Mosley Family

The Magic Fence video

noreply@blogger.com (julie mosley) — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 13:21:00 +0000

For a nice change, we had nothing on our schedules yesterday afternoon, so Brian and the kids made a silly video. I like the hat modeling auditions at the end best.

Sick Day

noreply@blogger.com (julie mosley) — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 15:25:00 +0000

Abby has had a fever yesterday and the day before, so she's home with us today. Right now they are watching Barbie Fashion Fairytale, but Ashley couldn't just stay in her pajamas today. she had to wear her bumblebee costume. Later today we'll be going to the doctor to see if she has another outer ear infection. Why do we get sick with totally unrelated things at the same time? Last time she had an outer ear infection, Grant had strep throat.

How do you wash vaseline out of kids' hair?

noreply@blogger.com (julie mosley) — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 16:40:00 +0000

Seriously, I need to know because within 3 hours of the yogurt-on-head incident, Ashley coated her hair, her clothes and herself in vaseline.

This time, I was in the shower. You would have thought I would have learned not to leave her alone for a second, which makes me think I should go check on her now.

2 year old fashionista

noreply@blogger.com (julie mosley) — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 13:10:00 +0000

Just in case you aren't aware of fashion trends, hats are in. Ashley created her own haute couture look with her yogurt bowl this morning while I renewed a library book at the computer in the other room. Apparently, this is why we have laptops and iPads, so we can follow 2 year olds around while getting things done.

Photo credits go to Brian and his new camera. We did pretty well not laughing at the yogurt hat, but it wasn't easy.

Yogurt is supposed to be a good conditioner, right?

Ashley has always been inspired by daily living in her hat choices: Happy Meal boxes, ski hats in August, buckets....

Cousins

noreply@blogger.com (julie mosley) — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 02:01:00 +0000

We're very thankful to live close to lots of cousins on both sides. Every year Grandma and Grandpa Mosley invite all their grandkids plus their kids over to watch the first Cowboys game. Brian's cousins Chad and Matt have always been into motorbikes, and even though they've grown up, they still like a little speed. And I mean a little speed. Chad bought these online for cheap and they fixed them up and brought them Sunday night. Brian loved thrilling the kids and they had big smiles and squeals. Even Grandpa took a test drive.

Another cousin close by is Chafen, who just moved back from Boston. She and Eric welcomed new baby Hal a few weeks before they moved here into their beautiful new home. Ashley and I loved meeting baby Hal and here Ashley shows her lunch bag and people she took with us.

Also this week, the kids and I met my cousin Ashley and her kids at the fountains. Anna, Abby and Grant ran and played in the fountains while Graham guarded our stuff.

Oh, and remember when I was all thrifty and made our back to school clothes? Well, that was just until gymboree had a sale. Here's a picture of what came to our house this week! We can't wait until it's cooler weather!

Goal for Grant!

noreply@blogger.com (julie mosley) — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 22:06:00 +0000

Grant is playing soccer again this fall, and he loves it. He went to a soccer camp over the summer and its fun to see how much confidence and help it gave him even at 4 1/2. Today was the first game, and we are so glad it didn't rain. The boys had fun and ran hard and won the game. We were so excited when Grant took the ball all the way down the field and scored a goal, even changing directions to go around another player!

Grant is walking a little taller after his goal.

Actually, he was probably thinking about ice cream. Brian promised ice cream for the family today if Grant scored a goal at his game. Abby cheered for the goal mostly for this reason!

Too bad I didn't get a picture of Grammy and Papa at the game. They rode their tandem bike to the game wearing their matching biking jerseys. too cute.

Comic book writers

noreply@blogger.com (julie mosley) — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 12:40:00 +0000

Abby and Grant have started writing and illustrating comic books. I think they were partly inspired by Captain Underpants and Rapunzel's Revenge. They did this in the car, waiting for food at Bar-B-Cutie, and during quiet time at home.

Here Grant shows us how he drew an Armadillo watching the news while sitting on the potty.

Abby's got more complicated with hippos. She was surprisingly detailed, drawing toenails on the animals.

"Hey Fri(e)nd!"

Happy Birthday Ashley!

noreply@blogger.com (julie mosley) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 01:10:00 +0000

Can you believe our littlest girl is 2? We celebrated on Saturday with a polka-dot party for our family. I had to wake Ashley up from her nap to get to her party, so she started out with a big sleepy head crease on her face and a tired attitude.

