Finn's on the way!

Here's the thing, I can't WAIT to meet my new nephew! Later when he's grown, I'm sure he'll never quite understand what a big deal his arrival was. I can't believe that he is nearly here. It seems like yesterday that Becky and I were perusing Ikea wondering whether he would be a boy or a girl. She was fairly confident he was a boy, while I took my brother's lead and insisted he would be a she. The warm day in Lafayette, sharing lunch with my mom and sister, when we received the text that he was a he doesn't feel that far off either. And yet it's felt like a long time.

I've talked to several aunts about becoming an aunt. (Yes, I'm already an aunt, and I love my Ashley, Nicole, and Jake very much, but I didn't get to be there for any of their arrivals.) I've been told that it's different from the love you have for your own children but a fierce one nonetheless. I believe it. Since we found about this little one, he is often on my mind, and I know he will be one of my greatest joys.

Finn Harper Hoyle, know that you are loved. Since the moment we knew of you, we have loved you, and we always will. Welcome to the family, little one.

Friendship-God's Handiwork

This past weekend I got to spend some quality time with some of my favorite people. Friday was dinner with some new friends from Bible study followed by an impromptu shopping excursion with my dear friend and mentor, Sarah. Saturday began with omelets and conversation with Chrisanne and Beth, friends I've had for nearly six years. Saturday evening,  Michael and I ended the evening celebrating the 28th birthday of one of my best friends, Leslie. Sunday was spent with my best friends in the world, Michael and our dogs, Bentley and Bruce. Yesterday I came home to the sweetest card from my best friend, Page, that had me laughing and crying with only a few short sentences. And finally, last night I got to hang out with Sarah again and Jenn--my friend for...FIFTEEN YEARS--during our business meeting. The quality time stuffed into the past several days has got me thinking about these people I call friends.

To say that I've been blessed with friends in a gross understatement. As I look back on the past 28 years, I am constantly amazed at God's craftsmanship when it comes to my life, particularly my relationships. Seemingly insignificant interactions have yielded significant relationships. I vividly remember being introduced to Becky in the MHS fieldhouse.

At fourteen, I had no way of knowing that she would grow to be one of my best friends, meet and fall in love with my brother, become my sister, give birth to my precious nephew, Finn,  and help challenge me to become the woman I want to be. 

So many of my relationships have similar stories.

Jenn started as the only person I knew at youth group and quickly became one of my life-long friends.

Leslie was a girl from church volleyball and Freshman Orientation at Anderson University who ended up living on my floor and helped pick up the pieces of my heart when it was broken that first year away from home.

I was confident that I would never be cool enough to be friends with Page, but a love for Ed lead us to a friendship that keeps me accountable and allows me to be authentic.

Chrisanne was a guidance counselor who I offered a ride to in a thunderstorm who ended up being my beloved roommate for nearly three years.

Beth began as a spunky special education teacher who became my inspiration to run a half-marathon.

Rachel was another English teacher down the hall who ultimately pushed me outside of my comfort zone in so many ways.

Sarah started out as the only soul I knew at a new job and became one of the two people in this world who are always straight with me.

My husband, the love of my life, was masquerading as an acquaintance of my high school boyfriend.

My point? You never know when the next seemingly unimportant introduction will serve up one of the most important people in your life. God's crafty that way. He's been known to take the ordinary and make it divine. I'm grateful He saw fit to do in my life, and can't wait to see what--or who--else He has in store!

Talk less. Say more.

Recently I've been spending a lot of time thinking about what I say, why I say what I say, and how I say it. As an English teacher, I have deep respect for the beauty and power of words. An author's ability to string nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs together often provoke strong emotions from me. Tears, laughter, action. Words have power. Words have impact.


My career is built on the belief that words have power, that they matter, and yet, I often run my mouth without considering the power behind the words falling out. Yes, falling out. Rarely is there true intention behind the language I use. In fact, in the past week, I can count on one hand the number of times I truly thought before I spoke. This is a problem.


