Josh is a Star!

Josh recently earned his star rank in scouting along with a stack of Merit badges!

I am so proud of him and am very grateful for wonderful scout leaders!

Josh also received the "Terrific Kid" award!  Each 6th grade class in the school district chooses one boy and one girl to receive this award.  

T

T:  Thoughtful

E:  Enthusiastic

R:  Respectful

R:  Resonsible

I:  Inclusive

F:  Friendly

I:  Inquisitive

C:  Capable

Congratulations Josh! We are so very proud of you!

Moody Family Reunion

Over Easter weekend we had a Moody Family reunion. It was so fun to be all together! We enjoyed celebrating Easter, playing games, participating in a talent show and listening to a fireside. We are so blessed to be a part of such a wonderful family.

Josh and Ethan- the first two Moody grandsons.

The "original four"- the first four Moody grandchildren!

The whole Moody clan

The grandchildren

Dallan with his parents and siblings

The Moody's and their spouses

Dying Eggs

One of our favorite things to do at Easter time is dying eggs!  It's magical to watch the eggs turn color!

 It was so much fun dying eggs with so many people that we love!  Aren't we a festive bunch!

I loved watching my older boys take their time to make sure their eggs turned out just perfect.

Later that night we played "Egg Wars!"  Two people would sit opposite each other and roll their eggs toward each other until they hit.  The Egg that had the least amount of cracks got to advance to the next round!  Uncle Dustin even organized us into brackets so our tournament was legit!

 Egg wars might be one of our new favorite traditions!

Easter Egg Hunt!

This Easter we had a Moody family reunion!  We rented a beautiful home with room for all of us and had a great time celebrating together.  Our boys loved the Easter Egg Hunt!  Matthew even  found the golden egg with five dollars inside! 

Matthew found the Golden Egg partially hidden under a rock!  He has a nose for cash!

Josh, Matthew and Ethan were the 3 Amigos for the weekend!

The Easter bunny worked over time to deliver baskets to all of the Moody cousins!

Treasure Hunting

Earlier this spring my boys had a wonderful surprise! Our neighbors directed them to the dirt pile in the lot next door, and as the boys dug and sifted they found oodles of buried treasure!

A Rare Gift

Several nights ago I had a tender and teary conversation with Dallan about the resurrection.  I've been taught that we are resurrected with a perfect body. In the past that has been such a reassurance to me, but now I find myself wishing that I could have Caleb back the same way he was when he died. I've never felt like Caleb was broken or needed to be fixed.  I loved his little body just the way it was. 

I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the privilege of caring for Caleb as a child in his precious little mortal body.

I know the time we had with him on the earth was priceless. 

I don't know if I'll ever feel like I had enough time with him here.

  

As I've reflected on our time together as a family on earth, I've realized I'll never have any of my boys back that same way I have them now.  My contemplative 12 year old Josh, 10 year old passionate Matthew and 5 year old sparkly Mitchell will never be the same way I have them now.

It is a rare gift we are given to experience these precious souls as children in mortality.

I want to soak in every minute with my greatest gifts because I know they won't be little boys forever.

In the eternities I know I won't long to have my children back in a particular physical state.   I believe I knew my children before our time together on the earth. I think our mortal experiences sweeten the relationship that has always existed.

But for now, I want to soak up these precious mortal moments with each child and tuck them in special place in my heart where they will stay with me for all eternity. 

(Mitchell on a recent trip to feed the ducks)

Day 3: California Adventure!

The third day of our trip was spent in California Adventure! We loved every minute!

The boys loved the Grizzly ride, the Toy Story Ride and Soaring Over California!

We went to the Aladdin play that was showing, and we all were absolutely delighted. Mitchell still quotes the genie... "I found Nemo!..I found him delicious... just kidding, I found him greasy!

We also loved the Animations Museum where the boys got to learn more about animation, voice over, and were even able to figure out what Disney character they were most like. Josh was most like Cogsworth (the clock in Beauty and the Beast).

One of our favorite events was the World of Color. We were in awe as we watched the lights and colors in the majestic sprays of water. Our hearts were oh so full. What a wonderful way to end our day and feel a little bit closer to heaven.