Autumn Series Pt 2 - Burt's Pumpkin Farm & Mercier Orchards

As we have been making a point to enjoy this fall season, we recently took a day to drive north of where we live and enjoy some of the attractions of the seasons. I really wanted to go to Burt's Pumpkin farm because every year, for whatever reason we don't make it up there. I felt like everyone had gotten to check it out but me. So we all piled in my dad's car (Sarah, Me, David, and Daddy) and we drove up to see what we could see. Having decided to forgo a trip to the pumpkin farm the year before because when we got up there it was absolutely covered up (that's southern for there being nowhere to park), and I had just told David to drive on, we decided to go pretty early. In fact, we went right at the end of September. We were really lucky, because at that time of the season, it's pretty busy, but we were able to find a parking space and it didn't feel claustrophobic at all.

The highlight of the farm trip was getting to take a hayride. Sunflowers are my favorite, so I really enjoyed driving through the sunflower and pumpkin patches and getting to see how the farm worked. It was a pleasant ride, and my sister Sarah got to relive her childhood fear of the animatronic Pumpkins (Gordy and Autumn). As a child, they'd seemed really scary to her, so it was fun for her to get to come back and see that it was just a memory laced with hyperbole and that it was really nothing at all to be afraid of.

Something that really resonated with me, was how around that time was when I was struggling to turn my life around and bring my heart back to Jesus. I was feeling a lot of guilt about how I had been behaving toward my faith, and how instead of leaning on Him during the tough times, I had completely pushed Him away and shut it out entirely. Even though I knew in my heart that forgiveness was what the Lord is all about, I was having a hard time forgiving myself and I was carrying around an intense amount of guilt as I sought forgiveness - not feeling at all like I deserved to be forgiven. In fact, for a while, I was really ashamed to even ask my Lord to forgive me.

Well anyway, in the midst of this time, God was everywhere in my life. He never let me forget about Him, now that I was actively seeking him again. I would go to the bathroom at the grocery store, and there would be a sticker on the stall door with scripture on it. I would see billboards, road signs, advertisements on the internet. I would get in the car with my girlfriend, who I rarely talked about faith with, and she would bring it up to me. God wasn't letting me forget about Him this time. He didn't care about my guilt and my shame; He wanted me back. For good, this time.

This hayride was no exception to this rule. Indeed, in no other place but that hayride, those animatronic pumpkins started talking to us about what it meant to be a child of God. Gordy was telling Autumn about how he was afraid to become a jack-o-lantern because they scraped all your insides out and put a light inside of you. Autumn wisely explained to him that it could be a good thing, that becoming a jack-o-lantern was much like becoming a child of God - clearing out all of the bad stuff inside of you and being born again as something new - something with a light inside of you. Someone that can go out into the world with that light and draw others in.

I think a few people laughed, because the lesson was meant for the kids in general. But for me, it was something I still think about weeks later. It was soon after that that I began to feel the forgiveness I was ashamed to seek. At the time, I didn't make the connection or even attribute anything to that message, but looking back, I have no doubt that it was meant for me to hear. I needed to know that all of the things in the past didn't matter. That what mattered now was that I was willing to put it all behind me and open myself up so that my faith could take over. It was the pathway I'd been searching for to be saved again. It just proves that God can use anything to His advantage, anytime, and any place.

Photos courtesy of Mercier orchards

Another great place we visited that day was Mercier Orchards. We got there just in time for the wagon tour of the orchards, and filled ourselves with their famous fried pies, fudge dipped apples, muscadine slushies, and fudge. The store at Mercier's is pretty special because it has so many things to look at - so many different kinds of jellys, jams, preserves, dip mixes, sauces, decorations, kitchen utensils, toys, and collectables. A person could stay there all day.We went home with a frozen jug of cider and a bag of apples - our stomachs begging us for real food. It is always special to get to visit up there and try new things and to enjoy the things that are so unique to that place.

The very best part of that trip was what a laid back and pleasant day that was for us. It really was such a joy to be able to take our time, relax, and spend the entire day together. No one got angry or fussed about time or wanting to do something others didn't - it just wasn't that kind of day. It was one of the most pleasurable Sundays spent in my immediate memory. I am always advocating for more of those. Family so often is put on the back-burner, that we are all guilty of taking our time with loved ones for granted. I know I am extremely guilty of that. And so, it was dually a blessing to enjoy each other and take our time to savor the season and the peace that fall transitions us to receive.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you are enjoying all of the things this wonderful season has to offer!

Blessings! 

Autumn Series - Intro

Now that I'm really getting going with this blog, I thought I would start my first series. I love Autumn so much, I think it borders on going even further than that. For whatever reason, I just seem to always feel more alive in the fall. It's the smells, the colors, the food, the activities, and maybe even the scarves. I don't know what it is about this glorious season that just makes me so unbelievably happy. But whatever it is, I am so happy to share my love for all things fall.

Here in Georgia, there seems to be so many activities this time of year, that there just isn't time to do everything. My sister loves soccer, and has been playing it practically her entire life, so with the new school year comes a new season of soccer playing. She's trying something a little different this year, and was blessed to be chosen to play for a select team, and thus we've been getting up early on Saturday mornings and chasing her all over the state to watch her games. It really is such a wonderful gift to for us (grandparents, daddy, sister, hubby and myself) to be able to all pile in my dad's expedition and spend the day in the car, sitting together on the field watching her play, and having an afternoon together afterward. So many people don't have the privilege to see their families even once a week, much less have guaranteed days to spend with them like we do when she's playing soccer. It's such a great blessing and we love that it's all with the purpose of allowing my sister to do something she loves.

