It isn't easy to leave

Robert and Dorothy Bode moved to Minnesota from Seattle as a young couple without children. When they headed back west for Robert's new job in Colorado Springs, they could no longer travel light. In the past 15 years, they've built a family of 11 adopted and biological children. Before setting out from their northeast Minneapolis home, they spent the night last month in sleeping bags in the living room and dining room. Picking up stakes isn't easy. "Its big for our kids ... they have never lived anywhere else. But they are all with us in the decision even though it hurts. It's simply a new leg of our journey," Dorothy wrote. "Moving hurts when the living has been done well. If there are tears and a ripping in our hearts then we have succeeded in really living and not gotten lost in the busyness of life. "This move will leave an ache in every one of us and by that we know we have loved and been loved well." Happy trails to Robert and Dorothy, and their children John, 13; Leah, 11; Jesse, 10; Josh, 8; James, 7; Lydia, 6; Noel, 5; Lily, 4; Joseph, 2; Jeremiah, 2, and Isaac, 1 month.