Rumley Christmas pictures!

Beautiful Grace looking like a teenager!

Happy Caleb loves the laptop - and he always makes us smile!

The newlyweds are still having fun!

These beautiful sisters have boyfriends now! AHHH!

Mom and Dad Rumley

Have you missed his smile?

Countdown: Six days

The weekend was a success!

Friday night's white elephant party was HILARIOUS. We took a funny tie and a pair of ceramic boots (I think they're planters, like to put plants in). We received a Christmasy jar and the ugliest tissue box cover I've ever seen. You fit it over the tissues, and it looks like a couch, only with tissues coming out the cushions. Yikes. I'd post a picture, but I already put it in our Sunday School room at church. I wish I could post a picture of the funniest present I've ever seen. Pastor Craig (youth/family/music pastor) picked it. It was a dark blue hat that says in bright yellow letters "Hemmorrhoids can be fun!" I guess I forgot that our host is a colon-rectal surgeon. He got the hat from one of his medical suppliers. TOO funny.

Saturday was great, too. We got a surprise visit from Erik, Amy, and Grace Buskard. They were on their way to a family Christmas. It was great to see them! They're living in O-H-I-O now. So, we got to catch up and have lunch with them. Then we took a long nap, which was also lovely. (I still can't believe we got both kids to sleep at the same time for that long!)

And then, we had our date! Our friends, Craig and Kathy (yep, the guy with the hat) watched both the kids while we went out by ourselves. It was SO nice to do that! We went to a place called Mojo's, which is a dueling pianos bar/restaurant. It was a nice little place in the center of downtown. And we got there early enough to see the beginning of the show and eat dinner, which was really yummy. We stayed for about two hours, and the music definitely got better during the second half. But it also got really vulgar after a while, which is part of the reason we left. (I realize it is a bar, but still. It was totally unnecessary stuff they were saying/singing. Sheesh.) Oh, and we were the only ones there not drinking alcohol. The waitress looked at us a little funny when we ordered water and Diet Coke. Ha! I wouldn't recommend going to Mojo's, especially after 8:30pm. Maybe lunchtime would be better? But all in all, it was a good time anyway!

And then Sunday was church, home, meeting, and caroling! We went caroling at a nursing home, which gave mixed emotions for me. It was nice to be able to bring some Christmas joy to the people there, but it was also so sad. There were older folks just sitting in their rooms hardly moving, looking absolutely forlorn. And I thought, I'm so glad my dad didn't have to be in a nursing home. I was nervous to have him home, but I would be so sad if he had to go to a nursing home just to sit by himself all day in a quiet, lonely little room. I'm glad God knew where Dad needed to be.

Well, I guess that's the update. This week, I'm trying to madly finish the gift for my parents. I hope it gets done! We'll have Christmas with them this weekend, so I'm on a deadline here! Does anyone want two kids for the week? :-)

-{lkr}

White elephants, AWANA anniversaries, and tent beds...

We're facing a fantastically full weekend ahead. Tonight is our Sunday School class Christmas party at the Figgs'. It'll be fun. We're doing a white elephant exchange. I can't tell you what we're taking - what if someone from class reads our blog ahead of time? I thought it would be super funny to take our old vacuum cleaner, but MomR (or DadR) is going to try to fix it. No worries - we had other options up our sleeves! I'll let you know how it goes, if I remember.

Then tomorrow, thankfully, we get to sleep in! We need it! Poor Luke has been working really hard lately, so he's pretty beat. We will hopefully not do a thing until the early evening...

Then we're going out on a date (without the kids!) to celebrate our third anniversary! Three years already! WOW! (I guess that's good, since we have two kids, the latter of which is already 8 months old!) Our anniversary is technically next Wednesday, but we'll be spending that evening at AWANA. Not my idea of a date. So we moved the celebration to tomorrow. That'll be fun. Details later, again if I remember.

