Count it all Joy!

Hey everyone, Fall is and has been upon us. We have always loved the Fall and the transformation from the growing season to the dormant season. It has definitely been a while since I talked with you and I don't even have a good excuse! I will catch everyone up with what has been going on in the past month. I know several people have called to check in with us and ask how everyone is doing. We are all doing fine. God has been taking good care of us and putting dear people in our lives to make sure we are on the right path. I was just going through my bible and found several pieces of paper that had some questions on them. It was a questionnaire that Susan and I answered in our church small group that was to help everyone else know who we are. Several questions stood out. First question: What do you collect? Susan's answer was "CHILDREN". That speaks for itself. She was so funny. My answer was "Everything that my wife doesn't get rid of". She was always throwing things away (or taking them to Goodwill), so I therefore started collecting the things that I figured I might need one day. Sound familiar, guys? So the second question: What one or two words describe yourself? Susan's answer was "JOY, Strong". Susan was a Joyful person and very strong (physically, spiritually, emotionally). This excerpt from "You gotta keep Dancin" (Susan's favorite book): "Pain is inevitable, but misery is optional. We cannot avoid pain, but we can avoid joy. God has given us such immense freedom that he will allow us to be as miserable as we want to be. Joy is a choice." Not to be confused with happiness which is circumstantial. Where happiness is a feeling, joy is an attitude. Jesus said, "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full." John 15:11 The joy of Jesus was doing that which the Father sent Him to do, self-surrender and self-sacrifice. Having the right relationship with God means that same joy remains in us and it can be full if we choose. It is so evident that Susan chose JOY even in the battle.
Here we are at Carver Farms to get pumpkins and cornstalks. Glad we went when we did. The weather got bitter cold several days after this (down to mid teens) and the pumpkin crop was damaged, pumpkins got rotten on the vine. The above picture is Mary, Kayla, Laura, Hannah, Jake and Sarah. And me, I'm the photographer.
Carver's has a hay wagon to take you out to the fields to collect the pumpkins. This is the picture going out. We collected about 70 lbs of pumpkins. And a car top full of cornstalks to decorate the front of the house.
My sister Jane and the kids' cousin Abby came over from Montana via Amtrak to visit in mid October. Here is Abby and Laura making birthday cake. The reason that 'Gramma' Jane and Abby came over, was for Abby's birthday. So we celebrated with a cake that the girls made. Abby and Laura had such fun together.
We also went to Silverwood Theme Park where we all were able to ride some roller coasters and log rides, etc. Here is Abby and Laura in front of "After Shock" the new roller coaster. Nathan and I were the only ones that went on this incredibly exhilarating ride.
And here are the four girls, Kayla, Laura, Abby and Mary on the Log Ride. The weather was still pretty nice then, so the water was not too cold. We had such a great time.
And we collected apples again this year to go to our Apple Press up in Bonner's Ferry, Idaho. We collected enough apples to get 59 gallons of apple cider. Here is the start of the process. Dump the apples into the conveyor belt that takes them into the building to be washed, chopped and pressed. What a process. Fun to watch.
And here is the bottling phase. This is where the kids get involved. The vat of apple juice is above this pouring station. Then into the bottles. And the end product was pretty tasty. And there were so many apples this year in the neighborhood that we easily could have made 150 gallons. But freezer space is limited.
Here is a picture of some horses on this ranch where the Apple Press is. What a beautiful place to behold. Even this picture does not capture the beauty of the snow covered mountains with the Tamarack trees turning yellow against the evergreens.
More later...... with prayer requests and praises.