Kristin Hill Taylor

Seeking God as the Author of Every Story

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Stories from the Porch in June

June 26, 2019 by Kristin 8 Comments

I’m going to live in denial that the summer – and the year! – is halfway over. Somebody posted yesterday we were six months from Christmas, so I think I’m going to ignore that countdown for now too. Goodness, I love this time of the year and I want to soak it in. For me, part of soaking it in is remembering what has happened, so that’s what’s happening here. Thanks for joining me on the porch.

Highlights

We started the month with a trip. I know, that’s a nutty plan given how our May was, but I gave Greg tickets to the Cardinals versus Cubs baseball game in St. Louis way back in April before my life turned extra crazy. So we spent two days in St. Louis, and it was really fun. We ate at Fitz’s, where they also bottle delicious soda. We went to the first half of the game that then included a 3 1/2-hour rain delay that sent us back to the hotel and into bed. The next day we went to Grant’s Farm for the first time and really enjoyed it. We ended the weekend by eating at the Boathouse at Forest Park, another favorite STL restaurant.

We were happy to return home and have a stretch of “normal” days that involved inviting friends over to swim, exploring our creeks and land, and being together without an agenda. (I’m also a little obsessed with that field of amber waves of grain in the picture above that we happened upon!)

My sister, Cassie, know lives just four hours away. Considering for the majority of her adulthood and marriage, she’s lived across the world in New Zealand, a dozen hours away in Dallas, and about 11 hours away in Buffalo, NY, I’ll take four hours! She moved to Bloomington, Indiana, this month with her husband and their three kids and after a couple of weeks decided to capitalize on our closeness. She and her kids (and our mom) came to visit and swim. I love watching our kids be together and I love being grownup sisters.

Then last weekend five of my favorite writer friends gathered at my lake house for a retreat. It didn’t really end up feeling like a retreat.

We all came with ideas and disappointments and full schedules and emotions. People had trouble getting here and one of us from the usual group couldn’t be here. We moved locations because my lake house was without power for 18 hours.

But we laughed (and cried), ate several meals together, brainstormed and encouraged one another to work on new projects, watched two movies, and are thankful our usual Voxer conversations came to life around tables and in living rooms. God sure has been teaching me this year about surrendering expectations and holding plans loosely, and I’m thankful to have these friends alongside me – even fro our scattered physical locations for the most of the year.

Favorite Things

Writers’ Retreat – While it didn’t feel like much of a retreat, I’m glad we did it. I call it a writers’ retreat, but it’s about so much more than that. We do talk about our writing – whether that’s actually blogging, book writing, podcasting, or creating products. But we also talk about our ministries and motherhood and marriage and all sorts of other things that don’t have to begin with M. At our retreat, each of us brought our favorite things for each other, so that was fun to share.

And, yes, here are links to all their websites: Mary Carver. Anna Rendell. Amanda Conquers. Kayse Pratt from Anchored Women. Erika Dawson from Faithful Moms. Christen Price.

Yes to Cucumbers Face Wipes – I included these in my gifts to my friends. And I use them every day, usually on my face but also sometimes on my feet.

Burt’s Bees lip balm – I especially like the coconut & pair and mango flavors, but I bought an assorted pack to share with my friends.

(I’m sharing a favorite Summer Not-To-Do List and playlist to my email #PorchStories friends, so be sure you’re signed up. If you’re not already, you can join in the fun here.)

From the bookshelf

“Only Ever Her” by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen – I really loved how this story was told from how it affected different characters. There were lots of relationships and connections intertwined with the suspense of what happened. This was one I didn’t want to put down.

“It Ends With Us” by Colleen Hoover – It’s been a while since I read a whole book in a day, but that’s what happened with this one. The characters are dealing with lots of heavy subjects, such as abuse, heartbreak, and death, but the writing also includes some sweet, funny details.

“The Middle Matters: Why That (Extra)Ordinary Life Looks Really Good On You” by Lisa-Jo Baker – I actually read this one in my crazy May days, but I wrote a review and shared about the fun preorder bonuses this month, so I wanted to make sure y’all knew about it before it officially releases July 23.

“Britfield & the Lost Crown” by C.R. Stewart – Cate reviewed this adventure book for elementary and middle school readers on the blog this month. She has read it multiple times, so be sure to check out her review if the kids in your life are looking for a book recommendation. It’s the first in what’s expected to be a series. My girl is ready for the next one, that’s for sure!

