A New Opportunity

     We have a little boy living with us.  It happened pretty quickly and not in the way I expected.  As we've been finishing up with the process of becoming foster parents we were contacted by about an opportunity.  It came through my brother Paul.

Paul and Melissa

     Last Christmas, Paul brought his girlfriend Melissa to meet the family.  Paul hadn't brought another girl around before so I was excited.  She seemed to be really nice and I hoped to be able to have more contact with her in the future.  Little did I know that a few months later I would get to know her much better.
     After announcing on Facebook that Lyle and I were licensed foster parents, Melissa asked me to contact her.  She has a 9 yr old son named Chase who she wanted to talk to me about.  Melissa has some serious health problems.  Because of these she has not been able to keep a job which has led to financial instability.  Also, her health problems have become bad enough that she had been unable to care for her son anymore.  She had found a couple and had placed him with them a couple of months previously but she was now having problems with them.  They were keeping her from having contact with her son.  They had started not taking her calls and telling her she couldn't come and see Chase.  It had gotten worse lately.  She and Paul came to dinner with Lyle and I and we discussed the possibility of us taking Chase into our home to live with us.  The next weekend we met Chase.

Chase, Lyle and Grandpa
building a super lego tower

     That same weekend we ended having Chase come to live with us.  Things with the couple who had been taking care of Chase had gotten worse and Melissa didn't feel comfortable taking Chase back to them.  So he came to live with us.  The last few weeks have been very busy.  We had to change Taylor's and Annie's rooms so Taylor would be sharing with Chase (he was really disappointed in having to give up the queen bed he'd been on in exchange for bunk beds), we've had to enroll Chase in school, buy school uniforms and other clothes, find someone to take care of Chase when we're both at work, etc.
    We've done pretty well, I think.  Chase calls his mom almost every day and has been able to see her more which has helped with his adjustment.  Lyle and I have had to practice more patience.  We're not used to having kids in the house all the time, especially very active little boys.  And yet, we're glad we've had this opportunity to grow.
     The last few weeks have seen other changes too.  I was released as my calling of primary music leader (which I loved) and called as a ward missionary to help prepare 2 young women in the ward for missions and also called as a relief society instructor.  When the first call was extended the bishop asked about Chase.  Though it was the very day Chase came to live with us, Lyle, who is the ward clerk, had a few minutes to tell the bishop about the situation so he in turn asked me for more information before he extended the new call.  When he gave me a blessing to set me apart as a ward missionary he added a blessing to help me as I now become a 'foster'? parent.  He blessed me that as I become a savior of a kind to others, I would be able to help those who could not help themselves.  This really humbled me.  Being likened to the Savior in any way is very sobering and has made me think of all my Lord has done for me and how much I want to be like Him, including His willingness to give everything to others.
     There's a scripture that's kept coming back to me the last couple of weeks.  Mosiah 4:19 and 21 says: 'For behold, are we not all beggars?  Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even god, for all the substance which we have...And now, if God, who has created you, on whom you are dependent for you lives and for all that ye have and are, doth grant unto you whatsoever ye ask that is right, in faith, believing that ye shall receive, O then, how ye ought to impart of the substance that ye have one to another.'
     Although this has been a wonderful experience, it has still been very hard as well, and on days I feel like I'm losing my cool I try and think about those words and remember the importance of what I'm doing.  This isn't something I would have imagined doing when I married Lyle, but how much good can I do by being willing to help and serve other people around me who need my help?  I hope Heavenly Father will continue to help me in learning to be a full time substitute mom and that I'll be able to make the lives of Chase and Melissa better for having helped them.  After all, haven't I needed help from others in times past?  Haven't I also been a beggar at one time or another?  Now Heavenly Father has given me a chance to pay it forward.

About Chase:
     Chase is in 3rd grade.  He's very intelligent...he reads far above his grade level (he was reading his Incredible Hulk book upside down the other day with words like 'gamma radiation'...I was pretty impressed) and he knows his multiplication tables very well.  He's also a very active little boy.  He loves sports, especially basketball, and wants to be shooting hoops or outside playing every minute that he possibly can.  He's a funny kid with a lot of wit and he keeps me laughing.  He's also a pretty obedient kid.  He whines some but he doesn't disobey or sass back when asked to do things...though he doesn't jump up every time I ask him to do something either.
    Chase is going to cub scouts and will start karate this week. He goes to church with us and has decided to be baptized.  He's learned how to pray and asks to be the one to say the prayer almost every time.  He enjoys reading with me before bed.  His favorites so far: Dr. Seuss and our Book of Mormon reader.  Chase likes to sing and you can hear him singing random songs at different times of the day.  I started teaching him piano.
     He's very excited to spend time with Annie and Taylor.  He has a hard time entertaining himself and loves to be around other people.  I have to confess that Lyle and I enjoy a break when the kids are here playing with him.  Chase has also already made friends with kids on our street and in our ward.  He's a fun kid to be around.