my sister

My beautiful sister celebrated her 26th birthday yesterday. So in her honor, here are just 26 of the reasons I love her:

1. She's the smartest woman I know.

2. She writes the best, most encouraging cards, no matter the occasion.

3. She helped bring Esther into the world.

4. I can call her about anything, anytime, with any question and she'll answer.

5. She's one of the hardest workers I know.

6. She spent countless hours patiently tutoring me in math. She's the reason I passed every math class from 8th grade on.

7. She stood up with me at my wedding.

8. She's loyal.

9. She let's me kiss her baby as much as I want.

10. She'll let you borrow anything she owns for as long as you need it.

11. She showed me what it looked like not to settle when it comes to husband picking.

12. She never physically hurt me when I continued to steal her clothes without asking (and there were many times when she would have been justified in doing so!)

13. She's the best packer. Seriously, she can get anything to fit into anywhere!

14. She made running cross-country in high school fun and memorable. Having her as team captain was my favorite aspect of running.

15. When I registered for classes at Mizzou, she made sure I had a good schedule.

16. She's so secure in Christ that we can tease each other and crack each other up as we try to figure out how to do life, without taking it too seriously.

17. She's one of the most caring people I know.

18. She's an awesome mom.

19. When I had to go to the hospital in college, she drove me there and she was right by my side the entire time.

20. She's fun to shop with even when we're not shopping for something for her.

21. She has always supported me in my decisions.

22. She's amazing at juggling all she does. Anytime I get stressed out about my workload, I think of what she handles and it puts things back in perspective.

23. She's understanding. She's easy to talk to because she just gets me.

24. She's a problem solver. She doesn't flail about in a tough situation; she gets to the bottom of it.

25. She has a huge servant heart. She'll take care of everyone else before even thinking about herself.

26. She's one of my best friends in the whole world. She loves me when I'm unlovely and is patient when I am not. She's slow to anger when I am just downright cranky. I miss her so much and I'm excited every time I get to see her. She's beautiful and talented. I love her more than I tell her. I hope to be more and more like the Jesus I see in her.

Happy Birthday Manda!

how lovely are your branches

Here is a picture of our beautiful Christmas tree. (It's all in the eye of the beholder, right?) I put it up a couple of weeks ago, before our big ultra sound. Once I was done I walked into our room where Danny was and told him, "Well Dan, I'm not sure what our child is, but our Christmas tree is definitely a girl." If you can't tell by the picture, I have a serious infatuation/issue with making bows. It's like a mini therapy session every time I sit down with some wire ribbon. I definitely inherited it from my mother. Two words: Bow Queen. (No lie, the morning of my wedding she, my sister and I were making the pew bows for the church.) So when Daniel came in to admire her in all her glory, I was sure he'd want to butch her up a bit. Surprisingly, she passed inspection with flying colors. You see, anything that shares a color palette with the Kansas City Chiefs gets a thumbs up in the Hinton home!

some pics from SH fall retreat

i am a slacker!

It's official. I am officially an official blogging slacker. It's been (wincing) 2 months since I last posted. And it's not because I haven't had anything to say. If you know anything about me, you know I'm never at a loss for words. No, the only thing responsible for my absence from my blog is that I have been L-A-Z-Y! But I am whooping my lazy, no blogging behind back into action! In the words of our beloved Mississippi neighbors, I'm fixing to get fired up!! So, to update you, here are some of the highlights since my previous post:

1. The Senior High fall retreat at beautiful Windermere. A fabulous time was had by all. There was one incident during the caving expedition. Praise God, we can laugh about it now. And if it had never happened, we wouldn't have coined the phrase (say it with me now) "what happened in the cave, stays in the cave!” Thank you Deborah Anne for joining us!

2. The Middle school fall retreat at beautiful Camp Lake Stephens. Once again, a fabulous time was had by all. I tell you what; the seventh grade women could have stayed in the cabin all weekend with the entertainment Mo-Caps and Meggie Mobs were providing.

3. Thanksgiving! We traveled back to Kansas City to spend the week with our family and the time off was an answered prayer. It was a week full of Chipotle eating, football playing, Christmas decorating, movies on demand watching, furniture arranging, HHHAG bowl competing, black Friday shopping and some intense auntie- on- baby loving. There's not really anything I love more than cracking up with my family. If you put us in the same room, it's inevitable...we will start laughing, there's just too much material there not to!

4. Mizzou Tigers. It's bittersweet reminiscing about our tigers. They made us so proud that at one point, Chase Daniel Hinton was under some serious consideration as the name of our first-born son. Unfortunately, due to the outcome of the season and the outcome of the BCS, the Hinton home is now in mourning for one month. Enough said.

5. Baby Hinton's big ultrasound. Exactly one week ago, we found out that Baby Hinton is a healthy baby GIRL! And man, is she squirmy! She was swinging her arms, kicking her legs. To Danny, she has the makings of a place kicker, but I was getting more of a Rockett vibe. I guess we'll have to wait and see! :) I kept exclaiming, "I am in shock! I am in total shock!” And Danny, in all of his logic calmly replied, "Rach, you can't be shocked. It's like flipping a coin and being shocked it's heads." Hahahaha, he is so right. We are thrilled about our future daughter, and more freaked out than ever.