Grammy and Papa

Nanna and Pops

Ashley asked for chocolate cake and she loved every bite!

But when she was messy, she asked for a napkin.

Abby and Grandma Mosley catch up on their reading.

We gave Ashley this fun chair, a Bilibo, and she knew just what to do with it.

She taught her baby how to ride her new horsey.

big hugs for a new bear.

Apparently it was a long party, so Ashley needed to kick back, just like Daddy. She loves to mimic words and poses these days. Sometimes she leans her cheek on her hand like Mama or crosses her arms in front of her chest like Abby.

Yesterday was Ashley's "Gotcha" day. She came to us 2 years ago, when she was 2 days old. We're so thankful for the sweet, fun, crazy, adventurous, clingy girl that she is.

A little bit crafty

noreply@blogger.com (julie mosley) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 01:33:00 +0000

I didn't buy any new clothes for the school year yet because I would rather buy stuff when we need it, like when the weather actually changes. So when Abby wished for something new after a week of school I suggested making this t-shirt from Family Fun.

Instead of the owl, we chose to make a flower design from a coloring page. I was pretty slow and my fashionista sent me back to work when it wasn't up to her standards. So here is our glittery product.

For some reason when I was taking pictures of Abby this morning, Grant couldn't stay out of the way. He streaked through the first frame yelling "ENCHILADAS!"

And somehow he got in this one too.

We gave up and focused on Mr. Happy. Yep, that's jelly on his face. (he would keep singing, "big disgrace...." because he loves We Will Rock You right now)

Another crafty inspiration for some fall decoration was Family Circle. My girlfriends and I found the supplies at Dollar Tree-my favorite! I still need to paint it black and embellish it a little.

First Day of Preschool

noreply@blogger.com (julie mosley) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:22:00 +0000

This morning was the first day of school for Grant and Ashley. Grant was so excited that he packed his own lunch yesterday in preparation. He packed pretzels, goldfish, a fruit snack, and wanted cookies. But I added some cheese and apple instead.

For some reason Grant wanted to hold the American flag in his pictures. Grant originally chose to wear his orange shirt today, but then he found his new shirt Nanna brought back from the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. (whew!) Here he is with our good friend Lauren since she'll be riding with us in mornings.

Ashley did not want to stand still for a picture, she would rather go through her lunch bag and find her cup.

This is Grant's super-nice teacher, Ms. Kim. We're excited to spend the year with her.

Here's Ashley clinging to me in Ms. Lisa's room. She cried really loudly and tried to run after me when I left. I am very curious to find out how her day went! Ms. Lisa (in the background) is really sweet and calm, so she is wonderful with the toddlers.

Kids have weird (bad) taste

noreply@blogger.com (julie mosley) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 18:00:00 +0000

It's a good thing that kids are cute because they have totally different ideas than me of what is good. Take this morning for example. I dressed Ashley in a sweet dress and bow for "meet the teacher" at her school. When we left to walk Abby to school, she had added this relic from my childhood to her ensemble. She wore it the whole walk to and from school. And I know it was a little cooler today, but not that much.

I submit a 2nd example of interesting taste. Grant's favorite shorts this summer are his orange shorts. He especially loves wearing them with this orange shirt because in his mind, orange matches with orange. I apologize to anyone whose eyeballs have been burned by the orange crush. Usually I let him wear whatever he wants within reason, but I strategically hid this outfit from him today because of "meet the teacher". Also, I put my foot down when he wanted to wear the orange shorts with his shirt and tie to church a few weeks ago.

And example #3. I made this delicious pear and blueberry crumble dessert this week and the kids refused to eat it. We don't always have dessert after dinner, so I thought this would be a special treat, but not to them. "Mom, don't we have any oreos or ice cream?"-nope. It just left more for me and Brian.

It sounds like I'm complaining, but really I love laughing at their crazy ideas like jelly and cheese on toast or string cheese for dessert.

Abby's 1st day of 1st grade

noreply@blogger.com (julie mosley) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:39:00 +0000

Abby started first grade today. She was somewhat nervous last night and didn't go to sleep easily, but woke up ready to go. We all walked her to school this morning.

Here she is at her desk. Her teacher said this is the quietest they will be all year.

