Kim Janine Ligon's Blog, page 3

The Gift of Family

The best gift I got was when my sister, Lori, was born. She was the first of my nine siblings. I love being part of a large and loving family. The second wonderful gift I got was when I married my husband and became part of his, then much smaller, family. Holidays are a time when I especially think about both of those amazing gifts of love.

When I married we began the tradition of one year with my family at Christmas and the next with my in-laws. As my siblings married, they fell into the sa...

With Gratitude

This is the time of year when we focus on things we are thankful for instead of what is wrong in the world. It’s a good thing to do because the best things in your life can be overwhelmed by the nagging aggravations, day-to-day troubles, and the just pure evil that is out there buffeting your ship of life with high winds and roaring waves.

I am thankful for all my people: my husband who perseveres at my side all these decades, for my extended family including those I acquired by marriage, for ma...

Follow the Signs

One of the things I enjoy when we travel is reading the signs posted in front of churches along the way. We like to avoid the interstates when possible so we ride more on two lane roads populated with little and not so little churches.

This church isn’t from any farther away than my basement. It’s one I built for my husband’s model railroad layout.

I often wonder why pastors want to post comments on the board in front. Is it to attract new members? To remind existing members to come t...

My Readers

One of the fun things about being an author is getting to meet my readers, both virtually and in person. I greatly value and appreciate my blog followers who buy and read (and review) my books but there’s always room for more at the bookshelf!

In May I was invited to spend an afternoon with the Illumen bookclub and their many friends in Moundville, Alabama. We had a lovely lunch and then discussed my debut novel, “Polly’s List”. I’m not sure I have the words adequate to describe the humbling...

My Uncle John

This week my father’s youngest brother, my Uncle John, escaped his pain leaving us thankful for his peace but sad for our loss. I’m very thankful we got to spend time with him at the family reunion in May. A back injury and a nasty recent round of COVID are going to keep us from traveling right now.

My memories of Uncle John as a little girl were of a gangly teenager and young man with blond hair and twinkling eyes above an ever present smile. He looked more like the Shipley side of the fam...

Oh, Deer

It’s a little early, but last week a doe strolled from one side of our cul de sac to the other. About thirty seconds later a little white spotted fawn on legs so spindly you wondered how they could carry him went as fast as he could to catch up with her. I’m glad we haven’t got much traffic on our dead end short street. The fawn didn’t hesitate to jump into the street and certainly wouldn’t have stopped for a car.

Later that same day, a clearly pregnant doe, wandered through the woods in o...

Polly is a Big Sister!

As many of you know, I’m the oldest of ten children. I’ve been a big sister since I was almost fifteen months old. I don’t remember ever being alone. I am sure there were times growing up when I wished to be an only child—a mythical being I could hardly imagine. But those were fleeting thoughts because I love being the first of my tribe of siblings. 

Now, my debut novel, Polly’s List, has a sibling too! Polly doesn’t have to be an only book child. She now has a sister named Landing On Her Fee...

A Father’s Love

My father loved being a veterinarian. He had a large and small animal practice in southwestern Wisconsin for over fifty years. He always encouraged his children to find a career they would love as much as he did his. But as much as he reveled in what he did, he loved his family even more. 

This is a nostalgic time of year packed with family reunions, anniversaries, and Father’s Day. This year it’s all hit me especially hard since it’s the tenth anniversary of Daddy leaving us. I was blessed w...

Don’t Pinch Me

This week I had another first on my journey as an author. My book was read as a book club selection and I was asked to answer questions about it and about the publishing process. 

It was a bit of a softball since it is a book club I am a member of and this was only it’s third meeting and the second book they’d read as a group. All of that didn’t matter. It was a first for me. Kim Janine Ligon got to talk about being a published author. I couldn’t have had a better place to have my first book ...

PERFECT IN EVERY WAY

John Joseph Ligon escaped from the pain of this life surrounded by his loving family. We didn’t expect it so soon. That may seem odd when you learn that my brother-in-law was ninety years on this earth. In recent years he had successfully overcome cancer, several strokes, surgery to remove blood clots, and COVID. He just seemed to keep on going and going and going. We thought this latest infection would succumb to medical treatment and he would be back. Instead, he went home to join his wife of ...