1989 Christmas Letter
Christmas Letter, 1989 from Art and Ronda King
Merry Christmas! Here are some newsworthy events from our year:
FEBURARY: Brenden gets out of his body cast after 2 1/2 long months.The next day he falls and breaks his leg, weak from the months in the cast. He ends up in traction for another month. By spring he is running like the wind.
MARCH: Vladimir and Lida Razumovsky and their 5 small children spend a week with us before moving on to a permanent home in Sacramento. They are Russians who had been persecuted for the Pentecostal religion and had a chance to come to America. What a blessing it is to get to know them.
MAY: Bethani and Brenden celebrate their 2-year birthdays together in May, and make a secret pact to maximize their summer mischief. Summer's end shows they succeeded, oh how they succeeded.
JUNE: Ronda and Art spend 10 days in Kauai, Hawaii in June. Three days are an Intel sales conference, the rest is strictly honeymooning. By the last day they are missing their children. The family travels to Utah where Ronda's brother Ken marries the lovely Lana Smith. A great wedding festival for all.
JULY: Ronda gets very sick with a pregnancy, spends two weeks in the hospital, and then loses the baby to a miscarriage. We weep.
AUGUST: Veniamin and Svetlana Golyshevsky and their 1 year old son Ruslan arrive. They are also Russian refugees, from Estonia. Theyspend six weeks with us before finding an apartment and employment in Portland.
SEPTEMBER: Art ships first beta units of a fun new computer product he has been working on all year.
OCTOBER: Six year old Elissa masters the cartwheel and round-off in gymnastics class. The last of her baby teeth are on the way out. Brenden's official adoption papers are signed. His forever family rejoices.
NOVEMBER: Bethani volunteers to anyone she meets: "My Daddy go to New Youu City" When Daddy returns home, Bethani repeatedly asks: "Daddy, you not go to New Youu City today?" Daddy promises no more trips to NewYork City.
DECEMBER: Christmas lights and tree going up at our house! Art and Ronda celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary. This letter goes to press before the secret getaway.
WRAP-UP: We have had a wonderful year. The opportunity to share in the landing of new immigrants reminds us of the liberty and opportunity we have on these golden shores. We are filled with pride watching Elissa, Brenden, and Bethani grow. With much love and affection to you, MERRY CHRISTMAS
Christmas Letter, 1988 from Art and Ronda King
NEWS FLASH: KING FAMILY WEALTH AND HAPPINESS SURGE UPWARD . . . . . . NEW SON JOINS FAMILY!
We adopted Brenden into our family last June. Brenden is now 18 months old (same age as his sister Bethani). Brenden has been such a joy to have in the family. He learned to love us as fast as we learned to love him, and he can eat his body weight in spaghetti.
The week after Thanksgiving, Brenden underwent major surgery on his hip. He is currently suffering the indignity of a body cast. We are hoping and praying that when the cast comes off, Brenden's hip will heal and give him a brighter, more mobile future. Having two 18-month olds', with one in a body cast, is exacting a toll on Mom. I am happy to report that she is holding up remarkably well. However, many Christmas season activities are being canceled or scaled back this year. We hope Brenden will be out of his cast by early February.
Other family news: Bethani and Elissa are proud and happy to have a new Brother this year. It has meant a new play-mate and companion nearly every waking moment for Bethani. Our 'twins' get along much better than we expected. Elissa is 5, oh, excuse me, I meant to say 'Elissa is 5 and a half'. She is enjoying 'school' at home, and her weekly music lesson, and a multitude of good neighborhood playmates. She has changed her career aspirations. It used to be 'doctor', but now she wants to work behind the counter in a frozen yogurt shop. I told her I would visit her much more often at work in this career.
Ronda and I just celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary with exciting plans afoot for another 99 anniversaries. Ronda has made a large set of new friends since we moved last year. She is a member of local play-park and baby-sitting cooperatives. She is widening the gap between herself and the rest of the known universe (worlds' best Mom, wife, home economist, nurse, child development specialist, and chef).
I continue to enjoy my work designing support systems for Intel Corporation (translation: I play with computers all day).
We hope each of you feel as blessed and happy this Christmas season as we. The tragic Armenian earthquake serves as a reminder of how much terrible pain there is in the world. We truly have great opportunities to share our good fortune.
MERRY CHRISTMAS !
Love, Art, Ronda, Elissa, Brenden, & Bethani
March 1982 Late Christmas Letter
May 6, 1979 Art's Engagement Story (letter written to Art's Mom and Dad describing his Engagement to Ronda)