Her teacher's class mascot or name is "Seuss-a-Maniacs" so her room has lots of Dr. Seuss decor. She even sent home a cute little poem written in Dr. Seuss style with "ready confetti" to be sprinkled under kids' pillows to help them sleep well before the big day. Abby called Brian in around 9:00 last night and said "I'm still awake, so the confetti didn't work". She fell asleep soon after that, so maybe it did.

We probably should have given some of that confetti to Ashley. We moved her out of the crib into the big bed in her room 2 nights ago. We caught her playing on the floor in her room the first night, but she did well and didn't fall out of bed. Last night before we went to bed, we checked on her and she was asleep on the floor. We think she fell out of bed onto the pillows we put there and rolled over onto the floor, never waking up. If falling out doesn't wake her up, she may have a hard time learning to stay in the bed.

That's Dr. Celia to you.

noreply@blogger.com (julie mosley) — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 00:57:00 +0000

Last night we were invited to celebrate my sister-in-law's graduation at UNT, where she earned her Ph.D. Wow, I am still just super impressed by and proud of her. She has worked toward this degree for a long time, but she was always also occupied by either a full-time teaching job or raising her 3 little boys.

The happy Celia Wilson, Ph.D.

Unfortunately they didn't have enough seats in the auditorium, so we stayed in lobby with my parents and kept the kids busy.

This was our view of Celia's hooding. That's her on the screen! The school set up chairs since they ran out of room for everyone. I cheered for you Celia, could you hear me?

Luke, Celia, Nathan, Jeff and Eli. How many people are happy in this pic? Actually, I think Jeff knew this might not work, so we have to give him credit.

They seem much more relaxed at the reception, don't they?

Congratulations Celia! Good luck in your new position!

noreply@blogger.com (julie mosley) — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 19:44:00 +0000

Its almost back-to-school so I took advantage of Zoocuts Tuesday deal to get Abby and Ashley ready. This was actually Ashley's first haircut ever. I only armed myself with her blanket and a camera, but she was really good, just a little fidgety.

She liked the fish on her smock, but she didn't like that she couldn't see her hands.

the multi-tasker: driving, watching cartoons, and getting her hair done

a lollipop kept her from bouncing up and down in the seat

Abby got a lollipop too, and 3 inches off so she should be cooler at recess!

We also went to my parents' house to celebrate my dad's birthday yesterday. He picked the menu: hot dogs, cheetos, watermelon, homemade ice cream and birthday cake. Is he 66 or just 6?. Here he and the kids check on the ice cream.

Ashley does her impression of a fish.

Nathan eats his weight in watermelon.

Happy Birthday Papa!

Girls of Heart

noreply@blogger.com (julie mosley) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 10:51:00 +0000

Abby and I hosted our monthly meeting of Girls of Heart Saturday. We are so thankful for this group of sweet girls her age from our church. All the moms take turns hosting and teaching the girls about a virtue of a woman who serves God. I've realized over time that I am not only thankful for the girls' friendships with Abby, but also for the influence of these incredible women in Abby's (and my) life.

We made cake balls this week and talked about what the Bible says about friendship. Thanks to my cousin Ashley for her tutorial on cake balls and Bakerella for her creative inspiration - I can't wait to try making some of those cute cake pops.

Here's Alisa with her creations:

Kalli loves sprinkles!

Savannah chose all chocolate. good choice!

These are Abby's, yes we ate one as soon as they were done!

Kelly can't wait!

We love these girls!

Neighbors and Friends

noreply@blogger.com (julie mosley) — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 21:00:00 +0000

Our good friends and neighbors the Matz and Liles families are both moving out of our neighborhood in the next week. We have loved sharing life with them at the neighborhood park, birthdays and school.

After their kids saw the movie a few weeks ago, they begged Brian to put them in his next production. Here it is...

Our kids the superheroes

noreply@blogger.com (julie mosley) — Sun, 23 May 2010 18:10:00 +0000

While I shopped with girlfriends this weekend, Brian and the kids wrote and produced this little movie.

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Grant!

noreply@blogger.com (julie mosley) — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 21:06:00 +0000

Today Grant is 4! Ms. Casey at his school made this hat for him in his favorite color with his favorite animal (monkeys).

I asked him what he wanted for dessert tonight: rice krispy treats or cupcakes. He answered cupcake-marshmallow smoothies made in our blender. If anyone has a recipe for that, let me know. Tonight, we eat cupcakes. His decorating is a little unorthodox, but it is his birthday. And his shirt is wet because he was playing in the sink earlier. Because, again, it is birthday.

