Thank YOU to everyone who sent us feedback and suggestions about last year’s Wong Christmas video. This year, we have decided to provide more than just pictures of family members and let each of the girls share a little bit about where they are and what they are doing.
Sorry that it will take so long to catch up with us, but with so many family members, we did the best we could. Thank you for your patience – we hope it will be a blessing to all who read the blog.
From our family to yours – may you have a blessed Christmas and a precious New Year of peace and joy.
Love,
Arnold and Effie
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In March,
May brought us an unexpected blessing - our children surprised us with a week in
When July rolled around, we welcomed the arrival of Reuben Arnold Espiritu – the son of Elena & Rodney – in
Effie and I are still privileged to serve the
What about 2009? Well, in January, Arnold and Effie will be speaking in
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, you all.
Al and Dana made the big move to Mason, OH in June. Dana took a position with P&G that has virtually no travel and she is enjoying the challenge of her new job. Al is currently maintaining the house and taking some time off to decide what his next career will be. He is sporting a new look these days, as you can see! Jack just turned 8 years old and is in the 2nd grade. He has adjusted well to his new school and just finished his first flag football season with Upward. He still loves to draw, play Pokemon on his DS and has a new interest in the Wii. Cade is 6 1/2 and is in the first grade. He is riding the bus to school and continues to enjoy building anything Lego Star Wars.
Lisa, Mike, Nathan, & Brandon
Our year started out with a bang with the arrival of Brandon James on January 13.
The Espiritus became the "Espirithrees" this year! Reuben "Reubdog" Arnold Espiritu arrived on July 22nd at 2:21 a.m. Currently five months old and weighing in at a hefty 15 lbs, Reub's hobbies at this time are trying to see how many people's arms he can wear out with his jumping, working towards putting his entire fist in his mouth, and studiously maintaining a sweet faux hawk. Rodney plays the role of primary caregiver to Reuben during the day and is preparing to enter into his last semester at Moody Graduate School. Not content with Elena being the sole breadwinner, he supplements her income with a quasi-import/export business on Craigslist. After taking 8 weeks off for maternity leave, Elena went back to work as an Occupational Therapist at the University of Illinois- Chicago hospital. Her favorite hobbies this year has been experimenting with new recipes and eagerly getting up for 3 a.m. feedings.
Robert and Marina are enjoying life in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Robert is in his third year working as a sales representative for Bridgestone Golf, and Marina is working overtime at home keeping all her boys happy.
Ed and Alicia took this year to travel as much as possible. They went to New York for Christmas, Keystone for snowboarding, Mexico for missions, Italy for their second anniversary, and the Caribbean for a Leung family reunion. They bought their first house in April, but sadly saw it get damaged during Hurricane Ike. Ed continues to serve as the English minister at a church plant in Katy, TX. In his free time, you'll either see him playing flag football or watching movies from Redbox. Alicia is an ESOL teacher in Katy who stays busy helping Ed with different church ministries and keeping up with their blog (www.edalicia.blogspot.com). She is looking forward to taking some time off of work after the baby is born in early April.
Tricia started her 5th year teaching third grade in Austin. She keeps busy by running an after school program for her school and taking care of Patches, her maltipoo. She traveled to New Orleans for a friend's wedding and was a bridesmaid in another wedding the next weekend. This year she started participating in a ladies bible study and went on a summer mission trip to Mexico with Kara and the youth from a church in Philadelphia. It was really awesome to see God's plan in allowing the dates and flights to work out for everyone to go on the trip together. She was also part of Mom and Auntie Darlene's Texas road trip by driving them from Austin to Houston to visit Alicia and Ed. They had a great time visiting NASA and eating good Chinese food. She is going to end the year by going on a trip to New York City for the first time.
Kara is in her third year of dental school and is balancing classes, lab work, and clinic. She has been enjoying the opportunity to treat patients and provide dental care, including dentures, crowns, and root canals. When she isn't studying, you'll either see her scrapbooking, visiting with friends, or traveling. Kara's travels brought her to Illinois to visit the Espiritus, Matamoros, Mexico for a dental mission trip, Ohio to visit the Moons, Camargo, Mexico for a youth mission trip, and California to visit the beach! She continues to be the super aunt of all aunts by babysitting the nephews during her free time.
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