I just read through my last update and realized that much has changed in the Lutz household since then, so allow me to fill you in....

 Jeff started a new job in May as the asst service manager at 21st Century Equipment (John Deere) here in Ogallala. It has been a very smooth transition and he's really enjoying it.

 Celeste and Mathew got married Memorial Day weekend in Lincoln. It was a beautiful day with a beautiful bride. Love you Sister!

 Grandma Pinky took a fall a couple days after the wedding and went to her eternal home in heaven a week later. It was such a blessing to have her at the wedding, and all the cousins were able to come back for her funeral. It was the first time all 13 of us have been together since Grandma & Grandpa's 50th anniversary 20 years ago!

 I was in friends Kaelyn & Cody's BEAUTIFUL lake wedding in July and was blessed to be part of their special day!

I'm getting ready to head back to school and very excited to see what this year will bring! I'll be honest and say I'm not too sad that I will not be teaching Austin this year. It will be better for both of us!

 Austin will be in 3rd grade! I can't believe how grown up he is. I can't believe how bad his attitude is either.... that will go away with age, right??? ;)

 Tayvin is going to be in Kindergarten and very excited for that! Her biggest fan is her little sister!

 Preslin is 2.5 and the entertainment around here! The Lutz household is officially done with diapers!!!!! No more babies.... bittersweet but definitely more sweet! No more binky but she loves her "bankley".

Short and sweet. Until next time!

 

Getting back in the loop

I am BY NO MEANS committing to update more frequently. I used this blog to keep family and friends in the "loop." But with Facebook, it kinda becomes obsolete, and the blog takes a lot of time that I just don't have as a full time teacher and mother of 3 crazy ambitious children. However I just can't seem to part with the blog I've worked so hard to create and maintain with memories that we will treasure for years to come.

I must say I prefer this "timeline" to facebook's. :) So I hope to use this blog to record the important things. It's mostly just for our family to have the memories, to look back and reminisce and look at how much we've grown spiritually, emotionally, and PHYSICALLY! :)

So let's get started shall we? I'll get you in the loop with our current happenings.

Jeff: BUSY BUSY BUSY BUSY BUSY with Allo Communications!!!! The business looks to be a great success which we are very excited about, but he is exhausted! It's kinda a catch 22 because of course we don't want business to slow down but the poor guy needs a break! He enjoys watching NFL football and Austin is taking interest as well. We've all been enjoying watching Tim Tebow. What a great man and role model!

Me: I have 18 students in my 1st/2nd grade class at St. Paul's Lutheran School. It is very challenging but EXTREMELY rewarding. I can't seem to get over how amazing it is that I get to share the love of Jesus EVERY DAY with my students! This is the second year I've had Austin in my class and we struggle in our teacher/student relationship. I'm looking forward to moving him on to 3rd grade so I can just be mom again. I just started Zumba again and am looking forward to the "me" time to exercise and be kid-free for an ENTIRE HOUR! I of course LOVE my children and my students, but I need some big people time too!

Austin: Austin is 8 and in the 2nd grade. EIGHT! Did you read that right? EIGHT! He goes to gymnastics once a week and played soccer and baseball this past summer/fall. He is SO excited about some gun club for young boys we just registered for this week. I don't know what it is exactly, but Jeff and Austin are thrilled about it. Boys and their toys, or in this case, guns. Austin got his first toy gun when he was three and guns have been the only toy that haven't been a phase. We have TONS AND TONS AND TONS. He got a REAL BB gun for his birthday so you can only imagine how exciting that was for him! He's also been doing vision therapy in Grant once a week to correct some tracking problems. He really loves to go, but I don't know if it's because he loves it or loves missing an hour of school. Probably both.

Tayvin: The girly princess of our household. Princess princess princess, everything princess. She goes to gymnastics once a week and preschool 3 afternoons a week. SHE WILL BE IN KINDERGARTEN NEXT YEAR! Again let me repeat... KINDERGARTEN! She will be FIVE next month. Her bedtime roster includes her 3-yr-old blankie, unicorn pillow pet, mermaid Barbie and dolphin, Disney princess blanket, and two Ariel dolls. Her favorite princess is Ariel. Christmas was a princess gift palooza and she loved it! She LOVES her daycare at Bridgett's, and it'll be sad for all of us when she "graduates" from daycare this year.