But the craziest, coolest thing will happen tomorrow around noon. My dad is going home! WOW! I don't know if he's fully ready, but the doctor is discharging him anyway. He's SO excited to go home and sleep in his own bed. (Currently he sleeps in an enclosure bed, which they zip him into at night, like being locked in a tent. He HATES it.) I am thankful beyond words that I will get to celebrate Christmas this year with my WHOLE family - Dad included. I've never been more thankful for his life. Praise God for His goodness!

-{lkr}

P.S. Does anyone want to take a Christmas picture of us? I need one. But I can't get my camera to work. And even if I could, I should probably be in the picture...What a pain. Oh, but don't expect a Christmas card in the mail from us - SORRY! We definitely won't get around to it this year. Hopefully next year. How about I just say "merry Christmas" on our blog? MERRY CHRISTMAS!
P.P.S. The picture - Grace found some stickers and got herself "Veggie-fied."

The long-awaited hair pictures

Well, folks. My hair is gone. On its way to Locks of Love, hopefully. Here are the pictures:

Before, front view.

Before, back view. Isn't it long?

The day after - not styled quite the same as the hairstylist did the night before. (I'm costmetologically impaired, remember?) But you get the idea. P.S. Don't mind the unmade bed behind me - it was Saturday morning!

The beauty of our backyard in the winter...

...and the promised pictures of Grace in her snowsuit:

1-2-3, A-B-C

I know it's been a long time. I apologize. I feel quite busy lately, and I also don't really have a lot to say. Let's see...

With my dad, each Wednesday the doctors and insurance company have a battle. Today's the day. We'll find out if Dad gets to stay at Mary Free Bed one more week, or if he has to be discharged. When the insurance company gives a final "no," they have 48 hours for him to leave. Right now it looks like he'll go to a nursing facility if that happens.

He's doing well, always improving. Praise the Lord for that! He seems to really be improving cognitively. He's not as confused when he's tired now, and he's been remembering the kids' names a lot better. The down side of being more aware is that he seems to be very aware of his limitations. He's been sad, and I asked why. He said it's because "life is hard" and "I can't do everything I used to do." He was a very capable man before, and now he's having to rely on others for all his needs. I can't imagine what it would be like to be "trapped" in your body - where you know you should be able to do things, but you still can't. So, please pray for continued improvement and some peace and JOY in his heart. Also pray for my mom as she's going to be making some big decisions in regard to his care.

In Rumley-ville, we're doing well. Caleb's about to sprout his third tooth (top right middle), and we're working on his ability to stand by himself (without holding onto anything). Grace is smart - she can say "1, 2, 3" and "A, B, C" now. She's learning to count and recite the alphabet. Not bad for barely-2, right? Luke took her sledding last night while I was at our church's Ladies' Christmas Tea. We have some super-cute pictures of her in her snowsuit, but I can't get them up here right now. (Luke, you wanna post one?)

Next on the agenda: HAIRCUT! I'm scheduled for a haircut on Friday evening, finally! It's probably been a good year since I got it cut. Yikes! I'm donating this mop to Locks of Love. I'll be sure to post before and after pictures. Anyone have suggestions for the new do? Ideas? Feel free to help. If you know me, you know I'm at least slightly cosmetically/aesthetically challenged. Thanks!

-{lkr}

Birthday, sickness, Thanksgiving, Christmas...

Grace's family birthday party was great. It was nice to have everyone here (except "Papa" Liabenow, Betsey, and DanO). We had pizza, snacks, cake, and ice cream...a simple menu! But she had a great time and just LOVES the gifts that everyone got her. She's been playing with her puzzle, tea set, and bike every day. And she loves to read her new books, and color her new coloring books...I'd say her party was a hit! (Thanks, family!)

