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!!!

Home IS where the heart is!

Home is Where the Heart Is....

I have been contemplating that a lot in the past month. After selling our "house" several weeks ago it has  been made clear to me once more that it was just that..a HOUSE.

HOME, you see, goes with you where ever you are.

In the 46 years that I have been a wife and then a Mom home has taken on many shapes, forms and sizes. I have nested in an apartment, camp trailer, tent {with my husband and 4 children] a beautiful house and now will be settling into a motor home for a few months to come.

The past month has found us in "temporary" housing..offered by the kindness of our neighbors. Finding ourselves surrounded by someone else's treasures has been both a blessing and challenge all wrapped together. The most amazing thing happened each time a friend or family would walk through the door, "Welcome to OUR HOME!!" The excitement of seeing one another and the love shared transformed the unfamiliar to all that really matters, bringing the warmth to the heart that only being home can do.

With most of the familiar treasures from life packed and stored it is an opportunity to incorporate some of the old into smaller forms of itself bringing that "look" of HOME. The comforting thing is knowing that minus the room, minus the "things" the love and hugs of family and friends will assure that we will never be "HOMELESS."