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I have had the privilege of caring for a 2 year old girl named Piper. I met her when she was just 5 1/2 months old. We have spent 40-50 hours a week together for the last 2 years. As you can guess, her and I are pretty close :) I love this girl more than I've loved any other kid before!

Seriously, how could you not love this precious little girl?

A couple of months ago, her parents shared with me their desire for Piper's dad to stay home with Piper & the newest addition to their family, baby Owen (born just last week). While it was extremely heart breaking to think about not seeing Piper every day, I knew this day would come eventually & I couldn't be happier about their family's decision to have Piper's dad at home.

Joel & I had always said that whatever job I did next would not be nannying. I love being a nanny, but honestly CANNOT wait for the day when I can serve in urban ministry. Joel & I are committed to getting Joel through seminary w/out debt. This has meant taking different career choices for me for a season.

Social work doesn't quite pay the seminary bills. We explored a few other options: flight attendant, secretary, personal assistant. It was fun to think about the options, yet looking over the budget it was pretty clear that nannying would be the best choice for us right now. I'm so thankful families are willing to pay their nannies well!

God provided another job for me in just one interview! It's honestly a God thing. My favorite nanny agency, Olive You Nanny, warned me that jobs are hard to come by these days & they have had way more qualified applicants than me searching for months. Not only did I find a job, I found really, really nice families to work for.

Next week, I will start working for 2 families who will be "sharing" me as their nanny. I'll be caring for 2, three month old babies, Charlie & Richard. I'll be transitioning during Feb and March between watching Piper & Owen 2 days a week & watching Charlie & Richard 3 days a week. Then will start full time in April with Charlie & Richard.

Originally, I thought Piper's family were the only "normal, incredibly nice, laid back" people in the city of Chicago who needed a nanny, but I think I found 2 more families who will be great employers for me :)