Q&A: all about our ward of the state

By far, the largest amount of questions I get on this blog have to do with my ward of the state: Jason. I want to protect his privacy, so there are some questions I won't answer. But here are the answers to some of your questions about this awesome guy who lives with us:

1. Who exactly is he?
Jason is my husband's little brother, or my brother-in-law. My husband is the oldest in his family, and Jason's the youngest. So luckily he wasn't a stranger when he moved in.

2. Did you adopt him?
No. We just have legal custody.

3. Is it permanent?
We hope so! There are so many question marks in Jason's future, but the goal is that he'll stay with us for a good long time. The papers are only signed until next summer, at which point we have to resign them. But we hope he's here to stay!

4. Was is weird going from newlyweds with no kids to having a 12-year-old kid?
YES, definitely! It's a huge adjustment for us (what? we can't walk around in our underwear anymore?), but it's been a good one. Luckily, Jason's already pretty independent and self-sufficient, so on some days, I feel like I hardly do anything. And it's nice to have someone else around the house, especially when my husband is gone.

5. Why isn't he living with his parents?
That's Jason's story to tell, not mine. You can read more about our decision to have him come stay with us here.

6. How did Jason feel about moving in with you?
Luckily, he was all for it the second we presented our plan (which is a miracle, because I was so so sick that day, and from the way I looked and sounded, he probably thought I lived in the Underworld.) He's a smart guy, and he's always been close with Sam, so he said yes from the start. And, as he puts it, "it's going rather swelly so far." Classic Jason statement.

So there you have it. 

We're really proud of the kid, and we like him a lot.

It's also been the hardest thing we've done by far,

but some things are worth it, you know?

And Jason is one of them.