We have a sweet lady at our church that has been a huge blessing to our church through the years, but especially so to our family this year.
She comes over to our house three mornings a week to play with, entertain, and care for the younger kids while I teach the older ones and juggle a million other things that demand my attention. On the remaining two mornings, the kids go to P.E. (with Dad) and on a field trip (with me), so basically she comes on all the regular, busy, "teaching" mornings.
She stays until the kids have had lunch and the little ones are down for their naps. She helps pick up the mess, and gets the dishwasher running. She is super creative and always has something fun she pulls out of her bag. She has the patience of a saint, dry humor, and is never shocked by stupid things my kids do, or how dirty my bathrooms may be (okay, are).
All the kids love her, but Stephen is crazy about her. In the mornings, he climbs on the sofa and looks out the front window, waiting for her to arrive. When she walks in the door, he dances around her in circles with excitement.
I cannot begin to explain what a huge
blessing this is!! If nothing else, it takes so much stress off me, no longer having to constantly be worried that I will get interrupted while I am tied up on a
project. This has been our best, most enjoyable and relaxed school year yet, thanks in no small part to her.
And as if that's not enough - she does all this for free, just to be nice. Can you believe it??!? Seriously, this has made a HUGE difference for me. In turn, I am able to help my husband more with things for church, so she is actually being a blessing to more people than just our family.
Our Navajo Nanny - standing in the gap between me and insanity.