This past Wednesday, we took Caleb to the pediatrician, because he had a fever and was super crabby. And he has an ear infection in his right ear. DaRn! So, we got his medicine and headed to Indiana...When we got there, his temporal artery temperature was 106.1! Wow! We got him undressed and gave him some Tylenol, and put a cool cloth on his head, and it came down to about 103.5. I still called the pediatrician's office, and the nurse said if it went above 105 again to go to the ER, but it was probably so high because he was bundled in his car seat all the way down to Indiana...Still, it was scary. So, we kept tending to poor Caleb, and by the morning, his fever was gone. He has the sweetest disposition, though. Even through his sickness and fussiness, he'd take time to stop and smile at us. He has such a sweet little smile!

Thanksgiving Day (and Elyse's 7th birthday!) was good! We had some great food and fun times with the whole Rumley clan. We number 12 now! An even dozen with two parents, six kids, two in-laws, and two grandbabies. Crazy, huh? Makes for some entertaining times at the Rumley house.

A tradition at the Rumley Thanksgiving is to say what you're thankful for. Grace is too cute - she says she's thankful for the Bible (a completely unsolicited response from a two-year-old -- not bad!), and for her friends Luke, Noah, and Kade. As for me, I have SO much to be thankful for, but a huge thing that I'm thankful for this year is my dad's life and recovery this far, and I'm thankful that I've been able to learn such valuable lessons at such a young age. (Such as, God is good and sovereign no matter how awful my situation seems.)

We came home from Indiana on Thursday night, and Caleb had a very high temp again, but we got it to disappear by morning again, and he hasn't had one since. Thank you, Lord!

I did go shopping a little bit on Black Friday. What a crazy day! I got some good deals, but I'm not sure it's worth it to get up at 4:30am and brave the crowds. I'm sure I'll go again next year, though, just because I can't pass up the amazing deals.

Christmas is coming so soon! I feel like I have so much to do to get presents and everything ready, let alone making candy for the Ladies' Tea and preparing for Christmas festivities! I love all the fun-ness and craziness of Christmas, but I also just love the peacefulness of sitting in the living room with the lights dim, listening to Christmas music, and looking at the lit Christmas tree. It's then that it's easiest to remember that it's not about presents and candy and family get-togethers. It's about Jesus!

-{lkr}

7 more days...

The insurance company has granted Dad 7 more days at Mary Free Bed. And so begins a game where they say "7 more days," and then we wait the 7 days, and then we fight for more time. And then (hopefully) they'll say "7 more days" and the cycle will continue until Dad is well. We'll see how it works! We might really only have 7 more days left, or we could have more time. Hopefully the doctors can be persuasive with the insurance company! Either way, praise God for more time! And thank you for your prayers!

Tomorrow is our family get-together for Grace's birthday. It'll be fun! Pizza, chips, cake, and family! Who doesn't like that?

-{lkr}

Please pray!

My mom just called to tell me that their insurance company is trying to send Dad home already. They apparently think that he's ready to go home, even though the doctors and therapists say he's not! (Or the truth of the matter is that they're ready to stop paying for him to be there, even though he needs more care.) Mary Free Bed is fighting with them to allow him to stay, and we should know something by the end of the day today.

We know that God is still in control, no matter what. Please ask Him to allow my dad to stay in rehab, so he can have more of a chance to get well! Thank you!

-{lkr}

Two years ago...

...a beautiful baby girl was born. Read the labor story here.

This is a picture of her when she was three months old:
Now here's a picture of her yesterday, on her second birthday. (We got her a play cell phone.):

I told her yesterday, and it's true, this has been the best two years of my life! Praise the Lord for His gift of our children!

