"Guest" bedroom finished

As you know, we are trying to do foster care in hopes that we can adopt. The state has requirements on room sizes for kids that are fostered. We could only have 1 child but they had sent us 2 in October. We got a variance (state brakes the rules if it benefits them) that we could have 2 kids on condition that we would finish another room by December 31st. The plan is if we get more than 1 foster kid, they will go in Jakobs room upstairs and Jakob will go in the room downstairs. Right now we do not have any foster kids in our home, but we still wanted to finish the room so we would be ready when we got another call. Keiths sister and her family are coming in a few hours and we got the room officially done last night. So, its now our "guest" room until we need it for Jakob. MANY thanks to all of those that helped us with that room. Its so nice to have it done! We did it all in just under 2 months. Thank you so much for your help and continued support!!

Christmas and Sariah's Birthday

Christmas has come and gone already! I can't believe how fast this time of the year goes. We are loving our vacation and getting to goof off for a while. We had a christmas party with Keiths family and the kids got to see Santa. That was a huge hit. (thanks for the pictures Karen and Brem!)








This is a picture of the kids recreating the nativity scene on Christmas Eve. They did a great job and we want to thank the dolls for filling in on some parts.





This is us at with the Cains. These are all of the grandkids patiently waiting for grandpa to hand out the gifts.




This is the bad weather we drove home in on Christmas day. I say it was TERRIBLE and took us about 2 hours to get home. It normally takes us an hour. Keith said it was not terrible and it was fine... I just panic too much.



This is Sariah with her birthday cake. 5 years old is so big now! The other picture is of some of the kids are her party.

Christmas Letter 2008

Dear family and friends, this is our christmas letter for the year. (Basically I didn't want to drag 5 kids to the copy store) Its been a crazy year for our family... but I think thats becoming the normal for us and everyone else. It seems that I think that every year. I'll give you the readers digest verion and then if you want you can check out other things on the blog. In March Keith and I started classes to become foster parents. This was such a long process. We got our first placements the end of October. They were brothers... a 2 year old and a 3 year old. On December 1st they went back to mom. This was so sudden and everyone (including the case worker) was surprised. We learned a lot from those boys. We pray for them and wish them and their parents the best. We continue to pray that Heavenly Father will guide that person we are supposed to have to our home (please not a 3 year old!!) soon and we can complete our family.

Sariah will be 5 the day after Christmas. We can't believe she will be 5 already. She is so fun to have around. She started ballet in September and is quite a dancer... as long as there isn't any balance or gracefulness involved. She is learning to read and is so proud that she is now officially a big girl. Please note that its ok for big girls to suck their thumbs... just ask her.

Corrine will be 8 in January. She is so excited to get baptized. In March she started designing her baptism dress and we found one that will work. She is in the 2nd grade and tries to let us think she can't do the work. But, if we bribe (or sometimes threaten groundings) she seems to get it done pretty fast. She is a smart little girl. She is also taking ballet. This is her second year and she loves it. She is getting pretty good at it.... and she is always fashionable while doing ballet.

Jakob is 10. He has earned his Weblos badge and his arrow of light (in October) and is excited to go into 11 year old scouts. He is in th 5th grade and he is doing well. He is working on Pre Algebra so there have been a few lessons that we have had to wait for Keith to get home from work to help him. I know, its embarrassing. Jakob is also in his 2nd year of piano lessons. He is doing very well with it. He never has to be told to practice and he has a pretty good feel for it. He will be able to pass me up pretty quick now.

Keith changed jobs in July. He still workes for Northrop Grumman but its a different division. He now drives down to SLC every day but it hasn't been too bad since they opened Legacy. (was supposed to be a freeway.. but we won't go into that) He seems to really like this job a lot (ya know, for a job). He isn't as stressed at all. Keith is still working in Young Mens and that keeps him very busy with scouts and mutual and firesides and all the other stuff that goes along with young mens.

