The best babysitter

I can officially say we have been blessed with the best babysitters ever!

Miriam was the first... and always will be close to our heart... though far across the ocean...

Then came Cosette and Tavi.
Cosette and Tavi are sisters... Cosette is J.D.'s true love (when we were journaling around Valentine's Day, I asked him whom he loved- I thought Mommy or Daddy or Natalie, etc. Nope. He said Cosette- very enthusiastically!) Cosette introduced Hide and Seek and Red Light/Green Light into our house!
Tavi is Cosette's younger sister. She loves children and it shows! Let me explain how...

Today, Tavi was here to watch the kiddos for 8 hours while I worked. This is an amazing amount of time for a babysitter. (And after a chaotic time last week... she brainstormed with her mother and showed up with the following schedule for today).

Titled: J.D. and Natalie's Schedule

8:30am Breakfast
8:50am Soap Surprise (that means was the dishes together, use lots of bubbles!)
9:00am Outside Play
10:00am Snack
10:15am Hide & Seek
10:30am Sugar letters in a bowl (J.D. and N)
10:45am Letters in sand box (practice to draw them on the driveway for daddy!!!)
11:15am Jump rope (over the snake)
11:45am Lunch preparation (kids set table on mat, then without mat) [this means they drew a placemat together, and she showed the kids how to match up fork, plate, and spoon- WOW]
12:00pm Lunch and Soap Surprise (if you want to)
12:30pm Snuggle and Read Time (pick one book apiece)
12:45pm Nap time
2:30pm Play Dough (make J.D. and N)
2:45pm Outside (ready for chalk JD and N so daddy can see what they learned!)
3:00pm Super Hero Race to make rooms the cleanest!!!
3:15pm Candyland
4:00pm Frisbee and fun thing in a bag [ a flute]
4:30pm Show Mommy what you've learned today!!! !. How to wash dishes, how to set the table, how to write your own name!

Wow you say... yes, WOW! The kids had the best day! Tavi would tell them what they were going to do... then once they did it... they put a sticker on the paper next to the thing they had just accomplished. She built up the 'fun thing in a bag' all day... they were beside themselves with anticipation. And, they loved it... I could hear them playing flutes... what fun! There is no greater feeling than the feeling of your kids discovering something new, of them being happy, of them enjoying themselves.

When I asked J.D. what his favorite part of the day was... he said 'the jumping rope!'
When I asked Natalie what her favorite part of the day was... she said 'the stickers!'

It was an amazing day... one where I am thankful that I can work from home... see how my kids do with babysitters and see how God has blessed us with people who love our kids enough to really think and plan for them.

Bless you Tavi! You made today a blast for all of us!