Samantha Update - Light the Night

Last Thursday, Samantha finished her 6 months of chemo treatment! (If you are new around here, you can read the initial post about her HERE.) She has handled this journey like such a boss babe. Rocking her bald head (now short hair) and constantly keeping a smile on her face. She has been such an inspiration to everyone around her. She goes back for scans next month, but I am going ahead and speaking it now - I'm sure she is CANCER FREE! We did a little breakfast for her on Friday morning to celebrate her journey coming to an end. 

Then on Saturday, we headed down to Piedmont Park to keep the celebration going at Light the Night. It was such a powerful and moving event.. What a way to celebrate our girl!! 

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Friday Favorites

1. THIS GUY. And it FINALLY being the END!

The way Maddie Jane is looking at her Daddy in this picture.. that's exactly how I feel right now. Today is the end of a verrryyyy long journey - today AJ defends his PhD dissertation! He has worked his tail off the past five years, has made so many sacrifices, and all of his hard work is finally paying off. We are so excited to live life sans academia!!! We are SO proud of you babe!!! GOOD LUCK!

2. Baby bird eggs! 

I took this picture this weekend of baby bird eggs in our fern and was sooo excited to include it in my Friday Favorites... and now the eggs are gone! We are so sad that we do not get to see these little babes come to life! But man.. something so cool about seeing life up close like that.

3. Anthro right now.

Y'all.. if I had a million dollars, my first stop would seriously be Anthropologie. Their home section right now is out of this world. The latte bowls, the hand towels, the outside dinnerware. I die over it all! 

4. Samantha Strong

I have received so many messages about Samantha since writing the post back HERE. She started her chemo last week and hasn't skipped a beat. She is at work with a smile on her face every single day. She even started a blog that you can read HERE!

5. Last night.

Eeek, last night was so much fun. Maddie Jane and I went with Beverly to Brookhaven's Sip and Stroll. All the stores had 10-20% off, drinks, snacks.. such a perfect girl's night! (And y'all.. hearing her little voice talk about "Beberby" is THE sweetest!)

We had "passports" to get stamped at each store and then we entered them to win Atlanta Food & Wine tickets. (Fingers crossed!) The weather was kinda yuck.. and we may have had a major meltdown over having to leave the toy store. But so much fun nonetheless! 

6. Muffins with Mom

Ugh this picture is blurry, but it's the best I could get this morning. She was so excited about her outfit (that Mom and I bought when she was born, ha!) and taking her teachers their Teacher Appreciation Week gifts, and Muffins with Mom at school! 

This girl is pure JOY. And I am so lucky to be her Mama! Looking forward to getting AJ back tomorrow and a nice relaxing weekend at home with my people. Happy early Mother's Day!!

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#samanthastrong

Two months ago I had a big decision to make. I had been in my job three months and was making my first direct report hire for an HR Generalist. I interviewed a handful of people, but Samantha definitely stood out above the rest as someone who truly wanted the job, would work hard, and wouldn't want to move on after just a few months. So against my better judgement (kidding) I hired this fresh out of Georgia Tech, college athlete.

Samantha and I immediately hit it off. We both have similar work ethics and have a true passion for HR. I can be pretty critical of people and AJ was quite surprised when day after day, I would come home singing her praises, without a negative thing to say. She was a DREAM employee and we were trucking right along to build out this nonexistent HR department. And then life happened two weeks ago...

Samantha came to me one morning and said, "I think I need to make a doctor's appointment." I didn't think anything about it and was like sure, whatever you need to do. And then she got super serious and said .. "I think I have cancer." Of course my initial thought was, this girl was up way too late last night googling crazy symptoms. I mean anyone can get a cancer diagnosis from Dr. Google. But the more she talked, the more I got concerned. She got in with her general doctor that morning and immediately was sent over to the hospital for scans and a biopsy. They didn't give her a diagnosis then, but said she should "probably schedule an oncologist appointment." So the next day at work we waited, and waited, and waited.. and she finally got the call around 4:00pm on a Friday afternoon saying, "You have Hodgkin's Lymphoma."

The past two weeks have been an emotional whirlwind of doctor's appointments, blood work and scans. But this girl has handled every single step of the way with grace and poise. She has held her head high and hasn't blinked an eye at the thought of beating this. She has a peace about this journey that can only come from God.

Two months ago she was at a large firm, one of thousands on their headcount. If she wouldn't have taken this leap of faith to start a new job, how would things look? Would she be able to keep her job? Would they be as flexible as our small firm can be? Would her boss understand the depth of leniency necessary? You see... Ten years ago, to the very month, my mother heard that awful c word too.. Ten years ago my mother was newly divorced, and being an only child, we were fighting for her life too. I've been down this road... I've had a front row seat to the absolutely awful measures necessary to beat this disease. God knew Sam needed a boss that would understand.

And don't for one second start singing my praises - this isn't about me at all. This is about divine intervention.. and things happening for a reason. I'm the lucky one in this situation. I get to watch this absolute warrior go to battle. And I am blessed beyond measure to stand by her side. Today is the first day of her journey... today is day one of chemo. The road she must travel down is long and painful, but she's got this. She WILL win.

If you're the praying type.. please join me in flooding the gates of heaven today. If  not, send good thoughts and vibes her way. This bright eyed 22 year old could use it all. We love you Samantha!!!

#samanthastrong

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