one puzzle piece

Most of you know that I was a nanny for five and a half years until this past August when all three of my kids went to school.  Since then I have been trusting that God would provide me the right job at the right time.  I registered on care.com and applied to every nanny position that looked like it would fit my schedule and location.  The problem was that for every nanny job posted there are bunches of nannies also applying for that same job!  I got a little frustrated that I most of the time never even would hear back from a family because even if I applied right away, so would lots of other people and my email would get shoved to the bottom of the list and someone would get the job before my email was read.  So I had my two faithful prayer warriors :) pray that my name would appear closer to the top of the emails for the family that God had for me.  

Finally, in November, I heard from back from two moms on the same day.  

This was the note from the first mom:

Please send me some references and I would like to ask you more questions. Call me at xxx-xxx-xxxx 
Thanks,
B.

This was from the other mom:

Hello Kathryn,
Thank you for contacting us! We read through your profile and are interested in getting to know you better. I was especially impressed that you were with your last family for 5 years and helped with homeschooling the children. Could you tell us a little more about your day to day responsibilities with this family? Would they be open to speaking with us by phone or email as a reference for you?
Thank you so much! We would also like to set up a time sometime to meet in person
Have a blessed day!
Best,
A.

Which one would have made you more excited to write back to??  :)

As I wrote back and forth to A., answering her questions and setting up a time to meet, I later realized that my normal first questions hadn't even entered my mind to ask - like how much the job would pay.  Kind of important when so many of the jobs posted offer $5 an hour!  But God took care of that detail without me having to even worry about it!

I gave her a link to my blog and told her she could see some of the kinds of things I had done with my kids and get to know me a little better.  She wrote back to say that she had gone to my blog to click on the "my kids" link...seen the word "adoption" and clicked and read all the posts under that label instead! She said she and her husband have had a desire to adopt since before they were married!  Another area in which our hearts match up!

We set up a time to meet over lunch and A told me to feel free to bring someone with me. So sweet!  So I asked my friend, Deanna, if she would join me and she agreed to go.  I had both the advantage and disadvantage in the fact that this family knew way more about me, having read through some of my blog, than I knew about them!  :)  Lunch went really well and of course, their children are precious.  :)


So, long story short, I am now a part time nanny (two days a week) for this family!  I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is where God wants me right now and am waiting to see where He wants me the other three days a week.  :)


Introducing...


Big Brother
(better nick names later as I get to know them better :)

He is so very sweet and already comes and wants me to pick him up and hold him - and doesn't like it when I leave.  :)  He made me all teary last week when he put his little arms around my neck, just like Mr. Happy likes to do, and gave me a hug!  :}

Hard to get a clear pic of a very busy 20 month old! But I still like this one! lol  :)

and

Little Man

Little Man is about a month younger than Eli and is sweet and smiley...when he's awake of course.  :)  He loves to have books read to him and also likes to have great "conversations" with you!  :)

(This pic is from my cell phone...thus the smaller size...)


I'm so thankful for this family and job God has provided!  It's one piece to the puzzle of my life after leaving my kids.  Now, just one more job and a place of my own to live...those would be my next puzzle piece prayer requests!  :)