Harbor Life Ministries

Chelsy and her new daughter Adelynne Joelle are both doing well after the baby’s arrival at 3:15 pm this afternoon, Friday, February 5.

Adelynne weighed a healthy 6 lb. 14 ounces.

Chelsy checked in at the hospital last evening. The induction meds were administered this morning and 2 pm, Chelsy was fully dilated and ready to push.

Chelsy’s most recent estimated due date was February 2. Possibly little Adelynne wanted to leave the job of predicting winter’s length to Buckeye Chuck and his associates. Whatever the reason, Chelsy didn’t miss her due date by much but she was definitely ready to get past pregnancy and on with parenting.

Chelsy’s mother (and Adelynne’s proud grandmother) Lena said she would get photos ASAP. Even so, it doesn’t require anything but a little imagination to see the smile on both Chelsy and Lena’s faces.

Please keep little Adelynne and Chelsy along with her family in your prayers.

            Hannah meets Samuel

Samuel Andrew, at 7 lb. 1 oz. and 21 inches long, arrived yesterday at 3:21 pm. Mom and baby are both doing well.

Her delivery was great. I was so impressed with her. She did such a great job.

Hannah’s mother could not get to Ohio for the delivery but should arrive Saturday, and then they plan to head back home on Monday to start school on Tuesday.

There were a few God things that happened at the hospital which I would love to share if anyone wants to hear.

Thanks again for all your love and prayers.

He’s finally here!

Hannah gave birth at 3:21 pm EDT to a baby boy weighing 7 lb. 1 oz., and 21 inches in length.

“She did great!” was Karla’s comment on the birth.

He has 10 fingers and 10 toes, but no name yet apparently. We’ll keep you posted. Check back or subscribe to our feed.

Colt Justice is the name given by the adoptive parents to a baby boy born Monday, June 1, 2009 at Community Hospital in Coldwater, Ohio.

Colt weighed 7 pounds, 12 ounces, and was 20.5 inches long at birth.

Lysa, 16 years old and 27 weeks pregnant, gave birth to a baby boy in the bathroom in the early hours this morning. She was alone at the time of delivery and had not realized that she was in labor.

After waking up her roommate and then me, a call was made to 911 and the EMTs rushed the baby and then Lysa to the hospital.

Sadly, the baby did not make it.

“Keith Lewis” (last name withheld) was born at 4:00 AM and expired at 5:38 AM Saturday, April 18, 2009. After over an hour of trying to revive him and get him stable, he went home to be with the Lord. Keith was 2 lbs, 9 oz, and seemed perfect in every way.

Lysa seems to be doing well under the circumstances, both emotionally and physically. She is looking forward to coming home from the hospital tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon.

Pray for Lysa to work through this very traumatic, early birth and the grief of losing her son. Pray for Doug and I as we minister to Lysa, her family and the others in the house. Also, pray for the other residents as well as our children. They were all very scared to wake up to fire sirens with lights flashing, and walkie-talkies chattering outside their bedrooms. One of them said they thought the house was on fire and no one had gotten them out.

Please pray for Lysa, 16, and her little baby boy, who was born in the bathroom at the house around 3:30 this morning. The baby is 13 weeks early and was rushed to the hospital.

If you want to be kept abreast of things, please check back here, subscribe to the RSS feed, or sign-up to get our update emails.

Josiah Shawn was born at 11:20 am on Sunday, February 1, 2009.

Labor was relatively short. It took India just two pushes after she and Connie McEldowney, the shepherding mom, arrived at the hospital just 50 minutes before Josiah was born.

Josiah weighed just 6 lb., 1 oz., and was 18.5 inches long.

Connie took India to the hospital the night before because of signs that she might be in labor, but after checking her, the hospital staff sent India back home.

India is parenting Josiah. She has been at with the McEldowney family in Russia, Ohio, since late October, 2008. She arrived at Harbor House last August, initially staying in Norwalk with the Eberles.

[More photos of India and Josiah can viewed on HarborLife's Flickr Photo pages.]

After over 30 hours of slowly progressing labor for Natasha, she finally met the boy who had been her “womb-mate” for over 40 weeks.

Korbyn Alexzander arrived at 5:39 PM Friday, December 12, weighing 8 lb., 3 oz. and 20 inches long. Both mom and baby are doing well.

Thank you for your prayers!

Monday, December 8th, was Natasha’s due date, which came and went, as did the 9th and the 10th, without event or any inkling of contractions.

This morning was her regular doctor’s visit. She is now at the hospital. The doctor says she may deliver today, or she may send her home and have her come back on Monday.

Please keep her in your prayers and check back for updates.

(The photo at right is not of Tasha at the hospital, but was taken last Thursday in Akron as she posed with Mr. Peanut outside the famous Peanut Shoppe.)

Gabriel James, born at 2:00 PM EST, a healthy 7 pounds, 2 ounces, 19 and three-quarters inches long. Lots of hair.

There was plenty of time. Jamie was only 4 cm dilated at 1:30 this afternoon, yet she had arrived to the hospital at 5:30 in the morning, nearly 8 hours (of labor) earlier. She had been given an epidural around noon and was trying to sleep a little through the contractions. The baby’s father, Tony, had even left the hospital.

Then the call came at 1:50 PM. It was the OB nurse on the phone. Jamie was pushing. Wow, that was fast.

It turned out that the doctor had said the baby would arrive by 2 PM. Gabriel arrived right on time.

