Family Fun!!

Jay and Chris on Jay's first day of school.
Jay and Sophia swinging in a hammock that we purchased in Liberia. It's been the best souvenir that we brought home from Africa.
Sophia, Daddy, and Jay carving pumpkins.
Clayton with his masterpiece.
Jay in his shades. How cool is he!?!

Things are going well but busy. Jay is doing well in school. He is learning new words daily. His melt downs are not as frequent and when they do happen they are much easier to deal with. Sophia has been struggling with some jealousy issues, but were working on that too. This whole process is a "learn as you go" journey. It seems like I just get something figured out, and something new is thrown at me. Right now my motto is "one day at at time". Some days it's "one hour at a time". The biggest adjustment for me has been remembering everything. I'm having a difficult time keeping doctor's appointments, dentist appointments, and all of our school activities straight. And that is with them all being written down. I'm usually on top of all of that.

The kids are looking forward to going trick or treating tomorrow night. Chris is Darth Vader, Jay is Buzz Lightyear, Clay is a red Power Ranger, and Sophia is a pink Power Ranger. The weather here is going to be nice, so it should be a fun sugar filled evening.

Jay's birthday is Thursday. We are going to have a party on Saturday evening. He has a couple of big days ahead of him. Speaking of big days, in 9 days we are leaving on a much needed family trip to Florida to see our good friend Mickey Mouse and his pals. The kids are over the top excited about this trip. Jay has no idea what is in store for him at Disney World. We're doing our best to prepare him. I've even contacted Disney about Jay and have put in a request for "something special" for him. My contact told me that they would see what they could do. I have no idea what it will be, so I guess we will all be surprised!

The Doctor, The Dentist and Bikes...Oh My!

Here is the latest from the Kettelkamp's. Jay is adjusting well considering all that he's had to adjust to. I try to put myself in his place and imagine what it would feel like to be a seven year old and have my world completely turned upside down, and I can't. Everything and everyone is new to him. He is a tough boy and when that toughness wears out he lets down. Every couple of days he will shut down or get terribly sad or mad and have a good cry, then he'll feel better. We are learning his triggers and can try to be proactive when those moments hit him.

He is quite affectionate. He loves giving hugs, hand holding, and back rubs. Go figure! :o) I've had the honor of hearing "I love you" twice from him. Considering the fact that daddy is gone during the week, he and Jay are close. He loves to watch llini football with him. It is so funny to hear him yell at the T.V. just like daddy. I need to get it on video.

He has had his first trip to the pediatrician. That went well. He had a very bad bilateral ear infection which was treated with an antibiotic. We started his immunizations and he had some blood work done and stool and urine tests done. With the exception of some liver and pancreas levels off a bit because of malnutrition, everything else came back fine

He has been to the dentist three times in the last three weeks. His teeth were really bad. He had to have two cleanings and a root canal. When I took him for the root canal, I tried to explain as best as I could what was going to happen. When we arrived at the appointment he was as happy as he could be. When he came out into the waiting room after it was over, he looked at me as if to say, "What in the world did you just have done to me?" Poor little guy handled it great though. Better than I would have. He did have major decay and infection in that tooth so he is back on antibiotics again and we go back to the dentist again next week for a permanent filling.

He and his brothers and sister are getting along great. He has really latched on to Christopher and Chris is so good with him and very patient. He and Clay love to play together with Bear. Jay and Sophia are best friends one minute and worst enemies the next. It's like they've been siblings since the beginning.

Jay loves to be outside and his favorite place to be is on his bike. He is currently riding with training wheels, but I think we will be able to take them off soon. He quickly learned how far he could ride before he needed to turn around and for the most part he remembers to stay out of the street. Last week while we were at the park with some friends, Jay saw all of the bikes lined up in the bike racks and immediately ran over to them to pick one and ride. It took a little convincing on Chris' part to let him know that those bikes were not for us to ride. They belonged to other people who probably wouldn't be too happy with us for taking them.

Jay started school today. He has a wonderful first grade teacher with two adult helpers in the classroom. He will be pulled out of the classroom for language and other academic help. Everyone at the school is very kind and helpful. We are praying that the whole school experience is a good one for him.

Jay is such a blessing to our family. He just seems to fit. It is like he has been a part of us forever. I can't say enough that, even though the wait was long and difficult at times how it was so worth it.

Our visit to the orphanage

Preparing greens for dinner in the orphanage kitchen.
The orphanage laundry room. No Maytag's or Kenmore's here. It's all done by hand.
This is where Jay ate his meals.
This is the bunk where Jay slept.
The wall in one of the boys rooms in the big kid orphanage.
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Our visit to the orphanage was wonderful. The kids are all amazing. They sang and danced for us. Those drummers were fantastic. They shared bible stories and verses from memory. Jay was able to hand out candy to everyone. He had a fun time. I was sad for him that day knowing that many of the friends that he had made during his time in the orphanage, he would never see again. I was glad that he had the opportunity to tell them good bye and I will keep my promise to him to find out where some of his friends will be living here in the states so we can get together with them on occasion. What a connection and a history those kids all have and how wonderful it will be that they can still have relationships into the adulthood. I think that that would be a precious gift that we can give our son.

Lunch at the beach

This is where we ate lunch. The servers brought out tables and chairs for us and we enjoyed our lunch ocean side. It was wonderful.
Jay watching the Atlantic.
While we waited for our food to arrive, Jay caught a little crab.
If Chris, Clay and Sophia were here this would be our Christmas card. :o)
Alan and Jay searching for seashells.