Meet my crazy AMAZING friends who will care for the Hunter crew while we are away!

Marc and I are so grateful for our church family at Potomac Hills Presbyterian Church.  We know there will be many people praying for us, Nathan, and our other kids while we are gone. We have received clothes for Nathan, and money towards his adoption from our church family and other friends as well.  Many people have offered to help, and I'm sure will assist in keeping the Hunter kids alive, dressed, washed, and fed.  But here are the team leaders:

Meet Louise.  Lucky Louise gets to come to our house at 6:00am every weekday for the 2 weeks we are away.  Once she arrives, she will get to awaken three exhausted elementary school kids, one cheerful middle schooler, one moody middle schooler, and one high school girl.  I am not allowed to use any adjectives to describe the high school girl.  She will get to blow dry one child's hair (believe me, this is necessary!) and make sure the same child's clothes actually match (also necessary.)  The boys can handle their own hair and clothes. She will then assist in lunch making.  At 7:10am, she will escort the 3 elementary kids to their bus stop and chat with my neighbors.  An hour later, the three older ones will head off, and she gets to clean the kitchen and start Mount Washmore.  Around 9:00am or so, she will finally be able to schlep herself home, only to return at 11:15 to pick up Josiah from the bus stop on those days I can't find an after school playdate for him.  Believe me, I am trying hard to find many after school playdates!  Thankfully, two days a week, my college girls will be able to get Josiah from the bus.  Louise will keep Josiah on the other days until Mary arrives.  Then Louise gets to go home to her empty nest and have a relaxed evening with her husband (something I cannot even imagine at this stage of life....sigh.)

Next is Mary.  Mary will arrive chez Hunter around 2:30 pm to meet the elementary bus.  She will then dole out snacks, supervise homework, and COOK DINNER FOR THE ENTIRE CLAN.  Mary is such a good cook that I suspect the kids will not want me to return.  Tough luck, kids.  Enjoy it while you can!

After dinner, she will supervise chores and kitchen clean-up (we have quite the elaborate chore routine- too bad it doesn't work half as well as we would like!) and make sure the house doesn't look like a bomb blew up.  Then she will get to go home to her peaceful home with only one almost-grown daughter and husband. 

There are many other wonderful people pitching in while we are gone as well.  Five of our kids are involved in sports right now, two of them are on multiple teams, so there is a lot of driving involved.  Many parents of our kids' teammates have offered rides, neighbors have pitched in and offered play dates and sleepovers to give our kids a break from each other, parents of schoolmates have offered to help, people have been so generous.

And I would be remiss to not mention my oldest daughters, Vania and Trisha.  Vania and Trisha will be responsible for the bedtime routine- showers, stories, outfits for the next day, etc.  Vania is basically the second mom in our house.  She knows the routines, is a wonder with the little kids, and is generally my right hand around here.  Trisha drives, and already shuttles her sibs around when we need her to.  She is going to assist Louise and Mary with the laundry and make sure clean clothes actually make it back to people's rooms.  She will also get to practice her chauffering skills and perhaps learn to grocery shop while we are away.