So there you have it. I'm officially back in the business of blogging. Thanks for bearing with me.

MIZ-ZOU!

There are so many blessings when you work in full-time ministry. Some of the biggest blessings are the youth families. So many families have become our partners in ministry. The Ratliffs are one of those allies. Their daughter Ashley is a senior. Well, they went out of their way and got us tickets to the Ole Miss, Mizzou game. We were counting down the weekends to the big game! We have not seen our Tigers play in person in two years! Not only did Danny and I go; we were joined by some of our friends from college. Davo, T, Bellsey and Michelle drove down from Columbia. We were having major flashbacks to the good ole days at Faurot Field. We got decked out in everything black and gold, piled in the van and followed the Williamsons to Oxford. Once we arrived, we tailgated with the Johnsons. And for the record, no one tailgates like Ole Miss fans! As we walked by different tents we saw people eating catered food off of china plates in front of their flat screen TV's. I have never seen anything like it. There were tables set with lace tablecloths, floral centerpieces and real silverware. We were in awe! Not only do Ole Miss fans know how to tailgate, hard core, but they are also some of the most gracious fans we've ever been around. They were kind to us (the visitors!) the entire time we were there. Needless to say, we had a fabulous time and Mizzou walked away with a win! I'll try to add some pics of our "Mizzou Crew". Go tigers!!

new roomie!

I am sooo excited right now. In just a few short hours Daniel and I are getting a new roommate...that's right Jenna (aka J-moe) is on her way! She has decided to stay in Southaven for a little while longer. And while she running around town job hunting she will crash at our place. Woo-hoo! It's been almost a year and a half since I've lived with a girl (and four years since Dan's lived with more than one!) The girls in the youth group are going nuts. They fell in love with Jenna over the summer while she interned here. I'm kind of surprised they aren't camped out in our yard waiting for her arrival. :) The guest bedroom and bathroom are cleaned and ready, but I don't think anything can truly prepare J-moe for life with the Hinton's full time. Here's hoping for the newest member of our family!!

friends, family and fishing

Well it's been a whirlwind of a couple of weeks, to say the least. Here's an update: The Hinton girls came to visit. We had a great week with them. We ate BBQ, showed them around down town Memphis, shopped at Jun Lee's and even stopped by Graceland. It was our first time ever going there and it was quite the experience. It might have been some of the worst decor I have ever seen. Who would have ever thought to put shag carpet on the ceiling? It needs some HGTV help...desperately! They give you these portable listening things that you carry around with you. That way you can play it when you want to and walk around at your own pace. I stopped at every display and played every track on the player. Danny used his for one room. He preferred to look. :) George Wesley came into town for a couple of days. While he was here, he and Dan installed a microwave above our stove and it is FABULOUS! (At our home we get excited about the small stuff). At the end of the week we drove to Roaring River in beautiful southern Missouri for the annual Hinton fishing trip. It was so much fun seeing all the relatives, going down the water slide and playing pass the trash. This past week I drove home to see the family and to send Adam (aka "Bubby") off to college. He turned 19 on August 12. I still can't believe that. It seemed like just yesterday he was turning one and stepping all over his Mario cake. Eighteen years later he's made me incredibly proud and blessed to be his sister. He's smart, talented, witty, authentic, athletic, fun to be around and he'll whoop you at just about anything you play him in. Mizzou is almost as lucky to have him as we are. Happy Birthday Bubby!

scary stuff

Isn't it interesting how just when we start to get comfortable in life, God calls us to do something that terrifies us? A good friend once told me that God, in all His sovereignty, prepares in advance our hearts for great things. And when the moment comes where He calls us into action He has so carefully shaped our hearts and has so intentionally organized our circumstances that we have no choice but to surrender to His will.

One of the first times this happened to me was my sophomore year of college. I liked my classes and I had settled into college life. I was preoccupied and happy...life was good! And then one night a sweet girl in Danny's youth group approached me. I think the conversation went something like this:

"Rachel?"
"Yes Randi?"
"I have a favor to ask you."
"Sure, what's up?"
"Um, some of the girls and I want to know if you will lead a Bible study for us."
Mindlessly I blurted out, "Sure!"

At that moment, my comfortable, cozy little world was no more. As I drove back to my dorm room that night, the reality of what I had committed to do started to sink in. Doubts flooded my mind and my heart was pounding. What had I gotten myself into? I've never taught anything before. What the heck am I supposed to teach them?

Once I heard a teacher say that when you are called to do something for God, you will have fear. Ask Him to take away your fear. But if He doesn't remove your fear, go on and fulfill your calling anyways!

On the first night of our Bible study (and many nights after that!), I most definilty had fear. I could barely make out the words on the pages because my hands were shaking so much. But you know what? God was at work. Not only did the girls come back week after week, but He transformed my heart full of doubt into a heart that believes. Praise God that He is a God who chooses to work through those who are unsure and undeserving.

"May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.'"
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

Hello!

Helloooo world! This is our first post on our blog. We are still trying to get the hang of it. And after a year of a new marriage, a new state, and new jobs we are excited to share with you a small part of our life in Mississippi. We miss all of you back in Missouri. This is one of our favorite pictures...it was taken at Roaring River last year. And we can't WAIT for this year's trip. In just over a week we'll meet up with the Hinton family and get fishing! Have a fabulous night!