SAVE THE DATE!

Y'all know what I'm going to say! APRIL 29TH! We're just under three months away from the big day - Georgia's Official Cancer-Freedom! We're having a party, of course, along with our annual blood drive, and as always, we'll be raising funds for childhood cancer research. Many of you have been with Georgia from the very beginning, and we are so grateful for your support. Stay tuned for more details of the big celebration, but if you want to get the party started now, how about a donation for our fierce warrior's St. Baldrick's page?

Also fierce is the love and support Georgia has received from one very special person - our darling Ivy Francis. Tonight's moment to remember is one of the many times and many ways Ivy has cheered for her sis throughout this journey. Something she continues to do every day. 

Sister Power

Off and Running

In only the third week of the year, the calendar is already filling up! Today, Georgia received a couple of Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. She got a Silver Key for her digital portrait of Ivy and an Honorable Mention for her drawing "Late." It was a nice ceremony, and when we have it, we'll share the slideshow of all of the winning pieces. So many talented young artists in Austin!

This week, she's going on her final(!) class college trip. They'll be visiting Texas A&M and Rice University. She's also signed up for the SAT in March and will begin a test prep class soon. We'll meet with her college advisor in February and continue checking things off the monthly lists in her "College-Bound Plan" through the end of the year. The search and application process is quite an undertaking these days, so we're grateful to have an advisor to guide Georgia through it. Time is really speeding up, though, and we'll be in the thick of it all soon!

Friday is the district swim meet, so Georgia's got four more swims for the year. She's made such big strides this season and is already looking to improve even more next season. Swimming has been so good for her in many respects, and I can see her continuing for years to come.

One bit of fundraising news for this week: Georgia's Official Cancer-Freedom Shave has a new date! The Dell event is now Saturday, April 15th, so she has an extra month to grow her locks AND fundraise! She's determined to reach $5000 by the end of the year in honor of hitting the all-important Five Year mark, and she's working on some ideas to help get her to her goal. Stay tuned - or feel free to donate now! : )

Swim Time

Georgia's birthday celebration continued this week when she and I attended a book signing with one of her favorite authors. Zadie Smith was beautiful and witty and kind enough to pose for the intrepid reporter from The Polaris Press. It was a fabulous night!

Yesterday, Georgia had a swim meet, and further improved her times in all events. In fact, she came in first in her 100 heat! All of her hard work in practice is paying off, and she's still having a great time, so we're so grateful to Coach Calver and the rest of the Swimming Stars.

The winning touch!

Tonight, we announced the date and venue for the 8th annual 46 Mommas shave, and it looks like I'll be spending my birthday raising awareness and research funds at The Oasis! More on that, and our other fundraising plans, to come. Have a great week!

A Very Harry Birthday

Ever since she was 8 years old, Georgia has been dreaming of a Harry Potter-themed birthday party when she turned 17 - you know, the age at which witches and wizards become adults in the magical world. So, after nine years in the planning, and lots of hard work with all hands on deck (most especially, our resident HP expert, Ivy), we put together a fantastic "experience" for Georgia's closest friends, and a magical time was had by all! I only wish the pictures were better, but alas, candlelight and an unfamiliar camera vexed our muggle photographer ... ahem. At any rate, we present Georgia's Very Harry Birthday Party! 

The Fat Lady guarded the door to the common room.

Banner courtesy of Hagrid.

10 points to Slytherin for Most Adorable Witch.

Ready for Potions class.

Paying our respects to Dumbledore.

Can you spot Sirius Black?

Selections from the portrait gallery.

Believe it or not, Georgia hit the perfect spot on the very first try!

Umbridge's decrees ... Boo! Hiss!

Have you seen this wizard?

Beware!

Tom Riddle's diary.

The feast in the Great Hall: Basilisk Calzone, Aragog's Children, Muggle Munch, Sherbet Lemons, Cauldron Cakes, Chocolate Wands, Dobby's Mismatched Sock Cookies, and Bertie Bott's Beans.

The Pensieve.

Floating candles in the Great Hall.

Golden Snitch Cake.

The Birthday Witch.

Minister Fudge captures a Dementor!

Happy Birthday, Georgia!

17!

Happy New Year, Friends of Georgia! After another fantastic Christmas and a relaxing break, we went into full party-prep mode for Georgia's birthday! The big day began with, of course, cake in bed then presents revolving around a theme.

 17!

This year's theme (for the birthday and I'm thinking for every day) is Inspiration, so all of Georgia's gifts are meant to inspire her art, writing, and studies in this last semester before she starts applying to college(!!!). She's dreaming about schools in several different states, so her favorite gift was this bag of junk food for study time. : )

Later, in the midst of her epic Harry Potter-themed birthday party that night (pictures to follow), Georgia made this very special, very inspiring announcement:

To mark her fifth year off treatment and celebrate her Official Cancer-Freedom, she's shaving her head at the Dell Children's St. Baldrick's event in March! She wants to raise $5000, and you can support her HERE! We are so proud of her and, yes, inspired by her bravery and generosity. It was the perfect way to wrap up the Month of Georgia, and we're excited to see what the next 12 months bring. Thank you for keeping our girl on your mind and in your heart, and Happy #Inspiration2017!