Five years ago we said hello to au pair life and it has been a true gift to our family.  Prior to having an au pair, I was that person who thought having live-in child care was crazy….certainly not for me.  I’m so grateful that I stepped out of my comfort zone and fully embraced au pair life and everything it has to offer.  To this day, we remain very close with two of our former au pairs and I know that number will increase to three in just a few days once Lari heads back home to Brazil.  The girls have formed such great friendships with Karolin, Ludmila, and Lari and it warms my heart thinking about all the great times they had while Justin and I were at work and the experiences we had together as a family.  Our house has been loud…really loud, crazy, and full of ladies these past five years.  We have had deep belly giggles, snuggles and cuddles, and love…fierce love for one another. Not every day has been perfect, but that fierce love has gotten us through the tantrums, sibling rivalry, and miscommunication.  We opened our doors and our hearts and our lives have forever been enriched.

Wednesday we send Lari on her way back home to Brazil. She fit into our family on day one and she was the perfect match for our family…even better than we could have hoped.  So after five years of au pair life, after adding 3 forever Brazilian and German family members to M-unit, we are hitting the pause button for a few months and are going to try life out as a family of five for a little while.  It will be different…I honestly have loved having au pairs, but it’s time….time for M-unit to get back to our core five for a little while….honestly, something we have only ever done for three months.   As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Life is a journey, not a destination.”  I’m looking forward to the next part of the journey for M-unit and our au pairs as they too are on an amazing and exciting part of their journey.  

#munitforlife. #bonvoyage