*Autumn*

Ahh it has been an amazing summer. And a VERY busy one, too! I've been so busy that I basically dropped out of the blogging world without any warning - and I am sorry for that. I missed it a lot! But now, after a month in Arizona, a week at Teen Leadership Conference, a week with my brothers home, and who knows what else making life crazy in between each of those, life is beginning to wind down.

Having had such a full summer, I couldn't even hope to tell you everything that has happened. But I will tell you that it was amazing. I learned a lot, and changed dramatically. I never knew one summer could change a person so much! And, I'm left with hundreds of pictures and memories to cherish.

But now - moving onward, looking forward! My favorite season is approaching! Just the mention of the words "fall," "autumn," and "September" give me such excitement! So here are some things I've noticed (and like) about this end-of-summer sort of time.
~The school year is about to begin.
~The adventures of summer are becoming fond memories.
~There pace of life slows down.
~Homeschool families are lesson-planning, buying curriculum, and getting energized for the new year.
~The leaves are changing.
~The weather, the changes, and the "ending, but beginning" feeling make me more thoughtful.
~The weather's getting cooler.
~The color scheme of the wildflowers has switched to deep purples, oranges, and golds.
~I can wear jeans, long skirts, hoodies and sweaters again.
~The harvest inspires delicious baking.
~I can't wait to get back to the books.
~I get to enjoy keeping the home, cooking, baking, etc.

Oh, I can just feel it in the air! And it feels good :)  Happy autumn, everyone!

Sunset near our house - taken by Cody Lutz

I'm back

Hello, folks.

These past few days I have sort of freaked out and have gone back and forth as to whether or not I want to continue blogging. I delted my blog, then un-deleted it... twice. In the end I have finally decided that I will keep it and continue, because I do love blogging. But I also created a new, private blog to share my personal thoughts with my close friends. Good solution, I think.

As an update of what's been going on in my life the past few days: I have been very sick but God is helping me to get well incredibly quickly - just in time for my trip to AZ. I leave next Monday, so I have been packing and preparing as much as possible, along with going nuts because I want to be completely packed, but it is not practical or sensible for me to be yet. :P Tonight I am going to slice 3 quarts of strawberries and then read as much of Anne of Green Gables as I have time for. Oh, it is such a fabulous book!

So, that's everything I've been doing. Hope you all have had a lovely weekend! And by the way, during my freaking out time, I stopped following most of your blogs. So if you have a blog and I was following it (or I wasn't but you'd like me to check it out) would you drop me a comment and say so? Thanks!

Blogging?

 Okay, so, I just accidentally deleted the last two posts I wrote. Ugh! Sorry about that if you were trying/wanting to read them!

By the way, I was just thinking. What is the purpose of my blogging? For one thing, why am I sharing my life with the whole internet world? That's kind of freaking me out. And for another, is there anyone who is even reading this and wanting me to continue? If you are reading this, could you just drop me a comment so I know who you are and that you stopped by today? I would love that. And if you have any answers about why I should blog, or why it is not ludicrous to tell the whole world about my life, please enlighten me.

Missions trip!

Oh my, I really need to write a post! For the past week or so I keep thinking of things and saying, "I want to write a blog post about that!" But then, I haven't written any posts because in my last one I promised to show pictures from my fabulous trip to Florida, and I haven't been able to get them on the computer yet. So, I am just going to hold off on that and write about other things for now.

Something that I am SOOO excited about and want to tell you all is that I'M GOING TO ARIZONA THIS SUMMER! Lol. :) For the past 4 years I have been studying Spanish, which has been great for me. Also, as you know, I am very interested in missions and reaching the world for Christ. Last fall, a missionary family from Arizona visited our church. As they told about their Spanish-speaking church plant near Phoenix, I was intrigued and eager to know more. I had the opportunity to talk with them after the service, and they suggested that I should come visit them for a missions trip sometime. I was thrilled! In January I wrote them an email reminding them of my interest, and since then we have been corresponding through email and phone to plan a trip. Amazingly, the Lord has worked it out perfectly and provided for it every step of the way. I will be flying out on June 18th and returning July 14th. What I will do there is basically help with anything that's happening - VBS, church, work, visits, etc. I will be with the Pastor's family the whole time. Being immersed in Mexican culture for a month will be an amazing new experience for me. And a good chance to practice my Spanish! I am truly in awe of the way the Lord has blessed me and led me. Please keep me in your prayers as it is going to be a VERY new experience for me. Thanks! :)

Me? Fun? Is it possible?

So I was thinking today. (Amazing, right?) And I realized that most people write blogs that are actually fun to read, and well, my blog is usually pretty boring. So that made me even more thankful for the followers I do have! And it also made me think that I would like to make my blog more fun and interesting. Aren't you excited?! Haha, I am!

Anyway. I was also thinking about how amazing it is that God just will NOT let go of me! I couldn't run from Him if I wanted to! Despite all of my sin, my selfishness, and everything about me, HE is still GOD! He is an amazing Lover and Friend.

And guess what! I'm going to Kentucky this week! Erik, as I have mentioned, is moving to Kentucky - only a few miles from the Creation Museum! I am going to miss Him so much. :'( So we are going down for about 9 days (including travel time) to help him clean, fix, and set up his new home. I think it will be really fun! Whenever I have access to internet, I let you know how it's going. :D

God bless!
~Christy

I'm Back!!!

Hey there everyone!! Guess what - I'm back!

I haven't blogged for a while because it was getting very stressful. Life is still pretty crazy, but I'm going to start blogging again, even if I don't do it very often.

I won't write much now, because it would take a long time to try to summarize the past 3 months! I will try to keep you posted about what happens from here forward though, as much as possible. All that I'll say now is that God is SO GOOD to me! :) That's all for now friends!

Hey everyone, I don't think I'm going to be blogging anymore, or at least not for a long time. It is extremely hard for me to keep up with blogging amidst my busy schedule. So, sorry about that, but I won't be blogging for while.