Happy New Year!
Better late than never! And special greetings to those of you who actually sent us real greeting cards. It’s getting to be a lost art!
2023 was an eventful year for us, and God’s grace made everything work together for our good. What a blessing it is, knowing that whatever happens, He knows, cares, loves us, and has a good plan for our lives.
After Christmas with our Michigan family last year, in January, we were blessed to spend some time with Bryan and Vickie’s family in Kansas City at Andrew and Alisha’s home, and to meet their five-year-old foster son Izayah, and Jonathan’s girlfriend Holly. Jonathan is living with Andrew and Alisha while in college. B&V’s third son, Caleb and his wife Leah moved to California and we miss seeing them but hope to visit California in the future.
April’s highlight was going to Michigan for the dedication of our two 2022 grandbabies, cousins Hannah Lily See and Miriam Rose Joyce. Art participated in the dedication by offering prayer for these two precious families. We are blessed that Laura and Aaron, and Dave and Amy are raising their children to love and know Jesus.
June brought a different kind of adventure, as I (Bonnie) underwent robotic mitral (heart) valve repair at Emory hospital in Atlanta. We were blessed to spend some time at Brenda and Quang’s home both before and after the surgery. Brenda was indispensable in coming to Atlanta to be with Art during the surgery and again afterward, bringing flowers and gifts from all our children. While we were at Brenda’s, we were also blessed by a visit from Daniel and Dia, on vacation from California, who we hadn’t seen in person for several years.
August brought more blessing, as Andrew and Alisha adopted newborn Zion, and got word that they would be able to adopt now six-year-old Izayah. So in one summer, we welcomed not one but our first TWO great grandchildren!
October brought another trip to Michigan for the memorial service for my cousin Judy’s son Rik, one of those sad but precious family times. My sister Dot’s son Nate drove her there from Vermont, and also we reconnected with Judy and Jerry’s other two children, Dave and Jody and their families. After a side trip to the west side of the state, where we participated in Laura and Aaron’s annual “chicken plucking,” Emma’s 20th birthday, and baby Miriam’s first birthday, we headed home to Tennessee.
Thanksgiving at Brenda’s brought our annual family reunion, including a visit to Toccoa Falls, where Jonathan proposed to Holly in a romantic spot near the falls. They plan an August wedding in Kansas City and Brenda & Quang’s daughter Laurel will marry fiancé Caleb in November in Georgia! You can bet that “VanGo” will be very busy this year! But what a blessing! A December trip to Michigan for Hannah’s first birthday and Christmas rounded out our year, a year of great blessing and celebration. Despite the challenges of growing older, we thank God for each day and for the 57 (so far) years of marriage He has given us. We are truly rich in the things that really matter.
So goodbye to 2023 and welcome 2024! Our world is going crazy, but our hope is not in this world, it is in the
unstoppable eternal plan of God our Creator and Redeemer! And He makes no mistakes. We can go forward into 2024 with hope, peace, and joy, knowing how the story ends!
Blessings,