Precerpt from Raising God's Rainbow Makers - 🐹 The Hamster Lesson: When Nature Doesn’t Nurture
We thought the hamster era would be fun.
Noelle adored animals—especially hamsters. So we got her a pair from the pet store, not realizing they were male and female. Nature took its course. Babies arrived. We figured it would be a sweet experience for Noelle: watching them grow, learning about life.
But one baby didn’t grow.
It had three legs. And the mother killed it—right in front of Noelle.
We weren’t prepared. Not for the brutality. Not for the questions. Not for the heartbreak of explaining that in the wild, animals don’t have the means to help their disabled young survive. They do what nature tells them to do. And nature isn’t always kind.
Noelle was four. She didn’t have three legs, but she had two legs that didn’t work. She asked, “Would the hamster mother have killed me?”
And the answer, of course, was yes.
We couldn’t lie. Covering up the truth would have been as cruel as telling it. So we told her. And she sobbed. And sobbed. And sobbed.
Nothing we said could console her.
She kept caring for the hamsters, but the joy was gone. The innocence had been pierced. The lesson had landed too close to home.
Months later, her therapist told us something that made our hearts ache all over again: Noelle believed she couldn’t walk because she had been bad, and we had broken her legs as punishment when she was a baby.
Oh, my.
It took time to untangle that belief. Time, love, and a lot of gentle truth-telling. We hadn’t expected the hamster era to bring such deep sorrow. But it did. And it taught us something too: that children interpret suffering through the lens of their own experience. That they search for meaning in pain. That they need help to rewrite the stories they tell themselves.
Noelle is one of God’s rainbow makers—bright, complex, and full of grace. But even rainbow makers need help navigating the storms.
Book Description:
A Family Memoir of Grace, Grit, and Growing Up Different
What happens when a military family welcomes four children—each with wildly different needs—into a world not always built to support them?
In Raising God’s Rainbow Makers, one mother shares the remarkable journey of raising two children with complex disabilities—one with spina bifida, one with CHARGE Syndrome—and two intellectually gifted children, all born in different states during years of military life. Through medical crises, educational challenges, and societal roadblocks (both intentional and unintentional), this honest and inspiring memoir tells the story of how one family built a life of strength, compassion, and resilience.
With warmth and unflinching honesty, the author reflects on emergency surgeries, IEP battles, unexpected victories, and the fierce sibling bonds that formed in the face of it all. The children—now grown—bear witness to the power of support, faith, and never giving up.
This is not just a story of survival. It is a celebration of difference, a chronicle of hope, and a powerful testament to what love and determination can build when the world says "impossible."
Keywords:
Parenting memoir; Special needs parenting; Raising children with disabilities; Military family life; Family resilience; Inspirational family story; Faith-based memoir; Coping with medical challenges; Sibling support stories; Gifted children; Spina bifida; CHARGE Syndrome; Hydrocephalus; Congenital disabilities; Complex medical needs; Pediatric neurosurgery; IEP and special education; Gifted education; Educational advocacy; Inclusive education; Hope and healing; Courage and strength; Love and perseverance; Raising different children; Disability acceptance; Parenting through adversity; Overcoming barriers; Finding joy in hardship; Special needs journey; Family unity and support; For parents of disabled children; For parents of gifted children; For educators and therapists; Christian parenting memoir; For families facing rare diagnoses; Real-life parenting stories; Memoirs about raising children; Stories of medical miracles
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