everybody's got somethin'...

(Quick update from the last post: our "superman," Jameson, is feeling SO much better today now that the antibiotics are in full swing!)

happy girl

We finally got the cast!  And it's pink (of course)!

Since it'll only be two weeks before the pins come out, the doctor gave us the option of wrapping her arm back up with a splint and ace bandages.

Watching Caroline's face as the doctor presented that option, I could tell there was NO WAY we were leaving that office without a pink cast.  NO WAY.

the love of Jameson's life

 There was also NO WAY Jameson was going to leave that doctor's office without his own nurse buddy, too!   (ha ha!)

 He clung SO tightly to her leg when it was time to go- must have been love at first sight.  This sweet nurse literally CARRIED HIM OUT TO OUR CAR and buckled him in before he fell into a thousand pieces when she said goodbye.

sweet friends

 Caroline's loving her pink cast!  And she's handling the challenge of living one-handed like a champ.  I'm so incredibly proud of her.  (I'd be whining up a STORM.)

Seriously, not one complaint.

I can't help but wonder if it's because her sweet friend at school lives without a hand, but still amazes everyone with all that she's able to do!

enjoying the hay ride on the class field trip

 In fact, coming home from the ER the night of the accident, Caroline insightfully said, "Now I'm going to be more like M!"

I couldn't be more grateful for my daughter to have a friend like M.  They came into kindergarten together, and they've been a beautiful encouragement to one another.

We talk alot in our family about how "everybody's got something."
God makes everybody with unique gifts and challenges.

Sometimes it's easy to see how we're different, like having alopecia or missing a hand, and sometimes people have things that aren't so easily visible, but one thing is for sure: EVERYBODY'S GOT SOMETHIN'.

 Speaking of handling our differences, 

the week after her accident, 

Caroline asked me to write out her thoughts on alopecia into a booklet.  Oh man, you can't imagine how happy it made this mama's heart to hear:  

"I like alopecia!  

But sometimes I wish I had hair.

Sometimes I have to itch my head.

"At school everybody still likes me, even with alopecia.

Sometimes I wear a wig to school or out places.  I have a brown wig.  I'm getting a blonde wig for Halloween to be with my Elsa dress.  Elsa is a character in Frozen.

Sometimes I feel fun with alopecia.  Mommy likes to feel my smooth head.  My family thinks I'm special.  Sometimes for dress up I wear my wig.  

I feel very happy with alopecia.  It doesn't matter if I have alopecia because I'm still special. 

 "Song:

I feel very special.

I turn my back on Satan.

My heart unfolds when I see God.

I will try to obey the Ten Commandments.

I feel wonderful.

I know I'm special.

God thinks I'm special, too."

(gotta love their train of thought!)

 Alopecia still has it's days.  It still has it's ups and downs.  At times it feels like an extra person we carry into public with us.

It's a battle we're called to normalize.  

But after my own year-long struggle to accept alopecia when Caroline was first diagnosed, I can't tell you how relieving and amazing it feels to see my daughter finding confidence, approval, and strength in her own uniqueness.

Both of my kids will face challenges in being different.  Jameson will face the unique issues of being a transracial adoptee with white parents.

We're learning to be okay with our differences 

and embrace them as who we are.

We're learning that life's not all about 

looking like we have it together,

and God uses our differences to strengthen us.

It's these differences that also help us relate to others, too.  

Because, after all,

everybody's got somethin'.