Our New Home...Keep Your Fingers Crossed for Us!
Well, we just did it- we had our offer on this home accepted today and assuming all goes well with inspections, we will close on June 1. We have looked at over 30 places and this 1940's cape-style is REALLY nice- lots of handcrafted built-ins and oak floors throughout. The owners have lived there for 32 years and have put their special touches all over- the husband does workworking for a living and he is quite the craftsman. Stephen is excited about the pool table- it is staying in the family room downstairs right next to the home office!

After being nomads for about a year, we (Susan, especially) are happy to have a home again! Say your prayers that the inspections go well and make your reservations for a visit. We have two guest bedrooms ready for you!

Here are some pics of what we hope will be our new home in Portland!
http://www.photoshow.net/viewshow/AI6ne2CN

The great adventure continues!

April 29, 2007 More Blessings
We reflect on our many blessings this week. Last weekend, we received GREAT news from our son Aris that he has received a full assistantship from Springfield College to pursue his masters degree in college student personnel administration.

Aris will start this fall and serve as a resident hall director while taking courses. He remembers very well what incoming college freshmen are like so was pleased to receive his body armor! He has worked very hard for this and we are very proud of him!!

Our son Ben reached a milestone of his own, celebrating his 25th bithday (are we THAT old??!!) last weekend with family and friends back in Connecticut. We were sorry to miss this occasion to be with him. He has made the most of his first 25...bring on the next quarter century! He is about to complete the academic portion of his medical education (and still has to smooth out a few rough edges!)

Although Ben is not riding this year, he is busy promoting the second annual "Coast to Coast for a Cure" (http://www.leasfoundation.org/) that 6 of his colleagues will be making this year. More details to come in the next blog!

And we heard from our "other" son Matt Hajdun this week; Matt is in the middle of a two-year teaching and community-building gig in Costa Rica. He is so passionate about serving children living in poverty and we are sure he is serving them well. Keep it up Matthew!

And our "other" son Matt Stebbins- time to return that voicemail I left you!!!!!!!!!

It seems a week doesn't pass without a taste of nature's beauty. We visited the Oregon coast this week with Jay and Toni and Toni's sister Bonnie and husband Gari who were visiting from Vancouver Island, BC. We had awesome weather for the couple days we were there (and Dice-K put the finishing touches on the Red Sox sweep of the Yankees!) Stephen took one of his BEST EVER bike rides along the Pacific Coast Highway, a winding and hilly road with breathtaking overlooks and vistas of the coastline. Jay's 80-something year old parents, George and Lorraine, flew out from CT this week and we were able to join them for dinner last night. Here is a photoshow of our visit to the coast:
http://www.photoshow.net/viewshow/Qh6YI8aV

Some additional pictures of rides and hikes we've been on over the past month:


Rays of light illumine the rain forest.

A great ridge hike not far from the cabin.


Wild flowers and tree moss in the rain forest.




Old covered bridge on the way to the coast.


Mike Hajdun- we took this one with you in mind! Susan and the sea hags!

Spectacular skies over the coastline.

Can you tell we are enjoying ourselves?!!

Easter Egg Fight and Other Oregon Sights- April 16, 2007

A Ristau Easter wouldn't be complete without an egg fight so we introduced the Bloom family to their first "fight." Casey Canne, Gail and Chris's daughter, was victorious...

...but not without some stiff competition from Ryan!

Earlier last week, we hiked (bushwacked) Tom, Dick and Harry Trail on a beautiful sunny spring day and got this great picture of Mt. Hood.


After the hike, we drove up Timberline Road to the Timberline Lodge, an incredible structure build during the 1930s as a WPA project (http://www.timberlinelodge.com/) It is worth a visit or an overnight stay as we did back in 2002.


On our recent trip to the coast, Susan caught a couple pics of the hazelnut groves and wild flowers.

Finally, it never fails when we travel with Jay and Toni (Tulip Festival) that we catch Toni in a compromising position!

Happy Easter- April 8, 2007

We hear that the weather feels more like Christmas back east but spring is well underway here in the NW; in fact, this week felt more like summer with temps in the high 70s breaking records. Mt Hood is still snow-covered and leaves us in awe when it is OUT, even when we are expecting to see it.



We had a great treat this week driving south of Portland to the annual tulip festival with Jay and Toni and Toni's sister Gail, out visiting from Guilford, CT with her husband Chris (hint...hint...they accept visitors here in Oregon!) Now this is a display of nature!!!!! Susan has put her order in for bulbs for next year!

For an awesome photoshow click on http://www.photoshow.net/watch/Mc2WC9Ci. Thanks to Gail for the great photography!

This is the season for new life...new beginnings. We are reminded of this promise of hope every day!

April 2-3: Dipping Our Toes in The Pacific


Well, it took us a couple months but we finally made it all the way west and touched the Pacific Ocean. The Oregon Coast is spectacular with great views up and down the coastal mountains and beach. We had hoped to view the annual whale migration that happens this time of year but to no avail. The surf was somewhat tame; just last week, it claimed the lives of two (inexperienced) surfers!



We stayed at the Hallmark Resort




and watched the NCAA Men's Final Four at Georgie's Beachside Grill with the setting sun to our left! Not bad.



We have begun to look at homes in Portland over the past two weekends and have seen a couple that have piqued our interest- stay tuned! We have also proven that two unemployed nomads can get a mortgage as we received approval last week. Watch for our book on the topic forthcoming!!!




We are into month three in the great NW- we miss everyone back east... we are appreciating every moment out here.