The real reason was...I was scared! Relatives, doctors, and friends would mention about how exciting Christmas will be this year having everyone home and I would politely nod my head and smile...perhaps mutter a "yeah." The anticipation was supposed to be exciting, but deep down I had fear. Fear that Joshua would get sick and we would have to spend his 2nd Christmas in the hospital. He has yet to get a respiratory virus and I was certain it was going to ruin our plans for a nice Christmas. I have learned from the last year that many of our wonderful earthly plans have gotten torn to shreds and God steps in saying NOPE, nuh-uh...you think you had those lovely plans, but I've got something else in mind. So you see, I couldn't write and mail out those letters until the last minute when I could finally put those fears to rest!
Thank you Jesus! It was a wonderful Christmas at HOME!!!
Here is Joshua's letter!
Merry Christmas!
Hi, I’m Joshua. Some
of you have met me and many of you have prayed for me, even before I was
born. Mom has a long list to do before
Christmas so I thought I would help her and write you a Rumschlag family
update.
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Now, I am almost 16 months old and weigh 17lbs 10 oz. I’m
not on the growth charts yet, but I keep getting bigger and stronger, so the
doctors say that is okay. Mom tells me
that I’m about the size that each of my siblings were when they were 9 months
old. But I’ve come a long way from the
1lb 11oz I was when I was born!
I just had my “due
date birthday” on December 12. The
doctors and therapists look to see how I’m developing based on how old I would
be if I was born on my due date. They
will keep looking at that corrected age for another year. They hope by the time I’m 2 years old that I
will catch up developmentally to kids my real age.
Mommy calls me her little explorer! I love to crawl under and over things and
squeeze through tight spaces. I can
stand while holding on to the couch or wall and I love to cruise around the
room babbling and exploring. I “talk” a
lot, but no one can understand me. I
like to say “uh-oh” when something drops.
That is my first and only word that all the big people understand.
Mommy gets worried about me hitting milestones because of the bleeding I had in my brain, but so far I’ve hit those milestones - just in my own time. I try to tell mom there is nothing to worry about; I’ve been through a lot and I’m tough, but I guess that’s what parents do because they love me so much.
In October, Mommy and the doctors figured out that I had a
hard time seeing and needed glasses. I
love my glasses and leave them on because they help me see so much better and
keep my eyes from getting too tired. A
few weeks ago Mom and Dad started patching my right eye for several hours each
day. They say it is to strengthen my
left eye to keep it from turning in, but I do not like it – not one bit!
Mommy and Daddy have been pretty protective of me especially
since it is winter and flu season again.
I liked summertime when I would go outside and go for walks or to the
park for playdates. Now that it is
winter again, I stay home most of the time except for church or doctor’s
appointments. Mom and Dad try their best
to protect me from germs because they are afraid if my lungs get sick I may
have to go back to the hospital.
Thankfully, I’ve only had a few minor illnesses.
My sister Abby (7.5 yrs old) likes to play with me and help
mom out. Mommy appreciates this because
in a house full of boys things can get pretty crazy! Abby also enjoys taking ballet lessons, doing
crafts, and playing piano. I like to
crawl up to the piano when she is playing and press the keys I can reach. I know she likes playing duets with me. Abby also loves learning about science and
history. She is always taking books out
of the library to read; she especially loves books about space or
rocks/minerals. She is in 2nd
grade this year and Mommy is her homeschool teacher.
My brother David was excited to start his kindergarten
curriculum when he turned 5 this year.
He and Abby are a part of a homeschool science co-op with several other
homeschooling families. All three of my
older siblings go to AWANA each week at church where they memorize Bible
verses, learn lessons, and play games.
A house full of boys is lots of fun for me! There are always cars and balls around to
play with. I love it when Daddy gets
down on the floor to wrestle with David and Jeremiah (3.5). I like to crawl to them and join in the fun
too. David and Jeremiah are best
buds. I can’t wait till I am bigger and
can play with them too! They love to
play Legos, drive cars and fly planes around the room, build forts, and play
sports with each other. Jeremiah sometimes
crawls around with me and makes me laugh!
This year we’ve had some fun boys-only times. Mommy and Abby flew to Disney World with
friends in September and left the boys here for 5 days. Daddy did a great job of taking care of
everything so Mommy and Abby could have a nice vacation!
Daddy still likes his job at ARCADIS (an environmental
consulting company). This year he has
had the opportunity to transition to a new focus. These new projects deal with his Master’s
thesis study on rivers, so he is excited to be in his area of expertise. He also enjoyed the summer church softball
league and started volunteering to be a handbook shepherd at AWANA.
Mommy is busy with homeschooling and housework. I take up a lot of her time because if I’m
not exploring, I’m a pretty needy baby – definitely a Momma’s boy. Playing the piano is one of her
stress-relievers these days. Daddy often
says that he will clean up from dinner if she plays the piano for him. Obviously, she agrees!
She also made some extra time to run in the Nationwide
Children’s half marathon this year. She
broke two toes only one month before the race.
This stopped her training short, but she was able to complete the race –
it meant a lot to her and to me. Nationwide
Children’s Hospital will always have a special place in our family’s heart.
Life has settled down so much from where our family was this
time last year! Last year I celebrated
my first Christmas in the hospital which was hard on our family. I am really looking forward to celebrating my
first Christmas at home!
In front of our tree, my siblings set up a Little People nativity. Mommy and Daddy tell me that that little baby, Jesus, in the manger was born at Christmas. He came into the world to save us all from the bad things we do, called sins. I know that Jesus was the one who took care of me during those tough days in the NICU. He is called Emmanuel: God with us. He held me when my Mommy couldn’t visit me and He gave me strength and courage to fight to breathe when my lungs wouldn’t work. He is called the Great Physician; He helped sustain my life and gave the doctors and nurses wisdom on how to treat me. He is called the Prince of Peace; He gave my Mom and Dad peace when things looked grim. And He is the baby in the manger this Christmas. I’m looking forward to celebrating His birth!
In this season of thankfulness, we see the blessings the
Lord showered on our family. It didn’t
come without hurt and heartache; battle-wounds and scars…but we are blessed.
May the Lord bless your family this Christmas and throughout
2015.
Love,
Joshua
(and the rest of my family: Joe, Sarah, Abby, David, and
Jeremiah)
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