The Heart of the Home

Another day another dirty diaper.

Sometimes I find myself thinking...

"I have a college degree. I studied, wrote papers, and my parents paid a great deal of money for my education. I taught for two years, and now here I am. My days are filled with vacuuming dog hair, changing diapers, cleaning up spit-up, and trying to get creative with cooking meals for cheap. How did I get here?"

I am currently reading Carolyn McCulley's book Radical Womanhood. She brought up a fascinating point that I had never realized before. Our American culture in 2011 seems to place a higher value on the public sphere than on the home. Since when is the home not worthy of a college educated woman running it? Since when is that a "waste" of my time and money?

McCulley writes, "The heart of the home is found in the relationships nurtured there and the comfort offered to one another--comfort we have first received from God, the Father of compassion, and then share with one another (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). Home is no lesser sphere...'Just a housewife' is a phrase our culture uses to undermine the importance of the private sphere. Though the marketplace does not value the home beyond what goods can be purchased for it, the ministry to be found there is of immense worth to the Lord. The stability of family relationships, the care of elderly or disabled family members, the discipling and training of children, the warm reception of guests, the making of a lifetime of memories, the daily modeling of biblical instruction, the fresh nourishment in an age of processed foods that contribute to our general ill health, the joy of a Christ-centered marriage--all of these things have long-lasting, if not eternal effects. "

How encouraging! I'm glad I have a college education. I don't believe that choosing to stay home now is "wasting" that money. Now I get to be an educated and empowered woman working from my home, loving and serving my family and community, even it it never makes me a dime.

a typical dinner scene at the Hines home

Happy Valentine's Day

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

to a guy who is....

lovable...

huggable...

kissable...

squeezable...

wonderful.

To my husband... Austin Robert Hines.

Here he is folks... let's hope Denver grows up to be half this cute.

35 Days

So I haven't blogged in a while because I've been stalling. I knew that it would be challenging to write this post, and I never wanted to sit down and do it. How would I put into words what the month of October was like? I'm still not quite sure what I'll say, but here's my attempt...

How do I begin to describe the last month of our lives? Austin and I feel that the last 35 days were probably the hardest days in our lives, yet in other ways, the most amazing.

From October 1st through November 4th, Austin was in Canada. That's right, for about a month I was a single mom while Austin co-directed a film in Saskatchewan. Austin has been working on this film for months, and the fact that he was able to go up and co-direct it was a huge answered prayer. It was just difficult timing, considering he had to leave before Denver was even a month old.

Never in my life have I had to rely on the Lord for my strength in such a huge way. Let's face it: babies are really cute but reeeeally hard work. Adjusting to being a new mom has been quite the transition for me...nursing, sleep deprivation, diapers, spit up, sleep deprivation, crying, sleep deprivation. You get the idea. Going through all of this without my husband for the last month was very challenging. Yet now that it's over and my husband is back with us in Texas, I am actually glad that we had this unique opportunity.

So many family and friends stepped up to help me in a time of need. I constantly had people in and out of our home... cleaning the house, bringing me meals, watching Denver while I ran errands, watching Denver while I took a nap, taking Fable on walks, and so much more. Sometimes all I needed was a friend to stop by and keep me company.

I've always loved my mom, but I now appreciate her in a whole new way. Not only because she raised me (and had many sleepless nights because of me), but because she moved in with me for a while during October to help me out. I don't think I would've survived without her.

I am generally a pretty private person. I don't usually like a lot of visitors, and I definitely am not used to asking for help. Yet I became a pro at asking for and receiving help during the last month. It was very humbling to realize how much I was dependent on others to help me get through daily life.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to everyone who helped Austin, Denver and me throughout the last 35 days. We love you so much. You have blessed our lives.

But enough about my personal journey... allow me to brag for a moment about my husband. Did I mention he DIRECTED a feature length film?! I am so proud of him. Here are some pictures of the film set he worked on...

Two Year Anniversary

On June 6, 2010, Austin and I celebrated our two year anniversary. It is certainly hard to believe that an entire two years have passed since our wedding. God has been so gracious to us these first two years of marriage. I can't wait to see what He has in store for us as we continue to share life together.

We celebrated by spending an evening in Dallas. We went to Reunion Tower for happy hour. This is a fun little tip for my DFW friend

s... the restaurant is very expensive, but Monday-Friday they have happy hour, and you can get reasonably priced drinks and appetizers, and still have the experience of eating at the top of reunion tower! Very fun. For those that are unfamiliar with the building, below is a picture of the Dallas skyline. Reunion tower is one with the giant glowing ball at the top. It is a revolving restaurant, so by the time you leave, you have seen Dallas from every angle!