Kristin Hill Taylor

Seeking God as the Author of Every Story

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Game Nights for the Win!

March 5, 2015 by Kristin Leave a Comment

{This is an updated version of an earlier post.}

Movies. Books. Snow cream. And board games. These are fixtures of a snow day. I really should say snow days. Plural. Because we’ve had several the past few weeks. With nearly a foot of snow on the ground right now, I anticipate we’ll break out some games later today. Probably after the kids go sledding.

Games go through phases around here, especially as the kids grow into games they can play. {Unless, of course, you’re talking about Settlers of Catan, which has remained a fixture among our best adult friends since February 2007 when our obsession began.}

Here are some of the games my second-grade girl loves ::
  • Bananagrams :: Cate is still learning about the speed element of this game, but she likes finding words to use. Right now we play this together. It’s a boys versus girls thing around here. Of course, that means Greg is just making sure Ben doesn’t swipe any of his letter tiles in the quick pace of making words in crossword fashion.
  • Skip-Bo :: We love card games! This one is about numerically ordering cards while trying to get rid of all your own stockpile. 
  • Catan Junior :: I already told you about the adult addiction to this game. Good thing there is a kid version too. Like the original, it’s about expansion and strategy. 
  • Phase 10 :: Hooray for another card game in our rotation!
  • Apples to Apples :: There are kid versions of this game, but sometimes Cate will join in this regular edition. She doesn’t get all the noun cards matched with adjectives, but she gets the concept and enjoys it anyway. Plus the explaining makes for some good history and life lessons!
  • Game of Things :: This is on my favorite party games. People make up answers to prompts and before long everyone is laughing. It’s fun now that Cate and her friends are old enough to play too. They’re actually pretty good at it!
And these are ones my preschool boy can play :: 
  • Uno :: Ben likes this one, when he’s willing to sit still long enough. It’s good for numbers, colors and matching. Thanks to Diego and Dora, they both have long had the “Uno!” part down. 
  • Blokus :: The board reminds me of Tetris, but here your own pieces can only touch corners. Plus there is a competitive element of blocking your opponents. Sometimes when the kids are sleeping Greg and I like to break out this one. Shhh. 
  • Sequence for Kids :: This is my favorite preschool game. It’s easy enough they get it, but it also involves some strategy. {No offense Candy Land and Chutes & Ladders!} The goal is to get four of your own markers in a vertical, horizontal or diagonal row as your draw cards that match animals pictures on the board.
  • The Best of Charades for Kids :: I’m not a fan of charades generally, but I like that my preschooler who doesn’t know how to read can still act out words based on the pictures on the cards. Each card has one picture and two words that can each be performed. Ben is especially good at animals and sports. 
  • Hedbanz :: Once I can get beyond the intentional misspelling, this is a good game. It’s like 20 Questions for trying to guess what picture is on your head. 
  • Sorry! :: This one always produces the insincere “SORRY!” but it’s a good lesson for kids to learn to be good sports when games don’t go their way.

Does your family play games? What are your favorites?

________________

Want more insights? “Peace in the Process: How Adoption Built My Faith & My Family” is available on Amazon. Like me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, peek into my life on Instagram, follow 152 Insights at Bloglovin’, or subscribe to receive “Insights in Your Inbox.”

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Joy to the World (Vol. 3)

February 7, 2015 by Kristin Leave a Comment

Happy weekend, friends!

Today I’ve officially known Greg half of my life. We met 17 years ago through a mutual acquaintance and then went on a date the next week, on Valentine’s Day. Ah, how romantic! I suppose, but, really it was about logistics of going on a date the next Saturday. It was my freshman year of college people, I wasn’t looking for marriage. My how time flies … and most of it’s been fun! 

Life with Greg also been a bunch of real life that looks nothing like I expected. I mean that in a nice way. Really, that’s the theme of my life … 

We had a little blimp in our normal routine this weekend when both kids came home from school at lunchtime Wednesday with fevers. Cate also complained of her throat and stomach hurting, so I ended up taking them to the pediatricians’ office to get swabbed for strep. Positive!

