Lilypoo | San Tan Valley | Queen Creek | Phoenix | Photography

Parenting is an ever-evolving journey. Had you asked me 20 years ago if I would let my seven year old get bright pink highlights, I’m pretty sure I would have emphatically said, “No way!” After all, I wasn’t allowed to get highlights (blonde highlights in my light brown hair) until I was in college–and even then my mom was none too pleased.

Katie changes everything, though. Katie has taught us to reprioritize. She has changed most of what we believe. It was less than four and a half years ago that Katie lay motionless in a hospital bed. She couldn’t open her eyes, wouldn’t respond to stimuli and we were told it was very likely she would be that way forever. When she did wake up three days later, she couldn’t do more than move her eyes. But Katie pulled herself out of that state and despite the brain damage she’d suffered, she learned to sit up, move and talk again before hospital staff could even arrange for the therapies they said she’d need.

See, our Katelyn is our hero. She doesn’t give up. She’s brave. She endures. She has Crohn’s disease, and suffered a stroke at age two. Somehow, she’s grown into the beautiful, thriving girl you see below. So when she asks for hot pink streaks in her hair, who are we to say no? Katie knows that she wants to live life to the fullest, and every day she does. I think she’s earned it.