Monthly Archives: April 2009

And now we turn our attention to another momentous event.

Youngest Son graduates from Cedarville University this weekend.

We’ve engaged wonderful caregivers for Nettie and Cecilia.

Certain Man is already in Ohio.

Early tomorrow morning, Beloved Son in Law, Eldest Daughter, Baby Charis, Middle Daughter and Youngest Daughter and I will attempt to navigate the distance between Milford, Delaware, and Plain City, Ohio.

To say the least, this will be interesting.  This Grandma has to find a way to keep her knee from getting too unhappy.  Eldest Daughter needs to find a way to keep Baby Charis from getting too unhappy.  And we all need to find a way to travel with excitement and joy and anticipation.  500 miles can get really long!!!

When you think of us, say a prayer for safety, harmony and most of all, for an uneventful trip for Charis.  The last few days have been incredibly busy, and full of lots of changes for all of us, but especially for such a little baby.

“Lord, send  your angels to watch over us . . .”

Praise the Lord

Rivers of joy, running down my cheeks!

Baby Boo has a name.

Charis Nicole Bontrager.

The alleged father signed the papers today.

“This is the LORD’s doing, and it is wondrous in our eyes.”

(“Charis” is pronounced with a “K” sound — the name would be pronounced “care-iss”)

Oh, Baby Charis.  “Grace”  What incredible GRACE has been extended to us.

Welcome to your great big family.

So Precious . . .

Our Beautiful Granddaughter
(Still known as Baby Boo)

The Happy Family
What a wondrous, wondrous gift

Baby Boo is Beautiful.  Her happy Daddy and Mama are allowed to bring her home from the hospital tomorrow.  We’ve seen pictures and it is amazing how healthy and beautiful she is.  I am so anxious to see her, hold her, and tell her how much we love her, how long we’ve waited until just the right baby came.  We continue to pray for the paternity situation, and we will all breathe a little easier when that gets settled.

And Certain Man and I came to an agreement tonight about the Ohio trip.  It looks like it would be best in the long run for me to stay here until Thursday when I can get a ride out in time for Lem’s Graduation Festivities.  It has been difficult for me to give up a trip that I’ve been looking forward to for a long time, but I feel a sense of “rightness” about the decision.  I was so blessed by my sister in law, Rachel’s affirmation this morning when I was talking to her.  She agreed that if it were her or any of Daniel’s sisters who were in my situation, they would stay home.  “Christina needs you,” she said comfortingly, “and I think you should be there.”  Somehow that made the decision easier for both Daniel and me.

I’ve been grumpy today — the knee has been unusually troublesome since the shot it was given a week ago to “calm it down” and then the pharmacy got concerned that I am using too many pain meds, so I’ve been trying to cut it back.  It isn’t working.  I was following my doctor’s orders to a “T” but decided that maybe I could do without meds at night — and I did go to sleep and stayed asleep pretty well, but when I got up in the morning, the pain was just plain out of control once I was on my feet, and it seems to take all day to really get ahead of it.  I am tempted to try one more day and see if it settles down, but this day has pretty much convinced me that it isn’t worth it  — at least not yet.

Thanks again for all who have prayed, written, telephoned and just plain CARED!  It means so much to our families and I believe that God has His eye on this situation.  He will never leave us, never forsake us.  I choose to believe that.

As soon as Jesse and Christina are comfortable with it, I will post some pictures.

The news we’ve been waiting for
copied from
Christina’s Xanga page.

Christina Bontrager

 Happy Birthday Baby Boo!!!

Baby Girl born tonight.

 7 lbs. 6 oz.

Now we wait for the results of the paternity test, to see if she’s ours forever…♥

**************************

Now my additions:

A very interesting family sort of thing:

Exactly Nine months ago tomorrow,

 Youngest Son sent Beloved Son in Law the following text message:

“I had a dream you guys got a beautiful baby girl”

WOW!!! 
That gives me goosebumps!

