Friday The 13th!

Not only is today Friday the 13th, my favorite day, but it is also my sweet cousins wedding day!! 

Sierra and Billy,

I am so excited for you guys. I am very blessed that I have been able to get so close with y'all! In the last year in a half I have been able to become really close with Sierra. She was by my side through out the fostering/adoption process and now I have been able to be apart of her wedding. I remember when I first found out about Billy. Sierra was so excited that she was giddy. She was at my house for my house study (to get the kids) and she started telling us about this boy. She turned into a high school girl telling us about him. She even told me that I would love him because he is a ginger! of course, that made him 50% more awesome. My favorite part of the story is that they hadn't even really talked yet. They were in the same lifegroup and she knew she was going to marry him some day. Billy, you have been a blessing to our family. From the moments I met you I knew that you loved Jesus and that family was important to you! Thank you for being one of my sons best friends. The way you love on all of these kids and poor your heart out to help them is inspiring! I love that you and Sierra share such a wonderful passion! My kids look up to both of you, thank you for showing my family and I all of your love and support. 
I can't wait see all of the adventures you go on together. Soak in the small things, love each other everyday, and always looks up to Jesus! Happy Wedsing day! 

What's that? A post?

I have really been having a hard time writing lately. Every time I have started to write a post I end up writing two sentences then closing my computer. The kids are back in school and work has been absolutely crazy. Fall is here which means love is in the air. I may or may not have been bitten by the love bug....... but life is good and that's the way it should be. We have had a lot of changes around here in the Shrum house. My parents moved in with us a few months ago. This has been such a blessing. My mom watches the kids while I am at work, it makes it even nicer that she is here all the time. Zoe is about to turn 8!! She asked to have a Halloween- dress up party! I was thrilled when she asked me! I think Mom and I could start our own business for planning parties. We are getting pretty good at this! All 3 kids are really settling in! We all have seen so much improvement! Thank you everyone for the prayers and love for my family. Hopefully I will start writing more...... I will have another fun announcement coming soon! :)

Old Crow

Today, as a family, we got to take a trip and learn about the Old Crow family history. For the people who don’t know I am part Native American. My great grandma, on my dad’s side, was half German and have Cheyenne. She married a Cheyenne man named Denny Old Crow. My cousin Alissa gave a wonderful presentation about the history of Denny’s father, Old Crow. It took place at Washita Battlefield Nation Historic Site. This site also hold some of our families’ artifacts.  Alissa went into great detail of her research and how she learned more about Old Crow and our family history. The national park rangers were amazed at the volume of attendees. There were over 60 people who showed to hear what Alissa had to say. Thank you, Alissa for sharing your knowledge about our family. I am very proud to call you guys my family. Today I encourage everyone to ask about their family history. Maybe, you know a lot about your family history. So then, I encourage you to share your knowledge with someone who might be willing to learn. I hope everyone had a wonderful Sunday! 

Life.... It gets busy!

Hello, Blog Readers!

Sorry I have not been posting lately. Life has been a little crazy. (I can't imagine why) I thought I would give a little recap of whats been going on. As most of you know I adopted 3 kids. The last 2 months have been crazy. Change is never easy..... especially when you are 6 and 7 years old. Luckily I have had my family and friends to support us through this challenging time. My parents have been the biggest help. My mom quit her job so she could be a full time Honeygram! (Grandma) This has been a huge blessing. Daycare is expensive and most of them are not in a routine. For my kids, routine, is a HUGE thing. We have been trying to work on that and teaching them about the "real" world. Easier said than done. My kids love my parents! Like normal grandkids they would probably pack up their stuff and move in with them tonight if I would let them. We have already had lots of adventures.  The kids got to leave Oklahoma for the very first time with my parents. They thought that was really cool. Work has been crazy as well.... We launch a new website and logo! If you haven't checked out Hobby Lobby you should!

