The Page Is Moving...

Since our family has been through so many changes recently, I've decided to start a new blog page with a new address. If any of you out there still visit this page, I would love to hear from you on our new page. The address is http://www.thekettelkamps.blogspot.com/. This page will be closing in the next few weeks.

The Latest News From The Kettelkamp's

Christmas morning. Jay's first in America.

On our way to the wedding of a dear friend.

Jay enjoying a wedding cupcake at his first American wedding.

Sophia and her cousin Ryan on the dance floor.

Christopher, my sister, Staci and my mom, Helen.

Well, the New Year's resolution to blog more is out the window. I'm not sure where my days go. I started a new job the first of the year and it seems the last thing I want to do these days is be on my computer. Checking my e-mail is even a challenge for me.

So, with that said, here is the latest Kettelkamp news. We recently found out that we are moving. This summer we will be on our way to Springfield, Missouri. Alan has accepted a position as director of the cardiac cath lab at Cox Hospital. The best part about this job is that he will be home most evenings. The worst part is that we will be leaving a great church, two wonderful schools, and some of the best friends we could ever hope to have. It is definitely bittersweet. Alan will begin his new position on March 31st and the kids and I will move there once the house sells and school is out. Please join us in praying for the house to sell quickly. The market really isn't the best right now for selling, but we truly believe that God has all of that planned and under control.

Jay is currently scheduled for two surgeries. He will be getting tubes in his ears and having his adenoids removed in May. Because of constant ear infections and fluid in his ear his ENT doctor thought that would be the best route for him. He also has some hearing loss in his right ear that they are going to monitor. He is also on the wait list at Shriner's Children's Hospital in Cincinnati to have his lip repaired. That will happen in April or May. The facility there is amazing. Alan's father and I took Jay for his initial appointment and were blown away by the care and attention that we received. He will be in the best hands there.

School is going well for everyone and we are deeply involved in Upward basketball and cheer leading right now. I'll try and post some pictures of that soon. And I'll try to make it sooner than later. :0)

Day 6-Princess For A Day

Our last day at Disney was one of my favorite. Sophia and I spent the day together. We started the day with a trip to the Bippity-Bobbity-Boutique in Downtown Disney. It was an experience she and I will never forget. We bought the basic package which included her up-do with a tiara, make-up, a sash, lots of pixie dust, and her very own fairy godmother. It was awesome and Sophia ate it up.

After that we shopped our way through Downtown Disney and had a nice lunch together. Then off to do some more shopping.

You may be wondering what the boys were doing while we were having all of the fun. Well, they were having the time of their lives at Disney Quest. Alan and the boys spent the day there and had a blast. We met up with them later that evening and enjoyed dinner at the Rainforest Cafe.

All in all it was a great day and a wonderful trip. We already can't wait to get back.

Day 5-Pool Day And A Luau

On our 5th day in Florida we spent the day relaxing by the pool and then enjoyed a Hawaiian luau that evening. It was a lot of fun and the kids really enjoyed it. We were served tons of Hawaiian food. Sophia got up on stage and learned how to hula. We even got to watch a fire dancer. So cool! There was also a family sitting next to us and they were celebrating an wedding and a birthday. They had ordered a special cake for their celebration and shared it with us. We'll never forget it!

Day 4-Character Breakfast and Magic Kingdom

Okay, things have been a little crazy at the Kettelkamp household. I haven't had much time to blog lately. I'm finally able to steal some time away and sit at the computer for more than a few minutes. I'll try to do better in 2008!

Day 3-Kennedy Space Center

Our third day in Florida was spent touring Kennedy Space Center and that evening we visited the beach. Yes, it was after the sun had set. That in itself is its own story. So we were at the beach in the dark searching for sea shells when we came upon this crab. Alan caught it for us to all get a better look. Sure is a cute looking thing!

Disney Day 2-A Day At The Pool

Here the kids are participating in hermit crab races.


Here are some photos of our 2nd day in Florida. Alan and Chris spent the day at Disney Quest and had a fun father/son day. The kids and I spent the day at the pool. It was great. They resort had a lot of kid friendly activities going on that day that the kids loved participating in poolside. It was funny though...the entire day Christmas music played at the pool. It's so hard to get in the spirit of the holidays when it is 80 degrees outside, your soaking up the rays and you hear "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...".

Day 1 at Disney World-Animal Kingdom

Here are some pictures from the first day of our trip to Florida. These were all taken at Animal Kingdom. More to follow.

We're Still Among The Living

Chris, Clay, Jay and Sophia are "powered up" to go trick-or-treating.
Chris, Jay, Sophia and Clay celebrating Jay's birthday.
My dear friend, Brenda with Jay at his birthday party. Believe it or not, we ate that whole pizza. It took about 25 of us to conquer it.
Jay with all of his party hats!


So sorry that I haven't blogged in such a long time. Life has been a bit crazy. I'm sure that most of you can relate. We've been busy with a Halloween, Jay's birthday, our vacation to Florida, and Thanksgiving. Whew! It wears me out just typing it.



Our family has been doing great. Jay is adjusting well. It is hard to believe that it has only been a little over two months since we were in Liberia meeting him for the first time. He is a fantastic kid who is learning so much in such a short time. School is tough for him, but he is getting it and his school has been so good to work with him where he is at.

Chris, Clay and Sophia are adjusting too. There are times when parenting them all is more challenging than the norm. To be honest with you, I don't really remember what the "norm" is. Our family is continually evolving, growing and changing and as difficult as it is at times, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Last night I was looking through some old papers that I had filed away and I came across something that I had written several years ago. It was my long term goal as a mother. My goal reads: "My long term goal as a mother is to help my children grow into adults who are self-sacrificing, respectful, mature, loving and confident servants of God and others." I realize that I have around eighteen years to invest in each of my children. That is a long long term goal. I also realize that I may not see results that closely follow the effort I have put forth. I may be pursuing a result that I will only see decades from now, so that is why it is so important that I not lose sight of my extremely important goal. I truly believe that it was a God thing that I found what I had written years before. I needed to be reminded of my necessity in the lives of my children and the influence that I have as I mold and shape the next generation. I think I'll frame that goal and hang it where I will read it every day. If you are a mom and you are reading this, know that you are valued and that the impact you have on your children and family will greatly impact the generations to come.

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.
_______________________________________________________

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.