It's official.

Fall is here. And I swear I'm not going to hate on it for the next 3 months. I am going to rejoice in the wet. The cold. The gray. The ugly. Really I am.

In my efforts, I shall share a GOOD memory of this lovely season called autumn. When we first started horseback riding, we took classes at Royal Ridges in Battleground. Needless to say, it was a blast. One of my favorites days was blustery and cold, and we had to wait for a long time because the other class ran late.

Can you tell we didn't mind a bit? We still love crunching through the leaves, feeling the cold, fresh air on our cheeks, and being together.

1 Chronicles has an awesome chapter that gives us some tips on how to praise God, and I am so going to use that this week as I try not to grumble. Fall might not be my favorite season, but there is so much that I can PRAISE Him for!

"Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
Look to the LORD and his strength;
seek his face always...
Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let them say among the nations, “The LORD reigns!”
Let the sea resound, and all that is in it;
let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them!
Let the trees of the forest sing,
let them sing for joy before the LORD,
for he comes to judge the earth.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
Cry out, “Save us, God our Savior;
gather us and deliver us from the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name,
and glory in your praise.” -1 Chronicles 16:10,11,31-35

So, gonna go for a trail ride tomorrow, crunch some leaves (if I can find non-soggy ones) and enjoy this time of year! Thank you Lord for life and breath and everything else.

Autumn leaves...

I have decided that I hate laptops. I usually use a desktop computer to set up the class lessons for Jordan and Jazz, and do all my "surfing", but as of yet, Steve has not found a way to connect my desktop to our satellite Internet. Or rather, he doesn't have a few parts he needs to get the job done. So- instead of being able to upload and post the beautiful photos of our place as the leaves change, I simply have to tell you how much I am loving this fall season- and not be able to show you how glorious God's world looks up here right now. Things are still mostly green, but you can see hints everywhere of the new season. Yes, I know, I could upload the software for my camera to the laptop, change a few settings, and put them on this computer instead, but it still would be a laptop, with midget keyboard, poor ergonomics, and tiny screen. So instead, I wanted to whine and hope that my husband sees it and comes home with the wireless card we need desperately...(hint hint)I am shameless, I know. But I think this way is much less annoying than calling him every hour to remind him of things, as I have unfortunately done in the past. :)And if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen and I will survive.
I didn't realize how much I liked fall while we were in Arizona, because I liked the heat and blue skies so much. But every morning as I head to the barn, I can't help but breathe deep and smile at all the little changes, the fresh, crisp air, and the yellows and oranges all around. It is really a beautiful time, almost as though an introduction to something- I don't know what. It doesn't strike me as the end of summer at all, which is how I always use to think of autumn, with disgust I might add. I saw the end of picnics and barbeques, water play and swim suits, of sunshine and brown skin. Now I feel anticipation- for pumpkins and scarecrows, hot chocolate and cozy fires, Thanksgiving and Christmas, Black Friday, and a whole new year. I wonder what God will bring?
"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails."
Proverbs 19:21

(The photo was of last November in Payson, Arizona. We had to drive about three hours to find fall leaves to crunch, but it was still beautiful, and about 70 degrees all day. Pretty nice.This photo was already saved to the laptop- hehehe)