Merrifield Times

We ended 2008 with a wonderful gathering of Jolyn's entire family on the Big Island of Hawaii. Prior to celebrating Christmas in paradise with a wacky gift exchange (nice girly scarf, Brendan), we endured the Pacific NW's record-breaking Snowpacolypse or Snowmaggedon, (as described by the press), along with canceled flights and horrendous driving conditions to Portland. But we all (15 of us) finally made it and delighted in just being together in that beautiful, warm place!

2008 was both awesome and kind of sad for Hannah given her switch to a new school. Hannah enjoys most of her classes and has many new friends. Her favorite subject is Language Arts because she likes all the reading and writing. In August, Hannah and Mom made a fun trip up to Boise, ID to visit some good friends and they made several batches of yummy salsa. They looked for Napoleon Dynamite, (see the movie – then you'll understand) but didn't find him. Recently, Hannah started playing club volleyball which requires a big commitment with lots of practice and several tournaments. Hannah also played Ultimate Frisbee with Trevor, and learned how to “bid,” “huck,” “pull,” “cut,” “chili,” and even “dump” (not that kind of dump)! The picture shows Hannah and some of her cousins in Hawaii.

With Trevor's move from a middle school with 80 students to one with over 600, it took a little bit of getting used to and has had its ups and downs. It also meant switching to a rival Ultimate Frisbee team! Unfortunately his new team lost all but one match to his former team in the Fall Series, but it was fun anyway. Sailing (and racing) our boat with Dad continued to be a lot of fun for Trevor over the summer. Trevor enjoys the speed and hopes to learn how to sail a boat on his own next Summer. Lacrosse also interests Trevor, and he likes to experiment with his lacrosse stick by stringing it and restringing it and restringing it. He recently decked out his new stick with a custom strung pocket and his future high school colors. Trevor looks forward to Spring so he can play and watch lacrosse to prepare for the high school team. Finally, Trevor did Crux rock climbing camp again last summer and got to join the advanced, older group which did much more climbing on Skinner Bu...

The challenge of Advent Conspiracy : The story of Christ's birth is a story of promise, hope, and a revolutionary love. So, what happened? What was once a time to celebrate the birth of a savior has somehow turned into a season of stress, traffic jams, and shopping lists. And when it's all over, many of us are left with presents to return, looming debt that will take months to pay off, and this empty feeling of missed purpose. Is this what we really want out of Christmas? What if Christmas became a world-changing event again? Welcome to Advent Conspiracy . Perhaps your Christmas tradition includes something to emphasize the "Reason for the Season". Maybe you've given or received a goat for Christmas (Thanks Aunt Judy!). These are not new ideas in our household but the Advent Conspiracy is encouraging. What more can we do to care for one another in a meaningful way? The needs are all around: Darfur, Congo, China, Haiti, Myanmar, New Orleans... but the needs are ...

The switch to a large, public middle school from a small, private Christian one last Fall was obviously a significant change for Trevor and Hannah. They have adjusted fabulously to the new social scene of a much more diverse school, their increased academic challenges, riding a city bus to school , and our unusual living arrangement. They have taken advantage of many new elective opportunities like swimming, robotics, wood shop, drama, and kitchen science and earned straight C1's (the best grade possible) in the first trimester. While helping the kids get settled into their new school along with looking for volunteer opportunities, Jolyn was offered a part-time job as the school's Mentor Program Coordinator. She's responsible for over thirty adult volunteer mentors who meet with a student once a week. The program is thriving and it's rewarding to serve at-risk kids by providing them with a caring, consistent, positive adult role-model.

Although our house was on the market , it became unlikely that a move could be pulled off in time for the beginning of the 08-09 school year. Wishing to avoid transferring the kids mid year, we explored renting a place within the Eugene School District boundary. We were blessed with a wonderful offer from good friends to rent the lower level of their home in the District area which had our schools of choice. The rental amounts to something more like communal living than a landlord and tenant relationship. Our two families share meals, evenings, rides, and much of our lives these days. Mike and the kids stay at the “Winter Palace” 3 or 4 nights a week. The kids ride the city bus to school and back unless it's time to return to the “Country House,” where Jolyn stays at night with the furry members of our household. We all spend some of the evening together unless there are other activities (oh, that never happens...). It's not easy nor ideal but it's working out prett...

You know what they say about investments - well, besides, “Oh, crap!” Seriously though, something like “Timing is everything” or “Buy low and sell high” may come to mind. In real estate, “location, location, location” is paramount. In the case of our home , a phrase from Get Smart is appropriate...“Missed it by that much.” The house is only 50' from the Eugene School District boundary where we ultimately wanted our kids to attend. With Trevor approaching high school (can that be...) and Hannah starting middle school (what?), it was time to earnestly explore options, the best (and really, the only) being to move into the Eugene School District boundary. With the kids' private school only an option through eighth grade and an already shaky real estate market, the timing seemed right to begin the moving process early in 2008. Projects began at a fevered pitch in the Spring to prepare the house for listing, including finishing the 900 sq.ft. walkout basement. We managed to “...

In May, Mike sailed in the NOOD (not nude, however) for the first time. Oh, that's the Sperry Top-Sider National Offshore One Design. The Seattle event provided three days of racing in Puget Sound for over 200 boats in 24 classes. Whew! In addition, the Santana 20 Class Championships were hosted by the Eugene Yacht Club over the summer. The Santanarama 2008 was great week of fun and competitive racing. Mike's frightful-looking boat finished 6 th out of 39. Apparently, ugly is fast. On a smaller scale, but no less enjoyable, Mike loves racing our 14' Lido with Trevor. They make a pretty good team and managed to take 2 nd and 3 rd place in the Summer and Fall Wednesday Night Series respectively. Trevor was recognized as the “Junior All-Star” in the Lido fleet . After Trevor masters the Zuma, Mike hopes he's ready to take the helm on the Lido.