November has finally arrived. We have returned to Standard Time. The days are getting shorter. And the cold much more crisp and snapping than it was all last month. In about two weeks time, I will be hitting my official year mark working at the Covey Center and what a year it has been. I have made friends and learned much about myself and gotten at least a little more applicable work experience under my belt and so once I do have a chance to escape the proverbial bubble, I will be much more qualified and confident in getting a job outside of Utah.
The other day, I got a message from my youngest sister asking whether I would be interested in a service opportunity when I get home for Christmas this year. The catch? We are being asked to dress as Santa's Elves to complete the task. It will be quite the experience, I am sure... just need to go out and find some sparkly blush for these cheeks of mine to help with the merry look that all children expect from Santa's little helpers. But I am getting a little excited about the prospect, to be honest. I love Christmas time and the magic and wonder that surrounds the holiday. And it definitely doesn't hurt when I can lend a hand to bring a little extra happiness to children.
On that note, there are 49 days left until I get to return home! Oregon will be a most welcome sight, I assure you, and I hope to spend a little more time looking at the ocean than I have the last couple times I've been home. It's been a while since I have had such a long visit home, however, so it will be interesting to see how stir crazy I am by the end of it! But it should help a great deal because of how many of us will be home. My older brother and his family will be coming in to town just a couple days after me and will be staying for quite the jot themselves--so there should definitely be opportunities for fun and getting out of the house. It will be nice to have so much time at home though seeing as I have so many people to see.
Now, seeing as it is indeed November and Thanksgiving is lurking just around the corner, I suppose it would be fitting for the next month of blog posts to list a few things I am thankful for each time.
So to start off with, I want to say how thankful I am for siblings.
The spotlight for today is my younger sister, Mikkaila. She is currently serving an LDS mission up north in Canada and has been out since about halfway through February of this year. I cannot believe how long it has been but at the same time, it isn't so very much different from the usual waits between holidays for my trips home except for the fact that I cannot hear from her directly as often as I would like---something that will definitely be remedied once she finally returns in the middle of the summer this following year. She is such an inspiration of change and focus for me. Her serving the Lord has been a wonderful reminder that if we are striving to do our very best then God will make up the rest. I can see how much stronger she is becoming in the faith and how much kinder an eye she has towards a future of marriage and having a family of her own. Her humility, though it doesn't surprise me per se, still finds a way to astound and inspire me to rethink the way I go about life and doing the service that has been given to me to do. I love her so much and am thankful for her perceptiveness of my emotional situation that helps her to say exactly what I need to hear.
As for the smaller things I am thankful for, I am thankful that I have friends here in Utah that make the sojourn so much happier than it would be if I were alone. I am thankful for the thoughtfulness that prompts them to invite me to spend time with them in their homes and with their extended families. I am thankful to be so surrounded by love to keep me from ever thinking that I am unwanted.
Until next time.
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