Kristin Hill Taylor

Seeking God as the Author of Every Story

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She is home {to me}

June 15, 2016 by Kristin 1 Comment

I can hear the hammering four houses down from my yard, the one with a For Sale sign. I would have told you there wasn’t enough room for anyone to build a house there, but they made room when they cleared some trees. It sits back more than some of the other houses on Sharpe Street.

But the sounds of nails going into the wood to make walls reminds of Schureck Court. Our house at the edge of the cul-de-sac was one of the first. We heard and saw so many of our neighbors’ houses go up, eventually circling our end of the street.

We played on the mounds of dirt and ran through the structures as the walls went up. These days, my kids would get in trouble for doing that. But as much as the fields were our playgrounds, so were the new houses.

I remember being excited to see who would move in next door. As I eyed the newly completed house, I was less interested in the floor plan and more intrigued with the family who came from Pennsylvania in October of 1990.

Turns out, that family included a girl who was a grade behind me in school, shared my hair color, and became my best friend.

Katie could sing and play the piano – hobbies that never interested me. But we could tell you exactly how many steps it was from her bedroom door – the first door on the left of her house’s first floor hallway – to mine at the end of the far end of our house’s second floor. We dreamed and cried and laughed and wished we were older. I don’t know how many games of flashlight tag we played, boys we talked about, or Dr Peppers we drank. Summers were running through the neighbors’ sprinklers, staying up late, and trying to get tans. We shared meals, secrets, and bags of circus peanuts.

Perhaps the best part of this story soaked in childhood memories is the girl from next door is still my dear friend. For more than two-thirds of my life, Katie has been part of it, somehow. She lives farther away now, but our lives are still intertwined.

My kids know when it’s Katie I’m talking to on the phone. I really don’t talk to many other people (hello, texting), but our conversations are unlike the ones I have with anyone else. Silly and serious are spoken in the same sentence. Greg says we think each other are funnier than we actually are.

From across the state, she still gets me. And when we’re together, we pick up where we left off during our previous visit several months earlier or finish whatever conversation we were having when we had to end our phone conversation because one of our kids needed something.

Katie is the first person I think of when all these years later I hear the builders at the new neighbors’ house in the Summer of 2016. They’re hammering out a family’s floor plan, building a foundation for new memories for people I probably won’t really know because we’re moving to our new land soon.

Yes, I wish it was Katie’s boys who rode their bikes past my house. I get sad thinking about how much our society has changed that I can’t let my kids run as free as we did – on mounds of dirt, through houses without walls, around our horseshoe-shaped neighborhood.

But I’m grateful for a recent visit with her and the way my boy was excited to play with hers. I will forever hold onto the childhood memories, thank God she’s still my friend, and embrace the adventure that’s still to come. And if Katie isn’t here to experience it with me, I’ll be sure to tell her about it because she is home to me.

_____________________

Have you downloaded my Summer Not-To-Do List? Reminiscing certainly isn’t on there! I often myself thinking of the summers we’ve already lived as we experience the new one. If you are encouraged by the not-to-do list, be sure to share it with a friend … or all your friends on social media! 
_____________________

152 Insights to My Soul

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Filed Under: summer, Three Word Wednesday

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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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To live in communion with one another, means to sh To live in communion with one another, means to share meals, space, advice, and prayers. It also means sharing hope, disappointment, dreams, and forgiveness. 

We explore what this looks like in “Created for Communion,” along with other biblical foundations for friendships and community.

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So many of my Facebook friends shared lovely pictu So many of my Facebook friends shared lovely pictures of their daughters yesterday for the completely made-up National Daughters Day. Regardless, today I'm all in my feelings about my daughters. 

They're 16 and 8 right now. Both of their classes have been studying ancient Egypt and had a joint feast today. Sweet, huh? 

BUT THEN TIMEHOP GOT ME! Apparently, NINE years ago today, when Cate was a second-grader, her class had an Egyptian feast. I think about a particular picture of Cate and her friend Kilee from that day AND THEN IT CAME UP IN MY TIMEHOP TODAY. Facebook also told me that same day nine years ago, Monica and I became Facebook friends. We probably were at the Egyptian feast and decided we'd be friends because our girls were friends. Y'all, God has been so good to me through my friendship with Monica. Our families click in a special way with our three sets of same-aged kids, most of whom have been adopted. 