Continue to pray for us all, Dear Friends.  
I am very aware that we are on an emotional roller coaster.
(And just in case you are wondering about a name, Jess and Chris are planning to call her “Baby Boo” until the paternity test is back.  They may change their minds about this, but for now, she’s “Baby Boo.”)

Please pray with us for Jesse and Christina and “Baby Boo”

If the baby isn’t born before Friday, the birth mom’s doctors are planning to induce labor.

There is a chance that Jesse and Christina will only be able to keep this baby for a week because of legal matters. (It’s complicated!)

And Certain Man and I plan to head for Ohio on Sunday afternoon.  There are Yutzy family issues that desperately need attention the first part of the week, and Youngest Son graduates from college the latter part of the week.

I can’t begin to tell you how torn this Grandma’s heart has been.  I really want/need to go to Ohio.  I want to be with my husband, and I really want to be there for the week with his siblings/family and then to be able to attend to Grad things.  But this is our first grandbaby.  And if they need to give it up, this week coming up is all the time I might have to be his/her grandma.

I know that a week isn’t all that long, but we want to pour all the love and prayers and touching and hugs into that little one that we can.  I can’t very well do that from Ohio.  From the very beginning, I have sensed that the Enemy has plans for this little one, and not for “good.”  I long for you all to stand with us in praying for Jess and Chris and especially Baby Boo.  God’s ways are not our ways, and I know this better that I care to admit.  (Especially about now, I would like to be an advisor to The Most High).  And even if this baby isn’t ours to keep, we can pray that the Satan’s plans for him/her would be hindered.  That the love that has already been poured out for this family would provide healing for the pain, and that God would somehow stamp His Image on that tiny heart and turn it early towards a Heavenly Father. 

Oh, Lord Jesus, would you stretch your strong arm tonight where ours cannot go, and bless this little one? Bless the birth mom with peace, and with strength and comfort as the days stretch out.  Protect this baby for the good of the child, and for Your Holy Name’s sake.  May the days ahead be so touched with Miracle and Glory and Grace that we cannot miss your loving hand in our lives.  I pray that each of the birth family would sense it as well.  Enable us to serve you faithfully and with joy.  Cause us to rest in the knowledge that you are not indifferent to any of the people involved here — that you will continue to be GOD even when it seems like evil prevails and things are so confusing and sad.  We know that you have a plan.  Help us to be careful that we don’t hinder that plan by looking for selfish and earthly solutions.  Grant us the presence and comfort of the Holy Spirit. And through it all, Lord Jesus, May you receive the honor and glory.  In your Holy Name I pray, with Thanksgiving for who you are.    Amen!         

I fell so in love with “Three Little Birds” and “Who’s My Pretty Baby” that have been playing over on  www.xanga.com/purpleamthyst76’s site that Middle Daughter went on line and bought me the three CD’s that were available by Elizabeth Mitchell. I think I like “You are my little bird” CD the best, but I do enjoy the others, too.

Youngest Daughter had chosen “Three Little Birds” for the soundtrack on her part of her senior video. (Each Senior chooses a song and while it is playing, a variety of pictures from their life so far are shown) .  Anyhow, she chose it with Bob Marley singing it (which is okay–if you are 18, that is) but still a bit different from the version on my new CD. Even before I had received the CD”s, the song from purpleamethyst76’s site was stuck in my head, and I kept singing it over and over again until it really got on her nerves.

I didn’t realize how much I was singing it until one day she suddenly said, “If I hear one more family member singing MY song, I am going to CHANGE it!” I really didn’t want that to happen, so I immediately tried to not sing it around her — and that’s when I found out how much I was singing it. One day I even got out the beginning of the first words and had to quick make up a new tune and change the words to something that sounded authentic until I could get out of sight and hearing. Thankfully the choice is now turned in and there is no more changing it.

Whew! I can sing it again!