The root of this problem could be a variety of things. As I've reflected on my mouth, though, I've come to the conclusion that a large part of it is from self-confidence/esteem issues. Most of my life I've been good with words, thus when others did things to hurt me, I said things to hurt them. I'm not proud of it. In fact, there are several specific instances in the past few years that cause me to cringe. 


I'm not the only one who believes in the power of words. The Bible says that "Death and life are in the power of the tongue," Proverbs 18:21. With this in mind, I'm working to be more mindful of my words. I'm not even close to good at it right now, let alone perfect, but I pray that one day I'll have true control over my mouth so that it is used to bless and not to curse. 


As I press on toward one day finally harnessing my words, I pray that it helps me become the woman I truly want to be. One who is kind and encouraging, patient and compassionate, and one who gives life through her words.

A brief word from Lois Lane...

When we ran into my former youth-group pastor and our current lead pastor at church on Sunday, I said, "Greg, have you met my husband, Mike?" His response? "I feel like I have from your status updates!" Then, yesterday, my friend Carrie made a few good-humored pokes at how often I talk about my "amazing" husband.

If there are those of you out there who get exasperated with my frequent praises of my husband, hide me in your profile because it's not going to end I'm sorry. You see, it's just difficult to keep quiet about someone who is so important, loving, and good to me.

Some of you were around for the relationship before Michael. Let's refer to those times as the "dark years" or the DY.  I'm sure that the angst of being in my early twenties didn't help this time either. Not all parts of that three year period were horrible; I spent much of the last two years becoming best friends with Chrisanne, Beth, and Rachel, and the last year reconnecting with (my now sister-in-law) Becky. Good things came out of that time, but that relationship turned me into someone unrecognizeable to my family and the close friends I had before the DY.

I was drinking...a lot. Although I had always struggled with body image, for the first time in my life I was seriously considering plastic surgery.  My life was consumed with making long distance work, while his was spent getting high and frequenting strip clubs. I abused and abandoned relationships that had been so important to me. I stopped going to church. In fact, I very vividly remember telling God, "You haven't given me someone to marry, so I'll do this on my own." I was depressed and spent a large portion of those years on anti-depressants and anti-anxiety meds. I look back and wonder how I became so blind to what was happening, or rather, what I was DOING.

At the end of August 2007,  the three year rollercoaster came to a slamming hault. One week later Michael and I had our first date. Three dates later, I knew I was with my future husband. I quickly returned to the person I had been years before. Life was good.

Fortunately, life has only gotten better with Michael by my side. In so many ways, he saved me. (I really believe that God saved me, but he definitely used Michael!) The past three and a half years have been the happiest of my life, and I am confident that the years to follow will continue in the same manner. I can't say enough wonderful things about the blessing that is my husband. I'm thankful for him, our marriage, and our faith every day. 


Now, if you're ever the one wondering why it is I think my husband is so great, you'll know.  Just like Lois Lane, I'm one lucky girl...I got to marry my Superman. 

New Year's Resolutions

I'm not sure how many of you make resolutions each year. The older I get, the more people seem to become jaded with the concept, however, I find comfort in the never-changing tradition of finding stuff to change. As we say good-bye to one decade and barrel into the next, it seems appropriate to honor the transition with a new set of resolutions. I often make many resolutions. This is partly because I believe there is much that can/should be changed, but also because if I fail to follow through on a handful, those that I stay true to will bring some solace. 


Here we go...


1. Simplify. Stop laughing. I'm serious. Most of you who read this blog don't just know me, but know me well. Yes, I'm known for having particularly complex expectations, some even call it being "high-maintenance." This year, however, I'm going to work on that. This year in particularly has left me, well, tired. Unfortunately, I feel like I have little to show for this exhaustion, and the reason, in my opinion, is because I'm running to keep up with all the "stuff" in my life. This year, I will simplify. I'll start with my house--getting rid of un-needed items and donating them. Then, I'll move on to my time. I'll be saying, "Adios" to activities that I don't feel called to. 


