• The sweet spots of Washington, D.C.

    ByKristin Porch Stories
    12 Comments

    I would have so many stories to tell you if you were on my real-life porch and said, “Hey, Kristin! How was your trip to D.C.?”

    Short answer: The trip was wonderful. We saw a lot!

    Longer answer: Really, this trip to our nation’s capital was a sweet spot for me for many reasons, so let’s go that route recapping my trip. (Although my mom wanted a day-by-day recap, so that’s an option too!)

    So, the sweet spots: I’m a former newspaper reporter who still loves news and government, so I loved the atmosphere. Greg and I hadn’t been away by ourselves for more than a night in five years. I got to share pieces of my family’s adoption story — which certainly includes a larger community — with my representative, one of my senators who is also the majority leader, their congressional staffs, my governor and his wife, and a former foster child who is now a lobbyist. Plus I got to hang out with a friend from Oklahoma and we made new friends from our own home state. We connected with a family from South Dakota that I hope to get to know more.

    We saw monuments, rode on a short train in an underground tunnel that connects an office building to the Capitol, toured the White House, participated in the FBI Experience at the Hoover Building, and saw Vice President Mike Pence and Dr. Christine Blasey Ford exiting the Capitol at separate times with their entourages. We walked in the rain and used Uber like it was our best friend.

    Officially, I was in Washington, D.C. as one of the 2018 Angels in Adoption recognized by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute. U.S. Rep. James Comer nominated me. He presented with an award at a luncheon one day and recognized me with a speech on the House floor the next day. With our new friends from Louisville, we got to meet with Comer as well U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is one of our state’s senators, and their staffs.

    On the last night, we celebrated this program and the families who participated with the annual Angels in Adoption Gala. We got all dressed up and Kentucky’s Gov. Matt Bevin, who has nine children, four of whom are adopted, joined us. Bevin, a Republican, and Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, announced their partnership to improve foster care systems in their states and across the nation so forever homes are realities.

    Adoption and foster care are not partisan issues, and I’m thankful we’ve gotten to be a small part of the work — both at home and here in Washington, D.C.

    *****

    I took lots of pictures and elaborated on some of these aspects of the trip in Facebook posts, so you’re welcome to check out those for more details. {Personal Photo Album // Adoption advocate press release} Meanwhile, I got the new CSB (in)courage Devotional Bible in the mail last week and I’m excited to share with y’all I have two devotions included in this beautiful project.

    *****

    Kristin Hill Taylor - Porch Stories
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  • Nobody wants to bare her soul alone

    ByKristin adoption, books
    2 Comments

    Writing is my self-therapy as I process what God is doing and document everyday life. Even so, I need my people to make this happen. I’m excited to share my self-published book is almost ready and will be available for purchase in mid-September!

    And I would love you, my people, help introduce my book to the world.

    “Peace in the Process: How Adoption Built My Faith & My Family” is the story of God’s faithfulness through a season of infertility, three adoption processes, and the days since. Through it all, I learned God hears the desires of our hearts, wants us to live in community, and uses all of our circumstances for our good and His glory.

    This second edition of “Peace in the Process” includes contributions from other adoptive moms, my kids’ birth moms, and resources for families who want to grow through adoption and the people who support them.

    I originally published the first edition as an ebook in 2014 and am so excited for this updated version that includes so much more of what God has done in our family and community.

    What being on a launch team means

    You’ll get an early PDF copy of the book plus have a front-row seat to all the excitement. Basically, I want you to help me spread the word about this book that feels like baring my soul to the world … because who wants to do that alone?!

    You don’t have to be a blogger; you just have to be willing to share some images and links I’ll provide as well as tell your friends – on social media, on the telephone, in an email, or while they sit next to you on a porch – about my book.

    The book officially releases in mid-September and then I plan to continue to share about it in November as part of National Adoption Awareness Month. So your commitment to the launch team would be over before the holidays.

    I’ve got a Facebook group ready for y’all, so let me know if you want to be part of this.

    Sign up for the launch team here.

  • Five Things I Learned in July

    ByKristin Things I Learned

    Oh, July, how you’ve been fast, hot, and fun. In fact, as the school supplies sit on my kitchen counter, that’s how summer pretty much has felt. But here we are, at the end of yet another month. Of course, I’ve managed to learn some things …

    1. Rachel can climb out of a pack-and-play.

    She first performed her new trick while we were staying at our lake house for Fourth of July weekend. I knew exactly what had happened as soon as I heard the door knob moving from inside the room.

    We were in a hotel in St. Louis a few weeks later and she climbed out of the pack-n-play so many times I lost count. But for three nights she was much more interested in jumping on the king bed than sleeping in her own confines.

    2. When it’s really hot, lines are shorter at an amusement park.

    Honestly, armed with our spray bottles and pocket fans, I would take the heat with no waiting at Six Flags with the heat index of 111 degrees. We walked right up to roller coasters and rode every ride we wanted more than once. I’m sure there were plenty of lines at Six Flags’ waterpark, but we didn’t even venture over there.

    Of course the next day, which was equally as hot, the indoor Magic House was busting at its seams.

    3. Lingering longer really is good for my soul.

    Give me a vacation, and I can plan every minute of it. But when we recently spent a long weekend in St. Louis, we weren’t rushing from one place to the next and it was so nice. I browsed Target with my oldest kids while Greg sat with a napping Rachel in the car. We played cards in one room of the hotel suite while Rachel delayed sleep with her hotel acrobatics in the other room. We took our time walking through Soulard Market with friends. We ate at some favorite restaurants with no agendas.

    The concept of lingering longer applies to my whole summer, and not just that one weekend in St. Louis. I do hope I can carry the slower pace – at least the pace inside myself – into other seasons.

    4. Editing my own book (again) really does speak to God’s faithfulness to write the best stories.

    I’m working to publish an updated “Peace in the Process,” which will be available in paperback and ebook on Amazon. This self-publishing process has been a good one, and I’m excited to share more about it – and my actual book! – with y’all this fall.

    I love the cover, the contributions from other adoptive moms, and how God’s faithfulness is woven throughout my soul-baring story. I’m putting together a launch team now to help me spread the word when “Peace in the Process” is self-published in mid-September.

    I say self-published, but, let’s be honest, it’s taken more than just me. I’m grateful for my graphic designer and photographer friends who helped make the cover exactly what I wanted. I’m glad there is an internet full of resources, including Fist Bump Media, to help me get my story – which is actually God’s story – bound up in a book.

    (If you want to join the launch team, click here to let me know.)

    5. Documenting a hard time is bittersweet.

    Using the Project Life app, I made some photo collages of Ben’s burns to include with the journaling I did so he can remember the experience as he gets older. Granted, nobody wants to remember the pain of second-degree burns, but God showed up in Ben’s healing and the community that helped care for our family during that time – and that’s certainly worth remembering.

    How was your July? Also, if you have figured out how to slow down time, please let me know.