Kristin Hill Taylor

Seeking God as the Author of Every Story

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How to enjoy winter days at home

December 19, 2022 by Kristin Leave a Comment

God has made each season beautiful and appropriate in its own time. - Kristin Hill Taylor, Bringing Home More Than Groceries #morethangroceries

Y’all know I’m a summer girl, but cozy, slow mornings or evenings at home are one of the perks of winter. Yes, days are short and temperatures colder than I’d prefer, but let’s look on the bright side of these colder times of the year. Even though I’m not sure about the single-digit weather coming our way later this week, I’ll have to take advantage of my warm house and some cozy activities!

Pajama mornings

I just told someone today I’m craving a slow morning in my pajamas. We have some plans during Christmas Break, but I purposefully didn’t make any early morning appointments. To wake up without an alarm and be able to stay in comfy clothes for a few hours will be a treat for us all in my house. My son will make hot chocolate, my oldest daughter will sleep in the longest, and my youngest will sneak into my bed to snuggle with me. I love making pancakes (especially this Cracker Barrel copycat recipe) or French toast on our griddle. 

Game nights

Game nights are our favorite winter social activities! Inviting people over in the summer comes more naturally with our pool and porch, but there are fun winter opportunities too. We have friends over to watch our favorite Murray State Racers basketball team or play board games. There are many new board games out there, and I even bought my kids some for Christmas! (Here are some of our other favorites!) 

Prepare meals

I like to cook more in the winter too. Warm casseroles and soups hit the spot and provide good meals. Sometimes it’s just as easy to cook for more people, so we will invite friends over to share Taco Soup with us. I have a couple of meat lovers in my house, so maybe I need to learn new ways to make the best tomahawk steak at Jerkyholic.com or embrace baking a little more! I do love baked goods, but I’d rather cook the main courses. 

Get outside 

Of course, I’m tempted not to leave my house in the winter, but getting outside – even in the cold – is always good for my soul. Thankfully, we live where we have lots of wide-open spaces to roam, so walking through our woods, down the logging road, or even down the street is always a welcome break from the indoors. My kids like when it snows – and then they’re most definitely interested in getting outside! Yes, and then Ben will make more hot chocolate to warm himself right up! 

How do you like to spend your winter days?

*****

Hospitality matters in every season, and I share some ways to connect with others even in winter in the free printable that goes with my book, “Bringing Home More Than Groceries: Stories About Gathering & Nourishing People.”

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Filed Under: family, winter Tagged With: books, community, family, games, life, seasons

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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
Hello, #84daysofsummer! ☀️ #TeamTaylor #girl Hello, #84daysofsummer! ☀️ 

#TeamTaylor #girlmom #boymom #momlife #reallife #summerisbest #siblinglove #countryliving #poolpeople #getoutside
First of all, who else has read this book? The plo First of all, who else has read this book? The plot was promising as a thriller and the setting really worked. There were some good twists, and then there were ridiculous twists. I skimmed the end only because I wanted it to make sense. And it didn’t. It was too weird for me. 

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. 

#KHTreads #bookstagram #booklover #donotrecommend #bookofthemonth @bookofthemonth
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. 

#weekending #TeamTaylor #poolpeople #countryliving #favoritethings #choosingJOY #maydays
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. 

#soccermom #weekending #springtime #momlife #girlmom #boymom
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. 

“The Only Survivors” worked well because there was a lot happening! Lots of creepy, mysterious moments. Only so many people could be guilty of infiltrating a small group who had lots of secrets! 

I loved the timeline of this one. The back story about an accident was told in seven one-hour segments. The present mystery was told in seven days. 

#KHTreads #bookstagram #booklover #latergram #bookofthemonth @bookofthemonth #poolpeople #mothersday
Y’all we are very ready for summer. ☀️ And Y’all we are very ready for summer. ☀️ 

And when I say summer, I mean we are ready to shake up the routine, mentally regroup, turn off the alarms, establish some new habits, soak in the sun, and catch up with friends we’ve been crossing paths with too quickly. 

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 

#momlife #reallife #momconfessions #livingfaithfully #summerisbest #teenagedriver #choosingJOY
I’ve read quite a few World War II novels, but t I’ve read quite a few World War II novels, but this one by Soraya M. Lane focused on three nurses, their friendships, and how the war changed their lives. It’s a hard story, but it’s full of love and hope despite the destruction around them. 

And it’s the second historical fiction audiobook I’ve listened to in a row! #KHTreads #bookstagram #booklover #audiobooks #Audible #KindleUnlimited #historicalfiction
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