Preslin: The 2-year-old. The stubborn one. The third child. The entertainer. The binky lover. The feisty red head. The one who makes us all laugh every day. The one who will NOT take "no" for an answer. The one who has us ALL wrapped around her finger! The one who likes dolls, (as girly as Tayvin is she's never cared for dolls.) Our Pressy is HILARIOUS! We could sit and watch her for hours! If only I could see what's going on in that little brain of hers! She can now climb out of her pack-n-play, (we didn't put the crib back up when we moved,) and she will of course not stay in a bed, so bedtime has been a struggle. We're also working on bink weaning. Mom and Dad are NOT agreeing on this process. She is talking up a storm and will repeat ANYTHING you say! This is such a fun age! Pres also LOVES Bridgett's. We are SO SO SO thankful to have such an amazing daycare provider!

Lucy: The miracle story of 2011! Lucy is a pure-bred white lab we got in mid-October. She is the GREATEST dog and a PERFECT fit for our family. To make a LONG story short, on December 1st, someone took her. I was so impressed with the outpouring of help from our community in our quest to find her and bring her home! My students made posters and we hung them around town. On December 26, a lady called and said she saw a poster and knew where she was!!!!!! She arranged for us to get her back! It was SO surreal. I still can't believe she's home! It was a very smooth transition for her when she got home. You'd have never known she was gone!

As a family, we continue to attend New Hope church and Jeff and I are in the process of becoming members. We are all excited for Celeste and Mathew's wedding in May! We are looking forward to spending more time at Lake McConaughy this summer.

Until next time!

Review: Outlive Your Life by Max Lucado

Sometime ago, Book Sneeze sent me the new book by Max Lucado, Outlive Your Life. Unfortunately I never got around to posting a review, so I'll do my best to fill you in now. Max Lucado is a FABULOUS author! I'm working on collecting all of his children's books for my classroom and home.

Although this particular book was also great, it's not my favorite Max Lucado book. I don't really know why that is, it just didn't seem to jump out at me like some of his other books have. It had wonderful quotes and principles to apply to your life. It's not the type of book you read once and put on the shelf, but one that you can continue to come back to and use in everyday life.

The book challenges you to step out and help those in need, and stresses that even small things can make a big difference. It doesn't matter if you're rich or just getting by. EVERYONE can find a way to make a difference in this world and spread the love of Jesus.

This book was provided to me free of charge by Book Sneeze in exchange for a blog review.

On My Heart

Each night I pray I always start with thanking God for the many blessings He's given to me. He has given me everything I have ever wanted. A wonderful husband, three AMAZING AND BEAUTIFUL children, great family, great friends, great job, and on and on and on.

The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. Psalm 126:3

The paths we've taken to get here haven't been easy. We've learned a lot of lessons the hard way and suffered through some pain and heartaches. I will always look at Austin and see that God is capable of miracles and with Him nothing is impossible. I will praise Him for putting us on the path that led to Austin's cure of epilepsy.

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 1 Peter 1:6

And now we have this perfect life.... And that's when the devil enters and tells me nothing's perfect, which makes me doubt and wonder when it's all going to come crashing down. We can only go down from here, right? There's nothing better on earth than this life I'm living now, right? Wrong.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. James 1:2-3

This world isn't perfect, and although I would gladly accept no more trials in this lifetime, I know they are inevitable because the devil lives among us. But I do know that whatever those trials may be, God will be there to guide us through. When we feel like the world is crashing down around us, God will pull us out of the rubble.

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

Oh how I wish God's plans were my plans. He always has the perfect way of showing me I am not the one in control.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. Isaiah 55:8

But His plans are always the right plans, although that is sometimes SO SO difficult to see.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

So no, life on earth will not always be perfect. We will have more hard times in this life, and the toughest part is not knowing when or what those trials will be. But my faith in Christ's decisions will persevere. I will trust in his amazing and perfect will. Words to describe the amazingness of Christ and His unconditional love do not exist in this world. But someday we will see face to face just how amazing he is. Until then....

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

P.S. This post was inspired by Amos & Paula, a couple we were friends with when we all lived in Imperial. They have been through so much and the way God has worked in their lives is amazing. Visit this post to see their journey and pray for their new adventures.

Parents vs. Kids

We celebrated the end of baseball season with a parents vs. kids/coaches game. The parents won but just barely. Jeff played on the kids' team and surprised me with his hitting ability! One of our team's advantages was an older sister who plays softball. She hit a grand slam out of the park and won us the game! After the game we went out for pizza. A fun end to a fun season.