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Dawn, our amazing mother, wife, daughter has been declared brain dead by 2 doctors, with her EEG showing no activity.  We believe that she entered heaven instantaneously 2 days ago, but we are now as a family turning her body over to the organ donation center of Alabama, so that she may share her life with others.  That is typical of the life she lived, and it is so much like her.  We will miss her, but we know she is in God’s protective care, and we want to praise Him for his faithfulness.  I write with this tears in my eyes, but with joy in my heart as Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his saints.  And she definitely received “Well done, thou faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of the Lord.  She is free at last!   Jon, Robert, Kristin, Amber, and Stephen and all the family

Update:

There is not much to say except that things are really, really uncertain right now.  The damage to Dawn’s brain is extensive, and there really is not much hope.  We know that our God is a God of miracles, and we know that He can change things even now, but if not — Does that mean He isn’t God?

I’ve been thinking so much about Dawn and wondering so many things —

What was on your mind, as you stepped into that ordinary morning?
Trash to be taken out, blueberries to pick.
So conscious of your Heavenly Father,
Such an incredible wife,
So very nurturing as a Mom.
So alert to the needs around you,
So faithful as a friend.

Ah, Dawn, what have you already seen?
Can you see your family keep their loving vigil?
Do you see us praying desperate prayers?
Do you know how much we want you back?
Do you hear the angels singing and your Father’s voice?
Do you feel the pull of Heaven and light and perfect health?

We want to ask “why” (and we do, we do!!!)
Somewhere in these desperate hours
We wait and wish for an august explanation,
And bang our prayers like bloodied hands against
The wall that stands between the known and where you are.
And wait.  Our tears an offering of our love.

Please Pray for my cousin and his family:

We got word this morning that Dr. Jonathan Yoder’s wife, Dawn (Good) Yoder, of Atmore Alabama was struck by lightening while taking out the trash.  Details are sketchy — initially they didn’t hold much hope for her survival.  However, they did find a pulse, and she is on her way to Mobile.  She is breathing at least some on her own, but things are really “iffy.” 

We have seen God do mavelous things over and over again.  May He be pleased to intervene on behalf of this family NOW!!!

 This update from Jon–

Thanks for the prayers–Dawn is at Springhill Memorial Hospital in Mobile, and just had a heart cath which was normal.  She is stable from the standpoint of blood pressure and heart, but the main concern is her brain and its function after being without oxygen for as long as 10-15 minutes.  Please pray that the damage there will be minimal; We should know something in 24-48 hours.
  What happened was that Dawn was taking the trash out this morning, and was struck by lightning around 8:45 am.  Stephen was at home and saw the lightning, but Dawn had a note that she was going to be picking blueberries at the neighbors, so he didn’t look for her.  A friend from church found Dawn in the front yard unconscious and not breathing, and we are not sure how long that was.  She was in V-fib when she got to the hospital, but they were able to get all of that back.  She is an amazing lady, and if anyone can recover, it will be her…with God’s help—Jon and family

Another update:

Hello to all!  This is an update on Mom.  We really don’t have a lot of new information.  She is still comatose but her vital signs are stable.  The CT scan of her head showed bilateral subarachnoid hemorrhage, but her main problem continues to be anoxic brain injury.  In other words, she has bleeding on the brain and probably had an extensive period without oxygen to the brain.  So at this point, we just have to wait and see and see what the extent of the brain injury is going to be.  She still has not responded in any way.  The neurosurgeon just went in to see her. Thanks so much for all the calls, prayers, and encouragement.  We can really feel the support of the body of Christ.  We will try to send updates as we find out more.  Keep praying for God’s will, peace, strength, and wisdom for the decisions ahead. 
Kristin for the Yoders

Please, please, please keep praying!!!

THE PICNIC

Some of you are regulars at the fourth of July picnic at our house, but I did want to post a reminder in case anyone needed added impetus to make it here.

When Certain Man and I moved to Delaware from Ohio, one of the things we missed was the Labor Day Picnic that was held at United Bethel.  It was something people looked forward to year after year, and it was a great time to  get together, visit, have fun, play games, and enjoy some good food. 

One year, shortly after we moved to Milford from Greenwood, the church from Brooklyn, New York, came down over the fourth of July.  It seemed like a fun thing to make a picnic that day.  There were lots of inner city people who had very little exposure to country life. We were newly settled in at Shady Acres, but Certain Man thought that our little corner of God’s earth would be the perfect place to have it.  And that is where it all began.

There will be relays

And Food

Hopefully, a train ride

This was certainly a while ago!!!

Fellowship

(Are two “fellows in the same boat” the same as “Two fellows in the same ship”????)