This was Ben’s fifth strep diagnosis since late April 2014 and third since Christmas. It’s Cate’s second time in less than a month. Talking about health and medicine always prompts a good Facebook thread … 

But they’re better now. Hopefully for good. Or at least the rest of this winter.

Meanwhile, I’ve been posting things I’m loving over at Instagram, so I’d love to have you connect with me there. Here are some snapshots of #choosingJOY the past couple of weeks ::

1. “Experiencing Joy” by Jeannie Cunnion :: Joy seems to be a theme on the internet right now. At first I thought, well, isn’t my focus this year cliche? And then I realized it just means there are that many more resources out there. Like this article.

“What produces JOY is first remembering the good news of God’s grace and then letting it flow through us to one another.” {Jeannie Cunnion}

2. Extra! Extra! board game :: Even though I haven’t played this game yet, it’s making my list. Here’s the back story: Greg and I have played Settlers of Catan regularly with our best friends since February 2007. In May 2007, we started an perpetual scoreboard that we still tally wins. We sit in the same order around the table.

I haven’t been wanting a new game. I’m still happily addicted to Settlers of Catan, but then I read about this one. By the makers of Settlers! Before I was a mom, I was a reporter. So, yeah, this game seems perfect for me.

3. Road trips with friends that involve stops at good restaurants and our favorite college basketball team :: This has happened once with our friends the Gachokas. And it’s happening again today and next Saturday. I love basketball season. And my friends.

4. Sharing my story at other websites :: Yesterday I has posts at both places I regularly contribute – God-sized Dreams website and Circles of Faith. The GSD post is about marriage and how I’ve known Greg half my life {officially, today is 17 years!} and at COF I’m sharing another excerpt from my book that talks about how God hears the desires of our heart. I’d love for you to join me at both places.

5. Reading a new cookbook like a novel :: I’ve been lacking meal planning inspiration. So I resubscribed to eMeals and ordered a new cookbook, recommended by my friend Kayse Pratt. I spent an hour Thursday reading “Dashing Dish” by Katie Farrell.

6. From my #choosingJOY list on my iPhone :: 63. Walking in the morning. 64. My time with Ben during the day and him saying, “We have a busy day, you and me.” … 67. LeeAnn Willet bringing me JOY stickers at a Racers game. 68. A meal with so few carbs {tilapia, green beans, salad, blackberries} I barely have to take insulin.

How have you been #choosingJOY lately? {Tweet that.}

___________


Read other JOY-related posts and Joy to the World (Vol. 1) and (Vol. 2).

Want more stories? “Peace in the Process: How Adoption Built My Faith & My Family” is available on Amazon. Like me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, peek into my life on Instagram, follow 152 Insights at Bloglovin’, or subscribe to receive “Insights in Your Inbox.”

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Joy the World (Vol. 1)

January 16, 2015 by Kristin Leave a Comment

My kids are sick. Again. I thought we quit sickness, but apparently it didn’t quit us, despite the essential oils I’ve been slathering on my kids right after they take vitamins. Just another reminder that I’m not actually in control. Of course … 

Greg and I stayed up late last night watching an episode of “Blue Bloods” after we’d been out at a Murray State basketball game while my kids were sleeping in their beds and our college friend Amber watched Netflix and read a textbook on our course. I told her it would be the easiest babysitting job, ever.

I should have known when I stayed up later than usual that I’d also be up more than usual throughout the night. My kids are sleepers. Really, they always have been. Perhaps I’m spoiled, but we all like our sleep around here.

About 12 minutes after I’d fallen asleep, Ben was suddenly standing beside my bed. “My head hurts. It hurts to swallow my germs.” Even in my grogginess, I could interpret his 5-year-old boy speak: His fever was back up and his throat hurt.

So I gave him another dose of ibuprofen and wrote down the time, temperature, and medicine. I have to do that when I have one sick because I can’t always remember what time I did what. But this time I have two pieces of paper on the kitchen counter. Alternating Tylenol and ibuprofen with two sick kids is a momma’s version of math.

Anyway, all of this to say, I was laying in bed last night after I got up the first time (Yes, there were other times …) and I had an idea. I know, sometimes middle-of-the-night ideas aren’t good ones. But it still seemed like a good idea this morning, so I’m going with it. We shall see how it goes.


