Ketterling Summer

Our summer has been fast and furious! It feels like it just started and it's already August!

The week after school let out for the summer, Chase and Hunter went to camp for a week at Lake Geneva Bible Camp. They had a great time! It was strange to only have one kid for a week. Although, we spent that one week getting the lone remaining kid ready to leave on a missions trip to Seattle! Reed left for Seattle at 5:30 am on Friday morning and Chase and Hunter returned from camp at 3:30. I had an event to work that day...so no day off without kids.

Reed's trip consisted of working at Philadelphia Church in Seattle with their VBS and helping do some work on their property. I think they worked them pretty hard...he came back pretty tired!

The next week was 4th of July. We did our annual tailgating before the parade and had the usual number of participants this year including John and Ruth Kerr (my sister's inlaws) who were staying with the Kerr kids while Jeff and Kris were at a conference. They are Canadians and live in Zambia. I'm not sure what they thought of American 4th of July. (especially the Ketterling version!)

After the 4th, Reed left for a week at camp. Same came ground that the other boys went to, just the Junior high aged kids. And two days after returning, Reed left AGAIN for a week long trip to Iowa to work at a camp for "at risk" kids.

When we picked Reed up from the church, we were packed and ready to head up to Brainerd for the Annual Lane Family Vacation. I believe this is the 11th year we have gone on this trip and it is one of the favorite activities of the year! We boated, swam, read books, rode bikes, played games, watched movies and had a lovely, relaxing time!

While we were in Brainerd, work began to repair our home from some of the water damage we had last summer. (you can read about it in a previous blog). I know we are a bit slow to get the repairs done, but at least we are doing it, right? The ceilings on our entire main level had to be scraped off and repaired and then re-sprayed. We also had the basement painted and then the main level had to be painted as well. We hired Mel Manthey (Master Faux Painters) to do the work and they did a wonderful job! I will post photos later because I am NOT posting photos f what my house currently looks like! Yikes!

So, after vacation, we spent 5 more nights at my parents before we were finally home!!

The house looks great...everything is clean and fresh. Laundry is almost done. Reed isn't going on any more trips. And we have 5 weeks to cram in all the summer activities we can before school starts. Dakota County Fair, State Fair, Valley Fair (see a theme??), water parks, Twins game. I think that is it.

Missions Trip Fundraising...

On November 22, the five of us will be boarding a bus and heading south to Mexico for a week of missions work with a ministry called Rio Bravo. You can check it out at http://www.rio-bravo.org/). As part of its ministry, Rio Bravo supports an orphanage and a school. Although we don’t know exactly what we will be tasked to do while we are there, we are anticipating spending most of our time reaching out to the children this ministry supports. Rick and I are excited to see our boys (ok…us too) stretched as we go into a new culture and spend a week completely focused on giving to others.

We are posting this information to request prayer and financial support for this trip. Any trip with a family of five can be challenging and “stretches” everyone a bit. We anticipate this trip will stretch us more than usual…for obvious reasons. We will be traveling by bus…please pray for good weather, safety and, most of all, patience! I'm not exactly sure how long it takes to get from Minnesota into Mexico, but I am pretty sure it takes a LONG time! Also, we will be introducing our kids to missions for the first time. Please pray their hearts will be forever changed by this experience.

Of course, a trip for a family of five is also challenging financially. For the five of us to go, we need to raise $1800. If you are in a position to help us with this part of our trip, we would be most grateful. This trip is being sponsored by River Valley Church and all donations should be sent to the address below. All donations are tax deductible.

Thank you so much for considering partnering with us on this exciting adventure! We really believe it will be one of the most incredible experiences and will have a lasting impact on our family.

Thank you,


Rick and Kate Ketterling
Reed, Chase and Hunter

(Please include all of the information below with any donation)

RVC - November 2008 - Mexico

I would like to support the Ketterling Family with a one time gift of $_________.

Please note that all donations are tax-deductible and should be written to and sent to:

River Valley Church
14898 Energy Way
Apple Valley, MN 55124

The First Day of the Rest of Our Lives

Many of our friends know that Rick and I have been through some trying times in the last couple (okay, FOUR) years. There is no need to, once again, go into great detail about the journey that brought us to today. It was a painful journey that inspired tremendous growth in both of us and really brought us closer to each other and closer, individually, to God.

Yesterday marked the official closure of this experience. The last legal proceeding involved was completed. Today marks the "first day of the rest of our lives"...that may seem a very cliche statement, but it is so true and I can't express how it feels to find myself finally, completely free of this mess. This chapter is closed. Never to be re-opened again.

At the same time the legal papers were being finalized, our kids began a new journey as well. This is the first time that they have attended public school. Reed started middle school and Chase and Hunter continue in elementary school. This decision was part of "the next chapter" and is definitely the right one for our family right now. I was nervous yesterday as they all left for the bus (also an experience they have never had)...and I was anxious all day...wanting to hear from them that everything went well. Of course, everything DID go well, and three smiling faces got off the bus at the end of the day.

