Christmas with Sunshine and Palm Trees

Christmas 2017 found us in Arizona with sunshine and palm trees. No snow to be found but instead the twinkle of Christmas lights on palm trees filled the air! New friends, new experiences and new traditions, mixed with the old became my reality.

The holiday away from all that is familiar and traditional brought with it the opportunity to "do it differently." If there is one thing I have learned in my nearly 70 years, it is that Flexibility is the key to happiness on many occasions. So this year our tree was small (to match our home) and the gifts under it had come in boxes of love sent from the kids far away. Instead of 'hugs at the door" we did love through phone calls and Face Time and kisses thrown through the air.

Christmas dinner was spent at the Community Center with a crowd of other retirees in place of family. There was no turkey nor pumpkin pie. In its' place was ham  and chocolate cake.  Even with those traditions missing  I found that the 'SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS' was in the air.

Through the week different ones had shared their 'memories past' creating opportunity for us to be  reminded how blessed we have been throughout the years.  A story of tremendous sacrifice by parents so one little girl could have a doll to cherish.  A Dad who made Santa come to life, while another read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" story and shared the precious  memories it carries with it only to be revisited every Christmas season. The beauty of  these stories shared is that they come from souls who have lived through some of the most difficult times of this country. The incredible truth is that the love of families and friends, and for many, little miracles along the way, carried them through those times with memories wrapped as gifts, in thankfulness and awe.

As our Christmas cards have arrived this year the recurring message for the season has been "JOY."
I am reminded that  HAPPINESS is something I choose; but JOY comes through knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So this year I have CHOSEN  happiness in this our new setting: but my JOY has come from deep within, as I spend time in the PRESENCE of Jesus!!

I hope your Christmas was filled with happy times and that you found your JOY wrapped in the PRESENCE of Jesus!

Never To Old for Adventure

The Moody's have begun a new chapter in life!  Does that sound like a mantra you have heard before??
 In nearly 51 years of marriage there have been very few moments when 'boring' would have described my life. I walked down the isle to a begin a new life filled with more adventures and challenges than I could have ever imagined, and blessings beyond measure.
Life as a new wife began on the budget of a college student. Thankful for a Mom who taught me to cook, bake and share the bounty, creative casseroles and 'wonders' found their way to the table as new friends pulled up a chair. Living away from home with no telephone to call home, gave us a great opportunity to begin to build a foundation of strength, important to all marriages.
After a couple years, our first 'bundle of joy' entered the world and has lived up to that description for 49 years! The old adage of a baby slowing life down? We didn't get the memo!! A logging camp in Alaska, the addition of our first daughter (joy #2), living on an island, learning to order and receive food by mail, no radio or TV, leaning on one another for support, left us with another brick.

"And now there are 30"

 The  Oregon coast was home for a short time where twin boys (joys 3 & 4) brought a whole new level of life and fun into our family.
Then to a farm in the Willamette Valley and on to southern Oregon to a little bigger ranch and the welcoming of our youngest daughter (Joy #5). God only, could have planned the love, and Joy that  we have felt as each of these gifts were sent to us and the blessing of FAMILY they have made real. Amazing is the reality of variety in personalities and that special place in the heart that they each individually fill.
Montana was our next move, far away from friends and family and all things familiar. New opportunities and challenges for the entire crew became reality.  Each of us discovered that with all the moves and changes we had experienced in life the gift of flexibility had taken root. In the years following that move it has been amazing to see that gift at work in our lives and lives of each of children.

Welcome to AZ

Jim retired 5 years ago and we sold our home, bought a motor home and  have traveled the states, acquiring new friends and chiseling down that 'bucket list."
Following Thanksgiving this year we packed the car with feelings of anticipation of a new chapter in our lives. Nearly 2000 miles later, visits and hugs with family along the way, we arrived in Mesa, AZ.
The past couple weeks we have spent making a little house into HOME! Our first Christmas in many years without family hugs.  UPS, FED EX and USPS have done their best to deliver the love of our children in packages to be unwrapped.
As we again, open our door to new found friends and old cherished friends and family. As we make a place in our hearts for what God has in store for us in AZ. , we rejoice in this NEWEST opportunity for adventure!!