Courageous

We had another productive week of harvest with our courageous, hardworking team. However rather than bore you with more combining pictures, I'd like to focus this week on another courageous, hardworking team.

I'll probably struggle with having enough pictures to convey my thoughts this week however I'm going to try. The courageous team I'd like to visit with you about this morning is our spouses. Below Jan is feeding our crew lunch on a rain delay day with very little notice and doing an awesome job.

The reason Jan can feed such a crew on the spur of the moment is because of all the freezing and canning she does through the summer. I tried to take a picture of all her freezing projects however a picture of an open freezer just wasn't that attractive. :)

Below Jan is doing applesauce using DeWalt cranking power and having lots of little helpers.

Her special pickles were a big hit this summer and the guys could generally eat a quart of them in one sitting.

Jan also cans an assortment of peppers. Sometimes the guys will challenge each other during a meal about having enough courage to try and eat a hot one plain.

Tomatoes are one of Jan's main garden crops and she cans everything from salsa to pizza sauce to even some ketchup. Ketchup however is so reasonably priced in it's own squirt container that it's not always practical to make other than for cooking.

This is an older picture however I dug it up for a couple of reasons. First of all our family raises and the girls freeze a lot of sweetcorn. Secondly I am bad at remembering birthdays and anniversaries and Cassia had a birthday this week. Grandson Cody also had a birthday because we had leftover cake in the office this past week.

It's always a treat for the guys when one of the gals brings a hot meal to the field. One evening this past week Stacy brought out ham balls, real mashed potatoes, and sweet corn. It's quite a job to make a full blown meal, try and keep it hot, pack dishes, load up all the kids, and come and find us. Thank you.

On another evening this week I was combining on a farm close to home. Jan took her Ranger to Beacon and bought Beacon Burgers and came out to the field and her and I enjoyed supper together.

Harvest is always on the go at our house and many times it takes courage to make the effort for spouses to come and join us. We do want you to know however we all appreciate it and it's a treat when you're all  around.

Some of you reading this may not have a spouse yet and you are fine with that. Others of you may be wondering what God's plan is for you in the future. Some of you have lost your spouse. It's got to be hard. It would take courage and grace to move on at home and in public. I can't imagine being without Jan.

 

I always get up early and many times get in late. Sometimes I get in on time and Jan is a good listener as I relate the days activities. Other times I get in on time and am wore out and don't say much. Even though she is understanding I need to try harder about that.

Thank you gals for being such courageous young women. My hope and prayer is that us guys will not only continue to provide for our families financially but also continue to provide spiritual leadership in our homes and work hard to give you the time you deserve.