Blink and the Summer is Gone!

It’s funny how weather is a regular topic of conversation when one lives in Minnesota!!  The summer months were very pleasant.  We enjoyed time outdoors, including playing in the Minnehaha Creek near Minnehaha Falls.  Ethan particularly liked the freedom to throw rocks into the water to make them splash!

Edelweiss’s Grandma passed away at the end of June – she lived a fruitful life for 100 years and 51 weeks.  Her memorial service was a celebration that included a standing ovation complete with whistling (never a dull moment with the Linder clan!)  We all wore something purple for the occasion in recognition of her love for bright colors.

Mark and Elaine travelled from New York State for the service and Elaine, Jasmine and Amber stayed on for the month of July.  Ethan enjoyed celebrating his 4th birthday with all his cousins, and told Edelweiss the other day that he has lots of friends.  His most-used present is a drum set.  He was given a bicycle towards the end of the summer and has been learning to ride it.  He enjoys reading to himself and to Jesse.  They’ve recently started praying together before bed – with Ethan coaching Jesse on what to pray.

A major highlight of the summer was going to the Minnesota State Fair to see the horses.  Now that we have enjoyed the best of the Fall colours, they can’t wait for snow to arrive.

Jesse turned 2 in October.  He has a fun-loving personality and also seems to have a strong sense of independence: he has no trouble telling Ethan to back off.

In August, Edelweiss received a copy of her first book contribution – it was wonderful to see it in print! Her trips over the summer included attending the wedding of her college roommate, Inna. Other work-related travel included attending the launch of the Mission 5 Million movement which her business champions.

Photo: Michael Segal)

Craig has continued his involvement with Toastmasters, and recently attended a financial intelligence conference.  If you’re interested in where the global economy is heading, you might like to read his blog post. He enjoys playing the piano for the children as they go to sleep, and has Ethan working on multiplication tables, square roots and poetry while Jesse has learnt about 'onomatopoeia.'

We hope the year is going well for you.

Best regards

Craig & Edelweiss, Ethan + Jesse