As I’m choosing joy in everyday life, I thought it would be fun to share (perhaps weekly? monthly? randomly?) things I’ve read or heard or watched that bring me joy. Now, I realize joy comes from the Maker of all things in this earth when we decide to let go and realize moments matter. But I also know choosing joy can be helped along by a blog post, song, movie, or conversation with a friend.

So I want to share. And I hope you will too.

1. The Packers of Catan :: You may know we’re obsessed with the Settlers of Catan board game. We have an ongoing scoreboard with our best friends that’s we’ve been tallying wins on since May 2007. We have other friends who play too, so we’re glad there’s an expansion version. Apparently the Green Bay Packers agree with us. This article just made my husband and I smile.


2. “Sugar” by Maroon 5 :: This video has been circulating on social media. And I’ve watched it more than once. I like it that much. If you haven’t seen it, go watch now. And you can thank me later.

3. Kristin Strong’s words about blogging trends :: I realize some of you don’t care about blogging trends. Actually, I don’t either. In the new year, there have been many articles and posts and tweets about the best practices of blogging. Honestly? They annoy me. Sure, I want people to read my blog, but I also like what’s happening here at my little corner of the big ‘ole internet. So Kristen’s words were refreshing for me. She has a way of doing that.

4. I’m keeping a list of #choosingJOY moments on my phone, like people count gifts, so I thought I could share a few of those too …

#22 French toast for dinner // #23 Ben building with LEGOs // #24 Reading fiction because it’s like a vacation right in the middle of everyday life (It was “Shoot the Moon” by Billie Letts this week.) // #25 Greg coming home for lunch and cooking me a fried egg for a sandwich because I wanted something warm

Your turn. Anything to share from your own #choosingJOY this week?

___________

I’m linking this post with Jen Ferguson for the Soli Deo Gloria Sisterhood Gathering. 

Want more stories? “Peace in the Process: How Adoption Built My Faith & My Family” is available on Amazon. Like me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, peek into my life on Instagram, follow 152 Insights at Bloglovin’, or subscribe to receive “Insights in Your Inbox.”

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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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I sat on my porch beneath a blanket and finished t I sat on my porch beneath a blanket and finished this book today. Yes, I’m fully invested in this Cuba saga involving the Perez family. “The Last Train to Key West” by @chanelcleeton is the third in the series. I have the fourth on hold at the library for pickup on Monday. 

I wasn’t sure I was going to love this one as much as I did Cleeton’s first two, but it was a slow-building story that turned stormy. I loved how the three women were in Key West for their own reasons, developed meaningful relationships as they navigated their lives, and managed to survive the storms of their lives and an actual hurricane. 

The historical fiction story offers hope:

“It’s strange how your life can change so quickly, how one moment you can barely eke by, desperation filling your days, and suddenly, out of the unimaginably horrific, a glimmer of something beautiful can appear like a bud pushing through the hard-formed earth. There’s so much broken around us; maybe all we can do is try to fix each other, do what we can to preserve these precious moments in a world where there is so much sadness and loss. … Maybe some would say my dreams are too small. Perhaps they would dream of railroads that go over the sea, great, wonderful things. Maybe others want riches and jewels, a chance to travel the globe. For me, this is enough: A corner of paradise in this wretched world that I am able to call my own.” — Helen in “The Last Train to Key West” by Chanel Cleeton

#KHTreads #bookstagram #booklover #librarybooks #historicalfiction #weekending #favoritethings #choosingJOY #bookquotes #bookreview
This morning there are three “holes” in Wright This morning there are three “holes” in Wright Road after the creek flooded it overnight. The Calloway County road department responded quickly and is working to pack in various kinds of gravel so it will passable again soon. I’m thankful for their work, but these Band-Aids aren’t an actual solution. 

Wright Road needs a permanent solution for when Wildcat Creek rises. A bridge seems to be the best idea, so the creek can rise and flow beneath the road rather than flowing across it and washing out the gravel on top of the culverts. 

