balerina biker in boots

i couldn't help but share this. dress-up is such a big part of our day...almost every day. i never know if i'll encounter a princess or a super-hero, or some combination of the two. it keeps me on my toes. priceless.

this seems more like combination of whimsy and feisty.

does she remind anyone of ramona quimby?

i could not have come up with this combination
even if i tried...really hard.

eventually, i'll do a layout of these few moments in time.
until then...

a study of laundry

"it looks like a television mom!"

i'm thinking, "great, cancel the cable!" if only it covered the sports channel...

i thought that the newness had worn off. after all, it's been more than a year in our midst.

laundry. this is one show that i just don't get. and yet, there she is. doing homework of all things! the sound is consistent, comforting somehow. the end never failing to chime cheerfully, reminding that the job is not yet finished. folding...ugh.

i know blessings come in many forms. i've known this seemingly forever. haven't you? isn't it common sense? i think, subconsciously, that i've even been aware that they come from God.

these days, i'm paying closer attention to gifts from the eternal Giver. gifts that speak loudly of love. His love. for me.

perhaps i'm moving away from what was once common knowledge...especially with laundry as the backdrop. perhaps i need to relearn it, embrace it, keep it closely against my heart.

always in a lesson, my eyes are opening to such, often overlooked, gifts. (...or buried gifts as the case may be with laundry.) recently, keeping track of the gifts has become really important to me. the project has awakened and renewed the common thought, transformed it into the profound.

the laundry into love gifts.

Lord, thank you for the laundry.

thank you for the willing hands, rarely urged, that help decrease the mountains. thank you for the friendly chime, sometimes long after her little head is on the pillow...not forgotten, those willing hands. thank you for the piles and piles! so high and far reaching is His love, reminding me gently, constantly, that i am not alone. all lonely is buried deep.



if you are looking for some encouraging, growing, beautiful moments, i highly recommend reading "1000 gifts" by ann voscamp. it will have you looking at life through clearer lenses, turning the common into profound, the laundry into a gift.

Scripture Memory Challenge

here is the promised blog entry to get us started on our siesta scripture memory verses...i'm so excited to have you walk beside me for this ongoing "life project".

i am committing to learn 2 verses from scripture each month this year. praise the Lord! i am not alone in this. there are some pretty cool ladies who are taking on the project too. (they prefer to be called chics, or peeps, or sisters--definitely not the more mature title "women", fyi.) it has had such an impact on us after memorizing one verse that we wanted to find a way to invite others that we know and love to join us too.

this challenge was originally issued from the official siesta momma, beth moore, to her online blog community, which she calls siestaville. there is a much larger community of siesta's (over 9000) taking on this e-challenge too. instructions can be found on her blog. if you'd like to follow along there, the link is below. (fyi...the other links on this post click through. this one is having a bad day--even for my techie husband, so you'll have to copy/paste it!)

http://blog.lproof.org/2010/12/siesta-scripture-memory-instructions.html

9000! how cool is that? very cool. until you go and try to find your friend in the comment section. needless to say, we wanted an easier way to find each other's responses. we want to hear how God is working in our lives through these verses, which is more feasible with a smaller community.

community. that is what we are about.

the most important reason we are blogging is to invite you, our family, our friends, to join us. feel free to pass this invitation on. perhaps it will snowball. perhaps you will take this challenge to another community of believers. what if there were communities of warriors, armed with the sword of truth, across our nation? across our world?

the rules are easy.
1. pick a scripture that speaks to you
2. add a comment here on the blog. include your name, city you live, verse, translation, and any additional information you'd like to add regarding why you chose this verse.
3. either follow along by adding this blog to your "reader" or, (if "readers" are not on your radar), send me a quick e-mail, and i will add you to a distribution list, and i will let you know when to add your next verse to the blog. (ktmoseley@carolina.rr.com)
4. enjoy the process

there are several options for keeping track of your verses...
1. there is a CUTE spiral notebook you can order (http://www.lproof.org/store/product.asp?itemid=2011SMTspiral)
2. there is an "app" you can download from itunes for your ipad, ipod touch, iphone, etc. (search "siesta application" in your itunes store.)  this is cool because you can have your verses with you at all times. http://blog.lproof.org/2011/01/a-siesta-hello-and-a-happy-smt-update.html
3. you can write it on 3x5 cards and use a method that works best for you

here is my next verse:

