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!!

A Parents Heart is a Wondrous Thing

It is a funny thing...the heart of a Mom. When your children live on separate coasts your heart is never settled. 
The joy of being with one only enhances the distance of the others. You know the old saying " A woman is never satisfied..she is Always changing her mind." Nothing could ring more true than when your children are involved! 
Add to that mix a husband and oh, my, now confusion of the heart runs rampant!!
After our home sold in Montana and we were SO tired of the cold and snow and ice we set out to find a new home. Warmer weather, smaller home and SUNSHINE!!
We spent several weeks in Forida, back to the frost of Montana and then on to Arizona for a couple months. Arizona we loved! Sunshine,activities

galore,we even met up with new friends,but the road stretched a far distance to reach our family!
The past couple months we have been parked beside the home of our daughter, son in love and 5 grandchildren. What a joy!! Their home has an open door and hugs and love has been gathered, collected and stored every day. The voices and laughter of children and teens has warmed our souls. 


Jim working side by side with Hal..sharing stories, dreams and disappointments only serves to prove that this 'in-law' thing is something to be treasured.
Sharing a Mom and Daughter trip, duties in the kitchen, time with the girls, along with any moment we can capture is priceless. 
The search for a home has been a top of the list while here. Finding acreage and country living has been on the agenda. A couple properties have entered onto the horizon and the possibility of "home" being in Pennsylvania has been very real. 
Because farming is still in Jim's' blood I began that process of preparing my heart for the change. After all, dreams are what keep the heart pumping and and the body moving so if it works a farm it is! Still knowing I would be delighted to be close to the East Coast family I was struggling to count the miles from the West. Again knowing that if the destination were reversed the process will be the same. 
Twice we have set a departure date only to make a change as situations changed and opportunities to be of help arose. 
A new date is set for pulling up stakes. July 28th eight days away....

We are blessed!

There is no doubt that our hearts are eager to see the Montana crew...there are now a total of 20 kids, loves, and grandkids waiting for us there. The stories to be caught up on, the hugs to be gathered, meals to be shared and laughter that will ring through the homes, fills the heart with anticipation and longing.
So how can it be that when the love of family and friends in Montana is so strong and the pull so hard, that even yet, our hearts ache at the thought of leaving Pennsylvania? 
It can only be answered by the fact that the heart being pulled is that of a parent, because both Mom and Dad...Grandma and Grandpa feel the pull and tearing of the heart strings as the days slip by.
Just call us BLESSED!!!