The two weeks after “chemo week” of my three week treatment cycle are so much better for me physically. Don’t get me wrong, I am still quite weak, I usually only have energy in the mornings, and my stamina is severely lacking, but there are moments where I feel more like a normal person, and not so much a sick person. On those days, my morning walks give me hope that I will someday be physically strong again.

This past weekend, I was blessed to have my friend, Sharon, go on my morning walk with me, which was fantastic. I wish I would remember to take pictures of all my fabulous local friends who have come out walking with me the past four months, but most of the time I am having such a great time talking with them, that I totally forget. When Sharon and I were walking, not only was the sunrise spectacular, but while we were there, we ran into Amy, another friend of ours.

Arthur has been trucking along with school and rehearsals for his show next week. Sometimes he struggles with life in middle school, but sometimes he shines. It was especially fun to see this in a school email – Arthur is not only the top reader for 7th grade, but the second highest minutes logged in the whole school. Pretty amazing!

On Tuesday, there wasn’t school because of election day, and I was able to take Arthur to his doctor’s appointment. It is such a simple and normal thing, but it sure was fantastic to get to do something simple and normal. And it was wonderful to get to talk to his amazing pediatrician, Dr. Brauer, and give her an update on my health.

Like I mentioned, Arthur was out of school because they were using the schools for voting. And since it was election day, after my morning walk with Kevin, we both went and voted before he went to work. Oh, and my two adult kids also voted, which is always super awesome to me 😍. And, I’m not gonna lie, but one of my very favorite parts of voting is getting the sticker at the end – yes, I am like a preschooler 😂. But just look at how cute the Texas voting sticker is with the cowboy armadillo. I mean, who wouldn’t want that sticker??

Also, can we just take a second, or longer, to glory in the weather that is south Texas this time of year. At almost 6pm in the evening in November, it is 66 degrees, while in almost all the places I used to live, it is freezing. I had the most lovely time resting and reading my book outside while Kevin played a round of golf on his simulator. Pretty awesome!

Another wonderful thing, was being able to attend the temple with Lily and Kevin the other day. After having our temple closed for the past five months, it has been amazing to have it open again, and we are taking full advantage. It is such a wonderful place of peace and recentering on Jesus Christ, that it especially important to me right now.

Derek, or I should say, Elder Brown, has been very busy as usual. This past week he had his San Antonio Mission Zone Conference, and it is always a fantastic experience for him to be with, not only his fellow service missionaries, but the teaching missionaries as well.

His service zone also went to the temple together the other night, and it was another wonderful experience for him. I am so grateful for the opportunities Derek’s mission is blessing him with.

Elder Brown truly loves serving, and is happiest when he is out on a service assignment. Last week, I was sent this wonderful picture from Sister Salizar, an amazing lady from our ward who, along with her husband, are the service missionaries over the temple grounds. Derek serves there with them every Friday morning, and they love him so much. On this day, it was the fall flower planting, and my sweet boy was filled with all the joy of being there.

Another very awesome thing that happened this week was that Kevin got to go to Austin and play golf with my brother-in-law, Tod. They used to play golf together every time we would visit, but because of life getting in the way, it had been years since they had played together. Since Tod is in the process of building some homes on a brand new country club golf course called Laura Loma, he is able to play there, and so Kevin came as his guest. Not only did they have a blast together, but Kevin said it is one of the best courses he has ever played, and considering some of the amazing world class courses Kevin has played over the years, that is saying a LOT! So cool!

As for me, one of my favorite things and a massive highlight of the past few months, was that because it was a community event, I was given permission to attend the Fall Festival at the elementary school where I work. Because of restrictions from my medical leave, I hadn’t been on campus since they let me set up my classroom in August, and it felt like coming home. I walked around and hugged all my friends – both staff and parents, and the best part was seeing so many of my kids ❤️. Both my old students, and the ones for this year that I hadn’t met. Cute kids would come up and ask if I was Mrs. Brown, and then say things like, “You’re my teacher. I’ve never seen you before.” 😂🥹 It melted my heart and made me laugh at the same time.

At one point, I saw Lily, a sweet girl in my class this year whose mother I met once in the park, and who was behind the amazing letters and care package I received right before my first chemo treatment. Because her mom had told her how strict my rules were, I think she wasn’t sure if she could say hi to me or not, and as she just stood there, I asked her if she was Lily. She nodded, and I motioned for her to come over and give me a hug. And I was able to tell her that I am hopefully coming back right before Christmas break. The whole evening filled my heart so full.

Another really fun thing going on right now, is that Lily has a boyfriend. Christopher, the really nice guy she met at the YSA conference, has been texting, calling and facetiming with her almost daily, and the other night, they went on their first official date. They went to the mall and played at the arcade, went to the Lego store, had dinner at Freddy’s, and found a fun candy store to get treats.

They also took the cutest pictures in a photo booth. It is so fun to see my girl having so much fun dating.

And in all of this, I am still trying to recover from my last treatments, while I am preparing for my next treatments. My life is this bizarre rollercoaster – both physically and emotionally – where I am up, and then down. At times when it is the down, I love to look at the “Emotional Support Dumpster Fire” that I was given and say to myself, “It’s fine. I’m fine. Everything is fine!” 😂 Good times!

And while we are on the subject of silly jokes, Kevin posted this on Instagram the other day and it made me laugh. I guess there is some terrible documentary about “Surviving Mormonism,” and members of my church throughout the world have decided to take that hashtag and turn into the funniest jokes, such as: “Surviving Mormonism, but really it is trying not to gain too much weight from the treats my ministers bring to me.” Or something like, “Surviving Mormonism, but really it is discovering that there is actually no steak at the Stake Center,” or “Surviving Mormonism, but really it is taking down chairs after a meeting.” Kevin’s was awesome, because he tries to wear a different tie to teach seminary until he has gone through his entire collection. His meme said “Surviving Mormonism, but you only have two unworn ties left for seminary and it isn’t Christmas.” Notice that the ties the in the picture are a Christmas tie and an Austin Powers tie. Awesome 😂.