Im crazy as ever. In August I was called to be the Stake Humanitarian Specialist. I love this calling. Its so fun (ssshhhh, and easy). I still homeschool the kids and I still say its the best. I love it even on our bad days. The foster care has been an interesting experience. I've learned that I don't have patience. I know... those of you that know me will be so surprised to hear that. I've also learned that I need to get patience before the Lord sends me another trial to help me learn and grow. I run kids from piano, to scouts, to ballet, to field trips, to the store, and to doctors. Mostly we are a normal family.

We hope that you are well and happy. We would love to hear from you. We love Christmas time and we are so grateful (especially this year) to think about Christ and the many blessings we have. We love you and we are so grateful for all of you in our lives.

Love, Schramm Family

Foster kids home

Well, we dropped off L & N with their mom this afternoon. Jakob has been crying all day long. Corrine and Sariah drew SEVERAL pictures for them. This has been a good experience for us... even if they can't stay. We have learned a lot. (mostly that we don't have patience!) We feel like we are doing what Heavenly Father wants us to do and that maybe in some small way we helped this family get back together again. We will continue to pray that we will find that "missing" person in our family and maybe we can help some other kids along the way. This has been a good thing for our family and we are so grateful for the help and support we have gotten from all of our friends and family. We will keep you updated as things continue to progress for our family.

Thanksgiving Day

We spent Thanksgiving Day with Keiths family. We had a lot of fun and it was a nice day. We had to hurry back to pick up L & N from their mom but other than that, it was a nice relaxing day. We had all of the good traditional Thanksgiving food and we ate till we were ready for naps. We even had the traditional "kids" table and the grown up table. After dinner, grandpa set up a game of croquet for the kids. Believe it or not.... no one had to go go the hospital. Sariah got hit in the face once, but it wasn't bad and it was the only injury out of the entire bunch.

Turkey Apple Day!!!

We wait for turkey apple day all year long. On the Monday before Thanksgiving, we make turkey apples for FHE. This is a tradition that Keith had when he was a little boy. Our kids love it. The trick is to see how many gum drops you can fit on one tooth pick. L & N caught on to the tradition quickly. They went with the same method that Sariah did. Lots, and lots, and lots of tooth picks with one candy on the end of each.







The kids thought it was funny to cram marshmallows in their mouths for some of the pictures. So, Keith and I decided to try. Chalk this up to only 2 hours of sleep last night. I think Im going to be sick for days. At least till Thursday. Then, I'll find it in myself to feel well enough for Thanksgiving dinner.

Tree House Museum

We went to the Tree House Museum today. The kids had so much fun. L & N have a set visit with their mom from 4-6 every Thursday afternoon. Its too far away from our house to take them and come back home, so we got a membership to Tree House and we will be playing there every Thursday. Here are some pictures of todays trip.

They did a "participlay" where the kids can come up out of the audience and be the characters. Corrine and Sariah were able to participate. Jakob said he will try next time... he didn't get picked today.




We found the set of an old school house so the kids wanted to play school. We had a lot of fun with this.




MOVE OVER Obama. Sariah sat in the Oval Office they had at the Tree House Musem. She climbed in the chair and said "Im the president of the little people". I laughed so hard. Didn't Obama say that.... maybe Im mistaken. (she is doing the thumbs up... if you can't tell) Anyway, she is looking pretty presidential isn't she!

Trick or Treat and Construction

Halloween was a lot of fun... as it always is. This year we had our 2 new additions with us so that added a new element to the night. Jakob was a soldier, Corrine was a pioneer girl, and Sariah was a princess. L & N had a lot of fun as well. They tried to eat all of the candy at each house but soon realized it was much better to get the candy and move on as fast as possible. It started to rain on us a little so I took the 2 little guys home and Keith stayed out with the 3 older ones to "get more stuff mom". Here is the halloween picture. (sorry, can't include one of the little guys.... security stuff)



On Saturday we had TONS of people here helping us get a room done downstairs for Jakob. We got up to the mud and tape stage. That will happen this week in the evenings. (at least that is the plan) We really want to get Jakobs room done by Thanksgiving/first of December so we can be ready for Mike and Julie to come and visit.

Things with L & N are getting better. Its been 1 full week now and they are actually adjusting faster than I thought they would. I think today we might actually follow a normal schedule. I know, its crazy. We will keep you updated as much as we can.