In any case, while we maneuver around her crazy soccer schedule, we're trying to balance some fall-themed activities in our lives along with our other responsibilities, it just brings me to another reason why I love this season. Every thing seams possible in the crisp fall air. Yes we can go to an apple orchard and a pumpkin farm in the same day! Yes we can go to the corn maize and the apple festival! That'll be just after church or after lunch or maybe if we hurry we can get there just in time to catch the hayride. There's so much fun to be had. I'm glad hubby's on board to enjoy it all with me!

David and I are really enjoying this season of life. With two years of marriage under our belts, we can safely say that the newlywed phase is ending for us, and that we're settling into something new that is both fresh and familiar. We're those people that found the newlywed phase really difficult. We struggled with finances, clashing character traits, personal loss, and with deciding what kind of married couple we wanted to be - ones who were going to face this world downtrodden and alone or ones that were ready to follow Christ. As the bible says, we all have that feeling deep down, that knowledge of God - of his love and understanding. What so many of us struggle against is actually the peace that following his guidance brings. I'm so happy to finally say that our family (present and future) will be following and serving the Lord. It has been one of the most freeing and refreshing feelings - letting go of trying to over-control everything, and choosing to cling to our faith. Being raised as Christians, we always knew the way to go, what was best, but found ourselves caught up and lost in the jumble of today's society and expectations. Faith seems, more often than not, to be lost in the journey. I'm relieved to report that for us, we are no longer lost. We've found home in Christ.

What a blessed season marks this Autumn, and we are ready to celebrate!

Love,
Casey

Crockpot Apple Butter + Canning 101

Now that it's fall and everyone is craving apples and everything made from the Crock pot, I thought it would be fun to share my adventures of making some apple butter. Contrary to popular belief, apple butter isn't actually a type of butter. Hubby was very surprised to learn this; he's so cute. In any case, this stuff is delicious on something as plain as toast and as savory as a biscuit.

At the beginning of the summer, I became a woman on a mission. I wanted to learn how to can, do it properly, and make some yummy stuff to keep us in stock for months to come. Well first off, I was really intrigued with this concept of making apple butter in the Crock pot. My best friend absolutely loves apple butter and I wanted to do something nice for her for her graduation.

What you need to know going in is to respect the power of all spice - it is a powerful spice, powerful powerful. Put too much of this and cinnamon and cloves together and you've got a mixture that tastes like Big red gum - good for potpourri, bad for the back of your throat. I tried it with more and ended up having to toss the whole pot out. If you're like us and do not like very spicy apples, heed my warning. The amount I suggest may not seem like it's going to be enough for a huge batch of apple butter, but trust me, friend, it does the trick.

In any case, I was bound and determined to make my sweet friend some apple butter, and so I bought another bag of granny smith apples and I tried again. This time it was quite the success. The flavor was there, it wasn't too sweet, it wasn't too spicy, it was just right. It was my Goldilocks of apple butter. Here's what I did:

Crock pot Apple Butter

Ingredients
3 lb bag of Granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and chopped into chunks
1 1/2 cup of Apple juice
1/4 tsp of all spice (I didn't even fill it up all the way)
1/2 T of Cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp of clove
2 cups of sugar
1 (48oz) jar of applesauce  (sweetened or unsweetened is up to you)

Combine all of these ingredients and stir. My recommendation is to take that stir-spoon and taste of it before it starts cooking. It will let you know right away if you need more apples or juice to temper out too much spices...or if you want more. Anyway, this needs to cook on high for pretty much all day. I'd say about 6-10 hours. When it's done it will look like the picture below. It will also be delicious.

Go on, give it a taste! But be careful, it's HOT!

When this is done, it is ready for whatever purpose you might have for it. As you can see above, I canned it. Yep, I sucked it up and climbed that mountain and made it to the top. Canning has officially been crossed off my newlywed bucket list. It was again one of those things that was intimidating, but not as difficult as I anticipated. Here are the steps:

1. Put a rag on the bottom of the canning pot and put your jars right side up like so.

2. Put these bad boys in a bowl.

3. Throw these over here.

4. When these guys have boiled about fifteen minutes get 'em out.

5. Like so...but be careful, this water is HOT. You're gonna want to set these right side up on a clean dishtowel.

6. Now boil a little water in your kettle...

7. And when it whistles, pour that hot water on your lids to sterilize them.

8. Using a canning funnel and a ladle, fill the jars to just about the lip of the jar. Top them with the lids. (You might want to use a lid magnet to get them up with, they'll be hot.) Then screw on the bands, but not too tight yet.

9. Now these guys go back in the canner to boil again. (I changed water to be safe). I boiled these half pints for about     7 minutes.

10. Last of all, set these guys out to cool and listen for the blessed popping of seals. I get a little rush when they pop sealed. I'd done it! When these are all sealed and cool enough to handle, get a big strong husbandly-type of person to tighten the bands for you, and label them how you'd like. And that's it!

When I make this again, I really want to see how it tastes with Splenda. I think the Apples, juice, and apple sauce gives out enough sugar without having the granulated stuff also. But I gotta say, this is some really good stuff. My bestie was so excited about this she declared that she was going to spoon it right out of the jar. That warmed my heart to hear. Funny how food just has a way of making people smile.

Hope y'all are taking advantage of all fall has to offer you!

God bless!