Meet the Family Paradise Contest Finalists

Nov. 15, 2007 — -- More than 3,500 families wrote to "Good Morning America" to enter the GMA Family Paradise Contest to win a fantastic weeklong vacation, which includes a whole day on Disney's private island in the Caribbean.

We've narrowed down the entrants to three deserving families — the Acobas, the Hollinses and the Olsens. You can read each of their entry letters below and watch the video they made to tell you more about them.

Then you can click here to vote for the family you want to see win.

The Family Paradise Contest is part of Disney Parks 2008 Year of a Million Dreams celebration. Click here to find out more.

Sarah's letter to "GMA": I am 26 years old, married to Jeffrey, 29 years old, and we are raising my 15-year-old brother Zach. We are a family that has gone through a lot of challenges and obstacles in the last year and a half.

Our mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer around Thanksgiving 2005. She was given four to six months to live. My husband had been planning to propose to me at the time and decided he would do so on Christmas Eve. My mom was the only person that he told.

Due to the information the doctors had been giving us regarding my mom's illness, we decided to get married March 25, 2006. It was amazing and the last memory of my mom looking so healthy and happy. Soon after the wedding the chemotherapy stopped working and her health quickly began to spiral. My brother, only 13 years old at the time, was so brave. Our mom passed away less than two months after our wedding on Mother's Day 2006.

My husband and I bought our first house three months later and have been raising my brother ever since. We have gone through a lot of ups and downs, but throughout it all have tried very hard to make a good life for my brother. I am very proud of my family and would love to surprise them with this family vacation. We've never been on any family vacations like this and think that it would be an amazing opportunity. My family deserves this trip because we have gone through so much and it is time that we start making some great memories together.

Holly's letter to "GMA": I'm a single mother of three kids. My youngest child, Micah, has autism. In September of '05, I received the life-altering news that he had autism, and I will have to say I stopped breathing that day. I had to stop working, start living off Social Security and can't afford to do anything extra at all.

My daughters, Malayna and Mya, have suffered, too. We can't do other things other families can do. But every year Micah makes progress. The doctor told me he has made progress because I stayed home with him, and took him for more therapy than most parents do. So I don't regret my decision.

If I win this trip, it will be a dream come true, to forget for one moment that our lives have changed forever.And if possible, have my parents go on this trip with us. They have been a godsend. I couldn't have done this without them. My father has been a father figure to my kids. His unselfishness to take my kids under his wing and make them feel loved by a man, I will never be able to repay him.

I don't know if my story will be picked. But thank you for your time. And please, if anything, more autism awareness. This is key to more success stories. God Bless, Holly Hollins.

Click here to vote for the family you want to see win.

Let me first start off by saying that my kids are healthy, I am happily married to a wonderful woman, and we both enjoy our careers. We have a very comfortable life and we are very thankful for that.

I am a police officer, a police sergeant to be exact, and I have worked at my agency for 17 years. I work in a relatively small city that is active enough to give me a very exciting career. I have been a patrol officer, a crime scene investigator, a major crimes detective, a SWAT team member, and now I supervise the Major Crimes Unit. We investigate the worst crimes imaginable.

For the better part of my career, I have seen the horrible things people do to one another. Now it is my responsibility to make sure these crimes are investigated appropriately and professionally. This is a huge burden to bear. I don't have it any worse than any other law enforcement officer does any where in the country. That is to say, I don't deserve any more or less than any of my brothers and sisters who took the oath to protect and serve.

I do, however, owe a great deal to my two daughters. Eight almost nine years ago when my oldest girl was born, I was a hard and bitter man. A robot if you will, as I had lost all emotion. Life as I saw it was an ugly place. The second, and I mean the very second, my daughter entered this world I too was reborn. Since that day I am reminded how innocent and fun life is each and every day I come home from work and I am greeted with smiles and hugs.

I have always placed myself in positions of great authority and immense responsibility. This prevents me from really taking time away from the important work that I do. This GMA Family Paradise Contest is type of gift I have wanted to give my children for years. It's my way of saying "thank you for making me better than I am."

Click here to vote for the family you want to see win.