Happy New Year

 Happy 2011!  We hope you have had a lovely Christmas with restful moments and lots of good memories.

We spent a lovely white Christmas in Syracuse, New York (USA) with Edelweiss’ family.  Charlotte (Edelweiss’ Mom), Ben & Esther + Eli and Elizabeth all flew in for the holidays.  All 11 of us (!) fit nicely into Mark & Elaine’s home and we enjoyed a really lovely time together.  It was only the second Christmas since 1998 that the Silva clan had spent together, and while we missed not having Haroldo (Edelweiss’ Dad) with us, we celebrated Jasmine and Eli joining the family in 2010.  It was only the second Christmas Craig had spent away from his family so we used Skype Video a number of times over the holidays.

It’s now been seven months since we moved to the USA – time flies!  We had a unexpected trip back to NZ in August when Craig’s Mum was diagnosed with cancer, and she passed away while we were there.  Although it was such a difficult trip, it was a blessing to be able to spend some quality time with Mum and to celebrate the legacy that she has built into our lives.

Craig continues to apply to positions and is finding plenty of good ones advertised, and we are confident that he will find the right opportunity to advance his career.  In the meantime, God is taking care of all our needs and Mark & Elaine continue to generously host us in their home.  Craig has been available to look after Ethan while Edelweiss is working, and regularly clears the snow from the driveway – seven times in four days during the first heavy snowfall of the winter.  And he has made his first angel in the snow!  He’s also been able to get to a baseball and basketball game (courtesy of Lockheed Martin), and has watched a few American Football games on TV so maybe next season he’ll get to see one live.

Edelweiss has started working as Strategy Advisor for Capstone Strategic, a mergers and acquisitions firm in Washington, DC.  She’s really enjoying the strategy work and re-engaging with the Capstone team. Most of the work can be done remotely although she did spend some time in DC in December.  Also in December, the article she co-wrote with her Master’s supervisor (on the experiences of Western female professionals working in the UAE) was accepted for publication in the International Journal of Human Resource Management.  This is exciting news and the result of almost 2 years of work!  In December, she and her NZ collaborator co-authored a second paper with a professor in Australia, so is looking forward to hearing whether that one has been accepted for publication.  On the home front, Edelweiss is really enjoying spending quality family time with her sister and family.  In October, she and Ethan (15 months) along with Elaine and Jasmine (8 months) took a cross-country trip from Syracuse to Minneapolis (3520km roundtrip! – see HWY 90 on Google Maps) to stay with their Mom.  Esther’s baby (Eli) was born the day after they arrived, and they celebrated Mom’s birthday while remembering the 1 year anniversary of Dad’s passing.

Ethan is growing into a lovely little boy.  He attended his first play over the summer when we went to a free production of Camelot at the local outdoor theatre.  He sat patiently for an hour and a half during Act I, but we decided to quit while we were ahead so didn’t stay for Act II!  He brings us great joy with his fun personality and sense of humour.  He and Jasmine play together quite well and both enjoyed having Eli around over the holidays.  Ethan is now walking everywhere and learning to climb under and over and around all manner of furniture.  He loves books and likes pointing to the pictures and asking us to read to him.  We hope this is the beginning of a lifelong love of reading!  Opa (Craig’s Dad) regularly reads him his bedtime story via Skype Video, and Ethan recognises his kiwi family and can point out their noses on the computer screen upon request.  He’s moving on to ears, chins and eyes.

We hope this update finds you in good health and well rested for all that 2011 has in store.  Our prayer is that you will have a meaningful and satisfying year, regardless of the circumstances!  There are new photos on our website for you to enjoy.

Love,

Craig & Edelweiss + Ethan