Dear Family & Friends:
We’re a little later than usual in sending out our Christmas letters. Some exciting family events have absorbed our time in early December – more about that below.
White Salmon is enjoying a real estate boom that has coincided with Insitu’s phenomenal growth – we’re so glad we bought when we did. Our home is now almost double its purchase price, so Nancy continues to happily remodel. This year’s tasks included a new gas fireplace in the living room, the shell of the new master bathroom, and the design for an expanded deck.
Speaking of Insitu’s phenomenal growth, the number of employees has tripled since last year. Now with over 120 people, the company has already outgrown its new building, and is renting various units in Bingen and White Salmon until the Port can build them yet another new facility. Steve’s office is now even closer to home (his commute is down to 3 minutes), but somehow he spends even more time at the office! His hard work is shown by the fact that Insitu recently received an award for being in the top 10 fastest-growing companies in the state of Washington, and in the top 200 fastest-growing companies in the entire country.
Nancy lost her father in May to leukemia, and much of her traveling this year has been to visit her mother and help liquidate portions of the estate. However, she was able to visit her brother Jeff’s family in Denver for her niece Jennifer’s graduation and commissioning, and to spend time in Seattle with her pilot buddies Butler Hine and Marcie Smith. She was also able to visit Tabitha in Santa Fe twice, once in March and most recently just after Thanksgiving to help Tabitha move. After trying her hand for the past year at real estate, Tabitha decided Santa Fe was not for her. She has moved to White Salmon to continue her career in marketing and business development with Insitu. Talk about exciting family events! Steve and Nancy are so happy to have her living close by, after being apart for so long. She has found a house to rent and we hope to move her in by the middle of December.
Nancy continues to be active in her church, this year serving as chair of the elders in addition to her other volunteer services. She also continues to work on her book. She meets regularly with her writing groups, and attended her first writers’ conference in August, where several agents expressed interest in her manuscript. Now if she can only finish…
Our guest room has seen a lot of action this year, with friends and family visiting or using it as a transition base while moving. In particular, our niece Ashley stayed with us all summer while working as an intern at Insitu before heading back to Boston for graduate school. We are always delighted to have visitors, and hope we can continue to host more of you in the coming year.
With respect to our pets, we had a major scare this summer; Pixie was hit by a car and almost didn’t make it. But thanks to heroic efforts by vets in both Bingen and Portland, she has recovered a lot of the use of her damaged leg. While not as active as she once was, she still lives a very full life with Angel and Casper as constant companions.
May you and yours be blessed with peace and plenty in the coming year.
Steve and Nancy Sliwa
Pixie, Angel, and Casper
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