Kristin Hill Taylor

Seeking God as the Author of Every Story

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Sharing lives & gifts

November 9, 2020 by Kristin 11 Comments

November is National Adoption Awareness so I wanted to combine my loves of adoption and hospitality in today’s post. Truly, adoption taught me much about hospitality as we navigated three similar but different open adoptions, accidentally built a community of other adoptive & foster moms, and continue to teach our kids about the value of sharing our lives.

This is a fun post! I’ve got an edited excerpt from “Bringing Home More Than Groceries: Stories of Gathering & Nourishing People” to share with you. And then I have THREE GIVEAWAYS (!!!) of my books plus so many goodies from other mommas in my adoption community.

*****

Some of the friends I see the most in this parenting season are other parents from my big kids’ school. We chat at pickups, sit next to each other at games, carpool to field trips, and bring treats to the same classroom parties. We invest in our kids’ lives but come away with a deeper community too. So then we also make plans to see each other in the summer when our lives aren’t revolving around the school calendar, celebrating birthdays together and confiding in one another when we’re having hard days. Of course, all this looks different these days, thanks to COVID-19.

Investing in friendships with like-minded moms has helped me navigate motherhood. Sometimes this is a weary job! But raising kids is a worthwhile investment that takes time over the course of lots of seasons. Galatians 6:9 is a good reminder for me: “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”

I’ve heard this before, but it struck me in a new way when I was stretched among three parenting seasons. These words reminded me that with each conversation, boundary, ride home from school, and correction, I’m investing in my kids and the life we’re building together for God’s glory. Having friends in similar parenting seasons, as well as ones a few steps ahead of me, reminds me all the mental energy we’re investing is worth it.

More recently, parenting has involved conversations about cell phones, sleepovers, and vacations; discipline regarding grades and attitudes; and training and establishing habits. Yes, you can play basketball; no, you can’t have a cell phone. Yes, you can go over to her house after school, but you can’t spend the night.

I’ve talked with like-minded friends, many of whose kids are my kids’ classmates, and discussed with my husband, who thankfully lives on the same page with these things. Articles have affirmed why my kids won’t have cell phones anytime soon and why we don’t do sleepovers, but they’ve also reminded me living counter-culturally is hard but not beyond where God has called us, especially if we bring others with us.

My others have come as I befriended my kids’ friends’ parents, but also through engaging in shared activities with others. I have a group of fellow writer friends who first gathered online and then at my lake house for a retreat. We talk and text on Voxer almost every day. We came together initially to share each other’s writing and products, but we ended up praying together through lots of hard situations, discussing various parenting seasons, sifting through theological questions we didn’t always agree upon, and sharing details of our daily lives. We still root each other on in our craft, but we also consider each other dear friends.

I also have a group of Bible study girls. We sat down at the same table as part of a larger group, but as we studied scripture together, we shared pieces of our lives. We’ve had playdates at the park with our young kids and gathered at my pool when Bible study is on summer break. A few of those girls were among the first people with whom I shared my complicated grief when my dad died. Delana could be our mom and loves to cook for us. We sent gift cards to Leslie when she miscarried a baby and to Tara when she was sick. We prayed for kids and decisions and families. We recommend books to each other and check in on each other when we’ve gone too many days without touching base.

These groups of friends began on specific common ground and have continued to be a foundation in my life because we went beyond that initial reason for gathering. Maybe it’s not writing or studying the Bible. It could be any hobby or interest that brings you together with others you may not have otherwise known.

*****

Now for the THREE GIVEAWAYS! I asked in my Adoption Together group about possible gifts to share with y’all and so many people responded that we’re going to have two giveaways for people who live in the Murray, KY area and another for someone who lives elsewhere:

GIVEAWAY ONE!

  • Autographed paperback copies of both my books: “Bringing Home More Than Groceries” and “Peace in the Process: How Adoption Built My Faith & My Family”
  • A gift certificate from Cupcakes by Launa for an 8-inch cake or two dozen cupcakes
  • A $20 gift certificate to Blush Salon
  • Roden + Fields Daily Cleansing Mask and other product samples courtesy Kim Crouch
  • Matilda Jane tote from Morgan Sivells
  • Two engraved cutting boards from Harvest Crate and Bidwell Family Farms

GIVEAWAY TWO!

  • Autographed paperback copies of both my books: “Bringing Home More Than Groceries” and “Peace in the Process”
  • A gift certificate from Cupcakes by Launa for an 8-inch cake or two dozen cupcakes
  • Monat Revive Shampoo and Reshape Root Lifter from Tammie Ross
  • Homemade cookies from Morgan’s Cookies & Cakes (similar to the ones pictured, but actual delicious sugar cookies to eat!)

GIVEAWAY THREE!