Anyway, my daughters. They're lovely, funny, and smart. I love that Cate helped Rachel with her Egyptian eye makeup this morning and made her a Nutella and banana sandwich. I love that they got to have a party today at school together. I love that even though they're eight years apart, they're sisters. 

I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I do. 💛

#momlife #timehop #documentlife #bettertogether #sisters #siblinglove #nationaldaughtersday #daughters #reallife #schoollife #adoption #adoptionislove #PeaceInTheProcess #CreatedForCommunion #choosingJOY @ncca.lions
I’m pretty much always thinking about my next tr I’m pretty much always thinking about my next trip! Be it a weekend getaway or a family vacation, I’ve always got ideas of where I want to go next. The rest of my family always has suggestions too. Yes, take the (next) trip!

In the blog post HOW TO TAKE THE TRIP, I share lots of links and suggestions on where to go, who can help you, and what to take with you. 

✨ https://kristinhilltaylor.com/2023/09/how-to-take-the-trip.html

Where do you want to go? What do you always take with you?

#linkinbio #ontheblog #roadtrip #vacation #documentlife #takethetrip #bloggerlife #adventurers #choosingJOY #traveltips
I was thankful for some rest time on the couch on I was thankful for some rest time on the couch on Saturday afternoon — and a chance to finish this suspense book. 

“Between Two Strangers” by @katewhite_author had such an intriguing plot that pulled me right in. I was close to figuring out how it was all intertwined, but I didn’t quite get there through all the twists. Good, quick read!

#KHTreads #bookstagram #booklover #librarybooks #weekending #latergram #suspensebooks #goodreads
Recently, in random snapshots. This is a full life Recently, in random snapshots. This is a full life, but it’s a good life. 💛

#momlife #siblinglove #bettertogether #reallife #latergram #documentlife #soccermom #boymom #girlmom
When you subscribe to emails from my porch, you ge When you subscribe to emails from my porch, you get some free goodies! Plus, it's a fun way to chat about life, books, and faith. 

I just updated the free gifts to include a lovely PDF that has links to 27 (!!!) how-to posts about life, home, and parenthood. I'm going to give away more goodies when I meet some subscriber goals, so, if you haven't already, please join me on my virtual porch. 

🏠 bit.ly/PorchEmails

#linkinbio #PorchStories #bloggerlife #email #bettertogether #onlinefriends #authorlife #freebies #favoritethings
Well, don't they look lovely together! ✨ Find Well, don't they look lovely together! 

✨ Find them all here: https://amzn.to/3sRUHd7

#linkinbio #CreatedForCommunion #MoreThanGroceries #PeaceInTheProcess #bettertogether #hospitalitymatters #friendship #GodsDesign #selfpublished #books #KHTreads #bookstagram #bookshelf #goodreads #authorlife #PorchStories
You’re a light wherever you go! And you like to You’re a light wherever you go! And you like to go! You’re always making friends, asking about our next adventure, wanting to know what’s next, and talking if you’re not singing. You’re the joy our family needed in 2015 and you continue to be the one who makes us laugh and love better than we did before we knew you. 

... You ask a million questions, know the words to thousands of songs, have so many ideas, and still try to sneak into my bed at night. You say I’m the best snuggler in this family. I’ll take it – and your hugs and love, although the middle of the night will never be my favorite time. 

Happy birthday to the girl who loves loudly! 

✨ kristinhilltaylor.com/2023/09/rachel-is-8.html

#linkinbio #ontheblog #birthdaygirl #momlife #thirdchild #bloggerlife #TeamTaylor #reallife #birthday #thisis8 #choosingJOY #livingfaithfully #bestdad
In this book about biblical friendships, we’ll l In this book about biblical friendships, we’ll learn how God has created us for communion, allowing His people—then and now—to befriend one another in holy ways.

🌸 FREE RESOURCES & SAMPLE CHAPTER: 
kristinhilltaylor.com/created-for-communion

🌸 GET THE BOOK:
bit.ly/createdforcommunion

#linksinbio #KHTreads #bookstagram #bookrelease #author #book #booklaunch #amazonbook #goodreads #marketrefinedpublishing #MRPbook #bookshelf #nonfiction #selfhelpfbooks #christianbooks #christianauthors #CreatedforCommunion #GodsDesign #BiblicalFriendship #KristinHillTaylor #communion #friendship #faithlife #community #bettertogether #friends #holyfriendships
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