Kristin Hill Taylor

Seeking God as the Author of Every Story

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May days! Stories from the porch

May 30, 2018 by Kristin 17 Comments

Oh, May, you’re my favorite, and I’m always so sad you happen quicker than I wish. This month was like one big celebration of life, so I’m hoping to carry to joy with me into June.

Highlights

The highlights in this month are easy: I turned 39 and my oldest turned 11. We let our birthdays linger into Mother’s Day and then into her party two weeks later, conveniently scheduled the day after my kids’ last day of school. We also got to double date to an escape room and Red Lobster with our best friends for my birthday.

We officially kicked off summer at Kentucky Lake with my siblings, their families, and my parents this past {long} weekend. Spending Memorial Day weekend there together has become a tradition I love. We ate well, played games, went out on the boat, and enjoyed being together for the first time in many months. There also was plenty of swimming, fishing, and kayaking, depending on who wanted to do what.

Hey, the more celebrations the better. That was pretty much our unspoken motto in May.

Plus I got to meet one of my favorite authors! Be sure to read about that experience, if you haven’t already!

Oh, and our pool water is already into the mid-80s and the air temperature has been higher than that most days, so we’ve been swimming often. We’ve started inviting people over to join on the porch and around the pool too. Y’all know that’s my favorite.

Favorite things

In addition to the pool and people being here, cookbooks are topping my favorites list. Oh, let’s be honest, it’s the food I’ve made from the recipes and the stories that go along with them that I really love. I got “Magnolia Table” by Joanna Gaines and “The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Come and Get It!: Simple, Scrumptious Recipes for Crazy Busy Lives” by Ree Drummond for my birthday and Mother’s Day. They’re both beautiful and include stories about the recipes and the people for whom they cook. And they both provided much-needed inspiration for me to get in the habit of cooking again.

I shared four things I’m loving in a post earlier this month, so those things (a summer planner, a clamp that holds my Kindle, new kids’ music, and a devotional book) could certainly be added here.

From the bookshelf

“Dead Drift” by Dani Pettrey – This is the fourth (and final) book in the Chesapeake Valor Series that I’ve loved. I love the group of friends whose stories are developed throughout their suspenseful adventures together. It officially releases July 3, but you can preorder it now. And if you haven’t read the earlier books in the series, I recommend those too.

“Tell Me Three Things” by Julie Buxbaum – This may be a young adult novel, but I seriously loved it. It reminded me a teenage version of “You’ve Got Mail” (which I adore) and did a good job navigating grief.

“Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace” by Becky Monson – This one was just okay. It was good enough that I wanted to find out what happened and enjoyed some funny parts. But the main character’s indecisiveness got on my nerves.

“Witness in Hiding” by Lisa Phillips – I read this book in one day, which tells you how into the story I was! I really liked the suspense of why Zoe was hiding being woven throughout the plot of the story. Zoe and Jude are likable and I definitely found myself rooting for them, professionally and personally.

“The Way Life Should Be” by Christina Baker Kline – This was no “Orphan Train,” but I still enjoyed it. I have been to the area of Maine in which the story is set, so that was a fun factor.

“I Am Watching You” by Teresa Driscoll – I don’t remember where I heard about this one, but I really enjoyed it. I liked how the perspectives of the plot switched among different people, including the father, the friend, and the witness.

I keep a running list of book recommendations (including some of these!) on Amazon.

On the screen

Well, most of my shows are on summer break, but I’m looking forward to “The Resident,” “Blue Bloods,” and “Madam Secretary” returning. They each had good finale episodes. I’m hanging onto “Black List” too, but I’m ready for the story to really wrap up at this point.

Three of the four finalists on “The Voice” were my favorites. I would have traded Kaleb for Kyla, but it was an enjoyable first experience with that show. Brynn for the win!

What kind of celebrating did you do in May?
It’s time for #PorchStories!

{Tweet that.}

*****

Kristin Hill Taylor - Porch Stories
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Filed Under: Porch Stories Tagged With: books, food, life, TV

Comments

  1. Rebecca Hastings says

    May 30, 2018 at 6:24 am

    Sounds like you’ve had a delightfully full month! So glad you were able to celebrate so many things with the people you love 🙂

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      May 30, 2018 at 4:56 pm

      Delightfully full is a great way to describe it! Hope yours has been good too!

      Reply
  2. Barbara Harper says

    May 30, 2018 at 6:42 am

    Sounds like a great month! I’d like to check out The Magnolia Table some time.

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      May 30, 2018 at 4:56 pm

      If you do check out the Magnolia Table, start with the ricotta pancakes. AMAZING.

      Reply
  3. Joanne Viola says

    May 30, 2018 at 6:50 am

    May always seems to stretch out in front of us like a tease and then fly by faster than we know! I love May. So glad it was a month filled with celebration!

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      May 30, 2018 at 4:55 pm

      Thank you, Joanne! Hope y’all have a wonderful June too. xo

      Reply
  4. Michele Morin says

    May 30, 2018 at 8:16 am

    I have loved May as well, and am sorry to see it ending. We had a great long weekend with everyone here for Memorial Day, the baby grandgirl was dedicated in the Sunday service, and there was SO MUCH FOOD here. And laughter.

