleep last night befor I regretted having to go to sleep last night before I finished this book, so I picked it up at breakfast and didn’t do anything else until I finished it. 

I loved the Alaskan cruise setting, the quick love and understanding between Greta and Ben, and the realistic ways grief changes people. Well done, @jenniferesmith! 

#KHTreads #bookstagram #kindlebooks #booklover #kindlepaperwhite #reallife #weekending #recommendedreads #poolpeople #amreading
Happy Friday! 🎉 We’ve got four more days of s Happy Friday! 🎉 We’ve got four more days of school next week and then it’s #88daysofsummer! Obviously, we’re ready. ☀️ 

Here’s to a refreshing weekend with much anticipation of what’s to come! #weekending #choosingJOY #livingfaithfully #thirdchild #momlife #summerisbest #poolpeople #PorchStories #maydays
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