Summer Updates

Summer has really adjusted well to 2nd grade.  It took a few weeks to settle into the new routine, but she is so responsible that she really makes it easy on her Mama!  I never have to ask her to get her reading homework done ;).  She also does a great job practicing her piano 5 days a week, looks forward each week to gymnastics (and enjoys tumbling at home in the basement!), and enjoys our church club on Wednesday nights where she continues to excel at Bible memory, and gets to have a wonderful leader who is both mom to a friend of hers and in small group with Mom and Dad :).

Summer continues to lose teeth!  The two on either side of her front teeth came out most recently - the first when Daddy was goofing off scrubbing her face after dinner and the second while eating corn on the cob!

We found out that Summer's best friend Kate (they play every day at recess and share a love of many things including dolls and Jesus) will be moving to Tennessee soon so her family can obey the Lord's call to start a church plant.  This was and will be very hard on Summer.  We are praying both for Kate and for a special new friend for Summer.

I took Summer on a date to a "Who Done It Hike" where we hiked a trail and found clues along the way to solve a mystery.  It was really fun!

Summer ran her school's fundraising run and, despite the heat, ran with a smile the whole time!

I volunteered to "tick" shirts (for each lap the kids ran they got it marked on their shirts).

Sweet sisters after the run (Grandpa watched/brought Larkyn to the run while I was busy volunteering)

Summer still has a love for dressing up and curling her hair!  School Picture Day!

"Mom, Take my picture!"  (The first and only day so far we drove instead of biked to school...couldn't crush Summer's curls with the bike helmet of course ;) )

Summer's teacher has a fun incentive.  At the beginning of certain days she picks both a boy and girl "secret leader" for the day and watches them all day.  If they do a good job, they get announced to the class and get a prize at the end of the day.  If they did not do well that day, the teacher pulls them aside privately to tell them they were the secret leader, but that they did not do what they should have that day.

On Summer's Tuesday date she picked to go to Caribou and "read and draw" with mom.

She got the trivia right and saved us 10 cents!

Summer was a total sweetheart helping Larkyn get ready for the Daddy Daughter Dance.  Pushing aside feelings of wishing it was her going with Daddy, Summer jumped in and totally made Larkyn feel special in the "getting ready" process. She gave Larkyn some purple stick on earrings to match her dress, helped Larkyn decide what hairstyle to do, and lent Larkyn her cape, scepter, and jewelry.  I was very proud of Summer.

Summer was so excited to babysit Teddy with me on a Saturday night.  She wanted to do everything, so I coached her through!  She will be a great babysitter :).

Summer is a sweetheart through and through and each morning when we read her Bible together and I ask her how she wants me to pray for her that day, she replies, "That I would be humble and that I would respect other's opinions".  I just love that she is seeking God's help in her self-acknowledged areas of weakness and truly desires to live for Him.  She continues to be a leader both at home and at school, creating fun games to play and drawing others in with her joyful and fun spirit.  God sure blessed us when he gave us you, Summer!