Happy Mother's Day

My mom is amazing.

At everything...
She can draw perfect circles.
She can answer any cooking question.
Her house is always clean.
She runs....far...and fast.
She's very organized.
She decorates fabulously.
She is very generous with her time, money and possessions.
She is spontaneous.
Her garden flourishes instead of wilts.
She can bowl, play mini golf and swim. I can't do any of those.
She sends me Caribou gift cards and bags of chocolate chips...life's necessities.
Her faith in God shows in her actions every day.
And of course, she's beautiful.


So, Mom, thank you for being just a phone call away to answer all of my silly questions and to let me vent, or share stories, or just simply say hi. You are amazing and lovely and I don't know what I'd do without you.
I LOVE YOU!!!

the "Jen Boot"

Part of the duties at my job is trying on the shoes we will be selling in upcoming seasons to make sure they are comfortable, fit well, etc. Last summer I was brought the most amazing boot to try on...it was love at first sight. I was so in love that it became known as the "Jen Boot". 2 pairs later (thank you discount!), I'm still wearing them. My sister is a photographer and I got to be her model the other day and she took this amazing picture of the Jen Boot. When I get home from my trip I'm going to blow this up and put it in my shoe closet (that is, if I have a shoe closet...).

Role Models

My dad called me yesterday. He made me repeat after him, "I am NOT going on a mission trip. I am a short term missionary." I am quitting my job, leaving my family and friends and giving a year of my life to God and letting him do whatever he wants to do with it. I AM A MISSIONARY!!

My grandma was a missionary. She sent me this picture after my last post about travel clothes...her friend, Glenna made her this skirt and she said it was perfect for Africa! Looks like I'm going to have to call up Glenna and see if she can make me one too.














At one point I was talking with Grandma about my year of mission work and I asked her, "What if I get malaria??" Nonchalantly, my grandma replied, "Oh you'll be fine, I've had malaria twice." TWICE?! And she's still alive and kicking it! My grandma trusts God with her life and every aspect of her life...what an inspiration! My grandma has always been an amazing woman of God and has been an incredible role model throughout my life. And now I get to be a missionary like her! My year will be spent in 11 countries while my grandma spent a couple years in Nigeria, Africa but nevertheless, we are both missionaries.

Another person I am inspired by is a girl I went to college with. I wasn't great friends with Suzanne in college and I can't say we're close now, but I stumbled onto her blog yesterday and learned a great deal about the woman of God that she has become. She is so open about her faith and excited to share with everyone...I wish I was more like this! Check out her blog. I'm sure you'll be inspired as well.

So, THANK YOU Grandma Lynn and Suzanne Thompson! You have both been role models in my life...I'm excited to be a missionary like you, Grandma and to begin to share my faith like you, Suzanne. And THANK YOU to God for bringing these amazing women in my life!