Apple Gratitude

I am sitting here with my caramel apple dip reflecting on a happy day.  (Actually, I am tucked away in a corner of the house for fear someone might find me and want some.)

So thankful for this 17 year tradition of climbing trees, spearing apples, 

and "How Tall this Fall?"

So thankful for a beautiful apple orchard, just an hour's drive from our home, cascading down the side of a mountain in Flat Rock, NC.

So thankful for family traditions that make us all smile a little more and laugh a little more and soak up the moments that make life...well life. 

And soak up the ONE who makes life...well life.

So thankful for a beautiful day with a sky so blue, 

a breeze at perfect crispness, and fall color so vivid.

So thankful for a Father who "lifts" us all despite our circumstances...

.... so that we might know the "fruit" of a life filled with Him.

Because He really is enough.

So thankful that we taste-tested our apples before we saw the (new this year!) sign.  (For real, people?  Come on!)

So thankful that it's really fun to be with middle school girls...

despite what we've been told.

So thankful the he carries the apples back up the hill.

So thankful for homemade pic nics and how Caroline packed the 

melamine plates and cloth napkins and plaid tablecloth.

So thankful for Grandmommy and Granddaddy who make the trip and enjoy this FAMILY tradition with us.

So thankful for these three that I get to call mine.

And thankful that, short of licking the bowl, I got to finish every last drop of the caramel apple dip before any one of those three knew!  Yee Haw!