Foster Placements

Thursday of last week we got a call from DCFS and they wanted us to come meet 2 little boys and consider taking them. We met them and we knew that at this time, they needed to be in our family. We were able to get them Monday afternoon. The first couple of days were kind of crazy, but I think that we might actually (ok, maybe not) be getting into some kind of routine. Due to DCFS privacy and security stuff, I can't put pictures of them or their names. I guess you will just have to come and meet them!! The older boy (L) turned 3 less than a week ago and the younger one (N) turned 2 exactly a week ago. 5 kids and all of the activities, doctor appointments and visitations with birth mom are going to be a bit crazy. We do know that this is what Heavenly Father wants us to be doing so we know that we will make it. He will help us do all of these crazy things.

First snow of the year!

Yesterday it snowed about 7 inches at our house! Sariah came out in the morning and said "Ohhh, Christmas!! My birthday!!" We had to break the news that she still had 2 1/2 months left for that. They bugged me all day long to let them go out and play in the snow. When Corrine noticed that it had started melting, she really upped the begging. So, they got to play in the snow today.



You know what he is thinking... don't you.

Field trip, ballet, and updates

Yesterday we went to Black Island Farms with the K12 school group. We had a lot of fun. The kids look forward to our yearly trip there. The people at Black Island Farms take them on a tractor ride, let them pick their own pumpkins, and have slides and other games for them. There is also a little "train" that is pulled by a tractor as well.









Right after Black Island Farms, we had to run to ballet. Sariah has her class and then right after Corrine has hers. So, Jakob and I get to sit in this tiny room for 2 hours. Jakob does school work and I usually read. Its the only quiet 2 hours of the week.








Foster update.... well, we are as official as we can possibly be. There just isn't a match for us right now and so we continue to wait. We have been waiting since the first week of March. Seems like there is a lot of hurry up and wait with foster care. I wonder if the Lord is trying to teach us something... Hummm.... Anyway, when the waiting is done and we actually have a placement, we will let you know.

Foster License

We have our license from the state to be foster parents!!!! Its offically done. I can't believe that its finally done. Now, we have a meeting with DCFS and then we wait for the phone call. We could have a baby here before the end of the month. It doesn't seem real. The kids are pretty excited and Sariah wants to know when the baby will come. We wonder that as well. We will continue to pray that Heavenly Father will get "our" baby here and that things will continue to work as HE sees fit.

Camping with friends

We went camping this weekend with some of our friends and neighbors. We had so much fun. But, it was cold most of the time. We got the trailer stuck on a tree and it took a while to get into the camp spot. We ate the best tasting dutch oven food ever, froze, cut the tree down that we got stuck on, a little shooting, 4-wheelers, and of course, smores. The other two events to note are that I locked the trailer key in the trailer and Keith had to crawl through the bathroom window to get in, and this was Shadow the dogs first camping trip. Sorry, I didn't get pictures of Keith crawling through the window... he did it so fast I didn't have time to get the camera. And, the camera was safely locked in the trailer. Shadow may not come on another camping trip. He did great during the day and Im sure he enjoyed himself running around and playing with the kids for 2 days straight. However, he cried and moaned all night long. I don't know if our neighbors want to go camping with us again next year. At one point in time Friday night, I asked Keith for his gun because I was so mad at the dog keeping me up all night long. Can you believe Keith thought I might not be in control enough at 3 in the morning to give me a gun!? Anyway, we all lived and despite the cold weather, we had a great time camping. We were all just as glad to get home and have a shower and sleep in our own beds.













The next one is cool because I got Corrine in the air!



We ride the 4-wheelers then we fix the 4-wheelers.

