Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays 2011

Out of the stars, rising from rocks and the sea, kindled by sunlight on earth, arose life.Ponder this thing in your heart, life up from sea:
 Eyes to behold, throats to sing, mates to love.

Life from the sea, warmed by sun, washed by rain, life from within, giving birth, rose to love. This is the marvel of life, rising to see and to know; Out of your heart, cry wonder: sing that we live.

from Out of the Stars by Robert Weston

What a Year...travel, celebrations and more travel...we had something scheduled every month of the year except July and that was before the year started. Here are some highlights of the year...

• Ben and Cheyenne married in August on Long Island Sound in southeastern Connecticut. We are thrilled to have another daughter and to see our son so happy. They continue to be very busy with their medical residencies in Pittsburgh.

• Aris and Stacie bought their first home in Mansfield, Conn. and we were able to help them get settled in August. They have just added their first family member, Denver, a foster pup they adopted. Aris has a new job at UConn and Stacie is a teacher in Putnam.

• We witnessed four other weddings in 2011, two of our nieces, Amy to Andy (May), and Sarah to Marshall (September), and family friends Grant and Marit (September), and Chris and Sabrina (November).

• A trip of a lifetime to an 11^th century chateau in southern France to celebrate Portland friend Mark Holloway’s 40^th birthday. Trips to Mt. Blanc and Chamonix, Annecy, Lyon, and Geneva, Switzerland made these 10 days memorable.

• Vacations in Hawaii to visit our friends Jay and Toni (March) and to Yosemite National Park (April).

• We climbed Mt. St. Helens (July) with our hiking buddies Dan and Diane.

• Visits from our son Ben, friends Jane and Ted Carroll, niece Abigail and brother Thomas and his wife Monica. Where were the rest of you?!

Believe it or not, we had a very busy year of work (yes, we did work amid all the travel and fun!) Susan successfully launched The Plant Nanny, her gardening business, and Stephen is consulting and supporting the development of “purposework” opportunities for retirees and those of us in the encore stage of work/life. We have been blessed to find work we love, colleagues we enjoy, and the kind of work that meshes well with our mobile lifestyle. And as our friend Toni likes to remind us, so far we have been able to “monetize” our ventures, although that is not something we take for granted. So far, so good!

Five years and counting...that’s how long we have been in Oregon and the vibe of the Northwest “stokes” us as the young locals say (or are they talking about something else?!) We enjoy the friends we’ve made, love the outdoors and recreational lifestyle, and really love having visitors...so get off your butts and come see us and the Pacific NW! We are planning on less travel in 2012 so get your reservations in now.

We are so thankful for all the blessings in our life and at the same time, are so aware of those who want for shelter, food, and employment. Sometimes it feels like all we can do is hold the pain and suffering of the world and pray for justice, equality and compassion...can we be doing more? Should we, as Jackson Browne suggests, be interfering in the business of why there are poor? All of the year?

The Rebel Jesus by Jackson Browne

The streets are filled with laughter and light

And the music of the season

And the merchants' windows are all bright

With the faces of the children

And the families hurrying to their homes

As the sky darkens and freezes

Will be gathering around the hearths and tables

Giving thanks for all God's graces

And the birth of the rebel Jesus



They call him by the "Prince of Peace"

And they call him by "The Saviour"

And they pray to him upon the sea

And in every bold endeavor

As they fill his churches with their pride and gold

And their faith in him increases

But they've turned the nature that I worshipped in

From a temple to a robber's den

In the words of the rebel Jesus

We guard our world with locks and guns

And we guard our fine possessions

And once a year when Christmas comes


We give to our relations

And perhaps we give a little to the poor

If the generosity should seize us

But if any one of us should interfere

In the business of why there are poor

They get the same as the rebel Jesus.