5 years ago...

Five years ago, a friend sent an email through our homeschool board inviting us to follow her blog, journaling her homeschool adventures.

I had never read a blog before.  But in that click, I knew I wanted one!

I quickly signed up for a blogger account and made my first post...hitting 'submit' and sending it into cyberspace...all the while curious if anyone would read it.

To look back now, I am overwhelmed by the connections I have made - to fellow homeschoolers, stay-at-home moms, moms that craft, moms that like to cook, snarky moms, moms who have older children and are a source of encouragement and serve as a mentor to me.

The coolest thing?  5 years have gone by and I am honored to continue calling them my friends.

Some people who don't blog, don't get it.  It seems like such a foreign idea to them that you'd desire a connection with someone whom you may never meet.  But, I know that God has set this little ol' blog here for a reason and I'm thankful for that each and every day.  And thankful for all the friendships I've made.

5 years ago, my kiddos looked like this:

I love to look back at the pictures in those early years of blogging.

Never did I imagine that I'd still be typing up new posts 5 years later.  Not that I didn't think I'd have enough to say, just didn't know if I'd have the time to share it.  ;-D

Some of it is silly, some is of our school time, some is just the kids.  A few scattered posts might even be inspirational - but they are mine and I'm happy to still be here 5 years later. 

Momma's got a new bag!

This week has been a harder week than normal because T has been gone since Monday.  My days feel normal, because I'm used to being here with the 3 kids all day, but the nighttime routine has been harder.

Yesterday was our busiest day with Co-op in the morning and a full evening of events at church.

I needed to take our laptop to church so the kids could watch a movie while I practiced in our bell choir from 8-9 last evening.  I had been using a tote bag from the medical practice that delivered our babies, but I yesterday I needed a distraction and a creative outlet.  I sat down at my sewing table with a plan to make a bag to hold our laptop, cables as well as a movie (and maybe a few snacks).  I wanted it to of course be functional, but it also needed to be stylish.

I had no pattern - I only had the dimensions of my laptop and an idea in mind.  A few hours later, I was feeling re-energized and pretty lucky to have such a cute bag (if I may say so myself) to carry my laptop.  I like it so much, I think it will carry just about anything, not just the laptop.

I have a few slight modifications for the next one, but I think I may try to type up a pattern to sell as well as make a few more of these cuties.

Excited for T to arrive home tonight - and we're following his travels on flight tracker, aka T Tracker!  Now to straighten up the house so it looks like I did more than just sew a new bag this week! ;-D

100th day - 100%

Today was Fourel Academy's 100th Day of School.

Didn't know our school was named Fourel Academy?  You see the title at the top of my blog?  Living to Learn and Learning to Live.

Four L's = Fourel  :)  Witty, huh?

Back to the story.

Today was our 100th day of school and I didn't even spend a minute on pinterest looking for ideas.  Well, that isn't entirely true - I spent many minutes on pinterest - I just wasn't looking for ideas for our 100th day.  ;)

Again, back to today, and on to God.  Guess what?  God planned our day for us.

3 of Q's spelling words today were: Centennial, Century and Centimeter

And he measured triangles finding their area in square centimeters.

And E's math was counting cents!

We've been plugging along for 99 days and BAM!  On our 100th day, we happen to be on a schedule that allows us to have 100 - CENT - flash before our eyes many times!

Our biggest lesson for our 100th day - seeing God in everything we do!

And knowing He's with us 100% of the time!

Wordless Wednesday

A New Year's Tradition

Besides the annual Pork & Sauerkraut meal on January 1,  I've been trying to be consistent with a word of the year tradition.

At the start of 2009, I asked God to lay a word on my heart and He gave me: INSPIRE.  I used that word to search for what inspired me or how I could inspire others.

In 2010, I did not take the time to ask or listen for a word.

In 2011, I asked God to lay a word on my heart for the year, and He gave me: TRANSFORM.  It was a year of transformation for me, our family, a Ukrainian boy we hosted in the summer, Artem and those that heard Artem's story.  Last year was a year of transformation and change.  I kept a piece of paper on my bulletin board with "Transform" circled in the middle and spider legs coming out with scripture, stories, books and Godincedences that touched our family deeply in 2011.

With those recollections, I was eager to ask God for a word for 2012.  I prayed about it 2 weeks ago and He gave me a word the next day.  It was a very clear call to use the word REFLECTION.  After hearing the word, I came across several pictures in my mind that God was using to tell me what He meant.  I'm a visual person, so I like to have an image in my mind with my word.  Last year, I used the picture of a caterpillar and butterfly to visualize my word, Transform.

This year, I found a lot of beautiful images of nature reflected in water.  Even though there were some really breathtaking pictures, it just didn't feel right.  I did not want the reflection to be the same image simply reversed - I wanted it to be a different image.  I wanted it to be an image reflected that isn't seen in the rest of the picture.  I don't know if this is what God had in mind for my word, but it is what spoke to me the loudest.