Today was the first day of school! Zoe was really excited. She told me this morning that she couldn't wait to meet new friends. I'm not a 100% sure how the twins felt. I could tell Jordan was really nervous this morning but he started talking to his teacher about Star Wars and they were set. Abbie-Jo had a hard time this morning. Everyone always love her! I knew when she got into the class room she was going to be as happy as can be. Last night I gave each one of my babies kisses behind their ears. (My mom did this every year for me and my sister) This way if they are feeling sad or just miss me they can grab and kiss and know I am right there with them. They also were lucky and got extra kisses from the grandparents! I hope all of my friends with kids had a great first day of school! I think my Mom has been doing her happy dance all :)

Thank you for reading! Have a blessed afternoon!
Kelsey

Bedtime Prayer

Tonight, as I walk down the hallway, I hear my girls talking in their room. I start to tell them that they don't suppose to be talking when I realize they are actually talking to God. I hear Zoe ask him "please take care of our Mom tomorrow while she is in the hospital." Then Abbie-Jo says "give her a big kiss when she is sleeping in surgery for me."  I couldn't help but to thank God for them and of course cry. I know I haven't been my best and I can get super cranky...... but God sure knows how to show me He is here. This evening I set down and watched a movie with the kids and then we talked about the movie during bath time. These are some of the "little" moments I live for. At times the kids can make me feel like I'm living in the middle of a circus but then turn it around and show me how much they have grown. We pray every night at bedtime and I always remind them that they can talk to God when ever they want to and He will listen. Actually hearing them talking to Him melted this Mom's heart. Sometimes you need a reminder that He is listening to your prayers. (No matter how old you are)

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. Luke 18:1

You are never too young or old to start praying! God is listening and He will answer..... All you have to do is listen to Him!

Teaser- Let's meet the family!

There has been so many people message me asking what my (soon to be adopted) kids names will be. I thought it would be fun to announce their names on my blog since that is how I told everyone I was getting foster children in the first place. Just incase you are out of the loop let me fill you in a little. I got a phone call yesterday from the adoption agency saying that the judge wanted to get the kids adopted as soon as they could... So in his mind that was June 30th. By the end of the day yesterday I was told our official court day is June, 29. That's next Monday! I was so excited that I was shaking! I have waited so long for this that I felt it would take forever to get here. Come Monday my children have been in the foster system for 1,216 day!! That's a really long time! Thankfully we are ending there. I get to tell the kiddos tonight that they are officially getting adopted! Don't worry monday my facebook will be exploding with pictures and videos so be ready!! Make sure to keep an eye out for a blog post to get a more detailed post about each child!! Okay............ So drum roll please!!!!!!!

We have names!!!


First is my oldest. She is 7 years old. Her name is Zoe Ann Hope Shrum!

Next are the twins who are 5: Abbie-Jo Grace Shrum and Jordan Levi Shrum!

I can not wait to share more with everyone on Monday! I would love for everyone to come joing us Monday in welcoming the kids to our family! If you are interested please message me and I can give you all of the details! I hope everyone has a blessed day! Remember God is ALL the time!!

 Much love,

Kelsey

Our First "Talk"

My youngest daughter loves to help me around the house! (No matter what I am doing) The other night I was putting up my laundry and she came into my room and asked if she could help. Of course, I said yes! I tell her that she can put my sock away for me. I asked her if she knew which drawer they go in and she said yes. As I am in my closet hanging up clothes, I hear a drawer slam and her start shuffling out of my bedroom. I notice that my socks are on the ground so I call for her to come back into my room. I ask "Hey what happened? Are you already done helping me?" She gives me this look like she did something wrong so I asked her again "What happened?" immediately she starts to apologize and keeps saying "I'm really sorry mom, I didn't mean to!" After I get her calmed down she tells me that she accidentally opened the wrong drawer. I had no clue why she would be this upset about opening the wrong drawer... So.. I asked her which drawer she opened. It was my bra drawer. I guess she has never seen a bra before and it completely freaked her out. I started to explain to her what they were for and why woman wear them. I am patiently waiting for her to say something (as she looks like she is about to pass out) and she says "Oh, they look like eyes." We then went into a 20 questions talk. At the end of this talk she looked like she was about to pass out and I felt like a needed a drink! I guess it is never too early to start explaining thing but this new mom was not prepared for all of her question.

Last night as we are about to go to bed she gives me a big hug like she normally does. After, she said "Mom, why can I always feel your bra when I hug you?" I told her "well that is just how it is when you are wearing a bra." I can tell that she is thinking but I go ahead and start tucking in her sister. When I get done we starting to say prayer and it was her turn to start it. She starts off by thanking God for her HoneyGram and that her Grandpa got home. Then she says "and God please send mom a daddy who will like her cheetah bra as much as I do AMEN." Oh the joy of kids! I am telling you they always keep me on my toes and surprise me everyday!

I hope you enjoyed the read! I'm sure there will be more stories about Miss A to come! :)