2. Get back to basics. A few posts ago I wrote about ancient paths. Jeremiah 6:16 has been my focus in the past couple of weeks: 
This is what the LORD says:

   “Stand at the crossroads and look;
   ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
   and you will find rest for your souls.

I believe it's time to get back to basics, remember what's important, and make those things priorities. Time in prayer, fellowship with family and friends, creating a home for young family, these things will be my focus.

3. Cultivate the fruits of the Spirit. 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

I hate to be super conservative-cheesy, yet I know these are characteristics that I want to have but do not. In fact, in many ways, I am the exact OPPOSITE of all these things. The woman, wife, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, and teacher I want to be IS these things, thus, I need to get to work.

4. Focus on frugality. Don't get me wrong, I L-O-V-E, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE nice things and still plan on making them a part of my daily life, but for the past 28 years, I've lived basically buying what I want when I want. Michael and I want to have a decent savings before we start a family, so if I want to be a mother before I'm 60, we need to start being a tad more frugal. I really don't mean cheap, but I do mean intentional. To begin with, I'm planning out our menu one month at a time, breaking down grocery list into each week, and only buying what we need for those meals. Good-bye ordering out just because I can't think of what to make. Good-bye spending $100 at the grocery store without a real plan for a meal. 


5. Document life. After waiting so long to have a good camera, it's time to really start documenting life. I'm confident that once Finn gets here I'll have an even greater desire to do so!


6. Authentic living. I've spent much of my life giving lip service to what I "believe," yet I often allow my convictions to get lost in a sea of consumerism, television, and the day to day. This year, I want to live out what is important, the first step? These resolutions. 


I'm ready for you 2011; I'll take you one day at a time.

A new blog!

Many of you know that I've been recently overcome with the desire to create and homemake. This desire has fueled my obsession with blogs relating to such things. The more time I've spent on said blogs, the more I thought...I could do this. I SHOULD DO THIS! So I am. I don't know if it will go anywhere. I might only have the same followers as I do here, and if that's the case, God bless you twelve, but I might also get more. I might finally find the outlet I've been looking for. Well see how it goes. In the mean time, check out my Domestic Diversions!

A kid on Christmas!

I don't know if it's possible to truly explain what a wonderful Christmas we had! This year Christmas felt different to me. For the first time in YEARS I was counting down the days, anxiously waiting for December 25th. In many ways, it was like I was a kid again. There was this one present I REALLY wanted, but I wasn't sure if I would get it; and I had a gift that I couldn't WAIT to give! Those things along with the fact that it was a White Christmas and there's a baby on the way--my nephew, Finn (don't you love the name?--if you're friends with my sister-in-law, realize it's not FBO yet), will be here in about a month--made this year so special!

The days leading up to Christmas were jam-packed with holiday festivities. I spent most of the day of the 23rd baking cookies for the #2 men in my life. I had made Michael his peanut butter balls earlier this month, and now it was time to make cookies that my dad and brother would love. Awhile back, Randy mentioned that he missed Frango mint cookies. 


For those of you who aren't from Chicago, or from the Hoyle household, you need to understand the importance of Frango mints. Frangos are the signature candy of what was Marshall Field's--now Macy's. (It took me YEARS to finally call the building on State St. in Chicago Macy's because it will FOREVER be Marshall Field's to me!) When we were kids, my parents would take the three of us downtown Chicago at Christmas time. We would look at the State Street windows, each decorated to depict a scene from a famous Christmas tale, and then go inside to eat under the massive Christmas tree in the Walnut Room. Looking back, this trip had to have been a headache for my parents, but to this day, some of my favorite holiday memories are from these times. (Isn't it amazing that even when I blog it takes me nine years to tell a story?!)


When Macy's took over the franchise, they kept Frango mints, but Marshall Field's famed Frango mint cookies were no where to be found. When Randy said he wished that he could have those again, a small voice, one not much different from NPH's, rang out, "Challenge accepted!" Thus the first part of the 23rd was spent making Frango mint cookies for my dear brother. The consensus was that my version of the cookies were even better than the original. They are much chewier and with my homemade label you'd think you bought them outside the Walnut Room itself!