-{lkr}

Prayer Request

I received this prayer request through the grapevine, from my parents' church in Manton. It's doesn't involve anyone from that church; the man that sent the request is the son of a couple that used to go to the church. (Confused, anyone?) I'll just paste the email here, so you can read it and so I won't confuse anything. Please pray for this family!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"This summer a five year old boy (Jade) & his 10 yr old sister (Katie) visited our Vacation Bible School with their babysitter. They absolutely loved coming to church & finally convinced their Mom about 6 weeks ago to start coming them (she started really liking it too!). Friday night Jade & Katie were with their 15 yr old aunt(Brittany) & 18 yr old friend of the family(Eric) were on their way to their Dad's for the weekend. The roads were bad because of the rain & snow & they got in an accident. Jade & the 15 yr old Aunt were both killed instantly. Katie & Eric are both in the hospital. The Dr's are planning to take Katie out of ICU tomorrow although with the spine injuries that she suffered, she'll still have to be monitored very closely. They also had to take part of her intestines due to seatbelt injuries & are keeping a monitor on her head from hitting the seat in front of her.

Please pray for all involved. Last night I visited Katie in the hospital & she was sedated. One of many prayers is that Eric & Katie would not have those horrific nightmares reminding them of the accident. Katie's Mom (Sarah) was at the hospital also trying to hold it together for Katie, but she is very new to the church. Please pray that she feel the comforting embrace of our Father & the love extended to her & her family through the church. Also for Sarah's Mom & Dad as they now lost a daughter, a grandson & have the devastating reality that another one is badly struggling in the hospital.

Brittany, I've been told, recently was baptized & gave her profession of faith PTL. Our youth pastor was with Eric last night as he went through some reconstructive surgery on his jaw. After the surgery was when they were going to tell him about the others being killed.

I know that God has complete control, but it is hard sometimes to understand that He has a plan to give a hope & a future. Please, also pray for our children's ministry & schools. Jade was in Katie's (our Katie) kindergarten class at church and school. He was a very excited little boy. And Katie (the 10 year old) is in Austin's grade & my small group class that I teach on Wed. nights....this hurts!!!!!

Our kids have taken this very well, way better than their Mom! But, I am nervous of how things will go tomorrow at school when their classmates find out for the first time & the school is full of guidance counselors."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I know firsthand the power of prayer. Please pray for some miraculous happenings in the life of this family! And remember, no matter what, God is always good.

-{lkr}

Happy (belated) Veteran's Day!

Sorry I haven't blogged lately. There just hasn't been a whole lot going on with my dad.

On Thursday, the doctors, therapists, and who knows who else met together to discuss Dad's progress. They said really positive things. They said that he has improved significantly across the board, in all areas, which is great. (Some people only improve in one area.) They also said they are hopeful for more significant progress. They determined that his total stay at Mary Free Bed will be 6-12 weeks, depending on how things go from here. That is quite a broad range, because it means he could go home anywhere from 2-1/2 weeks from now to the middle of January. Crazy. But it all sounds like good news anyway.

This weekend (the 11th) was Alonna's 13th birthday. I can't really believe she's a teenager. AUGH! We threw her a super-cool spa party. It was fun. I had a really good time chatting with Emily on the way there and back. (Thanks for coming, Emily! You did a fabulous job on their hair!)

And Tuesday is Grace's 2nd birthday. My baby is almost 2! Wow!

That's all for now.

-{lkr}

Election Day thoughts

I am baffled. Why has my generation abandoned traditional values for liberal views? I'm not talking about the unbelieving portion of our generation. I'm talking about Christian people. The gospel has not changed, so why have they?

How can someone who professes to be a Christ-follower also be pro-choice? How can you know the God of love, who protects the innocent and forbids murder, and yet say it's okay to kill an innocent life? I know abortion is the never-ending debate, but I didn't expect it to be a debate amongst Christians.

I admit, I've never had an unwanted pregnancy. I have had two unexpected pregnancies, but I've never not wanted my children. That's a foreign concept to me. Even when Grace and Caleb are being awful, screaming, making messes...I've never said to myself, "I wish I would've had an abortion." Or even worse, "I wish I would've had an abortion, and if I had, God would've thought it was okay." That's such a sickening thought to me. Come to think of it, I've never met anyone who has children and regrets not aborting them.

