Kristin Hill Taylor

Seeking God as the Author of Every Story

  • Home
  • About
  • Books
    • Peace in the Process
    • Bringing Home More Than Groceries
  • Contact

A heart-shaped cake and sprinkles of joy

September 2, 2013 by Kristin Leave a Comment

Nearly 23 years of friendship piled onto my porch swing and memories flooded my heart. Growing up next-door neighbors, Katie and I used to sit on our childhood front porches dreaming of the day we could drive away from our seemingly boring lives. Now we dream of when we can drive across the state to see each other to escape our chaotic routines.

She’s like home to me. Wherever we are, we pick up where we left off. We interrupt each other’s stories with updates that lead us to many tangents that usually find their way back to where we started. We laugh at jokes nobody else would think are funny.

And we grin at each other across all the noise when our three boys and one girl play. Seeing our kids be friends is one of the sweetest parts of a life-long friendship. 

We had sent Katie’s boys a birthday present in the mail recently because Simon just turned 3 and Charley is getting ready to turn 5. {And, just a side note, Charley doesn’t like cheese, therefore he calls it all stinky cheese, so I had to get him this when I saw “stinky cheese” in the title. And, really, who doesn’t like cheese?!}

Cate, my 6-year-old girl who remembers everything, suggested making Charley and Simon a cake. So we did. She chose the heart-shaped pan. She and Ben chose the aqua blue icing with fish-shaped sprinkles. And we baked the cake one afternoon and then decorated it before school the next morning.

And it was then, while I was spreading blue icing onto a heart-shaped cake, that I forgot the frustrations of the week, laid down the emotions that had been distracting me, let go once again of thinking I could control our next steps, and let my heart be filled with joy.

Joy comes from friends who know you better than anyone but love you anyway. Joy comes when you’re raising the next generation to know friendship. Joy comes when your girl wants to make a couple of boys a cake. Joy comes when the conversation that has been happening since October 1990 continues into college and married life and motherhood. 

While my husband was snapping many pictures trying to get all four kids to look and even smile, he finally said, “Silly faces!” and everyone but Simon participated. And then Greg said, “These last ones are good ones.” They’re the good ones because they’re the real ones, where joy overflows from a heart-shaped cake, ongoing conversations, lots of boy energy, and history piled on a porch swing. 

________


{Edited 9.3.13: I’m going to link this with Jen Ferguson’s Soli Deo Gloria party. She’s asking people to reflect on their summers and while this doesn’t directly do that, it actually does. What I learned this summer is to be more present and continue my journey to embrace imperfection. Life is lived in the moments, and this is a reflection on some moments this past week as summer temperatures still soaked our bodies in sweat and filled our hearts with joy.


Want more stories? Like 152 Insights on Facebook. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram. Follow 152 Insights at Bloglovin’. Subscribe to receive “Insights in Your Inbox.”

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: friends, life, motherhood, Soli Deo Gloria

Comments

  1. Beth says

    September 2, 2013 at 3:27 pm

    A beautiful testimony of friendship. Thanks for sharing Kristin. Have a wonderful Labor Day.

    Reply
  2. KristinHillTaylor says

    September 2, 2013 at 3:28 pm

    Thanks, Beth. Hope you're enjoying the long weekend with your husband!

    Reply
  3. soulstops says

    September 4, 2013 at 2:58 am

    Kristin,
    What adorable pictures of you all…what a gift to have such a friendship and for your kids to be part of it…love it 🙂

    Reply
  4. KristinHillTaylor says

    September 4, 2013 at 12:43 pm

    Hi, Dolly! This is one of those things nobody tells you – watching you kids befriend your dear friend's kids is the BEST. Hope you're having a good week!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Let’s Connect

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter

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 high school girl who never forgets, our middle school boy who has no fear, and our joy-filled first-grade girl. As we live out our stories, we seek God as the author of them all.

Learn more about my story here.

Subscribe for Updates

Recent Posts

  • How to enjoy motherhood
  • How & why to travel with kids
  • From snow to sand
  • Books of 2022
  • How to enjoy winter days at home

Join the Conversation

Join the Conversation

On Instagram

In a week filled with all the parenting emotions, In a week filled with all the parenting emotions, God has provided conversation with friends who understand, new mercies, a few walks and talks with a friend, and cinnamon rolls on a rainy Friday afternoon. I’ve been reminded when we are vulnerable and share our real lives, friends bring truth and goodness — often in ways we don’t expect but bless us anyway. 

