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Brunssen family welcomes five babies in 2018

RANDOLPH — Warren and Debbie Brunssen didn’t know if they’d ever have children — let alone grandchildren.

In the last six months, their family tree sprouted all sorts of branches with the addition of five new grandchildren.

Warren and Debbie were married June 13, 1981, at St. Frances Catholic Church, Randolph. 

As the Brunssens settled into their wedded bliss with dreams of raising a family, the couple’s dream slowly fell apart. 

From what became month after month of disappointments, gradually became year after year of infertility.  The Brunssens desire to have a baby slowly turned into just a faint thought of one day becoming parents.

The couple tried everything — many doctors’ visits, dozens of tests, multiple medications, and even major surgery.  

They even considered adoption.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, 12.1 percent of women have fertility problems.

“Prayers and a strong faith gave us hope that someday we would have a baby,” Debbie said.

On April 11, 1985, their prayers were finally answered with the birth of their daughter, Tanya.  

The prayers continued to be answered with the birth of another daughter, Clarissa, in 1987. Lucas came along in 1989, and Andrea followed in 1992. Then came Tyler in 1995 and Grant in 1997. 

“We were blessed with six children and never took it for granted how truly they were all miracles to us,” Debbie said.

Prior to 2018, five of the six Brunssen children were married and growing their own families.  

They had three grandsons and three granddaughters. They felt blessed with the six little gifts from God.

Things started to change when Andrea (Brunssen) and Nate Gubbels, Randolph, gave Warren and Debbie a little jar of jelly with a poem attached saying, “Dear Grandma and Grandpa, Mom didn’t want to be the only one with a belly.”  

The jar had a due date of May 30, 2018, and the couple shared their ultrasound pictures.  This was the announcement of their first child.

Soon after the first announcement, Lucas and Sydney (Lowe) Brunssen, Randolph, sent a snapshot of a pregnancy test showing a positive reading with a message, second time around.  They had lost their first child to a miscarriage.  

“We were beyond excited and happy,” said Debbie.

Tanya (Brunssen), Pierce, is married to Mark Huwaldt. She came over to her parents’ house one night to pick her children up from   Debbie, who had been babysitting. Tanya showed her a picture with Thing One, Thing Two, Thing Three, Thing Four and Thing Question Mark.  Debbie said she was completely shocked as this would be her fifth child. 

Debbie was very excited with the news, saying “wow, three grandbabies, how exciting.”

A little while after hearing about three new future grandchildren, Warren and Debbie received a face-time call from their second child.  

Clarissa (Brunssen) and Andrew Schumacher live in Pennsylvania.  Debbie said it was later in the evening and they were together without their children, so they knew something was up.  They told them they were having their third child.  Warren and Debbie just about had to pick their mouths up off the floor after hearing the news. 

Debbie said they could hardly believe it.  

Each couple had told them not to tell anyone, a request that was very hard to comply with, Debbie said.

They were excited about the year of 2018 with the four new grandbabies on the way. 

Tyler and Jaci (Lubberstedt) Brunssen, Carroll, were married in November 2017.   Debbie noticed on their Facebook page soon after hearing about the fourth future grandchild, Jaci had posted an article about how much having a baby cost many years ago and how much it cost today.  Tyler then told his parents that, “I guess we will find out for ourselves soon.”

“Warren and I were now totally amazed and wanted to tell the world we were going to be grandparents of not one, two, three, four but FIVE babies in one year,” Debbie said.

Grant Brunssen, their youngest, is not married. He told his parents he needed to get on the ball. His puppy would be good enough for now, they told him.

On April 29, the family gathered for a baby shower for Andrea and her new arrival due May 30.  All five future mothers gathered for a photo while holding signs with their due dates with Debbie, the proud grandmother.

The first grandchild was born June 7 to Nate and Andrea Gubbels.  They named her Brielle Rose, weighing seven pounds, 11 ounces and measuring 21 inches long.  The name Rose is Andrea’s middle name.

