5-Year-Old Wears Pink Boots and Air Force Fatigues to Greet Deployed Mom

— -- A 5-year-old Florida girl welcomed her mom home from a two-month-long deployment to Iraq Wednesday by dressing just like her mom, with a little extra pizzazz.

Morgan Rhyne surprised her mom, U.S. Air Force Maj. Christine Rhyne, at Tampa International Airport by wearing a miniature version of Rhyne’s Air Force fatigues and pink, sparkly cowboy boots.

“It was really cute,” Rhyne, 33, told ABC News. “I knew they were going to be there but her outfit was a little bit of a surprise.”

Rhyne was also greeted at the airport by her husband, Rick Rhyne, who retired two years ago from the U.S. Army. It was Rick Rhyne who picked up the outfit for their daughter a few days before the surprise.

“I was just extremely happy and kind of relieved to see her in person,” Rhyne said of her daughter. “Rick had been sending photos, but it’s great to have that moment when you come out of the gateway and there’s the most important thing in your life.”

Morgan suffers from cystic fibrosis and Rick Rhyne had been a full-time dad while his wife was away on her fourth deployment handling logistics for the Air Force.

"Most kids who have cystic fibrosis function normally but have some extra routines every day," Christine Rhyne said. "She does physical therapy and breathing exercises in the morning and at night, and is more susceptible to respiratory issues."

"But we’re pretty blessed that her type of cystic fibrosis is minor in comparison to other families we’ve met," she said.

Now that Rhyne is home in Tampa for the “foreseeable future,” she said she is most excited to just have time with Morgan. The entire family plans to walk together next month at Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Also on their to-do list likely will be to buy another pair of boots for Morgan like the ones she wore to the airport in her favorite color, pink.

“Oh my gosh, she loves pink,” Rhyne said. “That is probably her fifth pair of boots because she keeps growing.”

“My parents are from Texas and we bought her first pair when she was toddler,” Rhyne said. “They’re her favorite.”