New calling

I got a new calling today. I have been called to be the stake humanitarian specialist. Our stake does a HUGE (its really a big deal here) humanitarian fair in the fall of every other year. Next year (2009) will be the big one. We literally fill a large semi truck with things for the humanitarian center. My job is to plan the kick off for this fall, train the ward humanitarian leaders, and make sure the projects happen. I will be speaking in all of the ward sacrament meetings next summer, attending a few stake welfare meetings, and all of the stake relief society leadership meetings. The first thing I need to do is get ready for the stake relief society training meeting the first of October. I've been asked to speak at that meeting and to introduce what we are doing to the ward relief society presidents. I also want to make a packet of what the projects are for each ward. Its going to be a fun calling, but a lot of work. Its going to have some down days and some really crazy days! I think I will be released from my "old" calling as ward activities chair. The bishop said I would get released today, but that didn't happen... hopefully they are working on it!

Back to school party, foster care, and other updates

I just wanted to give a quick update... but no pictures this time. First, back to school. K12 hosted an ice cream party today at the park. The kids had so much fun and it was nice to see so many people doing the same things we are with school. We are in the Washington District and one of the teachers said they are just over 1,000 families. (that's families, not students) They had to hire 6 more teachers and each teacher has approx 75 families.

Foster care.... well, most of you know that there isn't anything to know. The state is taking its sweet time processing our paperwork. So, we are now looking at middle of September sometime before we are even in the system. I'm feeling more and more that there really is a specific reason why all of this is happening when it is happening. The timing is just too crazy to not have the Lord's hand in it.

Corrine joined a group of girls 6-9years old called Liberty Girls. They study the American Girl books. She is so excited to be in this group. I'm excited that she is excited about reading. She has struggled with reading and I think this might be an answer to prayers for us. They will meet twice a month and do activities based on the book they are studying that month. This month they are going to be doing laundry with a washboard. Keith said he is going to send his yucky, greasy, Lowes t-shirt that is just about ready to walk away on its own.... or it might end up in the garbage if I get a chance.

We are also busy with swimming lessons right now. The kids are doing great and they love swimming lessons. Jakob is doing well with piano lessons. He has been asked to play a duet in the primary sacrament meeting program and he is excited about that. And, like everyone else, we are enjoying the Olympics. Jakob is our commentator that is gives us a play by play of each country as they come on the TV. Its great...

Ward Camp

We just got back from our ward camp. It was excellent. Whom ever planned it, did a great job. They were so organized and we were so glad to have them plan the camp. They are the best activities committee we have ever had... oh, wait....

Yep, we had our ward camp. It was a lot of work to get stuff up there, but we did have a lot of fun. We went to a place called Cobble Creek just past Hunstville. It was very nice. These are some pictures from camp.

Field trip to firestation

Today a friend of mine called and invited us to the ward play group. Because Jakob is too big for play groups, we went on a "fieldtrip". Clinton City Fire Department just moved into their new building (thanks tax payers) 3 months ago and we took a tour of it and some of the trucks they have. The kids had so much fun and Im glad we went. They talked about home fire safety stuff and then one of the firefighters put on her gear to show us she wasn't scary. Then they showed us the truck with the 105 foot ladder. Thats REALLY high for those of you that don't know how far up 105 feet is. They also have a bell on the front of the fire truck they let the kids push the button to ring that bell. Then they let the kids see the ambulance.



This is a picture of the kids in front of the truck with the 105 foot ladder. This truck cost $600,000 (without of all of the equipement). Again, thanks tax payers.



This is a picture of the kids 'giving five' to the firefighter in all of her gear. Sariah would only do it if Corrine was right with her.



Kids inside the $600,000 fire truck. (oh, please don't touch ANYTHING!!)



Again, next to the truck.



This is the fireman that gave our tour at the bottom of the 105 foot ladder. He is about 8 feet off the ground... that is about as far as you would EVER get me.



This is him at the very TOP of the 105 foot ladder. When he got to this point, Sariah promptly said "I WILL NOT DO THAT".



This is a picture of the kids inside the ambulance. I reminded Jakob that his grandpa Cain drove an ambulance back in the day. Jakob said "oh, why??".



We had a lot of fun at the firestation and Im glad we went. It was very educational. We learned that the dalmation dogs were used (back when firetrucks were pulled by horses) to scare other dogs away that might chase the horses. I also learned that the big fire truck cost $600,000 and that explains why my Clinton City bills went up this month.