Things I LOVE

As part of November I always have an extra sense of gratitude. As for this blog I am dedicating it to the things I am grateful for or rather 'the things I LOVE.'

1. I love my calling in the LDS church. Right now I am the stake physical fitness/sports director, let me tell you how much I love this calling! What a blast it is to actually have a calling where I can go to nearly everything in basketball shorts and a T-shirt. That is what I am talking about! There is no other calling like it. I also love my assistant, Linda, she is completely amazing!! She is so dedicated and willing to do anything needed to have the women's sports succeed. She is so fun and always makes me laugh, Love her to death!

2. I love October (the month). This is the perfect month! The weather is perfect, the leaves are so beautiful. I love going for a run with my kids and smelling the fresh autumn air and hearing the leaves crunch under my feet. Halloween is such a joy. This year Ry picked his costume. He chose a green ghost, and yes, it HAD to be green. Easy enough for me, we got a green sheet, green hair spray paint, and green face paint. Abby was cheer bear, I know this isn't a big change from her daily personality, but hey......she was the cutest cheer bear ever! She truly is so happy and smiley, even on my bad days she can put a smile on my face. Ry LOVED trick or treating. He would run door to door and we finally got him to say trick-or-treat, by the end of the night my boy was a pro.

3. I love my home. I have been doing a little updating to my outside and I am pleased with the results. My sister and I have painted the railing and mailbox black and we bought a new front door, I will be painting that and the garage door a dark rustic red. I also want to put up a big Texas star! I haven't told Mark about the star yet, but I'm sure he won't mind =).

4. I love my family. I am so grateful to have them, all of them (extended included). They help me so much, I wouldn't be able to get through this life without them. Each of them teach me so much.

5. I love the Temple. There is a sense of peace and comfort that a person receives when in the temple that can't be relieved elsewhere. There have been many times in my life where I have entered the temple feeling beat up from the world, but hours later I leave feeling uplifted, energized and strengthened. I am truly grateful for this gift of knowledge and strength in my life.

6. I love my camera. It is nothing fancy, it doesn't have a lot of options, BUT what it does is priceless. It captures moments that I would not otherwise be able to capture. This morning is a perfect example. I was get ready for church and I went into the bathroom and I found Abby doing this.........................
Yes, you are seeing right, she is straightening her hair! I didn't prompt her or show her how. She even got it out of the cabinet herself. She obviously has seen me straighten my hair and she decided she needed a little straightening herself (hopefully she doesn't get my frizzy hair, if she does.....poor thing). SO CUTE. This made my day.

Earlier this week I was in one of those woe-is-me ruts, where all I do is dwell on how 'hard' my life is and how hard my trials are to bear. Then I had this sense (the Holy Ghost) that came over me and told me "Jennica, look at ALL I have given you." To say the least I was humbled. I HAVE been blessed with SO much. I just wasn't looking at it. I was focusing so much on the raindrops I missed the beautiful rainbow in front of me.