Harbor Life Ministries

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.

Charlotte had her regular doctor’s visit Thursday. Although her due date isn’t until October 3rd, her doctor had reasons to get her admitted to the hospital and possibly start inducing labor.

Charlotte has been in good spirits throughout the past few weeks, even though her feet have been swelling, causing discomfort when she walks or stands.

Charlotte’s mother Rebekka, after getting the news via phone call, arrived yesterday on a flight from California. She is staying at the hospital with Charlotte, allowing me to come home, get some sleep, and see everyone here.

I am now heading back to the hospital. Please pray. The word is Charlotte is now 3 cm dilated, they have broken her water, and hope is that things are on their way now… We have called the adoptive parents…

A new study released today by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the first of its kind, shows that 26% of American girls age 14-19 are infected with one of four common sexually-transmitted diseases: human papillomavirus (HPV), chlamydia, herpes simplex virus, and trichomoniasis.

This is not news, however, to workers at pregnancy resource centers and maternity homes.

Something else that needs to be pointed out is that the 26% figure is for all girls, whether sexually active or not.

What you don’t hear too much is that the number of sexually active teens who are infected is nearly half.

Also interesting is that both the pro-abstinence and anti-abstinence (“pro-education”) sides point to the other side as the culprit for the high number.