One Last Visit to the Beach

Ahhh, the beach. I LOVE pretty much every thing about it. We recently made the trek down to Orange Beach to bask in the beauty and peace of the amazing Gulf of Mexico. How I will miss this!

I will add more pictures when I am not moving across the country in 3 -yes THREE- days. For now, these will have to do along with the update that the packers have our house in boxes, the movers come tomorrow, I think I am going to survive,and we are so very thankful for the friends who have been such bright spots in this busy time!

Colorado!

We are heading to Colorado. Not to visit. We are moving. It is still hard to believe.

Grayson's job is moving, so we are moving.

We will be sad to say goodbye to all the good friends here, but Colorado Springs will be closer to my family, so I am very happy about that!

We should know more soon as far as a time frame, but most likely by August 1st for sure.

We are extremely grateful to have a job in this economy- especially a good one that Grayson loves.

More Life...

Fun day at the park

We have a knight who lives at our house. He protects us from fire breathing dragons.
He wears pajamas.
Mary,Mary





4 year old Jude showing off his new haircut.

A self portrait by photobug girl.

Stylin' Jack in the hat Kate gave him for his 11th Bday.

Catching up on sweet Curtis

4 Months old. Taken after Kate's Christmas Piano recital
Curt and I spent 2 weeks in North Dakota visiting family in February. Even with borrowed warm clothes the cold was a shock to this 'Bama boy.

Doing his nightly pushups! 4.5 months

5.5 months. Soaking up the sun!

Mary and Jude have such fun with their baby brother. I hope they are always this happy to play with him!

My Baby Sister

My youngest of 5 sisters, the baby of the family is growing up. Being 19 years younger than me, she was not much older than my own firstborn. It has been a blessing to be able to watch her grow into a lovely young lady even though it makes me feel OLD.

I am proud that she is making wise choices for her life and making good use of her "single years".

2 years ago, she was part of a mission trip to China that gave her (or increased ) a passion for orphans. In a few weeks, she will be going on another mission trip with YWAM. I am excited for her. A little jealous and slightly nervous, but mostly excited. :-) You can read about her upcoming trip here. Good job Karmen! We are proud of you and excited to see how the Lord will work through you in this new adventure!

Life

Curtis Long

Click here to view this photo book larger

The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul - Audiobooks, MP3, M4B, iPhone Apps, Free Downloads!

I love Christianaudio.com. They have a great selection of audio books and they give away a free audio book each month. This month it is one of my favorites. Check it out!
Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul - Audiobooks, MP3, M4B, iPhone Apps, Free Downloads!

Homeschooling Links

I was exposed to Charlotte Mason's ideas for teaching our children before I ever had kids. I loved them and implemented several aspects early on but didn't embrace them fully and practically until this past year. It has been a wonderful change! I want to share some of my favorite links here in case any of you are interested.

This site is so helpful because Linda Fay lays out exactly how she implements the methods as well as the reasons. Her posts are short and to the point. I loved that as I felt I learned much very quickly.

Ambleside Online is an amazing site, full of FREE resources including a FREE curriculum plan for all grades. This is what we are using this year. They have all Charlotte Mason's writings on here as well so you can read what she advised. She has much to say about all areas involving kids young and old.

There are many good sites, but I will stick to these so as not to overwhelm. But since a Charlotte Mason Education is largely about (one of my MOST favorite things ) BOOKS, I will add this link for a lovely, well organized booklist. Enjoy!

Happy 4 Month Old Boy

The kids captured this in the car. So cute!

The Whole Life of a Christian

The whole life of a Christian should be nothing but praises and thanks to God;

we should neither eat nor sleep, but eat to God and sleep to God

and work to God and talk to God.

Do all to his glory and praise.

Richard Sibbes 1577-1635

photography by Kate Long

Life

Jack spends as much time as possible in the woods behind our fence. He has always been our explorer/ wanderer.

Kate is a tree hugger too :-)

Taken from my phone so not the best quality.

A new trick. Mary is pretty proud of this.

Kate got a new camera. She spends a good portion of her day taking pictures.

Another very common site around here.

I Love Him So!

3 Months Old

Hard to believe it has been 3 months. Such a fun stage. Smiling, laughing, reaching for things, staring at his hands. I love it!

Jude at 3 months. It has been fun to compare the pictures. This is the first time I have had 2 babies of the same sex in a row. Matching outfits here we come!

Growing, Growing.....

Mary took this picture on my phone camera. I love it! He was around 8 weeks.

Another favorite! He has become a sweet, content baby lately. He was a bit fussy his first month or so. It is so sweet to watch him kick and kick, smile so brightly, and laugh out loud! I just love to watch him grow and change, even while it makes me sad to see my newborn disappear.

Reading Preparation

3 year old Jude loves to "read" Kate's books. Some have a few pictures in them, but very few, so it is interesting that he will study them for quite some time. Another reader on the way!!

Jack wants to be sure you notice the "feline" lurking in the background.

A Lovely Quote

To live content with small means;

to seek elegance rather than luxury,

and refinement rather than fashion;

to be worthy, not respectable,

and wealthy, not rich;

to study hard, think quietly,

talk gently, act frankly;

to listen to stars and birds,

to babes and sages, with open heart;

to bear all cheerfully,

do all bravely,

await occasions, hurry never.

In a word,

to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious,

grow up through the common.

This is to be my symphony.

William Henry Channing
1810-1884

Milestones

My sweet girl is growing up. She had been wiggling and jiggling this little tooth for weeks. What excitement when it finally came out! I'll post another soon of her in her current state of minus 4 teeth!