For the first time in quite a while...all seems peaceful and I anticipate good days are ahead. Thanks to all of you that have prayed for us and stood by us for these last few years. I know that the situation that just wouldn't go away became a well worn topic of conversation. Thanks for sticking with us and letting us talk when we needed to, for setting us straight when we were having over the top emotions and, mostly, walking beside us on this path. You are all loved and appreciated!

Success

Well...I got the black belt. It was a challenging morning of testing, but in the end, I pulled it off!

I had some trouble with a board break which left my hand a lovely shade of purple and green, but it is already starting to get better.

So, this goal is accomplished. I am wondering, "what is my next goal?". Any suggestions?

What my Black Belt Means to Me...

As part of black best testing at our tae kwon do school, we are supposed to write a "thesis" on "What my Black Belt Means to Me". I am testing next Saturday (August 16th) for my black belt and my "thesis" is below...


Princess. Spoiled. Girly. Just about everyone who knows me, would use any of those words to describe me. Before ATA, Black Belt would never have appeared on that list. (Quite honestly, it would have inspired laughter to anyone who read it.)

I grew up in a home with one sister. We didn’t do sports. EVER. We were a musical family. We played dress up, acted out plays, took music lessons and painted our nails. I once dropped a piano teacher because she told me I was going to have to cut my nails. That was just how it was. Even when I was choosing a wedding gown, Rick said that the only dress that would work would be a “princess dress”. Then God gave me all sons. Many see that as ironic. Naw. I’m still the princess!

Back to becoming a black belt…I was feeling a little left out that Rick and the boys were going to do karate together. So, I figured, why not give it a try? I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed it, AND by how much I wanted to achieve getting my black belt. At each belt test, I painted my toes the color of the belt I was going for. This was my way of still being “girly”…despite breaking boards and sparring. Sparring was a WHOLE new world for me. Don’t get me started on that!

There are several things about getting my black belt that are special to me:

1) I did it with my family. (Perhaps I’ll have a little leverage when they all outgrow me.)
2) I tried something new and unfamiliar to me…and found that I really liked it.
3) I stuck with it…even though I wanted to quit. In fact, I skipped one cycle, with the intention of being done…but I came back to finish.
4) I hope my sons will see that it’s okay for a woman to be “girly”, yet allow her to be “tough” at the same time.
5) Most of all, “Princesses CAN kick butt!”

Lots Going On...

Obviously, it has been awhile since I've blogged. Just so you know, the temper tantrum to make vacation last longer DIDN'T work. However, it DID prompt us to begin thinking about everything that is going on in our lives and make some decisions that will, hopefully, help us in the long run.

The first decision was that we, as a family, would benefit more from my working ONE full time job rather than a couple part time. For me, it was becoming quite overwheming to jump from one to the other constantly. So, we made the decision to start the process of making that change. I didn't have to search long as my first inquiry produced a full time position at, (SHOCK), River Valley Church. I gave my notice at CHA and started this past Monday. I continue to handle the Events Department but I am now Admin to Jim Garvey (Business Administrator) and Jeff Kerr (Creative Arts). After one week, I can truly say that I love it. The only glitch so far is that we didn't need full time child care up to this point and we are winging it right now.

With change number one came change number two. We decided that Chase and Hunter would attend public school this year rather than private at CHA. (Reed was already going to public school this year). We have had great experiences at CHA and have loved having our children learn in a Christian environment. This is the right decision for our family in our "season" and we are excited to watch them tackle a new challenge! Hunter will go from a class of 8 last year to a class of 25 (and that is only one of five classes.) So, they will definitely see some differences!

The update on our house is that our insurance company is terrible and we aren't getting enough to make half of the repairs that are needed. We are still in the decision making process right now, but know that this is somehow part of God's plan for us right now.

So that is the big update...

Aaah...vacation.

We are in Brainerd for the annual Lane family vacation. This vacation started 10 years ago with the Lanes, Kerrs and Ketterlings. There was only one kid at the time, Reed. NOW there are the Lanes, Kerrs, Ketterlings, 7 kids ranging in age from 10 months to 11 years and 2 sets of grandparents...16 of us in all!

Despite the large number of participants, this year, this has been a great week of relaxation and disengaging from our hectic lifestyle. We rent a house every year and this is our first year in this one. There is enough room for everyone to have a bed...having a bed does not guarantee privacy, just a bed to sleep in. The house is on Rush Lake and has its own dock and in ground pool. We have enjoyed hours of fishing, swimming, bike riding and just chillin' out.

Tomorrow we head back to the Cities. I'm not ready to go...if I throw a temper tantrum, can we stay longer??

Next week it will be back to all the jobs and keeping the kids entertained for the remainder of summer break...which, always seems to fly by once family vacation is over.

Thanks, Dad and Mom, for this great break from the routine!