Betty's Frango Mint Cookies--Baked especially for my brother, Randy!

Homemade dog treats for Bentley & Bruce's puppy cousins

My father's cookies were the true labor of love. I spent FIVE HOURS making these suckers! The famed recipe? Tasha Tudor's sugar cookies. (The only difference between the link recipe and the one my dad grew up with is that my grandma would not frost the cookies, instead she sprinkled a nutmeg and sugar combination over the cut outs before baking.) This recipe makes SO MUCH DOUGH! Those five hours went by in this way: knead, roll, cut,  place, sprinkle, bake, cool, repeat. Kill, me, now! I didn't count how many cookies I got from that batch, but let's say that my dad could probably eat cookies for the next six months! 

Tasha Tudor's Sugar Cookies--made for my Daddy

After my baking was done, Michael and I ordered pizza and watched A Christmas Story. It was fun to watch it from beginning to end (something that rarely happens because of TBS' 24 Hours of A Christmas Story every Christmas Eve--we usually just catch the same scenes over and over). 


Christmas Eve was a whirlwind. I packaged the Frango mint cookies and dog treats I made, organized present piles to be taken to our parents' homes, and made dip to take to my mom's after church. The busyness of the day could have distracted me from the gorgeous snow, but I've been actively trying to pay attention to God's small gifts, and I was able to delight in the peaceful snowfall this Christmas Eve. It was gorgeous! 

After church with my parents and sister, we went to my mom and dad's house for some appetizers then headed to my in-laws for a night cap. Since we started dating, Michael and I exchange gifts on Christmas Eve--why? Well, because we have to be up at 5:30 am in order to make it to his parents' house by 6:30 am! To my surprise and delight, my wonderful husband got me a new Nikon Coolpix P100! I couldn't have been more ecstatic! This camera has been the missing piece in my ability to start a crafty/domestic-y/DIY/Awesome blog...title suggestions welcome. Michael enjoyed opening his gifts too (3 Blu-Rays, a PS3 game, and two sets of Bulls tickets), but I knew he was a tad disappointed. He was hoping to get his new surround sound system for downstairs. It wasn't under the tree. :(

Christmas morning--6 am--Love the new camera!

The next morning, we headed to the Sampleses' at 6 am to open presents there. It was a great morning filled with coffee, laughter, and love. 

Santa made his annual stop at the Sampleses'. 

Nicole didn't cry this year, but unfortunately, Poppy missed his visit again! ;)

Michael got his much coveted White Sox Championship banner with some more Blu-Rays, while I got a new coffee maker, perfume, stuff for the house, and some cute slipper-boots. 

Our sweet nephew & nieces--Jake, Nicole, & Ashley--before present opening

2005--Sox win the World Series!

Around 9 am we headed to the Hoyles' for Christmas there. Santa always visits us at my mom and dad's house, and this year was no different. We got three gifts each from Santa (because that's how many Baby Jesus got) along with our stockings. Some of my favorite gifts from that morning include a Coach coin purse, picture frames, and a stable to add to my Christmas village collection. I was most excited about going to my parents' to open presents because Michael's final gift from me--his sound system--was there. It took every ounce of self-control to not tell him about it before then, but it was all worth it when he opened his gift! (We had disguised it as a gift for Courtney and left it until the end. He couldn't have been more surprised!)

Michael realizing he got his sound system!!

My favorite picture from this Christmas--Thanks, Bex!

After some good conversation and a bit more coffee, we headed home to unload gifts and let the dogs out before turning around and heading back to the in-laws for drinks and games. We were home by 8 pm or so to give the dogs their gifts (HUGE Busy Bones) and play with our new toys. All in all, it was the best Christmas in my adult memory. I am so blessed to have family who loves me and knows me so well and a husband who takes care to choose just the right gift. 

Bentley loves his Busy Bone!

Bruce loves him a bit more...half gone in 15 minutes!

I realize this is a crazy long post, but it was a Christmas I don't ever want to forget! Merry Christmas to you all!