2023 in Review

You actually looked us up! We are honored! Welcome to our once-a-year blog, the place where we review our year in bullet points for those who are interested. If you're not really that interested, you can just look at the pictures. (Or click out altogether and get on with life. There are plenty of other things to do. We get that.) So, here's 2023 at a glance.

January:

--Berit got engaged to Jamin Swift.

--Our Great Room was completed.

--We laid new flooring in most of the downstairs.

--There was basketball.

February:

--Jonathan turned 60, and we celebrated all month.

--Britton and Cassie announced that baby #3 was on the way.

--There was more basketball.

March:

--Bronwyn got confirmed.

--Lawrence Moses Haagenson (grandbaby #15) was born to Analaya and Tim.

--We attended the National Homeschool Basketball Championships in Springfield, MO, and watched Anders play his last games with the Monroe County Warriors.

--Jonathan traveled to Uganda for Hope Centers for Children of Africa.

--Zofeyah arrived home from her year of Bible school in Germany and resumed working as a CNA in Labor and Delivery at Tomah Healthcare.

April:

--We celebrated Jonathan's mom's 80th birthday.

--Leif and Dori announced that baby #5 was on the way.

--Jonathan, Hope, and Zofie attended the D6 family ministry conference in Orlando, FL.

--Right when we were starting to think about flowers, we had a big blizzard.

--Berit had a bridal shower.

--Anders started working for a landscaping business.

--Hope celebrated the 10th anniversary of her heart attack.

May:

--Dori joined Hope in her beekeeping endeavors.

--Finn finally got a studio for his film making projects.

--Anders graduated from high school.

--We found out Britton and Cassie would be having a boy.

--Emma and Isaac announced that baby #1 was on the way.

--Jonathan built Hope a kitchen garden.

--Berit had two more bridal showers.

--We got a new batch of baby chicks, along with a few turkeys.

--Putting in the new pool liner became a family affair. (We decided next time it can be the problem of some experienced pool guy.)

--We discovered tiny grapes on our grapevine (which was thrilling because our vines never produce.)

June:

--Jonathan, Hope, Zofie, FInn, and Bronwyn joined five others from church on a mission trip to Brazil and Paraguay.

--We celebrated our 35th anniversary in Rio.

--Gretchen and Ryan announced that baby #6 was on the way.

--Leif made a major career switch and began managing at Chick-fil-A.

July:

--Jonathan, Britton, Zofie, Anders, FInn, and Bronwyn attended the FLY (Free Lutheran Youth) Convention in Estes Park, CO.

--Hope attended her 40th class reunion.

--Berit and Jamin were married.

--We hosted eight Hungarian youth who came here on a mission trip.

August:

--Jonathan was the morning Bible teacher at the ARC Family Camp. Hope spoke at the women's luncheon.

--We helped with VBS at church.

--Dori and Hope had a big honey harvest.

--We took our family vacation at Emma's in-law's cabin in northern WI.

--Anders spent several weeks in France playing basketball with News Release Basketball.

--Finn and Bronwyn started working at Chick-fil-A.

--Bugembe, a pastor and Christian artist from Uganda, visited us.

--Ryan began leading the worship team at church.

--The grapes got big.

September:

--Jonathan began his 24th year of pastoring Christ Is Lord Church.

--A bunch of us went to the Minnesota State Fair.

--We attended the Labor Day Family Retreat.

--Jonathan traveled to Minot, ND, to visit his friend Brian Rice.

--The Millpond Academy Homeschool began its 28th year. It's now down to only two students. (Finn is in 10th grade and Bronwyn in 9th.)

--Hope made grape jelly.

--Waylen Vern Unverzagt (grandbaby #16) was born to Britton and Cassie.

--We made our annual apple orchard trip.

--Finn got his drivers license.

--Hope stayed with her mom a few days to help out after her mom had an accident resulting in a broken rib.

--Jonathan surprised Hope with a pergola when she returned.

October:

--We had a visit from longtime friends, David and Sonja Fisher, from IA.

--Anders traveled to MO to visit a new friend, Miss Hannah.

--The Hovey kids spent a week with us while their parents were on a mission trip.

--Basketball started back up.

--We took a field trip to a cranberry marsh.

--The trees were breathtaking.

November:

--Delphine Zuzu Unverzagt (grandbaby #17) was born to Leif and Dori.

--Britton completed his master's degree in Health and Wellness.

--Jonathan, Hope, Emma, Finn, and Bronwyn traveled to Fort Myers, FL, where Jonathan attended the ECHO International Agriculture Conference, and the rest of us hung out at the pool and beach.

--Anders made another trip to MO to visit Hannah.

--Hannah and her parents visited here.

--Britton had a cardiac ablation in an attempt to correct his tachycardia.

--A bunch of us traveled to Minneapolis for Lawrence's baptism.

--Jonathan made his biannual trip to Uganda for Hope Centers for Children of Africa and had the opportunity to speak to a crowd of 20,000 people at an all-night worship service.

--Berit began a job as a kindergarten assistant at Coulee Christian School.

December:

--Ten of us attended the Nutcracker Ballet.

--Hope finished her coursework for her master's in Teaching English as a Second Language and looks forward to doing her internship at Sparta High School starting in January.

--Eloise Hope McPherson (grandbaby #18) was born to Emma and Isaac.

--Britton's 7th grade basketball team went undefeated.

This is truly a barebones peek into life at the Millpond. What was not mentioned were the MANY birthday parties, Sabbath Dinners, visits from cousins and friends, weekly homeschool co-op, pool parties, adventures with our vehicles that are on "hospice," etc. There is truly never a dull moment here. And if you enjoy children, this is the place to be. (On the other hand, if you prefer solitude, it is not.) We love visitors, so please stop in if you are ever passing through. We make a pretty exceptional iced coffee (in the hot months, that is). 

But now it's cold and dark. The trees are bare. There is no swimming. But the woodstove crackles, and we delight in hot drinks and being together. Our hearts are brimming with thankfulness. We are blessed to call you our friends, and we rejoice with you now in the celebration of our Savior's birth. Celebrate big, because there is nothing more exciting than the creator of the universe coming as a baby to give his life for YOU! 

2022 in Review

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.