Hello,
We are fairly young at heart and enjoy the movies, fishing, boating, swimming, etc.
We live in the country on a beautiful farm with a private oak forest. We are situated only 8 miles (12 km) from the nearby village which is St. Peter. We farm for a living and have a few cats plus 20 chickens.
Our children at home are well behaved and listen very well. They are Astrid (17), Jens (16), Stina (14) Matilda (12), Anna (8).
Our two foster boys, age 3 and 4, are more challenging, but generally behave well, especially when we're able to separate them. Sometimes the older boy is badly behaved (he has suffered abandonment from his parents) but this behavior is improving with time and he can be very sweet. Part of your job as an Au-pair will be to care for these boys, sometimes both of them and other times with only one.
We have had an Au-pair from Finland on two occasions and the children loved her and were good listeners when corrected. If you are considering our family then we will give her contact information to you as a reference. We have other references also.
My sister was an Au-pair in Norway and we consulted her in order to understand how things look from the Au-pair's perspective and we have tried to tailor a good working/living situation accordingly.
We attend a Christian church every Sunday and require that you attend once each month. Driver's education is available and a car is available if you are legal to drive.
I want to note that we are presently doing a partial remodel in a house that we purchased, which is 2 km from our house. When this remodel is finished, this house will be your living quarters. This means that it would be ideal that you have a driver's license, although we can also drive you back and forth to your house.
Send us a note if you are interested and we can answer any and all questions that you might have.
Hope to hear from you!
Sincerely,
Nathan and Maria

We are a couple in our 40s looking for assistance with light household chores and child care. We have 5 children at home, and we also have two foster boys living with us 4 days each week. The boys are age 3 and 4. Sometimes we will need help with the young boys, and other days we would appreciate companionship and assistance for our two youngest daughters, age 11 and 8.
We need assistance 4 to 5 days each week. This will involve childcare, light cleaning in the kitchen, and preferably also some cooking.
We provide adequate living space which includes a private bathroom, bedroom, and probably a tv room if we can get the remodeling done. This gives you the opportunity to have your own space without being bothered or you are also welcome to be in "our part" of the house as much as you like.
Like almost everywhere in rural USA, it's important to have a car or access to a car. My wife drives into the nearby towns and cities fairly often. This gives you an opportunity to "get out on the town" even if you don't have a driver's license. For those with a driver's license, we will provide a car.
Fitness centers are available in the area, regular theater performances are also popular at a local college. There is a ski hill for skiing. My wife is an avid skier and plans to go there occasionally. Mall of America is close by if you like to shop and there are also other shopping opportunities.
We enjoy travel and occasionally travel to nearby states to see various tourist attractions so some travel might be included in your stay.
Cross country skiing is popular in our woods and there is adequate space for making trails.
We do not provide health insurance so be sure to buy traveler insurance which can usually be purchased at reasonable rates.
We have very few rules as we understand that you are a young adult and don't need a new set of parents.
However, we do not want male guests to stay overnight or to have friends stay for extended periods. Otherwise it's your own life and we respect that and we hope that you can make some friends and have them come over to visit.
I studied abroad as a 19-year-old in Denmark and have always appreciated the ability to return the favor and give the same opportunity to others. As H.C. Andersen observed "to travel is to live". Our area of the USA has much to offer to those that are genuinely curious about another way of life, but has little to offer if you only want remain in your own culture and hope that it's like where you grew up. I have learned that every culture has a gemstone that has to be found and discovered, and it can only be discovered by living there for some time. Perhaps this is one reason why H.C Andersen said "to travel is to live". You probably already understand this if you are planning to travel abroad and we hope that it will be of great benefit to you.
Regarding specific duties, please contact us and my wife Maria will inform you more specifically.
Thanks for considering us and we hope to hear from you!