Today I asked him questions for the Ages & Stages Questionnaire our doctor's office always sends out before the yearly checkup. The questionnaire told me to write down his answer to the following question: "What do you do when you are hungry?" (acceptable answers include: Get food, Eat, Ask for something to eat, and/or Have a snack.)

Grant responded: "I wash my hands." I tried to ask him a little more looking for the "acceptable" answers. "What do you do then, Grant?" "Then I go to my seat"..."What else?" "Then pray, then I just eat fast." (sigh) Finally.

They also asked me to write down his response to "What do you do when you are tired?" (Acceptable answers include: Take a nap, Rest, Go to sleep, Go to bed, Lie Down, and/or Sit down.

Guess what Grant said: "Yawn a little bit. Then pray with you and Daddy. Then I hop in my bed. Then I give hugs and kisses and go to sleep."

We are so thankful for his happy, generous spirit. He loves his sisters and friends and is always fun to be around.

Back from Morocco

noreply@blogger.com (julie mosley) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 11:14:00 +0000

Brian and I celebrated 10 years of marriage with an amazing adventure in Morocco. It is a beautiful country full of really kind and generous people. Here are some highlights.

Spending time with our good friend Mel who has lived in Fes for over 2 years.

The crowded streets of the Fes medina, a huge walled-in city with 9,000 streets (no cars) and over 200,000 residents

a little bit like riding a horse, but more smelly

I know the hat looks ridiculous, but I needed it while sleeping in the super cold desert

Our guide Hayat, in the green, invited us to her house for tea. We had a lot of laughs with Zourk, our driver. He spoke only French and Berber, but sometimes when I tried my little bit of French with him, he would answer back in Berber and laugh at me.

Adoption Final: Ashley is Ours Forever

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Mosley) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Today our little Ashley Angel becomes a Mosley. Two years ago Brian and I become foster parents and knew that our family would look a little less traditional.

Ashley was born September 5, 2008 and came to our home straight from the hospital 2 days later. We didn't know at the time if she would be with us for 2 weeks, 2 months or forever.

At the courthouse today the judge made the adoption final.

She has her mom's brown hair.
She has her dad's blue eyes.
She has her big sister's love for talking.
She has her big brother's love for laughing.
She is ours.

Until now we haven't been able to post any pictures ... so let me take 4 minutes to introduce you to the newest member of our family.

10 Year Wedding Anniversary

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Mosley) — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 20:02:00 +0000

The world waited with anticipation for the date January 1, 2000.

Computer crashes? Terrorism? Food and water shortages? Electrical failure? Anarchy?

We were eager too. It was our wedding day and we weren't going to let anything stop it. We survived Y2K and 10 amazing years since.

Pirate and Ballerina

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Mosley) — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 21:57:00 +0000

Tonight Abby is performing in the Nutcracker. So, for the first time she is wearing make-up. Grant didn't want to miss out on the action, so he donned his pirate patch.

Merry Chrithmath

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Mosley) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 01:04:00 +0000

At this rate Abby won't have any teeth by January 1. The Tooth Fairy will be making another visit on this cold winter night.

A Great Team

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Mosley) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:17:00 +0000

Saturday night Julie and I hosted the product development team over to our house for a Christmas celebration. It's become tradition to have the team over for Christmas and also in the summer for burgers. It's fun to hang out with all the spouses and kids too. 10 of the 13 kids running around the house were born since people joined the team. And there are 3 more babies on the way! We have celebrated many weddings and births over the years (and in that order too).

These guys pour their creativity into the videos production, writing and graphic design that is behind everything that Bluefish TV and The RightNow Campaign create. A very talented and passionate group.

Proud of Brian

noreply@blogger.com (julie mosley) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:47:00 +0000

I am so thankful for Brian; he's a caring father and a great leader for our family to follow Christ. He's also an ambitious leader at his work. When I say ambitious, I don't mean in a way to make his name great or to make his company's name great. Brian and his team encourage others to serve God with their whole lives through live events and video products. And this is ambitious to me. Everyday we are thankful for his job that allows him to use his gifts to serve God.

Two weeks ago, the Board of Directors announced that Brian is now the President of Bluefish TV and The RightNow Campaign. It is one more big thing to we are thankful for.

You can read this press release here.