My very brave cousin...

Warning - there are a lot of photos here, and it is personal, but there is a story. These are not artistic shots, but they do showcase the courage and positive attitude of my cousin Amy along with her supportive husband, children and extended family. Amy has breast cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy. Her second treatment is in two days, and it was time to cut her hair which was starting to come out. She made a family party of the event and asked me to document it. Here is the story.

Here we are. One daughter is away at girl's camp and will have to witness the event through these photos. This is Amy's family (minus Abi - yes, that's how she's spelling it now), including her mother, one of her sisters, her mother-in-law and me, her old cousin. One last photo before the scissors come out.

Her son Ryan was the first to cut into Amy's locks. Under a father's watchful eye and with instructions not to pull his mother's hair, he started the process.

Everyone wanted to get in on the act, and actually just pulled her compliant hair and out it came.

Her husband Jim undertook the serious business of closely cropping Amy's hair. He was careful and gentle. The family watched...

Daughter Cosette (who one day you will see on the silver screen) wanted a go at it. The intent was to give her a very cool Mohawk for a few minutes, at least.

One of the twins (looks like Lily to me) even cut some of the hair under the professional guidance of her Aunt Amanda, a real professional.

Jim got the clippers back to make sure it was done correctly and the family watched a perfectly shaped head emerge...

As I mentioned, Amanda is a pro, so she was tapped to smooth out the amateur job and give her all the benefit of a skilled and talented operator - you just gotta have that when it comes to your hair!

Mother Janice (out on a hot date tonight I hear) and sister Amanda look on approvingly. If anybody has a face for this it would have to be one of the original Olsen girls.

Amy gets her first glimpse of herself in the guest house window. I think even she was impressed.

The hospital provided this very cute skull cap to keep Amy warm. I just know there are volunteers out there who lovingly make these and donate them. Probably from families who have also been touched by cancer. There is goodness all around.

Amy's friends had a lunch for her the other day and they all came to the restaurant wearing hats and scarves that they'd purchased for her. She received a ton of things (thanks girls - you know who you are). She spent at least 30 minutes trying on all the hats and scarves and modeling them for the family. I think she's going to need to go clothes shopping to pick up just the right things to accent all these new fashion accessories.

It was a simple hour spent with Amy and her family, but it was much more than that. It was a brave wife and mother putting a happy face on a scary time in her life. She was making lemonade out of lemons, so to speak, and giving a healthy serving and example to all of us there who thought we'd come to support her. Thanks for sharing Amy...

A real beauty, inside and out...