Kristin Hill Taylor

Seeking God as the Author of Every Story

Sharing lives & gifts

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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.

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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.

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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!

GIVEAWAY TWO!

GIVEAWAY THREE!

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!

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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.

Sharing Spring Break with Nancy Drew

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Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the DVD/Blu-ray I reviewed in this blog post, but the opinions I share belong to my kids and me.

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We started off Spring Break with a movie that seemed well suited for both my sixth-grade girl and third-grade boy. I was right – they both enjoyed “Nancy Drew and The Hidden Staircase.”

After the death of his wife, Carson Drew decides to leave Chicago behind and make a fresh start with his daughter in River Heights. But for 16-year-old Nancy Drew, life in a small town is mighty dull. She longs for excitement, adventure, and the chance to make a difference. Nancy gets that opportunity when she is asked to help solve the ghostly activity at the Twin Elms mansion.

Can she help explain the creaking footsteps, exploding lightbulbs, and the ominous creature? Is it the handiwork of high-school bully Derek Barnes? Or is it possible that the ghost of original owner Malcolm Colfax is back for revenge? Recruiting her best friends George and Bess, along with local “mean girl” Helen, Nancy Drew is on the case!

Ben said it reminded him of the Hardy Boys books. Cate, who has read several Nancy Drew books, said Nancy didn’t look like she expected her to but she did play the part well. Cate also considered the books more serious than the movie. Ben agreed the movie was funny: “If I were going to watch that again, I’d go right to the end because it was the funniest part!”

Both my kids thought they had solved the mystery before the end of the movie, but they were wrong! They recommend this movie to anyone who likes mysteries. They didn’t think it was scary, but it was creepy enough that my 3-year-old girl left the room for other entertainment.

About the movie

The iconic mystery-solving teenager from the classic Nancy Drew books is back with an all-new feature-length film that will keep you guessing until the very end! “Nancy Drew and The Hidden Staircase” stars Sophia Lillis (“It” and “Sharp Objects”), Sam Trammell (“True Blood” and “This is Us”), and Linda Lavin (“The Good Wife” and “Alice”) and follows Nancy Drew in her new town, making new friends and on a mission to solve the case! Ellen DeGeneres is the executive producer.

This DVD/Blu-ray combo officially releases today (April 2, 2019) from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. The suggested retail price is $19.99 for the digital, $19.98 for the DVD, and $29.98 for the Blu-ray combo. It’s rated PG.

Watch the trailer here.

Giveaway

And there’s a copy of this movie for one of you, thanks to Warner Bros. Home Entertainment! Just use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter this giveaway between now and Tuesday, April 9. Open to U.S. residents only.

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I Love You Just Because {review & giveaway}

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“Three very different bear cubs liver together in one place,
Each chosen for these parents by God of love and grace.
And when the cubs ask why they’re loved, their parents often say,
‘We love you just because you are God’s gifts for whom we prayed.’”

“I Love You Just Because” by Donna Keith is a book about a bear family, but those opening lines reminded me of my own family. We are a family of five put together through adoption.

While I was reading the book to my 6-year-old son and then sitting by my 9-year-old girl when she read it, they each talked about which bear they are like in the story. I loved the sweet conversation about how God put us together to be a family. We talk about that regularly, but I love any book that prompts more of that.

ABOUT THE BOOK :: Through cute illustrations by Alison Edgson and rhyming text, “I Love You Just Because” will help little ones understand their parents’ love for them doesn’t have to be earned. With the same friendly bear family from Donna Keith’s first two books — “I Love You All the Same” and “I Love You Even When” — the sweet story of this book will remind you that family members love each other … just because.

This 20-page board book is for children 4 to 8 years old and was published by Thomas Nelson on June 7, 2016.

Learn more about this book and others on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Learn more about Donna Keith on Facebook.

GIVEAWAY :: One of you can win your own copy of “I Love You Just Because,” thanks to FlyBy Promotions. This giveaway is open through Sunday, Aug. 7 to U.S. and Canadian residents. Use the Rafflecopter widget for multiple ways to enter.

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My kids have a copy of this cute book that we reviewed and there’s a copy for one of you, thanks to FlyBy Promotions/Propeller Consulting. I received this book in exchange for a review, but these thoughts are our own.