Kristin Hill Taylor

Seeking God as the Author of Every Story

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Merry & Bright

December 23, 2015 by Kristin Leave a Comment

This past weekend we’ve had Christmas with Greg’s two brothers and their families, watched the two oldest kids in a Christmas program at church, went to a potluck lunch with a couple of the Guatemala missionaries we served with this summer, and caroled at two local assisted living homes.

It was a fun, Christmasy weekend.

Rachel was wearing a cute “merry & bright” outfit at Gran-Gran’s house. I’m glad we snapped some family pictures before Greg’s brothers and their families arrived because Rachel promptly pooped on the white onesie.

The kids had fun with their cousins – including my three, there are 11 total. The oldest turns 12 in a couple weeks, and the others are 10, 8, 6, 6, 5, 4, 2, 17 months, 5 months, and 3 months. We managed a couple pictures of all the cousins, my favorite of which is above.

By the time Monday came, we were all glad to have a slow morning – well, you know, except Greg, who had to go on to work. The kids and I lounged around, ate a good breakfast, and caught up around the house on our first day of Christmas Break.

Kids aren’t the only ones who rejoice when Christmas Break comes around, y’all. This momma is welcoming the break in our routine.

But we did have to venture out on the rainy first day of break to the grocery. We needed bread, eggs, milk, cheese, and butter. For real, talk about being out of the basics. And we aren’t even expecting snow. (If you don’t live in the South, you may not know what I’m talking about.)

In fact, apparently it could be 70 degrees for Christmas. And rainy. Again, in the South you never know what you’ll get.

Anyway, back to the grocery store, one kid didn’t feel good, another was coughing, and the third was asking a million questions. But we made it – mostly smiling. I filled their bellies at Qdoba before we ventured into the grocery store, so maybe that move paid off. And then we got back to the van in the parking lot and I realized I left one door wide open – like I was inviting someone in, where I had $65 in cash sitting on the passenger front seat. Thankfully, nobody accepted my absent-minded invitation.

We have some plans with friends tonight and tomorrow night. We’re doing Christmas Day here – partially at our house and partially with extended family at Greg’s grandma’s house, which is conveniently next door to us. And then we’re headed to Louisville to hang out with my family.

Sometimes outfits get poop on them. Other times momma forgets to do the most ordinary tasks. Groceries still have to be bought and little bellies fed. Kids are loud, have lots of questions, and share germs.

But it’s still Christmas. So may your days be merry and bright, and may all your Christmases be white. (Or rainy. Whatever. Because merry & bright certainly doesn’t mean perfect.)

How are you celebrating Christmas?

_____________________

152 Insights to My Soul

It’s the #Christmas edition of #ThreeWordWednesday at @kristinhtaylor’s place. Come gather with us! http://bit.ly/1PjKppU {Tweet that.}

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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 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.

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🎶 All throughout my history / Your faithfulness 🎶 All throughout my history / Your faithfulness has walked beside me / The winter storms made way for spring / In every season, from where I'm standing / I see the evidence of Your goodness / All over my life … 🎶 @joshbaldwin in “Evidence”

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So here we are finding out footing, singing praises with church friends on our porch, grilling delicious chicken, and squeezing in the wide-open spaces when we can. This is evidence of the good stuff. 

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