What kind of God would I serve if He thought it was okay to kill babies, depending on the circumstances? Today I'm praising Him for His faithfulness, His love, and His justice. I'm thanking Him for the kids He's given me. And I'm especially thanking Him that He's the God of LIFE.

-{lkr}

One down, plenty to go...

As many of you know, we are taking a Crown Financial Ministries class, learning how to handle finances God's way. We were so excited yesterday when we paid off one huge debt that has been looming over us for the last 9 months, without incurring the finance charges that were accruing over those 9 months. There are many more debts to go, but this will provide a big relief to our finances; it is fun to watch God provide!

--
Luke

P.S. Lacey is doing better than she was in the last post. We had a pretty restful Saturday, and a busy, but good Sunday.

I don't want to be awake right now...

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. Not a whole lot has been changing with my dad, and yet life has been CRAZY. Being with my dad four days a week, plus church responsibilities and having my whole family here all the time, makes for some very tired Rumleys. The past couple of days I've been very frustrated, because I know it will be a while until we can actually rest. I need some sleep, and my poor children need some sleep. Caleb hasn't been sleeping well ever since the accident, and it doesn't help to have all this going on. I know I need to have a better attitude, but I just feel exhausted with no hope of reprieve.

As far as my dad goes, things are still progressing, but it just doesn't seem as fast since he started walking and talking. Sometimes he seems very clear on things (cognitively), and sometimes he seems confused. He talks about work a lot, and he has been pretty restless/claustrophobic. They say the restlessness is a normal thing to go through, and most people get better. I hope so, because he needs some sleep, too!

Well, that's not a very uplifting update, is it? We do also have a lot to praise the Lord about. Our church family is one huge gift from God in our lives. They are so special to us, and so encouraging. Not only did they give us two generous Meijer gift cards, but they also got a work crew together and came to finish framing and drywalling a room in our basement so that my mom (and family) will have a place to stay other than the couch all the time. Isn't that just amazing? I'm so thankful that God has placed us with a group of believers that truly see needs and take care of each other. I think that kind of unity and service really brings glory to God.

Our friends Craig and Kathy also had us over for dinner last night – thanks, guys! It was so good just to get away and have some great food and fellowship for a while. They are a fun, godly couple that we've learned a lot from, especially in the area of parenting. (Grace just loves their adorable daughters!) We're thankful for their testimony and friendship.

I think that's all I have to say for now. I will try to work on my attitude, and maybe by the time I post next, things will be better (or at least my outlook will be, ha!). Feel free to leave some encouraging Scripture or something to get my focus back where it should be! Bye for now!

-{lkr}

And he's walking!

Just a really quick update...

When I was in with my dad on Monday, he kept asking to take a walk, and I kept telling him he couldn't walk yet. He'd get there, but not yet. Well, unbeknownst to me, he had walked in physical therapy that day! His therapist had him standing between the parallel bars, and he just started walking. So when he got to the end of the parallel bars, they put him in something called an eva walker, and he walked a total of 260 feet that day! And he's still walking in therapy! Praise the Lord! His therapist wasn't expecting him to be able to walk already; it's definitely an act of God!

It was nice to be able to spend some quality time with him on Monday. We got to talk, and I trimmed his fingernails, and I read him some Scripture and his Daily Bread. It was nice to be able to do something after being away for a few weeks.

And guess what? He's having some problems with his rear. (It's a prayer request - but I won't go into any more detail!) Anyway, his colon-rectal specialist is Ryan Figg, a friend from church! That's got to be another God-thing.

So, remember, God is good, all the time! And have a great day!

-{lkr}

P.S. I almost forgot! Caleb's first tooth started to pop out today! He's such a big boy!

P.P.S. Dad also got his trach out yesterday, which is wonderful! Now, keep praying that he'll be able to have a strong enough swallow to have a drink of water.

