End of an Era

This first photo is of Carissa holding Josie when she was just over 6 months old. Next to that is the photo of Carissa and Josie on the morning in December when she left to move back to New York - about 3 years later.

It shouldn't come as a surprise to any of you that know us that I've been dragging my feet on this post, simply because it's still kind of hard to write about. After three years as Josie's nanny, Carissa is no longer just a few minutes away and it is truly the end of an era. 

(...and here come the tears...)

There aren't words to describe how invaluable she's been to us since she started as Josie's nanny. We all laugh about that first meeting at Starbucks when we think about how little we all knew at that moment. Carissa was nervous about being interviewed but we were ten times as nervous about interviewing her. We had no clue what we were looking for or how to go about finding it. We certainly didn't think we were meeting someone who would spend the next three years deeply involved in our lives (and all the highs, lows & craziness that goes with that) and forever be a part of our family.  It was an unbelievable blessing to have her in our lives for so long and she will always have a home here in Cincinnati.  

With that, here are the photos from our "Sisis Christmas" before she left. It's no surprise that she knows Josie perfectly & got her gifts that made her so super happy. And we love that she'll always remember that her first Barbie came from Carissa.

Luckily Josie has no clue just how far away New York is, although she did reveal to Carissa and I the night before she left that she was feeling "very frightened" about Carissa leaving.  There is certainly a lot of love between these two which is more than obvious in these pictures and so many others taken over the years.

Here's the last hug before she left, which I think pretty much says it all.

Thanks for everything Carissa. 

We love you so meech! ;)

See you soon???