Dear Family & Friends,
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2003! We hope this annual missive finds you and
your family well and content. This past year, our family has been growing and enjoying
life in the Pacific Northwest.
Ciara is thriving at Montessori school. She takes enrichment classes,
science, language, construction, art, computers and movement in the morning, followed
by kindergarten in the afternoon. Ciara loves math and enjoys working on math
puzzles at the Cyberchase website (PBS). Ciara reads and is enjoying the Ladybug
and Spider magazines. She has also had quite a few visits from the tooth fairy this
year but as of now all the gaps have been replaced with new teeth. She is looking
forward to turning 6 at the end of December. My, how time flies!
Brendan is 3 1/2 now and as sweet as ever. He entered preschool this
year. He loves being in Ciara’s old Montessori class and the teacher reports how
he and Ciara run and embrace each other on the playground. Brendan is very gregarious
and loves trucks, construction and playing “freeze dance”. He is very musically
inclined and has great rhythm. He is also learning Spanish, French, and computers.
Potty training was a big deal for him this year and once accomplished he got to
spend an hour at the local fire station playing on the trucks. Brendan loves to
play with his little “Sweetie” Enya when he gets home from school.
Enya is almost 2! Wow, she is the little verbal girl, learning simple
words and sentences already! She loves to sing and dance and mimic her siblings.
She is very shy, but if you get in her way she is not afraid of making her feelings
known.
Otherwise
she is very mellow and content and never cries. Walking was her big accomplishment
this year and she will run after the others with abandon. She enjoys spending time
with her Daddy while Mummy is out working. She calls her sister “CaCa” and her brother
“Beeah”. We are so blessed with 3 wonderful and healthy kids.
Besides having the warmest and driest Seattle summer on record – 80 degrees max
- the big news is that we decided to take our careers in new directions. This change
has been a long time coming and once the decision was made, things moved right along.
Jim, after 11 years at Microsoft, decided it was finally time to quit
and pursue a more fulfilling career path by starting his own business. He has been
researching opportunities in the computer product or service areas and is narrowing
the possibilities to something that will be challenging and enjoyable to create,
while producing a sustainable income. The freedom to innovate and act quickly is
a welcome change, and Jim finds semi-retirement very compatible with him!
Jim remains very active in the Porsche club, having now reached his 20th
anniversary with them. He volunteers at the National level, keeping their web site
and office computer systems running and secure. This activity also lets him travel
annually to the PCA convention, this past year in Tampa Florida where he was able
to also spend a day with his parents, Dan and Millie. Coincidentally, that day was
their 60th wedding anniversary so it was special for all.
On the way to Tampa, Jim was able to stop for the weekend in Kansas where the annual
Selders family reunion took place. Jim got to see sister Karen and loads of growing
cousins. It’s a rare treat to see relatives and it was a nice visit. It seems that
there are now more Selders (et. al.) under the age of 15 than over!
Earlier in the year Jim also spent a week in Boston visiting friends and doing some
family business. He had a great time and wished he could be with them all again,
but for the weather and that accent! Boston had a tough winter last year and this
year is off to a snowy start… meantime it’s gray and raining in Seattle, as usual!
Now that our family is complete, and Ciara & Brendan are at school full time,
Elizabeth decided to follow her passion for helping others organize
and established her own company. Combining her previous work experience and her
innate ability to organize while having a calming influence on people, she came
up with Chaos to Calm.
She is an Organizing Consultant, helping homeowners and small businesses streamline
their environment. Elizabeth will officially launch the business in January with
a series of workshops and seminars, and has already been doing some test work with
friends. We are all very excited about this and even the kids are getting in on
the act, coming up with marketing ideas! Our business licenses are framed in our
newly upgraded home office and we’re on our way!
Elizabeth is also on the Board of Directors of our neighborhood Homeowner’s Association,
in the position of Secretary. She has driven numerous improvements especially in
communications and project completion. The neighborhood is better off now!
At the end of August, we took our first family-of-5 vacation. We went north, over
the border to Whistler ski area in British Columbia, Canada. It was a brief but
enjoyable time with perfect weather and awesome mountains. The kids also enjoyed
seeing the Blue Angels aerobatic show over Seattle, which has become a tradition
for our family. In November, we witnessed the final flight of a British Airways
Concorde as it landed at Seattle’s Boeing Museum. The arrival was a big affair and
the plane is now open for public tours at the Boeing Museum of Flight (http://museumofflight.org/).
See the pictures on our web site!
The kids got to spend some time with Grandad Noel this summer. He stopped in on
his way to a wedding in Montana and then a road trip through the western US with
his friend Carolyn. He brought the kids news of their new cousins, Adam and Sinead
who were born in Ireland and Spain, respectively. That brings the total to 20 grandkids
and we hope to welcome more by the end of 2004!
Well that brings you up to date with our end. If you’d like to keep up with us more
easily through the year, drop into our newly redesigned web site at http://jimseld.com
or send an email to eselders@hotmail.com or
jimselders@hotmail.com. We wish you all a happy, peaceful and joyous new
year.
Love,
The Selders Family
Jim, Elizabeth, Ciara, Brendan and Enya