Finishing off my coffee....

Traveling to North Dakota....

it's that time of year. . . .

when my emotions are all topsey-turvey! The end of the summer has finally arrived.  My manboys (3 of them) are headed back to college, three kids in school and one in pre-school, and it all seems to happen within a few days of each other.  Saying goodbye to college kids and a short breather and I'm sending off my kids to public school.  Why does the summer go by so quickly? Seems like I just get my kids "back" and I have to send them off again.  I know this is how its supposed to be but for some reason no one told my emotions that it wouldn't be EASY!

suburban trash picking. . .

I was at a board meeting tonight and upon my return home I noticed (what I thought was) Victoria's American Girl Doll laying on the porch.  I figured she had left it there after playing outside; I went to pick it up as I opened the door and heard, "don't bring that in, Brennan found it in the trash."  What? Really? an American Girl Doll in someone's trash? Everything is in tact minus eyelashes on one eye! a cute blonde haired doll with blue eyes! Perfect match for Victoria!  Brennan began to share with me where he found it and I said, "let's go back."  Off we drove, of course I felt a wee bit apprehensive digging through people's trash and when I noticed a neighbor on a porch we decided to head home.

Once we got home I was telling Brett about it and he said, "do you want to go back?" of course! so I changed into dark clothing, Brett changed into dark clothing with a hoodie and Brennan changed into dark clothing.  We decided to change cars too and off we went!  This time we tore into all the trash bags!  We scored a brand new trash can from IKEA, a Sony Clock Radio, a Password Journal, a mesh storage container and an American Girl bathtub! As we drove off Brennan ducked down in the back seat, I covered my face with my arm and Brett pulled his hoodie down a little bit further! Hilarious but oh so fun and FREE! 

nothing like a baby. . . . .

We had a wonderful week of baby snuggling!  Our newest grandson, Breeze, was here, with his parents of course, for the week.  In typical Lutz fashion everyone wanted the baby! That poor little guy was passed from arms to arms but never once seemed to mind all the loving he got from his aunts and uncles!  I'm so very thankful my kids love babies! and know how to care for them (they've had a lot of practice).

Den and I had our "personal" time with that precious little boy; Den would rock him to sleep at night, letting Casey catch-up on her rest and I would rock him back to sleep in the early morning so she could get a few more hours of rest! There were a few mornings that Casey would stay-up, and we'd find ourselves engrossed in conversation or a good DVR'd show that we both enjoyed!

All too soon their 10-day vacation came to an end, with tearful sobs and goodbyes, we saw them head back to NC!   It's tough having your children live out-of-state, yet we've learned to treasure the moments we have with them, when we're together.

the "Breeze"

EXHAUSTED. . . . .enough said!

and the two shall become one. . . . .

One Man

One Woman

12 Children

5 Daughters-in-law

3 Grandsons

20+ moves

33 years of marriage

PRICELESS

a little bit of Texas. . . .

We are having so much fun with my Aunt Enid and Uncle Russ here!  What an honor to sit in their presence and have them share stories of the life they've lived all over the world, while Uncle Russ served our great country in the ARMY.  What a gift it has been, after a 40 year absence, to have them in my life once again.  We are so thankful they chose to spend a few days, here in Michigan with us; a treat for our whole family.  God Bless Texas and God Bless Aunt Enid and Uncle Russ. . . .