♫Woke up this mornin’, smiled at the rising sun.  Three little birds. . . on my doorstep . . .♫

What a great Easter Season this has been!!!  A week ago right now, we were feverishly trying to get ready to go to Michigan for Uncle Luke’s funeral.  In all honesty, it has been almost too busy to think about things in a proper manner.  I was looking (very briefly) at some sites this morning, and saw where someone had noted that Xanga just wasn’t all that “cool” anymore.  With Facebook, Twitter, Utube, etc. Xanga is on its way out (so “they” said, anyhow).

Stuffin’ Nonsense!!!

I would much, much rather read a xanga blog any day than surf over the facebook and read one sentence things that make me wonder, “What in the world was behind that???”  And those little one-liners:  “Sally Jones really, really doesn’t like it at all.”  It drives me crazy!!!  What doesn’t Sally Jones like?  Why doesn’t she like it?  It is something I could fix or pray about it?  Sometimes if I know the person, I go through all sorts of mental gymnastics that include things like, “Is that put there so someone will call and ask what’s wrong?”  “If I do call and ask what is wrong, will they think I’m meddling.”  “But then, they put it out there on the web for all to see, and if no one even pays attention, will they think no one cares?”  “But maybe they just want people to pray/feel sorry/be inquisitive etc., etc., etc..”

And then there are all those applications.   I don’t know what to do with these things.  They sound so interesting, but I can’t figure out what to do with them.  I don’t mind being related to everybody and their dog.  It’s been the story of my life.  But the pokes, the easter eggs, the flowers, the gifts, the jabs, the quizzes. Ah, the QUIZZES.  “Somebody in your town called you stupid.  Take the IQ challenge now and prove them wrong.”  “How Amish are you?”  “What woman in the Bible are you most like?”  There is no end to them, and even though I am quite sure people who send them to me may be slightly interested in the results, I am also just as confident that I won’t seriously hurt their feelings if I decide that I really don’t care which shakespearian drama character I am most like. 

My kids think that the solution to all my problems would be to just not even go on Facebook.  And that would be my choice, (probably) except for one thing — Where else will I get a chance to see fresh pictures of babies that are heartwarming and reassuring?  How can I not be at least a little bit interested in finding old friends?  I confess that I am, and it is no small source of delight.  And I do get brief glimpses into the lives of our five adult children and the three beloved in-laws . . .

But I can’t put my heart on Facebook the way I do here.  It doesn’t seem right somehow to expound on the people I love and the choices that make up my life and the lives of the people who live and laugh and love at Shady Acres.  There’s never enough room.  I don’t get the feeling that people are really interested, anyhow, and my precious Xanga Friends might not get a chance to go over there and look things up.  They just might be like I am — enough facebook handicapped to be stymied by the whole facebook thing.  I really get concerned that I am missing important things in the lives of friends when the oldest message on my opening page is only three hours old, and I haven’t really checked things for a couple of days.  Oh, dear!

I’ve been wanting to write a big post on here about our eventful trip to Michigan last week, and maybe I will get around to it yet.  I am experiencing a rather difficult day with my knee, (it felt like something went a little haywire in there yesterday at church and it has been complaining ever since).  That makes me feel unable to really get the trip together into a neat, little, entertaining package and give it the twist of solemnity and hilarity that made it THE tip to remember.  I hope to have a chance to do that later.  It was a time that could warm the coldest heart, and I wouldn’t have wanted to miss it under any circumstance. 

It is time to change a washer and to get this knee up again.  Blessings to all my dear, dear friends in Xanga-land.  Let’s use Facebook as a servant, and keep it in its place!!!

Oh.  Right.  Xanga, too!

We spent two days going.

We spent two days coming.

And we were only gone three nights.

What a wonderful, wonderful time.

How special to see so many people in my family.

How refreshing to meet old friends.

How blessed to be able to celebrate the life of a good man.

But oh, how wonderful it is to be safely home again.

I am suddenly very, very much ready for my very own bed.