  • Autographed paperback copies of both my books: “Bringing Home More Than Groceries” and “Peace in the Process”
  • Simple Purposeful Meal Planner from Erin Port
  • Three Shakelogy samples from Kayla Slack
  • Beauty Counter Beyond Gloss Trio and Lotus Glow Cleansing Balm from Allie Paschall
  • Embroidered Christmas tote from Kacey Queen of Fit For A Queen (not pictured, but will be added)

Use the Rafflecopter widget below before Friday, Nov. 13 to enter to win one of these packs of goodies! The first two prize packages are for folks in the Murray, KY area and the third is for any U.S. resident.

Enter giveaway here!

*****

This is the second in a monthly series about why hospitality matters in every season. Be sure to download the free printable with ideas about how to welcome others into your home and your life regardless of the season.

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Filed Under: adoption, giveaway, hospitality Tagged With: adoption, books, community, giveaway, hospitality

Comments

  1. Rebecca Hastings says

    November 9, 2020 at 8:32 am

    What a beautiful collection of giveways! Love how you relentlessly encourage women!

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      November 9, 2020 at 8:53 am

      Thanks, friend! xo

      Reply
  2. Mindy Estes says

    November 9, 2020 at 9:00 am

    Such a great giveaway! And thanks for including those not in Murray!! I’ve bonded with many women over that fact that I have so many kids in so many areas that I’ve become the “wise mom “ in my group!! I take that to heart and really to to watch what I say!! Sometimes it’s hard!

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      November 9, 2020 at 9:31 am

      Yes, mom friends are SO IMPORTANT! I’m thankful to have some who have gone before me and some who want to know what I’ve been through. I’m sure you’ve helped so many with your experiences.

      Reply
  3. Johanna says

    November 9, 2020 at 10:05 am

    Such a great giveaway! I love how adoption has brought so many local families together- including ours!

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      November 9, 2020 at 10:15 am

      Yes, me too! I miss seeing y’all!

      Reply
  4. Ava Watkins says

    November 10, 2020 at 1:32 pm

    Your giveaways are always so generous and appeal to a wide variety. You have always been a wonderful writer and I’m so glad to see you using your talent to spread the word about things that are so important to you and others.

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      November 11, 2020 at 2:29 pm

      Thanks, Ava! I appreciate your kind words.

      Reply
  5. Paige Fuqua says

    November 10, 2020 at 5:12 pm

    Thank you for how you find ways to connect people. I don’t know you very well, but I recognize your love for people as a way that God uses you to touch people’s hearts in a special way. I appreciate you!

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      November 11, 2020 at 2:28 pm

      Paige, that’s so nice of you to say. I’m glad we got to know each other a little better during soccer season.

      Reply

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  1. How to plan a cozy family night says:
    January 22, 2021 at 9:04 am

    […] is the fourth in a series about why hospitality matters in every season. (October. November. December.) And, yes, hospitality happens right in your home with your people. Learn more about […]

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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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Before I settle into a school time routine, I want Before I settle into a school time routine, I want to recap summer — my favorite season of the year that, honestly, just didn’t look like I expected & hoped in many ways. Even so, goodness was all around us. 

This was the summer of …
 
Crunch-dipped ice cream Drumsticks 🌼 4/5 of us having strep throat at different times, and Ben having it 3 times 🌼 Six Flags and Kentucky Kingdom 🌼 Venture River season passes 🌼 Plans changing and changing again 🌼 Plan B vacation because Covid is still interrupting plans 🌼 Friends sharing big news — someone’s son was injured, friends moving toward divorce after two decades of marriage, a friend being diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer, and a friend’s house flooding in a negligent way. 🌼 Holding onto the good news 🌼 Counting gratefulness 🌼 Celebrating 20 years of marriage 🌼 Reading mostly romance novels because that’s what sounded good 🌼 Traditional summer weekends with some out-of-town friends 🌼 Quiddler, although I can’t seem to win this word game. 🌼 Conversations in our bedroom with our oldest who likes to stay up later than us 🌼 Binge-watching “Yellowstone” 🌼 The easiest, clearest water we’ve had in six summers with a pool despite the leaking liner 🌼 Feelings that reminded me of Social Distancing 2020 🌼 Noticeable growth in my kids, the weeds around my house, and within my own heart.

Most years, I mourn the end of Summer Break, but this year routine & rhythms are returning at the right time. I spent some time this summer grieving some changes in friendships and disappointments with details that were far out of my control. But I also enjoyed life, sunshine, and right where God has me. That reality is helping me be ready for whatever comes next. 

📷: Cate, 15

#livingfaithfully #88daysofsummer #backtoschool #choosingJOY #PorchStories #reallife #momlife #faithlife #summerisbest
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#88daysofsummer #boymom #reallife #summerbreak #backtoschool #choosingJOY
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Introducing Backroads and Blooms Photography by Ca Introducing Backroads and Blooms Photography by Cate Taylor 🎉 

Cate has five different prints available as 5x7s or 8x10s and then matted and framed. She has in stock two of each print in each size, but she will order more. 

🖼 5x7s matted in 8x10 frame = $12
🖼 8x10s matted in 11x14 frame = $20

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Let Cate know in the comments what you’d like to order or message me. Local pickup/dropoff only right now. 

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