#bettertogether #createdforcommunion #reallife #momlife #weekending #parenthood #choosingJOY #favoritethings #livingfaithfully
People ask when I have time to write. The truth is People ask when I have time to write. The truth is I like to make time to write, but sometimes it happens in the cracks of my days — at Panera, in the Notes app on my phone, at the library before I pickup my kids, or while I’m waiting on kids at activities. This week I edited my manuscript while Rachel practiced soccer. 

#momlife #writerlife #selfpublished #bloggerlife #authorlife #soccermom #thirdchild #createdforcommunion #bettertogether #favoritethings
I needed this weekend. The UK Wildcats didn’t I needed this weekend. 

The UK Wildcats didn’t win this afternoon like I had hoped. But following our house full of people on Friday night, I’ve spent a lot of time on my couch, under a soft blanket, with a book, while I watch #MarchMadness. 

Yesterday I pulled “When We Left Cuba” by @chanelcleeton from my to-be-read stack and then realized it was the second in a series about the Perez family. Thanks to @libby.app, I was able to get “Next Year in Havana” immediately. 

I finished it today during commercials and timeouts. And now I’m going to start “When We Left Cuba” as another basketball game also gets going. 

#KHTreads #basketballseason #weekending #bookstagram #reallife #booklover #librarybooks #KindleOasis #Kindlebooks #favoritethings
What a fun night! Basketball is best with friends What a fun night! Basketball is best with friends and food. So thankful for all these provisions and others in my life. Oh and a Cats win is icing on the cake. 

#MarchMadness #weekending #basketballseason #bettertogether #choosingJOY #BigBlueNation
You know it’s #MarchMadness when Greg Taylor pos You know it’s #MarchMadness when Greg Taylor posts on Facebook — and a picture at that! — and puts his radio/TV degree to work figuring out how to improve the viewing setup. 

#reallife #basketballseason #wifelife #choosingJOY
I had no idea just how deeply I would be affected I had no idea just how deeply I would be affected while studying Genesis 1-2. Going back to the beginning and seeing how God created, ordered, and filled the earth has been exactly what I didn’t know I needed, especially as a mom. 

For quite a while now, I feel like I’ve been living a day at a time. I used to be able to see my life in larger chunks of time and anticipate and prepare accordingly. Now, I slap things on the calendar and then deal with them as they come. Navigating life with two teenagers and a first-grader is the best and hardest thing I’ve ever done.

Honestly, this moment-to-moment living has been good for me and helped me rely on the God who created the stars and rivers that still exist in our world. Focusing on where I am helps me take slower steps, trust God to provide, and remember I’m not in control. I’ve felt an internal shift with my relationships — with my husband, kids, and friends. I’ve felt behind on laundry and dishes and piles of papers. But I’ve also felt a refreshed nearness to God. 

I’m going to rest here while believing God created life and light when there was only darkness and continues to order my days. 

#livingfaithfully #choosingJOY #momlife #faithlife #preceptstudy #genesisstudy #genesis #beginnings #reallife #PorchStories
My friend @ashleelyoung told me about this memoir, My friend @ashleelyoung told me about this memoir, but I knew nothing about Sutton Foster or her story beforehand. She’s a TV actress and Broadway singer and dancer who processes her life — complicated family life, love, loss, spotlight, infertility, adoption, motherhood — by creating. She creates in the kitchen, on stages, with yarn, with paint, with her hands, and with her mind. But her story really is all the experiences and emotions that inspire her creative work. I enjoyed this one. 

#KHTreads #memoirs #bookstagram #booklover #audiobooks #audible #bookreview
Also from the weekend: Shout out to @lifehousemurr Also from the weekend: Shout out to @lifehousemurray for putting on the fabulous @beautiful.you.conference with @meggpam from @shelivespurposefully. My girl and her friends had a great time together and my momma heart is thankful this is how they chose to spend a Saturday morning. 

#momlife #girlmom #teenagers #weekending #livingfaithfully #choosingJOY #latergram
Yesterday was one of my favorite kids of days with Yesterday was one of my favorite kids of days with some of my favorite friends. Kids played inside and out, the TV was never on, and new memories were made with old friends. Plus we ended the night with our ninth year of Little Hands Trivia Night. It was our worst finish ever, but we still had such a fun time! 

#bettertogether #weekending #livingfaithfully #choosingJOY
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Favorites

Categories

Archives

Copyright © 2023 Kristin Hill Taylor | Design by Traci Michele | Development by MRM