Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

January 2010

So friends, every day do something that won’t compute.

Love the Lord. Love the world… Take all you have and be poor.

Love someone who does not deserve it…

Be joyful though you have considered all the facts…

-Wendell Berry

Greetings…we hope that you are finding many reasons in your life to be joyful this holiday season. We are pained by the many sufferings around us- friends losing jobs, loved ones passing, families breaking up, and a seemingly more violent community and world. We hold in our hearts all who are struggling to find joy and pray that new life, light, and hope comes your way.

This completes three years of our great Northwest adventure which we continue to chronicle (a little less frequently) on our blog. Highlights this year included visits from Ben, Aris and Stacie, Hanna Beach, and Colchester friends Mike and Cheryl Hajdun. A reminder that we have a second floor suite ready for your use- there is no time like the present so get your butts out here for a visit!!!

We love the Oregon wilderness, hiking and snowshoeing as often as we can. This summer’s highlight was a seven-day backpacking and camping trip into the Wallowa Mountain wilderness with friends Diane Redd and Dan Wilson. We also biked the “Worse Day of the Year” and “Bridge Pedal” rides this year. These activities help to offset all the food and drink that Portland’s urban scene offers.

We were able to get back East in May for a week of family celebrations. Dr. Ben Ristau graduated from the UConn School of Medicine and has started a six-year residency in urology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Aris graduated with his master’s degree from Springfield College and is in his second year at UConn as a hall director where he and Stacie live on campus. We spent a week with Stephen’s family at the beach in Old Lyme, Connecticut to celebrate Ray and Nanette’s marriage and Shirley’s 80^th birthday. What a week of joy that was!!

More good news to share!! Aris and Stacie have set their wedding date for July 3, 2010 in Connecticut and have been busy making wedding plans. And by the time you receive this, Ben and Cheyenne will be engaged to be married (we are going out on the limb and praying that Cheyenne says “yes!!”) [ SHE DID!!!!] She graduates from UConn School of Medicine in May and is currently interviewing for a residency in pediatrics, hoping to “match” at Pittsburgh. Stay tuned for more details about their plans. We are thrilled to welcome both Stacie and Cheyenne into our family and to share their joy and love.

We were able to spend two weeks with Susan’s parents in October on our annual visit to the Outer Banks in North Carolina and also were able to see her brother Ty, Jen and Abigail as well as Aris who flew down for a short visit.

Our niece Jenna and husband Russ were blessed with twin daughters Courtney and Isabella this fall, making Shirley a great-grandmother for the first time and bringing new life to our growing family. We can’t wait to get those babes in our arms this Christmas!!

Susan started her encore career in November with Children First for Oregon, a nonprofit organization that advocates for access to quality health care, education and family supports for all children in our state. She is excited to contribute her skills and passion to make Oregon a better place for kids and families. Stephen’s consulting work helping nonprofits and public libraries engage the talents of midlife adults has expanded this year and he continues to find great joy by volunteering weekly in a classroom of toddlers at the Peninsula Children’s Center in Portland.

One of our Christmas displays has the simple message “We Believe.” What does this message mean to you? We invite you to reflect on what you believe and then act on those beliefs. In the words of theologian, educator, and civil rights activist Howard Thurman,

Don't ask what the world needs.

Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it.

Because what the world needs

Is more people who have come alive.

With great love for you and gratitude for the blessings you are in our lives and in the world, we wish you all the joy and blessings of the holiday season in the year ahead.

Stephen and Susan