For a
child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will
rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty
God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. —Isaiah 9:6
Merry Christmas Y’all!
It’s that time of year again, where people all over the nation reach out
to friends and family to wish them well and kinda catch up—us included. As time marches on and life just seems to get
busier and busier, especially as kids age and add more to our daily calendar,
there never seems to be enough time to really
connect anymore. More and more, there
are less and less phone calls and letters (even by email) and increasing
amounts of one liners or abbreviated messages by text. Not that we are any better at communicating
than most, but I sure do miss those days!
It’s amazing how much circumstance dictates life…and speaking of life,
there’s plenty of it happening here. The
short of it is…
John is still working with Kellogg’s and enjoying it, even
though he’s busier than ever and is constantly experiencing growing pains as
the company expands its territory and business elements are changing. As exciting as it is, it is also challenging
but it keeps John on his toes and he’s learning new things often, so that is
good. The highlight for John’s year was
his baptism in May.
Me, well I guess my year is best summarized by the hats I
wear—student of Christ, wife, mom, daughter, sister, friend, teacher of high
school and elementary students, home maintenance manager, and social coordinator. Just a typical day in the neighborhood. 😊
Jozsef graduated from high school in June and he’s now working
while waiting for his college program to begin in January. Jozsef had three highlights this
year—graduation, the purchase of his first car, and his acceptance into his
choice college program. Jozsef will be
attending The North American Seminary where he intends to earn his degree in
order to become a pastor. He is very
excited and has several reasons to be.
This past year was very challenging for him as the move changed his
post-graduate plan considerably and he had a lot of adjusting to do. Jozsef adapted very well and never gave up
and now his faithful persistence is paying off.
Nikolas is in his sophomore year and working his butt
off. Literature dominates his curriculum
this year, so he spends much time reading. Nikolas enjoys a good book, but
hates reading on a timeline. It’s a good
thing he’s a good reader with a strong vocabulary because it helps him to stay
the course. He grumbles about his
assignments, but he often enjoys the novels he reads, which he only admits
afterward. And though Nikolas found
learning Hungarian to be an interesting challenge, he decided to tackle French
this year. 😊 Nikolas
is spending his free time building & flying his drone and investigating how
he might make his hobby a career.
Connor is in sixth grade this year. He got an unexpected promotion of sorts
because we are not accustomed to sixth graders being part of the middle school
crowd—but they are here. So, Connor was
socially propelled overnight once we started the new school year. He now enjoys somewhat of a split life as he
does his daily schoolwork with Sonja and Riley, but then he hangs out with the
older boys at youth group and sits with us during church since he’s aged out of
Sunday school. All three of the older boys are involved in a group called
Dancin’ Grits which is part of the homeschool community and teaches the kids
several different dance styles as well as dance etiquette. They have a blast! Connor spends much of his
free time reading. He enjoys a good
medieval action story. So far, the
Eragon series is his favorite. Connor is
doing well with the switch and is enjoying himself as he discovers how he fits
into his new category.
Sonja is in fourth grade and Riley is in third grade. Both are doing well in school and are
developing friendships with a brother/sister pair that live down the street
from us. Sometimes Connor and Hannah
join in the play too, which just makes for more fun. Sonja still adores tumbling and often
cartwheels across a room instead of walking.
Sonja also enjoys reading and is working her way through the Little
House on the Prairie series. Riley,
however, is not fond of reading but he is often found in his room creating some
wonderful imaginary reality with his Legos.
His storylines are complex as are his creations and he will spend hours
at a time in play. I love to see his
creativity.
Hannah is in first grade this year. We are working hard on mastering the art of
reading. Some days she’s really
interested, some days she’s not, so the progress is slower than I’d like, but
it’s progress none the less. Hannah
still adores pretend play and is often filling her time with dolls of one kind
or another. The absolute highlight of
Hannah’s year this year, was her acceptance of Christ into her heart just this
month. Of all our children, she seemed
to be the one where the glow and excitement of salvation was pronounced most
and lasted longest. Now she’s eager to
get baptized, so that will be the next step.
She has the most precious heart.
As I close this way brief
recap of our year, I recognize that I won’t hear from many of you, though you
may remember us, and that even if I do, it’ll likely be another whole year before
we touch base again. For as much as
networking has become so intertwined and instant, it seems we, as a society,
still miss out on the connections that matter most—meaningful relationships
with family and friends. Such is our
world today. Even if this is your truth,
I pray that each of you do not miss out on the most important connection of
all—your connection with Christ. If you
know Him, I urge you to get to know Him on a deeper level. He has so much to offer us. And if you don’t know Him, I pray you meet
Him soon. I assure you, He misses you more than anyone else.
Blessed is
the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord—Jeremiah 17:7
Love to you all in this joyous season, and always,
The Bartoks
John, Gina, Jozsef, Nikolas, Connor, Sonja, Riley, &
Hannah
#LiveLoved
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