I will admit that this word feels daunting to me, but after seeing the growth from last year, I'm stepping forward on 1-1-12 with REFLECTION on my mind and in my heart.  And I wait in excited anticipation to see this word come to life.

When it's cold outside...

Merry Christmas!

She is Christmas! Happy Birthday, Noelle!

Noelle - Christmas. She was due Dec 23rd, but we had to deliver c/section so she was born 12/16 instead.  

[In case you wanted to know: Colin was due 12/14 and we opted for a c/s to have an earlier date and so their birthdays wouldn't be 2 days apart, LOL! 9 days is close enough!]

We always loved the name Noelle, and thought it was perfect - with the nickname Elle (rhymes with belly).

For her birthday meal, she chose our usual Christmas meal: Ham, gourmet potatoes and corn.

And instead of birthday cake (because she doesn't like icing...which I totally don't get), she chose Christmas cookies - Chocolate Crinkles!  (My favorite Christmas cookies, too!)

She is full of JOY, she is LOVE, she is a GIVER.  She is an example of Christmas.  And we love her to pieces!  She prefers "Elle" 11 months out of the year and likes to be called "Noelle" during December!  She's kind of quirky, like her momma!

We have T's company Christmas banquet tonight, so we celebrated with the grandparents last night.  She and her daddy danced to their favorite songs, "Baby Girl" by Sugarland and "Cowgirls Don't Cry" by Brooks and Dunn.

Wishing...

Happy 7th Birthday, Noelle.

Wordless Wednesday: Silly Elf

My baby girl!

Last week she watched her brother celebrate his 5th birthday.  Which makes them just one year apart for 9 days.  He's 5 and she's 6...until this Friday!  She's anxiously awaiting her big day.

In honor of her upcoming day, I just had to share this picture of her.

Notice she's using a spoon with her "scoops" chips...and she "ith now mithing 4 teeth!"  She lost all 4 within 1 months time.  A foot to the mouth helped knock the first one out in November. The second tooth was lost while Daddy was away a few days deer hunting...she was so excited to show him when he returned home!  The third tooth came out last Friday with a little help from her brother's head!  And on Sunday, she pulled the fourth tooth out.

We believe she's doing it for the money!  Tooth $ combined with birthday $ combined with Christmas $ - a December not to be forgotten!  ;-D

And the winner is...

Buttercream Queen!

Congrats Queen!!  I'll fb message you some details in a bit!

Thank you all for entering. 

Happy Birthday Bubba!

Yesterday was C's 5th birthday.  What a boy!  This child is not influenced by anyone and beats to his own drum.  He has a witty sense of humor.  I wouldn't say he's strong willed, but he just won't do what he doesn't want to do!  He is a snuggler, which we love!

Here are some pictures from his party Tuesday night (the night before his birthday).  Our tradition is to have each of our parents over for cake and ice cream.  But before they came, we had his Birthday dinner of homemade Macaroni & Cheese with ham and a side of pears.

Happy 5th Birthday C!

December GiveAway!

Giveaway is over and comments are now closed. 

Winner will be announced Monday morning.

After sifting through all the fa.cebook legalities of a giveaway, I just decided to host it here at my ol' blog and advertise it on fac.ebook!

December GiveAway at Forget me Knot!! 

This little fleece sleeping bag will delight any doll enthusiast, from 2-92. There are no zippers to snag or buttons to worry about - this adorable bag has an opening just below the pillow for your little one to slide their dolls (fits 15” and 18”) in for a good night’s sleep. The pillows are stuffed with a very soft filling to provide only the best possible sleep. (Bag featured in giveaway is made from same fabric, but pattern placement may vary). 

May earn up to 3 entries by doing the following:
1- Leave a comment on this 12/6 blog post letting me know who you'd give the doll sleeping bag to.

The following have two parts:
2 -  First, find me on fac.ebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/forgetmeknot.la and like my "Forget me Knot" page - and second, come back here leaving a comment letting me know that you did...(If you already "Like" the page, just leave me a comment letting me know).
3 - First, share this giveaway on facebook including a link to the FMK page and second, come back here to leave a comment letting me know you shared it on facebo.ok.

NOTE: For all comments, be sure to include your email if it is not already connected to your blogger profile.  This giveaway will accept anonymous comments, but please let me know who you are! :D

The giveaway will end this Sunday, 12/11 at midnight est. 

Good luck!

Fall Break 2011 - Cast.away Cay

Our Disn.ey cruise earlier this month featured 2 stops at Dis.ney's private island, Ca.staway Cay.  This is the main reason we choose the week we did, because the first time in 2009, we loved Casta.way Cay. 

Our first and last full days of the cruise were spent at this little island paradise.  It is a private island and only ship comes in at a time.

The older 2 both learned how to snorkel, all 3 enjoyed the warm, clear water and this momma also learned to snorkel!  We had a great teacher - T!