He's talking!

Good things have been happening. On Friday (I think? or maybe Thursday?) of last week, they changed Dad's trach, and he is now able to talk! It been SO great to hear him verbalize what he's thinking and feeling. It's also a little sad, because one of the first things he said was, "I don't want to be here." And he keeps asking to go home. He also didn't know what happened, so my mom had to explain a little bit of the accident to him (without the gory details). It has been nice, though, to hear him say "Hi, Grace" and "I love you" and things like that.

I think his therapies are going well, too. They've been working on standing with him. I guess he's been improving quite a bit. At first, they had to have someone bracing his knees, and someone behind him bracing his shoulders and bottom. But now, they don't have to have people bracing him. Just someone there to help him keep his balance. That's great! He hasn't even been there a week yet, and I feel like he's improving so much.

Now, please pray for him to learn to swallow again. Once he learns to swallow on command, he can have his trach out. And he can have the drink of water that he's been asking for. Also, please just pray that he'll continue to be strengthened mentally and physically. He seems confused some of the time, so please pray for mental clarity for him.

Now, on an unrelated note, we celebrated Kade's second birthday this past weekend. It was fun! Grace and Kade are best buddies, and they just love to be around each other. The first picture is of Grace and Kade opening one of his birthday presents. He was very gracious to let Grace help with the unwrapping!

And then the other picture is from last week, when Grace got to play on the playset that Grandma and Grandpa Rumley brought for her. She loves it. She was so excited that she walked around the house all day one day pointing to it and saying, "Papa, thank you. Papa, thank you." So, thank you, DadR!

-{lkr}

Thumbs up

Well, I've been able to see my dad a couple of times now, which has been wonderful...On Tuesday evening, all of us (Luke, the kids, and I) went to see him. It was discouraging, because he was exhausted and agitated from the long, bumpy, loud ride in the ambulance (about 3 hours from TC to GR). So, he didn't respond much to us. BUT, the kids and I were able to go back yesterday afternoon to see him again, and he was much better. He opened his eyes really wide and waved at us. He answered our questions with thumbs up and thumbs down. He also tried to talk, which is encouraging, but he can't because he has a tracheotomy.

He seemed happy to see the kids. He held Caleb's leg/foot and touched his face when I brought him close to him.

I think his mind has had a measure of preservation in all of this, because he could answer questions so well. We asked him if he remembered Luke being there the night before, and he said yes (thumbs up). If he really does remember that, it would be great, because it would mean he has some short term memory, which is often damaged in situations like this. Also, one of the therapists asked him if he knew where he was. She asked him if he was in a restaurant (thumbs down), a school (thumbs down), or a hospital (thumbs up).

It's going well. I know the therapies are really tiring for him, but they'll also be SO good for him. (I asked him if he liked therapy, and he said no, hehe.) It's impossible to know what the end result will be, but please keep praying for complete healing. They say some people get out of rehab walking and talking, and some get out not much better than how they came in. Please pray that my dad will make major progress. We'd love for him to be walking and talking his way out in a month or two!

And can I just say that we are absolutely blessed by our church family? They are unbelievably good to us. Praise God for his provision in giving us this amazing family of believers!

That's all for now...We'll probably head back to see Dad tonight or tomorrow, so I'll update if there's anything to say.

-{lkr}

Welcome, Dad!

Praise the Lord! Dad came down to Mary Free Bed for rehabilitation today! They left Traverse City at 10am, and he arrived at the hospital around 1pm. Luke, the kids, and I will be visiting him tonight. I'm excited to see him. It's been almost three weeks! Welcome to GR, Dad!

So, now we'll pray for his rehab to go well and quickly. He's a hard worker, so I'm hoping he'll do really well with it.

For those of you who haven't met him, this picture is my dad holding Grace and my nephew, Kade, on the fourth of July. I'm thankful for memories like this one.

-{lkr}