Thursday, July 3, 2008

What We've Been Doing...

Now that we've finished up the school year, we are taking a brief break. I don't homeschool year round, but we do have a short summer break. I like to start early so that if anything comes up, we can afford to take time off:-)

We've been on "break" for almost two weeks now. So what have we been doing? What has kept me away? Well, last week we were kept quite busy with VBS and the girls really loved that. They did well and had a blast. Only bad thing was the added stress of making sure Fiona and Brenna were kept safe from possible allergens. Fiona is allergic to peanuts and nuts and we have not yet tested Brenna. For Brenna we follow the same precautions...checking labels obsessively, warning people to not provide items with nuts of any sort and such. Of course at VBS they provide snacks and I had to talk with the snack staff to keep them from making anything that might, well, kill my kids! That is very stressful..you feel like your nagging, and yet you would do it to save the life of your child...it is just that bad. Well, on Friday they had a program with singing and a special treat for the winning team(memory verse stuff). Fiona's team won...ice cream sandwiches...with nuts! She was devastated, for one...she couldn't eat the hard earned treat and she couldn't eat with her friends. It was awful. I felt horrible..but what could I do? Well, there was a dear lady in our church that always thinks of my girls and she had made special cookies/brownies with no nuts. Bless her heart! It didn't fully make up for the stigma of not being with your friends, but it did soothe her soul a bit.

We've also been doing some other fun things...I hope you enjoy the picture tour of our doings:




Sunday afternoon playing mancala. Liam has mastered the little chairs and really wanted to join Brenna in the game. Fiona was playing with little animals quietly.

Liam is learning to be an elephant rider. A career in his future? :-)


I'm working with Brenna to learn sewing. She is doing wonderfully and is very neat with her stitches. Look at that sweet concentration.



Here is her finished rectangle. The stitches were very neat and straight and now she is working on her name and a heart. She says it shall be a pillow!


And finally, Fiona is learning to play the piano. Her lovely daddy is teaching her with a Christian piano curriculum from Davidson Music. So far both are pleased:-)

So this was just a quick catch up, but I do hope to be more regular with my posting again. I hope all of you are well and having a splendid summer!

Blessings,

Sommer




4 comments:

Serena said...

Brenna's stitches are so nice and even! They blow my hand stitching out of the water. I can't wait to see what she'll be sewing up in a few years!

Simply Heart And Home said...

Sommer,

My younger two are allergic to peanuts/nuts so I know exactly how you feel. My son also is allergic to anything dairy (casein or whey too) and that is extra tough. He can't have anything with cheese etc...

I am trying so hard not to worry about him as he goes off to college at the end of August. He has to have a dining card plan so he'll have to eat at the dining hall. He does have his epipen and I'll just need to pray that God gives him wisdom as to what to eat. He is supposed to speak to the Nutritionist at college about his choices. He's kind of shy so I hope he does speak with her.

Anyway ~ Your two weeks off already sound very nice. My kids always liked VBS. Summers off are a nice time to just enjoy whatever you love to do!

Gina

Regina said...

Hi Sommer!
I've been stopping by to visit and I am so glad to have an update from you! It looks as if the little family is prospering very well indeed! I love the pictures of the children- and Liam's hair is growing! That picture of Brenna sewing is adorable!
Glad all is well!
xo
p.s. I decided to get back on Blogger!

Mackenzie said...

Good to hear from you again dear!! Your kids are just beautiful...always looking so content! Did Miss Fiona get a hair cut? It looks so cute!