• Post-election thoughts

    ByKristin life, motherhood
    2 Comments

    In this election season, there have been two sides – and they’ve each been loud. People threw their support for both candidates with public proclamations dedicating the vote to their daughter, but what mom doesn’t vote without her kids in mind? Obviously, voting our beliefs considers our kids … and everything else about our life. 

    Honestly, these two presidential candidates were both terrible choices to me. 

    And I thought about my teenage son and how I don’t want him to walk into a public bathroom and come face to face with a woman who thinks she’s a man. I thought about my teenage daughter and how I don’t want her playing on sports teams with boys who think they’re girls. I thought about my youngest daughter and her future too. I thought about how all three of my kids’ birth moms could have aborted their unwanted pregnancies and taken their lives before they began outside the womb. I thought about how we talk to our kids about conservative spending habits, financial freedom, and entrepreneurship – cores of our lifestyle. I thought about the amount of government regulation I want in my kids’ futures. 

    I also thought about who I wanted to represent us in a cultural crisis. I thought about how I’m (hopefully) raising my kids to consider others and serve humbly. I thought about how the rest of world is watching and wondering if having a convicted felon in the White House means he can just pardon himself regardless of what his sentence brings. 

    I watched election returns Tuesday night because I just can’t forget my journalism days and still love that part. I explained the electoral college to two of my kids and one asked the next morning who won Pennsylvania. Yet I still wasn’t thrilled with either option. The process is fascinating, but the people are disheartening. 

    And that’s still how I felt the morning after going to sleep before anyone got to 270. 

    I’m thankful I don’t put my hope in either Kamala or Trump – aka the pretty lady and the orange man, according to my third-grader. More importantly, I’m thankful my hope doesn’t rest in any one politician or political party. Because, hey, spoiler alert, they’re going to disappoint over and over. Every election about half of the population is going to be disappointed. 

    Thank God His kingdom is still coming and Jesus alone is the One to whom I can cast all my hopes and fears. Also, spoiler, again: That’s who ultimately wins it all. 

  • Nine Things I Learned in October

    ByKristin Things I Learned

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    The other day Rachel got the first dose of her flu shot and I was making an appointment for the booster dose for four weeks later. Well, four weeks from last Thursday is going to be Thanksgiving. And we’re going to be on a Disney cruise, but that’s another story for another time. The point today: HOW ARE WE LESS THAN FOUR WEEKS AWAY FROM THANKSGIVING?! I feel like I say this every month, but, geez, time is F L Y I N G by so quickly.

    So, dear October, you were hotter than usual and faster than usual, but you were good to us. We saw friends during Fall Break at the beginning of the month and then more friends at the end of the month for Murray State’s Homecoming. We closed on our now-old-to-us house, had family pictures taken, and stayed busy with school activities. Before you’re history, October, let’s remember what you taught me.

    1. The bacon maple doughnut our local doughnut place makes is amazing. And, yes, doughnut is the proper spelling. Donut is Dunkin’ Donuts’ fault. I had it twice this past month.

    2. Evan McMullin is getting my vote in the presidential election. I was going to write a whole post about this, but I decided not to. Even so, I’m happy to talk about why I don’t believe voting for a third party is a wasted vote, if you want to talk more about that kind of thing. (Evan McMullin shares about this same philosophy on his website and Facebook page regularly.)

    3. My baby is a toddler. And watching her toddle around makes me so happy. And while I’m not doing monthly posts to document her growth, I’m thankful for the ways social media allows for that.

    (She is currently into walking, attempting to run, turning off lights, laughing at herself on Snapchat, and opening cabinets, if y’all were wondering.)

    4. Carrollton’s album is worth putting on repeat. I heard “Let Love Win” on the radio and looked it up later. While doing so, I listened to other songs and ended up with the whole album. Also, turns out some of the band members are Kentucky boys, so that’s a fun fact!

    5. Seeing one of my kids embrace generosity makes me proud. And by proud I mean relieved that I may be doing something right.

    If you missed the post about the bake sale Cate and two friends organized to raise money for Guatemala, then I encourage you to check it out – and not just because she’s my girl. We’re also packing shoe boxes for other children soon too.

    6. Likewise, when my boy edited his birthday party invitation, my word-loving, mom heart was proud.

    (Turns out there wasn’t an error, but rather an opportunity for a conversation with a first-grader about plural and possessive nouns.)

    7. I always say summer is my favorite (and it is for so many reasons), but I really do love fall. I think I say this every year, but it always falls fresh on me like a new revelation. It’s a busy season, but there are many opportunities for parties and events and that makes us happy. Hello, family of extroverts.

    8. I went to a paint party and enjoyed myself. I just said I liked parties, but I don’t like to paint. But I successfully painted a wooden Kentucky with gray and aqua chevron stripes. It was a fun girls night out with my oldest daughter and some of our friends. Plus the party raised money for our church’s adoption grant fund.

    9. One word can rock my world, in the best and hardest ways. And then when God shows me that one word in a couple places in a way that encourages and convicts simultaneously, I become mush. This time is was AMBASSADOR in my Precept study of the Sermon on the Mount and in “Parenting” by Paul David Tripp. I wrote a whole post about it, and am I’m giving away a copy of “Parenting,” so be sure to go enter to win a copy.

    How did October treat you?