Katie Moseley, from Charlotte, NC
Romans 8:37-39 (NIV)
"In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

from a big picture perspective, i know this. however, i want it to be ingrained in every decision, in every situation that presents itself, into the smallest pieces of my life. i am also basking in chris tomlin's new album "and if our God is for us" which echoes verse 31 of romans 8.  ("Our God" is on my playlist below.)

merry CHRISTmas

the moseley family wishes you and yours a merry christmas and happy 2011.

thank you for visiting.  if you found us through our christmas letter, thanks for taking this extra step to find us.  make sure to say 'hello' by posting a comment.  i hope you'll stick around by following us in your reader (see "follow my musings") or make us a favorite to come back to visit again...and again.  if you have a blog, i'd love to follow along.

2010 in review part II

here is the kober side of our year in review...

 our harbor towne tradition continues...even on the golf course!

our christmas celebration just before leaving for hhi

 an easter celebration and birthday

happy 80th birthday gram and great gram!

 our family trip to michigan

gull lake, mi with aunt robin and uncle duane

 a southern pines weekend for labor day

swimming at ccnc

 fall fun at the crane house

birthdays and pretend camping

2010 in review part I

as you know, i've been busy learning how to scrapbook digitally...primarily for my gift albums, but now i'm hooked.  i'm getting really close to that point on the learning curve where the two lines meet.  (one day soon it will take less time to make a digital page than a traditional page.)  for now, it is a lovely thing for our family gift albums.    i've gifted these pages already, so it is safe to share them.  thank you for indulging me.

hilton head island~june 2010

a celebration of ma-maw's 93rd birthday

thanksgiving in kinston.  brian in the emergency room with a kidney stone.  this one will go down in history.

credits

hhi: 'summertime july 2009' papers and elements by creativity by crystal

ma-maw's bday: template by creativity by crystal, 'home away from home' paper by jessica sprague

thanksgiving:  template by jessica sprague, november fall papers by createkate, solids by creativity by crystal

kidney stone surgery...check

sometimes God speaks more clearly than others.  this fall, the message was clear:  "slow down and simplify."  there were several weeks this fall that had us occupied every night of the week.  even in our busyness, God didn't need to speak too loudly for the message to be clear.  it just didn't feel "right" to be pulled in so many directions.

needless to say, we've been saying 'no' to many things, even to good and respectable opportunities.  i am learning (sometimes not so easily) that God's best for me might be missed because i am so busy doing 'good and respectable' things.  it's a work in progress and needs frequent review and adjustment.

when it came time to schedule the moseley family christmas gathering, i was very proud to have three december weekends available to offer.  pride.  it's rivaling busyness.  i've been praying through verses about this very subject (beth moore's praying God's Word scripture prayer cards.)  clearly i'm a work in progress too.

the week before thanksgiving, brian's kidney stone, which has been content to sit in his kidney for over a year, decided it was time to move.  two trips to the emergency room, several ct scans and x-rays, doctor's appointments, and now surgery have filled up our calendar for the past three weeks.  the recovery process, (complete with catheter, stent and wife, who was clearly not called to the medical field,) continues.

perhaps God wanted to be sure that our december calendar remained open.  He has certainly been communicating more clearly during this down time, reminding us what remains most important...being together as a family, living selflessly, and finding rest in Him.

we are humbled that so many of you have been lifting us up in prayer, supporting us with meals, taking care of our children, offering words of wisdom, and simply being there when we need you.  thank you.

my savior and redeemer, help me to take your yoke upon me and learn from you, for you are gentle and humble in heart, and in you i will find rest for my soul.  matthew 11:29