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.