I know it’s an expensive fix and would take local government working with state government, but I wonder how many times the road has to break before it can be truly repaired.

#callowaycounty #kyweather #kentuckyweather #countyroads #countryliving #reallife #murrayky
In a week filled with all the parenting emotions, In a week filled with all the parenting emotions, God has provided conversation with friends who understand, new mercies, a few walks and talks with a friend, and cinnamon rolls on a rainy Friday afternoon. I’ve been reminded when we are vulnerable and share our real lives, friends bring truth and goodness — often in ways we don’t expect but bless us anyway. 

#bettertogether #createdforcommunion #reallife #momlife #weekending #parenthood #choosingJOY #favoritethings #livingfaithfully
People ask when I have time to write. The truth is People ask when I have time to write. The truth is I like to make time to write, but sometimes it happens in the cracks of my days — at Panera, in the Notes app on my phone, at the library before I pickup my kids, or while I’m waiting on kids at activities. This week I edited my manuscript while Rachel practiced soccer. 

#momlife #writerlife #selfpublished #bloggerlife #authorlife #soccermom #thirdchild #createdforcommunion #bettertogether #favoritethings
I needed this weekend. The UK Wildcats didn’t I needed this weekend. 

The UK Wildcats didn’t win this afternoon like I had hoped. But following our house full of people on Friday night, I’ve spent a lot of time on my couch, under a soft blanket, with a book, while I watch #MarchMadness. 

Yesterday I pulled “When We Left Cuba” by @chanelcleeton from my to-be-read stack and then realized it was the second in a series about the Perez family. Thanks to @libby.app, I was able to get “Next Year in Havana” immediately. 

I finished it today during commercials and timeouts. And now I’m going to start “When We Left Cuba” as another basketball game also gets going. 

#KHTreads #basketballseason #weekending #bookstagram #reallife #booklover #librarybooks #KindleOasis #Kindlebooks #favoritethings
What a fun night! Basketball is best with friends What a fun night! Basketball is best with friends and food. So thankful for all these provisions and others in my life. Oh and a Cats win is icing on the cake. 

#MarchMadness #weekending #basketballseason #bettertogether #choosingJOY #BigBlueNation
You know it’s #MarchMadness when Greg Taylor pos You know it’s #MarchMadness when Greg Taylor posts on Facebook — and a picture at that! — and puts his radio/TV degree to work figuring out how to improve the viewing setup. 

#reallife #basketballseason #wifelife #choosingJOY
I had no idea just how deeply I would be affected I had no idea just how deeply I would be affected while studying Genesis 1-2. Going back to the beginning and seeing how God created, ordered, and filled the earth has been exactly what I didn’t know I needed, especially as a mom. 

For quite a while now, I feel like I’ve been living a day at a time. I used to be able to see my life in larger chunks of time and anticipate and prepare accordingly. Now, I slap things on the calendar and then deal with them as they come. Navigating life with two teenagers and a first-grader is the best and hardest thing I’ve ever done.

Honestly, this moment-to-moment living has been good for me and helped me rely on the God who created the stars and rivers that still exist in our world. Focusing on where I am helps me take slower steps, trust God to provide, and remember I’m not in control. I’ve felt an internal shift with my relationships — with my husband, kids, and friends. I’ve felt behind on laundry and dishes and piles of papers. But I’ve also felt a refreshed nearness to God. 

I’m going to rest here while believing God created life and light when there was only darkness and continues to order my days. 

#livingfaithfully #choosingJOY #momlife #faithlife #preceptstudy #genesisstudy #genesis #beginnings #reallife #PorchStories
My friend @ashleelyoung told me about this memoir, My friend @ashleelyoung told me about this memoir, but I knew nothing about Sutton Foster or her story beforehand. She’s a TV actress and Broadway singer and dancer who processes her life — complicated family life, love, loss, spotlight, infertility, adoption, motherhood — by creating. She creates in the kitchen, on stages, with yarn, with paint, with her hands, and with her mind. But her story really is all the experiences and emotions that inspire her creative work. I enjoyed this one. 

#KHTreads #memoirs #bookstagram #booklover #audiobooks #audible #bookreview
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