Harbor Life Ministries

Induction is scheduled at 9pm tonight, Feb. 4, for Chelsy, whose due date was two days ago.

The sex of the baby is undetermined, so even though an induction takes some of the surprise out of the birth, the baby’s name could be Carson Zavier or Adelynn Joelle.

Chelsy will be parenting her child, boy or girl. Her mother Lena will assist her.

Please pray for Chelsy to have a healthy baby, and remember to check back tomorrow. Subscribing to our feed is a good way to keep on top of news from HLM.

            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.

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.]

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.

This has been a very busy and exhausting week! Thank you for your prayers.

Charlotte delivered Saturday night, Sept. 27, with her mother making it all the way from from California (yeah!!!). Charlotte spent time in the hospital with the baby and her mother.

When Charlotte was dismissed she came back to the house. We’ve kept her on bed rest–on the couch or in bed, with her feet up and only trips to the bathroom allowed. Her mother Rebekka stayed here too, helping Charlotte out and keeping her company.

The baby’s birthfather, Jordan, who is 18, also flew in from Calif. on Monday, checking in to a nearby motel. He got to visit with the baby and spend time with Charlotte too.

One of the secondary reasons Jordan came to Ohio was so he could have an adoption assessment done for the court. Normally a signature from the birthfather is all that’s required to place a baby. This is the first adoption we have done with the Huron County Court and they seemed overly suspicious of our motives. The court has required much more than any other court ever has.

John Huffman, our long-time friend and ally, a humble but brilliant Christian attorney from Lima with integrity and character as great as anyone I know (really!!!)–I could go on but I won’t–John told me that we needed to do everything the court asked, no matter what. We want to be able to work with Huron County on future adoptions so John wanted to prove to them that we won’t whine, we won’t squeal, we won’t try to sidestep or suggest alternatives, anything the court asked from us, we were willing to do. So that also included making sure Jordan was here so the court could see that the adoption was completely of the birthfather and birthmother’s own unfettered volition.

We had to not only get Jordan assessed, but also get psychological profiles on the adoptive parents. Social worker Peggy Dodds, a godly woman, a believer who we’ve worked with for almost 17 years, did the assessments and profiles. Poor Peggy does not really work full time doing adoptions, but she had to take the day off work so she could come to court, only to be asked three questions!!!

The adoption hearing went well, all the “I”s were dotted and “T”s crossed, and I think the court was impressed with us.

Baby Jayden is now at home tonight sleeping with his new family. Charlotte is on a plane back to California with her mother and boyfriend. It’s time to sleep for a day.

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.