Recently I had the opportunity to spend a long morning getting to know the Smith family out in their Kings Mountain home. First, what a gorgeous area of North Carolina. Second, this family is absolutely precious, strong, and deserving. Mom and Dad work SO hard. Dad, a retired Marine, works out of the home, working crazy shifts, just so he can spend as much time as possible with his kiddos during the day when he can. Mom takes care of two littles who are only a year apart. This family loves their big yard, and who can blame them when you have a mountain view behind your home?!? The kiddos were so excited to get outside and play on the "playground", they are the cutest! They are just two kiddos who love Sheriff Callie and being the silliest playmates together.
Besides loving each other immensely, playing outside as much as they can, working hard, this family is also experiencing what no family should ever have to deal with. The youngest, Sam {who just turned 2 the other day}, is battling cancer. He has a very stubborn tumor behind his eyes, it is an optic pathway glioma {the exact name is a grade 1-2 Pilocytic Astrocytoma}. It is a slow growing tumor along the optic nerve. He was diagnosed at 9 months old when Mom and Dad noticed that his eyes started shaking. They have been fighting this ever since. He was recently on an experimental chemo therapy that he took twice a day because he has a mutation in his cells that makes most forms of standard treatments ineffective. Unfortunately this treatment did not work and the tumor has grown, he has come off of this treatment, and now Mom & Dad are having to make even harder decisions. You can follow along on their journey and send all of your positive energy and well wishes to their Facebook Page: Super Samuel's Journey. They are wonderful people and little Sam could use a little break and have some luck go his way. Big sister Emma is such a sport and is counting on all of that positive energy because her little brother deserves it as does she!
Mom has dealt with enough stress and wanted to make sure she had family photos she was actually in that captured who her family really is. She didn't want these moments to slip away without capturing the giggles and the smiles of how the backyard makes her babes feel. I feel so fortunate to have gotten to spend time documenting their morning together and catching just a glimpse of the cuteness they all are together.
To know them, is to love them, and I am lucky to have met them and now share a space in my heart for this wonderful people. Thank you Smith family for giving me the opportunity to spend one of your busy mornings with you. All of my love and positive energy comes your way.