The second grandchild was born to Lucas and Sydney Brunssen July 1.  They named her Evelyn Louise, she weighed eight pounds, six ounces and measured 20.5 inches long.

The third grandchild was born to Mark and Tanya Huwaldt July 30.  They named him Elijah Mark, just like his siblings that have biblical names.  He weighed seven pounds, nine ounces and measured 20 inches long.

The fourth was born to Andrew and Clarissa Schumacher Aug. 23.  Harrison Jacob Schumacher weighed in at eight pounds, four ounces and measured 21 inches long. 

At this point, Warren and Debbie had five grandsons and five granddaughters.

Tyler and Jaci came in with the tie-breaker tipping the number of boys to six and making the grand total of 11 grandchildren. 

The little boy was born Nov. 6 and named Aiden Dale Brunssen weighing in at seven pounds, 13 ounces and measuring 20 inches. His middle name comes from two of his deceased great-grandfathers and Warren’s middle name.

All of the 11 grandchildren — ages 13 years to two months — were able to get together with grandma and grandpa Brunssen when Harrison was baptized.  

Now all the children are baptized. 

“God answers prayers and then some.  We are truly blessed,” Debbie said.

in Pennsylvania. Debbie said it was later in the evening and the Schumachers were together without their children, so Warren and Debbie knew something was up. They (the Schumachers) said they were having their third child.  Warren and Debbie had to pick their mouths off the floor. 

Debbie said they could hardly believe it.  Each couple had told them not to tell anyone.  She said it was so hard. They were excited about the year of 2018 with the four new grandbabies on the way. 

Tyler and Jaci (Lubberstedt) Brunssen of Carroll were married in November of 2017. Debbie noticed on their Facebook page soon after hearing about the fourth future grandchild, Jaci had posted an article about how much having a baby cost many years ago and how much it cost today.  Tyler told his parents, “I guess we will find out soon.”

Debbie said, “Warren and I were now totally amazed and wanted to tell the world we were going to be grandparents of not one, two, three, four but FIVE babies in one year!”

Grant Brunssen, their youngest, is not married and he told his parents he needs to get on the ball.  They told him he has a puppy and that is good enough as they all laughed.

On April 29, the family gathered for a baby shower for Andrea and her new arrival due May 30.  All five future mothers gathered for a photo with Debbie, the proud grandmother, while holding signs with their due dates.

The first grandchild was born on June 7 to Nate and Andrea Gubbels. They named her Brielle Rose, weighing seven pounds, 11 ounces and 21 inches long.  The name Rose is Andrea’s middle name.

The second grandchild was born to Lucas and Sydney Brunssen on July 1.  They named her Evelyn Louise. She weighed eight pounds, six ounces and was 20½ inches long.

The third grandchild was born to Mark and Tanya Huwaldt on July 30.  They named him Elijah Mark, just like his siblings that have biblical names. His middle name is his father’s name.  He weighed seven pounds, nine ounces and was 20 inches long.

The fourth was born to Andrew and Clarissa Schumacher on Aug. 23.  Harrison Jacob Schumacher weighed eight pounds, four ounces and was 21 inches long. His middle name is the same as his father’s.

At this point, Warren and Debbie had five grandsons and five granddaughters.

Tyler and Jaci came in with the tiebreaker, tipping the number of boys to six and making a grand total of 11 grandchildren. The little boy was born Nov. 6 and was named Aiden Dale Brunssen, weighing in at seven pounds, 13 ounces and measuring 20 inches long.  His middle name comes from two of his deceased great-grandfathers and Warren’s middle name.

In a total of six months, the Brunssen family tree grew with the addition of five new precious gifts from God.

All of the 11 grandchildren, ages 13 years to two months, were able to get together with Grandma and Grandpa Brunssen when Harrison was baptized.  Now all the children are baptized. 

Debbie, who completely relies on her faith in Christ, said, “God answers prayers and then some.  We are truly blessed!”

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