The Alpernardos

Ch Ch Ch Ch Changes

Since we haven't officially declared it on the blog I will do so today...

The Alpernardo House is happily breaking up.

When we started this crazy thing that turned into one of the best years of our lives (for a lot of reasons and for all of us) we knew that the idea was pretty out there, but still felt like it was not only do-able but that it was a great idea for the four of us. It took us around 7 months to find a house that would work for what we wanted to do. Our four rules

1. The house had to be in Multnomah Village
2. We had to save money by doing the community house thing
3. We had to have private space
4. We had to have a professing Nascar Driver (Cheerios Car) living across the street (well, that wasn't a rule, in fact the Nascar dude just moved out here so I guess it doesn't count)

Eventually Karli found what was to be turned into the Alpernardo House. The landlord was a bit wierded out when Karli, Katie and I (Chris) went to look at the place while Mike was working and I told him, "We're all married," as if we're a three part marriage or something. He actually pulled the, "Not like its any of my business but...." and we subsequently explained to him that we are indeed sane people married to one person and simply really liked our friends and wanted to share a home together.

We moved in a month and a half later with the help of many folks from Evergreen and begun the journey. Karli was newly pregnant, Katie was starting grad school to become a teacher, Mike was pursuing grad school as well, and I was building trade show booths by day and being pastor by night.

Knowing that we might be doing this for the rest of our lives or for a short time, we gave ourselves an out. We agreed that one year from our move in date we would re-evaluate and decide whether or not to continue. When August 1, 2006 came around we had all agreed that it was time to try something new. Katie's working in the Scapoose (BEST NAME FOR A TOWN EVER) which is way out there from our house, Alperts wanted to buy a condo or house near there, and Karli and I were feeling the tug to huddle up together in our own place with a new baby.

After the intial conversation breaker (which was a bit tough, not knowing where everyone was at) we quickly realized that it was time to move on, and we were all really happy that our relationship was going to continue in a different incarnation after this house ended. How many bands break up on good terms? It rarely happens, it happened with our house.

We're happy together in the house, and we'll always share a special part of each other because of this great year living radically in community.

Data tired of falling! Data tired of seeing skeleton! Data fall and nobodys care!

"Hey Yoooooou Guuuuuuuuuuuuys!"

A good night at the Alpernardo House.

The good times started rollin tonight over Katies amazing tacos. It is seriously very cool how Katie is always making good food for us to eat. Slaving over a hot stove, or a burning oven. It is really really appreciated by her sleep deprived, grumpy, hot (it was 97 today!) housemates.

The evening grew nastalgic and magical over chocolate chip cookies, margaritas and THE GOONIES!

How long has it been since you've seen The Goonies?

The booby traps were a lot less scary, a lot of the lines were a whole lot of funnier and the kiss was a lot shorter than any of us remembered from way back when... but this movie still rocks. Especially if you use the subtitles to find out what the heck Data is actually saying.

After a crazy week for everyone, we all definatley needed tonight. Good times.

Birthday Fun

May 24 = Karli's Birthday.

Happy Birthday Housemate.

A By-product of Community: Exponential Growth of Family

Katie and I, along with many other Evergreeners, live nowhere near our immediate families (that is, if we consider our parents "immediate" family at this age). Both her parents and mine are tucked away in a mid-size suburb north of Dallas, Texas. Having busy lives and less-than ample spendable income, we rarely get to make the trek back to the Lone Star state. As a result, we haven't been able to spend Christmas, Easter or any of the other major holidays with our families for the past three years. We used to enjoy the independence. I remember our first Christmas in Prague as a married couple, spent with one other American friend who had dropped in on our small celebration. We had a two-foot tree and some candles as decoration. Its simplicity and complete bare-bones departure from the eleaborate celebrations growing up made it romantic and memorable.

Two years later, we've done the solo-holiday thing a few times and found its shortcommings to be not insignificant. There's something about a house full of people drawn off their regular schedules to simply enjoy each other's company for a few days or a few hours that warms the heart. I know this is something that's so incredibly intuitive to most people, that this would seem far from a revelation. For us, however, it's something that we've had to re-learn. We've grown so use to independence, that we almost hesitate to allow ourselves to be adopted by those who love us. Family is a beautiful thing, but it requires something of you, much like living in community. It's easier sometimes to stay insulated in our comfort zone.

The last two or three holidays have been a blessing for us. Although we started spending time with the Leonardo's and the Poage's (Chris and Karli's families) before we started living in community, we've felt even more like adopted kids within the last eight months. Easter was no exception. After church, we cruised up the highway for an awesome brunch with both clans then headed further north to Chris's parents place in Ridgefield to enjoy...well just to enjoy each other. I remember sitting in the living room at one point with one of Linda's lime bars, listening to the girls play "Apples to Apples" while we casually watched "Walk the Line" over the shouts. It was just one of those authentically happy holiday memories. That and rocking the boce in the rain!

Thanks to Chris and Karli and our new families. They'll never replace the originals, but they've made us feel connected, which is no small thing. And they've made our re-entry back the extended family vibe a very easy one. Community continues to have even farther-reaching effects than we ever expected.

38th Ave

I love this house. And the people in it.

home again

mike and i went to the coast for the weekend- a long needed escape from the city. but we are excited to be home. we miss our three housemates. the two older ones are really rad to talk with, gain insight from, and hang around with. the younger is just as cool, although she's been shy as of yet to join our theological conversations. i am sure she'll warm up to us sooner or later.

you guys rock. we love you and are happy to be back.