Good to see you again. Nothing like meeting up once a year, huh? At least we can't be accused of over-blogging. We are too busy living life to spend much time here, and we know you are too. So our goal is to give you a bullet point update, one you can scroll through quickly, just glancing at the highlights of our year and skimming over what looks boring. Here we go.
January:
--Berit turned 19.
--Emma turned 23.
--Britton and Cassie bought and moved into a house in Taylor, WI.
--Ender Philip Unverzagt was born to Britton and Cassie (grandbaby #12).
--Solvi Joy Sawatsky was born to Gretchen and Ryan (grandbaby #13).
--Hope started grad school to get her masters in ESL (English as a Second Language).
--Plutus, our Chinese student, found out he couldn't return to China so was stuck with us a while longer. To cheer him up, we invited Michelle, our Chinese friend, to cook us a Spring Festival dinner.
--There was lots of basketball.
--There was lots of snow.
--We had homeschool co-op.
February:
--Jonathan turned 59.
--Finn went ice fishing for the first time.
--Leif and Dori moved to KY.
--There was more basketball, both playing and reffing.
March:
--Sigre turned 25 on the 25th.
--We traveled to Springfield, MO, for the National Homeschool Basketball Championships. Anders played his last game with several close friends who were graduating.
April:
--Hope began her fourth year of beekeeping.
--Finn played soccer.
--Jonathan and Zofeyah attended the D6 family ministry conference in Orlando, FL.
--Finn was confirmed, and Ender and Solvi were baptized, all in the same service.
--Jonathan went completely overboard on buying chicks and ducklings.
--Gretchen turned 31.
May:
--Theodore Antony Unverzagt was born to Leif and Dori (grandbaby #14).
--Jonathan and Hope flew to KY to meet him.
--Anders began his fourth and final year of AAU basketball.
--Berit and friends took a little vacation to CA.
--Jonathan made his biannual trip to Uganda for Hope Centers for Children of Africa.
June:
--We took our annual family vacation to a cabin.
--The men finished adding on to the deck.
--A close friend, Rachel, moved in with us for the summer.
--Anders played softball.
--The ladies attended a performance of Sense and Sensibility for Berit's belated graduation gift.
--Jonathan, Hope, Zofeyah, and Bronwyn flew to visit relatives in San Diego, CA.
--We hosted our annual outdoor church service.
--We redid our front garden.
July:
--Berit painted the garage.
--Bronwyn went to Tent Camp.
--Jonathan and Hope flew to niece Abby's wedding in Omaha, NE.
--Jonathan, Hope, and Finn, along with Dave and D. J., close friends from church, flew to Norway for a conference and to Ireland for a couple days to fulfill a dream of Finn's.
--Zofeyah and Bronwyn (and Finn for the last day) participated in a youth work camp at Free Lutheran Bible College.
--Analaya and Tim announced that baby #4 is on the way.
--Hope and her sisters celebrated their mom's 80th birthday in Red Wing, MN.
--We hosted the annual Unverzagt family reunion.
--Bronwyn went to Bible camp with Emma and Isaac's church.
August:
--Jonathan, Hope, Berit, and Anders went along on the church mission trip to Hungary, then spent an extra week visiting France (a dream of Berit's and Anders') and visiting friends in Spain.
--Plutus was finally able to make it home to China.
--Finn and Bronwyn took (and passed) Hunter Safety.
--Leif and Dori bought a house in Sparta, WI.
September:
--We went to the annual Labor Day Family Retreat.
--Hope turned 57.
--Finn turned 15.
--Leif turned 28.
--The Millpond Academy Homeschool began its 27th year (attendance is down to only three students now): Anders in grade 12, Finn in grade 9, and Bronwyn in grade 8.
--Jonathan, Hope, Anders, and his friend Jamin traveled to Uganda for Jonathan's second biannual trip to Africa for HCCA.
--Zofeyah left for Bible school at Bodenseehof in Friedrichshafen, Germany.
--Britton started grad school.
--We made our annual trip to the apple orchard.
--Hope's sister Ingrid and family came to visit.
October:
--Homeschool co-op started up again.
--We had a wood day--took down trees, chopped, hauled, split, and stacked.
--Anders turned 18.
--Zofie turned 21.
--Analaya turned 33.
--Bronwyn attended a youth conference.
--We painted lots of stuff...a bathroom, our bedroom, lots of floors, Britton and Cassie's entryway, Leif and Dori's walls, etc.
--Work began on the new addition to our home.
November:
--Britton turned 30.
--We had a visit from Henri, a friend from Kenya.
--Basketball started back up.
--Jonathan attended the ECHO International Agriculture Conference in Fort Myers, FL.
December:
--We helped Leif and Dori move into their house.
--Bronwyn turned 14.
--Hope reached the halfway point in getting her masters.
--We enjoyed our annual "Christmas Trip" with the kids living at home--desserts at Le Chateau Restaurant and Beauty and the Beast at the La Crosse Community Theater.
--Hope accepted the position of area coordinator for American Home Life International (placing and working with international students).
And that's where we are. Anything else noteworthy will have to be included next year.
We are so thankful for each one of you...not only to have you in our lives, but that you actually cared enough to read to the end of this thing.
It is our deepest wish that your lives would be filled to overflowing with joy (not the kind slapped on a Christmas card because it's the thing to say at this time of year, but the deep kind that goes way beyond happy) and peace (not talking the flimsy, superficial kind, but the kind that "surpasses all understanding") not only in 2023 but forever. May the baby in the manger become everything to you.
