Christmas Letter 2022

Wichert Family

Christmas 2022

2022 has had its shares of joys and sorrows. At the end of March Brent’s Dad died suddenly of a heart attack. We are still mourning his loss and always will. There’s hope with Jesus and knowing Grandpa is there, in the presence of his Savior and yet we feel the loss of him not being here with us. Knox has started saying “Grandpa Wichert with Jesus” and it’s sweet and true and heart breaking. We’re learning to sit in the complexity of all those emotions without having to fix any of them- because well, they can’t be fixed. 

At the beginning of February Brent took the big boys to Colorado skiing. They had a blast and enjoyed their first plane ride there and back. On February 28th Greta Jo joined our family, but you probably already knew that. :) In June we took a short trip out to western Kansas to see Little Jerusalem and Monument Rock. Brent’s mom and sister came too. Our family stayed in a converted grain bin Airbnb and made memories of no sleep and singing until everyone was quiet. And at the beginning of August we added Luna (a border collie/lab mix puppy) to our family. She’s been a learning experience, but really is the perfect dog for us. Also this summer we hosted the college kids in our home and one week two brothers brought our two big brothers a big bin of baseball, basketball, and football cards. This gift led Eli and Micah into their new most avid hobby of collecting, pricing, and wishing for more cards. 

Eli is in 5th grade and continues to be an avid reader, competitor, and jokester. We all think he’s pretty funny, but maybe not quite as funny as he thinks he is. He played basketball last winter, did quite a bit of pitching for his baseball team, wrapped up soccer season recently and has begun basketball . It’s hard to believe he’ll be in middle school next year, but we are really enjoying this season with him.

Micah is in 3rd grade and is becoming quite the little reader himself. About two months ago he would have told you he didn’t like reading, but he’s recently been caught reading when he’s supposed to be sleeping so I think he’s come around. His 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Adkins tends to have that effect on Wichert kids. Basketball, baseball, and soccer have all been in Micah’s schedule too. He preferred 1st base and really likes playing defense but his soccer team was quite good so the defensive side was pretty boring. He’s a really good friend and has a variety of friends to prove it. 

Haddie is in 1st grade. She played t-ball this summer with Lana and now they are both in ballet. She is really starting to notice words that she knows and is trying to teach Greta her digraph rules for phonics. She’s such a little mama. She is a great helper at school and home and recently got the character trait award for Trust at school.

Lana is in her last year at home with mom- next stop is Kindergarten and she is so ready to be with the big kids. Her worst days are when the kids have school. She loves when everyone is home and loves most when someone will play Legos, Barbies, or art with her. When we told her she was going to do ballet she said “all my dreams are coming true”. 

Knox is 2.5 and whew, what a kid! He goes hard and fast and loud. He likes a snack and helps himself whenever he pleases. If no one notices, even better! He easily makes us all laugh at least once a day. He likes the Chiefs when he’s on the girls' good side and Cowboys when he’s on the boys. He loves sucking his thumb, his foxie, Paw Patrol, and grandma’s house. 

Greta is the best baby (shhhh, don’t tell the others). She is just the chillest sweetest little girl. She also is a thumb sucker and likes her little bunny she sleeps with. She is scooting around and seems like she’ll be “proper” crawling soon. 

And Brent and I are just getting older. Ha! We celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary this summer and love and really like each other. We are still active at church and with our kids and frankly, that’s about all we have time for. We’ve also thrown in a little farming into the mix, which has been a fun-frustrating-exciting-time-consuming learning experience. Navigating the loss of Brent’s Dad has reinforced how blessed we are to have each other. God is good. He’s still on His throne. He delights in our worship and in us. That’s enough to mull over for 2023. We love you all. 

Brent & Cindy Wichert

Eli, Micah, Haddie, Lana, Knox & Greta