Jamie is doing great. The adoptive mother Joelle was there for the birth, as was Tony. John Huffman, the adoption attorney, and his daughter Sarah, 18, arrived shortly after the birth. Sarah got to hold Gabriel. “I’ve never held a baby this small,” she said.

After 48 hours of labor, Charlotte has had a healthy baby boy. Jayden Reid entered the world at 5:34 pm today, weighing 7 lbs, 13 oz, and 21.5 inches long. Both mom and baby are doing well.

Charlotte’s mother Rebekka made it from California in plenty of time and the adoptive parents, Brian and Christine, have been to the hospital to meet their new son.

Charlotte will probably be in the hospital until Monday; court is likely to be on Wednesday. Charlotte and Rebekka will stay at the house until court is over when they’ll return to California, probably next weekend.

If you want to see more pictures of Charlotte, the baby and the four girls in house, head over to www.flickr.com/harborlife.

Thanks for all your prayers… please continue to pray for Charlotte and her mother Rebekka as these next few days are very emotional for everyone.

Yes, she was a little early, but Hanna and baby Sofia are doing fine.

Her labor began last Friday night. After not feeling well all day she went to bed early, but was up and down all night with contraction pains, something that wasn?t discovered by housemother Karla until Saturday morning when Hanna told her about the restless night she?d had.

The contractions continued through the day on Saturday, never progressing any quicker than 5-7 minutes apart. Hanna kept up a normal activity level until the evening when she headed to bed early again, this time hoping for a full night?s sleep.

She was back up before 11 pm and so she took a shower, hoping it would relax her. Around 2:30 am Sunday morning Karla timed the contractions at two minutes, so they headed off to the hospital.

A call was put in to Hanna?s parents in Arizona, and Hanna?s mother Sara booked a 6:15 am flight from Phoenix to Cleveland. Karla wondered if she would miss the birth or not.

The adoptive parents were also called but the weather for them was freezing rain and too dangerous to drive in. They decided to wait on the weather and hope it changed for the better. If it did, they had a three-hour drive to make.

At the hospital a nurse checked Hanna. Although the contractions were still close together, Hanna?s body wasn?t ready. Her labor pains had gotten much worse so an epidural was ordered.

By 8 am it was safe enough for Jason and Julie to head out. Hanna had dropped off to sleep, having gotten relief from the numbing epidural. Sara was still somewhere in the skies over the heartland.

Hanna woke up when Jason and Julie arrived around 11:30. Then the call came from Sara that she had touched down at Hopkins, an hour away from the hospital. She was grabbing her luggage, grabbing her rental car and would be on the road by noon. Jason and Julie went to get some lunch while Hanna and Karla waited in the room.

At 1 pm the doctor stopped back to check Hanna. She was complete and ready to push so the doctor broke her water while Karla started making phone calls. Jason and Julie had not returned from lunch yet and the cell phone they had wouldn?t work in the hospital. Sara was reached but she had gotten lost and was still at least 30 minutes away.

The nurses prepped Hanna and got the room ready. Jason and Julie were still not back. Another call was put in to Sara. She was still lost and 20 minutes away.

It was 1:30 and Hanna was trying hard not to push, praying her mother would make it.

At 1:50 pm on Sunday, February 17, 2008, everyone converged. Sara and Julie walked into the hospital room just in time to witness the final arrival, Sofia Nevaeh, who popped out at 2:02 pm. She was healthy and round, weighing in at 8 lb. 4.5 oz. but measuring just 19 inches long.

Hanna got to meet Sofia shortly after the birth. They knew each other, that was apparent. Hanna called her mother Sara over to see her, and then invited Jason, Julie and their son Jax over. Jax, 6, tentatively held his hand out and touched her lightly, then recoiled. A sister was going to take a little getting used to.

Both Hanna and her family believe that Jason and Julie were chosen by God ahead of time to be Sofia?s parents. There have been so many confirmations that to retell them all is a story in and of itself.

Whatever happened to boredom? I lost it along with my childlike innocence at some point in the faded, distant past.

Here’s a conversation I had with my youngest son Kavin after he made this observation:

“School work stinks.”

“Do you mean it smells bad?” I asked.

“No, I mean it stinks.”

“Why do you think it stinks?”

“Because you do it every day, then, ‘poof’, you’re dust in the wind.”

“Poof, huh? I hope i go out as a poof.”

“Homework stinks too.”

“Don’t you see the value of an education, though?”

“Yes I do, and it’s not very high.”

“Did you tell this to [your teacher] Mrs. Baugh?”

“No.”

“What do you think she’d say if you did?”

Kavin’s eyes got wide but he didn’t respond. I decided it was time for him to take his morning pills. As I went for them I thought of something that might make school more appealing to Kavin since he hates handwriting.

“The K-12 computers in the garage. Or maybe we can get the old one that’s at the office working. Do you do keyboarding?” He shook his head. “It’s more education for you but definitely worth it, because no matter how bad your handwriting it, knowing how to keyboard will level the field.”

Kavin thought about this, then asked, “Why did they call it ‘hand-writing’ before computers? What other kind of writing was there?”

“Penmanship,” I replied. “People had to learn how to use pen and ink without having ink spots or ink running down the page.”

“But why did they call it ‘hand-writing,’” he persisted. “Wouldn’t it just be writing?”

I handed his pills to him but didn’t provide him an answer. My mind had gone off to think about a different word, “penmanship.” I’m sure there must be a gender-neutral version of the word but for the life of me, I just couldn’t think of what it would be. Can you?