He's going to Disneyland!!!! And other things.

On Wednesday my brother Josh got his mission call! I am so incredibly proud of him. It was such a blast to watch him open the call. I was so excited and antsy all day, and I'm sure he was 10x more so.

I know he was a little disappointed right when he opened the call, but I was so incredibly excited, and I know everyone else there was too. He is going to be an awesome missionary and do a great job in the Anaheim California mission.

Josh, I just want to let you know that I am incredibly glad to be your sister. I wish I could go back to when I was a bratty little child and I was so mean to you. It makes me feel really sad that I was a mean little kid. I love you and I think you are awesome. I hope you know that I really believe in you. You are a hard worker when you want to be, and even though you are a quiet and reserved person, you will be blessed to have the courage to approach people and share your testimony with them. I know that there will be many people who will be touched by the testimony that you have to share. You will be able to be influential to people in a way no one else has been able to. You will be able to change lives. Even if you don't baptize anyone, people will be changed for the better if you strive to always do your best and work hard.

At our Thanksgiving dinner my in-laws shared advice to my sister-in-law Ashlynn as she also prepares for a mission. I want to share that advice with you Josh.

• Perfect obedience: if you strive to live the mission rules with a PERFECT obedience you will be blessed with the Spirit always. It is a rule that one companion is supposed to help the other back out of a parking stall by standing outside and backing them up. Even if it is pouring rain and there is not a single other car in the parking lot, obey the rule. An elderly lady saw this exact situation happen and because of the missionaries' obedience she was converted. People are always watching.
• Love: love the people, love the culture (yes California has a different culture), love the food, love the work, love the Gospel. When you are filled with love for the people, you can better serve them.
• Study: study like you have never studied before. Know the Gospel the best you can. Read the Book of Mormon. Make sure you get your own testimony before you go.
• Work hard: work as hard as you possibly can. Every day will be the hardest day of your life, but it will also be your best. Don't give up or slack because it is too hard. Nothing is too hard when you have Heavenly Father on your side.
• Listen: listen to the Spirit because He will guide you and help you find people. He will comfort you when you are frustrated. He will help you love your companion when you want to kill him.

He leaves February 27th. I'll miss the little guy!

Chemo today went well. My white blood cell count more than tripled this week!!! Thanks to an awesome teammate who helped me find ways to increase my count. I drank lots of carrot juice and took some super powerful probiotics. I think it definitely helped. So glad I could get treatment! I also got to see my friend Haley and talk to her for a while. It is just so much more fun to have a friend my own age to talk to, even though we have totally different cancers.

It is weird, I haven't started losing my head hair yet!! My eyebrows have started falling out again :( and so have my arm hairs, but the hair on my head seems to be nice and stuck! I am so happy. I really am sick of being all the way bald. Its nice to have a little fuzz. 

I didn't write a Thanksgiving post because I don't want to be all cliche and so many people were doing it that I figured people were bored of reading them. But I am SO incredibly grateful for so many things I could never ever name them all. Maybe that was another reason I didn't want to do a thankful post....it would be way too long. I am grateful for life, to be alive. I am grateful that I have been able to be a blessing to others because of my cancer. I am grateful for a supportive husband that takes care of me and a mother-in-law that cooks dinner every night. I'm grateful for a mother that spends every Monday sitting in the chemotherapy room by my side and spends countless hours researching the newest and best treatment for me. I'm grateful that my brother has chosen to serve the Lord on a mission. I'm grateful for the days that I have energy to run. 

And the list goes on and on and on.

Sorry there were no pictures today. I did a horrible job this weekend taking pics.

Yesterday a lady in my ward said this comment and I really really loved it, so I will leave you with this thought:

"Often your worthiness is not measured by the blessings you receive, but by the trials you endure"