The Big 5-0

I was told, "don't even think about having me a party!"  I knew he meant it.   That's just how he is.  He has zero desire to be the center of attention.  So we kept it "low key" just like he likes it.  I made his favorite meal, Lemon Chicken and Peach Cobbler.  After the kids went to bed, he headed to the garage with a cigar and a beer to reflect on life at 50.  

Visiting Mommy's Work

Sophie has been asking me for a long time to take her to my work so she can see the big firetrucks.  A wonderful opportunity presented itself and my Chief told me to bring her on out so everyone could meet this little one they hear so much about. 

Sophie was thrilled! 

I picked her up from school and to the airport we headed.

First thing she got to do was drive across the airfield. One of my police officers escorted us to the firehouse.  He had his lights flashing and Sophie couldn't believe that we got to drive right past the big airplanes.

After meeting some of my co workers we headed out to the Bays to see the big trucks.  Our trucks are not like the regular red firetrucks most people are familiar with.  Ours are special trucks equipped to handle airplane fires and rescues.  They can move very quickly and handle extremely high heat that is caused by jet fuel burning.  They can also spray water while they are rolling.  The red firetrucks have to be connected to a hydrant.

Officer Payne was assigned to Rescue 49 and we were lucky he was.  He is a great tour guide and has been a fireman at the airport for a really long time.  He was also great with Sophie!  He showed her the in's and out's of how the truck worked.

He let her try on his boots or I guess I should say he picked her up and sat her in his boots.  They were really big and heavy.

She got to try on his helmet.  Just like the trucks, these helmets are especially designed to fight airplane fires.  The face shield has a coating with 14k gold in it to be really efficient at reflecting extreme heat.

And then Sophie got to ride across the airfield in the firetruck.  She got to blow the horn.

Her favorite part was getting to shoot the water from the firehose across the airfield using the robotic arm.  

This is a photo of the firehouse.  It sits in the middle of the airfield.  Most every night I sit on the porch in a rocking chair eating my dinner and watching the planes take off. It's an amazing view! 

Sophie had a wonderful time visiting my work. I love the way she calls the guys I work with, "the fireman's" in her sweet little voice.   I am so glad I  finally got to let her meet them.  I feel very blessed right now to have this job.  Airports have always fascinated me.   Now that Sophie has seen where mommy has to go 4 days per week, she seems a little better with it. Not so clingy when I leave.  It has helped her put a place and people with the word, "work" and to better understand where I'm going when I have to go.

And of course everyone I work with fell madly in love with this sweet little one.  My Chief asks me everyday now, "how is Sophie?" or "what's Sophie doing today?"  Before we left she was showered with Fireman coloring books, pencils and stickers.  It was a good day and a good time.  I'm so glad she finally got to go.

An Old Wound... Reopened

When Sophie came home we spent a year working with her to heal the wounds that were caused from living in an orphanage.  Part of that healing included a process called "grieving".  Children grieve for many reasons and it comes in many different forms.  One form and in our case was sleep issues.  Every night at 3 a.m. Sophie would wake up and yell the only English word she could say, "Mama!!!"  I would go in and tell her I was still here.  She would roll over and go back to sleep.  We also dealt with night terrors.  Those nights required me to get up and spend an hour rocking her till she actually woke up, settled back down and would go to sleep.  Once this grieving process was finished, I had a baby that was an amazing sleeper and that has been the case till now or should I say till surgery.

Shot using my Canon Rebel With a 50mm lens.  ISO 200, f/1.8, 1/100. Post Processed using Aperture.

I'm not sure what it is but my amazing sleeper is now struggling.  At first I thought it was her age.  It is very common at four to become scared of the dark.  It's not unusual at this age to want a light left on in the hall.  These are requests that Sophie makes but it's more than that and it didn't start till our week spent at Kosair.  We put her to bed.  We leave her door open and the light on.   For hours there is a battle.  She doesn't claim to be scared, she claims she cannot sleep.  She constantly asks me if I will be there to put her to bed.  If I have to work she begs me to come into her room when I get home and tell her I'm home.  She hangs on my leg when I leave and cries and cries, begging me to stay.  After much analyzing, praying and thinking it all through I have come to conclusion that the sterile hospital environment reminded her of a place we had hoped she had long forgotten.  When you ask her about her surgery, she says she can't remember anything about the hospital but there is something there.  I can't put it into words.  It's one of those things that only parents of adoptive children can understand.  You just know when your child is "remembering" and you step in to do whatever you need to do to help with the healing.
 

 

A Blue Ribbon Day!

Papaw and Jojo wanted to go to the Fair with us.  We haven't been in years but decided since we got free passes to splurge a little and take the family out for a day of fun.  We had a great day!

Everybody enjoyed the chicken exhibit.  There were some pretty cool birds and a turkey names Ken (Ken-turkey, get it?)

We saw goats being judged.

Rows of blue ribbon corn.

Sophie danced to the cutest cowboy singing George Strait hits in the Mike Linning tent.

The Kentucky State Police saftey booth was a hit with Sophie.  She loved getting her license.

State Trooper "want to be's"  That's my family!

Can't have a trip to the fair without seeing Freddie Farm Bureau.

The time finally came for the Midway.  My kids were so excited.  Madison loves to ride rides.

My adventurous 4 year old wanted to ride but only with Madison.  Our problem was either he was too big to ride with her or she was too little to ride with him.  The perils of having children 14 years apart.

Finally we found something we could all ride and had a blast!

My daughter begged to ride everything and her big brother kept trying to talk me into letting her ride the adult rides....no I don't think so.  She just had her appendix removed and I was not about to let her on the scrambler even though she begged me.

Our Fair adventure was great.  I am so glad we got to share this day together and am looking forward to next years with the kiddos.