Stay tuned because on Friday I’ll have a complete list of all the books I’ve read so far this year with links to any reviews I’ve written. Of course, here are some tips on how I manage to read several books a month.

On the screen

“Aladdin” – I really loved Will Smith as the genie and loved seeing this classic Disney story truly brought to life. We’ve loved the theatrical version of Aladdin we’ve seen on the Disney cruises, so our expectations were pretty high, but my kids and I all give this one all the thumbs up. Plus I love that there are good family movies in the theater this summer. Greg took the kids to see “Toy Story 4” last weekend while I was retreating with my blogger friends.

“Second Act” – This movie had more substance and emotions than I was expecting, but I really enjoyed it. I hadn’t heard of it, but my pop culture expert friend Mary Carver brought it to our retreat and we stayed up way too late watching it one night.

“Isn’t It Romantic?” – Again, I hadn’t heard of this one, but Mary came through with more movie goodness. I literally laughed out loud multiple times and Rebel Wilson wasn’t as crass as I thought she might be.

“Designated Survivor” – I am so glad Netflix picked up this show to continue with season three, but a new character is crasser than the original ones. Somebody told the whole show gets edgier, so I’m not sure how I feel about that, but I’m a couple of episodes in and want to keep watching at this point.

How’s your June been? What stories would you bring to the porch?

*****

Kristin Hill Taylor - Porch Stories

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Filed Under: Porch Stories Tagged With: books, friends, life, summer, TV, writing

Comments

  1. Barbara Harper says

    June 26, 2019 at 8:26 am

    What a busy time! I love the more unstructured days of summer. The writer’s retreat sounds fun! Except for the power outage. But it sounds like a great time despite that. I love Burt’s Bees Lip Balm, just the plain or honey flavors. The book on midlife sounds interesting – not too many books are written for that segment of the population.

    We loved the first two seasons of Designated Survivor, so we were excited a new season would go straight to Netflix – until we saw it. Half a dozen f-bombs in an hour was way too much for me. I was so sad they decided to go that direction.

    We did discover a show on Hulu that we’re enjoying – The Librarians. We’re only about 5 episodes in, but it’s good so far. Evidently there were three movies of it before the series was made, but we haven’t seen the movies.

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      June 26, 2019 at 8:40 am

      Good to have you here, Barbara! I’ll have to check out that show.

      Reply
      • Barbara Harper says

        August 3, 2019 at 5:20 pm

        It seems like just about the time I mention a show publicly, then it starts to have issues. 🙁 This one did start having a bit of bad language. It’s not often, but it’s there. And some of the “magical” things might be problematic, depending on your point of view. Most of the episodes were light-hearted, but some were very dark. Here’s a review of it: https://www.pluggedin.com/tv-reviews/librarians.

        Reply
  2. Rebecca Jones says

    June 26, 2019 at 3:07 pm

    Great that you mentioned cucumbers, or wipes I just got a whole bunch of them. Thinking about making a scrub or something, refreshing for summer.

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      June 27, 2019 at 8:43 am

      Ironically, I don’t like actual cucumbers, but I do like them in face products and lotions. It is refreshing that way. I hope you find a great way to use them! Thanks for being here.

      Reply
  3. Lauren Sparks says

    June 27, 2019 at 11:03 am

    Second Act didn’t get good critical reviews but after hearing yours I think I want to see it. laurensparks.net

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      July 1, 2019 at 10:29 pm

      You’ll have to let me know what you think! 🙂

      Reply

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  1. Parenting Alone During Deployment says:
    June 26, 2019 at 10:00 am

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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.

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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
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I’ve already bou ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’ve already bought three copies of “Glad You’re Here: Two Unlikely Friends Breaking Bread and Fences” by @walkerhayes and @craigallencooper to gift to specific friends. I’ve referenced this story in conversations this week and will likely recommended it for years to come. 

This story is about two seemingly different guys befriending each other because their kids were on the same baseball team and their wives became friends. They kept showing for each other, encouraged each other, and changed each other for the better. In fact, their friendship was the catalyst for Walker deciding to follow Christ. 

Give me Applebee’s on a date night, a real-life story of how we are eternally better together, and an audiobook that makes me want to drive and I’m a happy girl. I’m fancy like that. 

#KHTreads #bookstagram #bettertogether #livingfaithfully #hospitalitymatters #audiobooks #booklover #favoritethings
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