Waking Up A Kentuckian

Well... this is the portion of our journey that I find completely funny... in an ironic sort of way. We have been waiting for Sara to BE HERE for so long... that to actually have her here... is surreal.



With the girls - I had to care for their every need. So there was never a question as to where they were or what they were doing. Were they happy or sad... or did they need anything?? They let me know... and HOW.




With McClaeb - well... let's just say that I learned how to use the bathroom while holding a 25 pound 20 month old. I could also shower, get dressed, tie my shoes and cook entire meals.. with a 25 pound appendage stuck to my side. :)




With Sara... she is 8. She is much more independent and she is interested in exploring and seeing everything that she can. However, knowing what she is thinking or feeling is much more difficult. She has moments of quiet where you know that she is feeling dozens of things... and yet doesn't tell you any of them. She also gets very quiet and reflective at bedtime. I know it is a huge change - so I spend a lot of time making trips back and forth into her room trying to check on her and reassure her. When you try to think about all the changes that she has gone through in the past 5 days...it is remarkable that she isn't having a meltdown nearly every day. I try to get her to talk and open up as much as possible - but this is a strong little girl that has already experienced tremendous loss in her short life. She is in survival mode... and who can blame her?









So... keeping all of this in mind... let me tell you that I think she is doing GREAT! She is such a joy to watch, as she find new things to see and do. She plays very well with her sisters and her brother. She is kind and affectionate. The only time I have seen her get upset has been with me (over the word "no") and really... after our initial discussion about it... she hasn't challenged me one time. She is really doing SO WELL. (However, keeping in mind the enormous changes that she has experienced... if you have time today to say and extra prayer for Sara and her heart... we know that she is hurting...and we pray that she will open up a little more and try to share some of her emotions, not keep them bottled up.)







As we got up and began to get ready on Friday, we knew that we had dogs to pick up in Georgetown... as well as payroll to post at the office. So she was thrown immediately into the fire!!









When we returned to the house - we were able to inspect our decor better in the daylight hours. (For some of us...RACHEL...we were seeing them for the first time!)






First of all - we cannot thank all those that participated, both collectively and ON THEIR OWN, for the great decorations!!! It was wonderful for Sara - and the kids got a really big KICK out of it! I have to admit... we tried to translate the words "Burma Shave" at FreeTranslations.com. We thought it was a Spanish term... which made it even funnier to find out what it really meant! (Which just shows that we aren't as old as everyone thinks... right????) HA HA HA. Seriously, thank you to The Gallaghers, The Bivens, The Jacksons, The Combs Family... and everyone that signed our very cool card!! The kids want to leave it up forever... but we are trying to come up with a compromise. :)







As for how Sara handled the day...she did great! She met new people... she met MORE dogs... and she handled it all very well. When we came home, we had a Family Fun Night - her first one ever... and we watched "Spirit", had Taco Ring and CupCakes for dessert (Thank You Laura)... and headed off to bed. It was a very good, very calm day.