Just lots of good fun1

When:  3:00 Today, July 4, 2009

Where:  Here at Shady Acres

Who:  Anybody who wants to come

Bring your favorite picnic food, lawn chairs, blankets, etc.
We have some riding toys, but often the small fry like to bring their own bikes, trikes, etc.
Hotdogs, hamburgers will be provided (bring your own rolls– and take home what doesn’t get eaten, please!)
We plan to churn several tubs of homemade ice cream after supper.
Bring on the strong arms and co-operative spirits.

Hope to see you there!!!

Remember these???

I have a very big problem.

Someone borrowed these sacks for some kind of a party, and I don’t remember who did.

We have our annual fourth of July picnic on Saturday, and we NEED them for our annual sack races.

I attempted to buy some new ones and they aren’t available.

I could get Halloween ones, but I am not impressed!

If you know where these are, PLEASE call me ASAP!!!

If you have a dozen sacks that we could borrow if these don’t show up,

PLEASE call me ASAP!!!

THANKS!!!

302-422-5952

Some pictures from this wonderful day:

One of my friends came in the other night, her baby on one arm, and in the other, this beautiful gift–

I cast about to see where I could hang it and this seemed like a good place.
Certain Man hung a hook right away, and it is so pretty.

Today our married children and their spouses were here for lunch.
Charis gets more and more personality every day.
She has learned to blow spit bubbles.

Her mama put her on the hammock and she enjoyed it.

Of course, there is no place quite like Mama’s hip to see the world!

Christina and Charis were watching the boys play a new game.
Ryan Kauffman made this game and it is quite a hit.

It has the glamorous name of
EDIT:  “Cornhole”
and the object is to toss corn bags through the hole
from a great distance away.

Here are a few pictures I took this afternoon while the boys were playing:

Lem takes careful aim

David looks to see if his latest effort meets with success!

Jesse, Raph, Lem, Gabe, David, and Ryan made up the three teams.
And I, impartial as I am, cannot remember who won —
But it was still fun to watch!

After everyone had gone home, I decided to take a trip out to see Certain Man’s garden.
It is really coming along nicely.

Some of you have wondered about the tomato racks that he was working on.
This picture shows them pretty well, as do some of the others.
This picture also shows his wonderful provision for his pole limas.
People can’t believe it, but we have learned that we need to space them out really far, and give them room to grow. (Thanks, Mark,jr.!!!) and then getting them to grow high seems to help, too.
This pole, wire and string creation is one of the most attractive, sturdy, and practical systems I have ever seen.

Another view.  Those are red potatoes in the foreground.

Here he has started the second row of poles for another row of limas.
This is the first year he has planted two rows.  I am so grateful for a second row.
I probably still won’t have as many as we would like, but it will be some better!

We already have:
 fresh red potatoes
yellow squash
green peppers
onions
His tomatoes and butternut squash are healthy and strong
and his starts of rhubarb and asparagus are coming right along.
He’s a little upset because his ground cherry plants haven’t come up in their old location.
He would really like to get them transplanted.  He might just have to start them again.

It has been a great Sunday here at Shady Acres.
Tonight I remembered that I have a Case Manager coming in the morning.
I haven’t done a speck of my paper work for her yet.
Yikes!
Guess who’s gonna’ need to get up really, really early???

Okay, now I’m bragging!

This is Charis and Her Daddy on her first trip to the Beach!

(You can tell she doesn’t like it at all, can’t you?)

Some of you are acquainted with Albert and Katie Mast through Albert’s xanga page at www.xanga.com/I_will_be_Okay

A couple of weeks ago, Albert sent us a message that said he and Katie were coming east and would like to stop in and visit us.  Certain man and I were so tickled!  As the weeks have passed, and the details have been worked out, we have been eagerly anticipating their visit. We’ve done some talking about having a potluck picnic on the night of June 29th (Monday evening) and inviting those of you who are interested in coming for the evening.  If you would like to be included, would you please call me at 302-422-5952, and tell me who is coming and what you would like to bring to the picnic.  We will fill you in on the details.  Thanks!!!

This weekend was Father’s day.
I got this picture of Certain Man and his grandbaby on Sunday afternoon:

Charis likes her Daddy and her Grandpas just fine,
Thank you very much.
(And she has all three of them pretty much wrapped around her finger, too!)

It was also the first anniversary of Youngest Son and His Gal Jess.  I got this out on our deck just before they left on Sunday afternoon.
(Just in case you didn’t know, they now live in Philadelphia.)

Happy Anniversary, you two!!! 
We’re so glad you found each other.

Of course, our girlies were (are, still) in Europe.
Oldest Son and His Gal Gina were in Ohio.
It is never “right” when we are missing part of the puzzle,
But it was still a great time together.