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      May 30, 2018 at 4:55 pm

      Oh yay! That sounds like a great way to wrap up May. I’m with you on being sorry to see it end. Here’s to June being just as fun for both of us! xo

      Reply
  5. SUSAN SHIPE says

    May 30, 2018 at 8:45 am

    Kristin, the Taylor’s pack more into a month than most. You live a very blessed life and I believe you are fully aware of that. God bless you all and here’s to a safe, wonderful summer 2018!!! Psalm 91 prayers over all of you. xo

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      May 30, 2018 at 4:54 pm

      We are a family of (mostly) extroverts, so, yeah, we tend to pack a lot of activities into life. Ironically, my kids don’t do a ton of extracurriculars, but we like our life, that’s for sure! 🙂 I love Psalm 91, so thanks for prompting me to read it today. Love you, friend. xo

      Reply
  6. Meghan Weyerbacher says

    May 30, 2018 at 1:55 pm

    I love reading your posts, Kristin. Those sound like good books too. I got to watch a couple episodes of The Voice but our signal is weak. Hope you have a great week and enjoy your summer!

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      May 30, 2018 at 4:53 pm

      Thanks for being here, Meg!

      Reply
  7. Donna Miller says

    May 30, 2018 at 5:44 pm

    Wow you had such a blessed Month with family and friends. We had a good month with friends and we traveled a bit to see our G-Babies over Memorial Day Weekend. I love swimming but it’s been pretty rainy here in Florida this month. Hoping for more sun in June! Our ‘Month’ to celebrate with family is October lol. I would love to get a copy of Joanna Gaine’s cookbook! Blessings to you …

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      May 30, 2018 at 9:34 pm

      We’ve been joking that we have Florida weather here in Kentucky! There is rain & storms forecasted nearly every day, but they’re just pop up showers that are passing fairly quickly. Then the blazing sun comes out again. It’s made for good swimming days here, though! I’m glad you got to see those grandbabies of yours!

      Reply
  8. Lisa notes says

    June 1, 2018 at 2:50 pm

    It seems like just yesterday that y’all were enjoying a season of the pool. Time really flies! This 2018 has really gone even faster than normal for me since I’ve been dividing up my time more between home and my new grandbaby’s house. 🙂

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      June 3, 2018 at 6:36 pm

      I feel the same way about time. 🙂 Sounds like you’re spending your time well though! Thanks for being here, Lisa.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Pause for Rest and Refreshment - Words, Photos and Art says:
    May 30, 2018 at 5:16 pm

    […] I’m linking up with: #FiveMinuteFriday, #Grace&Truth, #FaithOnFire, #FreshMarketFriday, #SundayThoughts, #TrekkingThru, #InspireMeMonday, #porchstories […]

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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”

I love summer. But my summer has started off busy: appointments, book edits deadline, establish new habits with the kids at home. All that’s necessary and good, it just cuts into my down time beside the pool. 

Today we have two open gyms for our basketball players, my book study with a few friends, a new weekly high school girls’ book study at our house, and a monthly dad-son character study. 

I long for a little more white space on the calendar, but I also wouldn’t change a thing because the kids are only 16, 13, and 7 once. This summer will only be this summer once. And I’ve already learned time flies with big kids. 

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. 

#84daysofsummer #poolpeople #momlife #momconfessions #faithlife #livingfaithfully #favoritethings #choosingJOY #countryliving #reallife #PorchStories
The Hill family reunion at @shelterpointretreat ha The Hill family reunion at @shelterpointretreat has become a favorite tradition to kick off summer! The weather was perfect and everyone enjoyed one another. 

#familyreunion #lakelife #kentuckylake #kylake #getoutside #familytime #memorialday #memorialdayweekend #favoritethings #84daysofsummer #summerisbest #choosingJOY
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But this made me wonder: how do we know if a book is going to be weird, contain elements we don’t like, or go places that don’t make sense? I don’t like to read much about a book before I read the book. Usually, I do a better job of picking books for myself. 

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I needed this low-key weekend that was pleasant we I needed this low-key weekend that was pleasant weather, a mixture of productivity and rest, and had plenty of wide-open space to enjoy our property and each other. 

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And that’s a wrap on soccer season! I love watch And that’s a wrap on soccer season! I love watching them both play. 

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On Mothers Day, I wanted to sit by the pool with a On Mothers Day, I wanted to sit by the pool with a book, but I didn’t know what I wanted to read. Whenever I have indecision about books, picking up a thriller usually helps because of the story’s pace. 

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I want to savor the #84daysofsummer and I want to embrace this new season. And it’s almost time. Three more days of school. (Deep breaths.) 

Meanwhile, I’m going to keep collecting the moments — the hard, hurried, happy, and heartfelt. The seasons do change, but this is the life we are living. 

“The moments you collect may not be loud or flashy. They might be quiet or covered or a far-off view you were lucky to catch. But this I know to be true: A moment savored says to your soul, ‘You have lived something beautiful.’ And it keeps you buoyed. It sustains you when you’re running empty. It lifts you up and carries you forward.” — Joanna Gaines in @magnolia summer 2023 journal issue no. 27 

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