Still Pregnant...

I'm not sure why this says June 10th- which was the date of the last post? Today is Saturday, June 20, 2009

4 days until our due date and we are really feeling ready! I've been trying to do natural things to help progress move along, but today I decided I'm done. The baby is going to come when he's ready and the stuff I'm doing is wearing me out and probably not making much difference any way. So, I think I'm going into relax mode. That is probably what the baby needs me to do anyway and I figure storing up some energy instead of exhausting myself might be a good idea. I'm just seriously soooooo ready to be done. I would write more detail, but I'm tired of talking about it. I don't even want to leave the house anymore because of all the comments about when I'm due and if I'm having twins, how I must be ready to pop any day now, and how cute my huge belly is blah, blah, blah... If you can tell someone is really pregnant, sometimes its best to just smile. Sorry, I'm just so done! LOL

Anyway, these pictures are us last weekend at the Impact Car Wash (which went great) and a jazz festival down town. We are trying to keep busy while we wait, but I think I'm ready to stop being busy and just wait...

Love,
~The Eddies

Impacting the Community

Today, Anissa calls me while I am at work to tell me that her car is not starting. This is the new car (Chevy Equinox) that we recently purchased and the vehicle that is easier for her and her belly to get in and out of. This is the car that she drives around town in most of the time. So, I was a little upset about that. I also had the thought of what if she goes into labor and the car does not work or something like that. So, after work I went to give it a jump. It was 91 degrees out, but the humidity felt like 100 degrees. I never know that these new cars had the batteries hidden under tons of plastic. After about 35-45 minutes, it finally worked. Since this is the car that my pregnant wife will be driving, I replaced the battery. At this time, it was 8pm (3hrs after we got off work) and no cooler outside. Needless to say, my wife has a car that is now working!

I wanted to write this blog to let you all know the great things that God is doing with our church, Impact. Since being in Texas, we have always said that we are here for the community of Port Arthur. Therefore, we have been letting various community groups use our church for free. We are also about to start letting some local soccer teams use our field for practice and games. It’s more about reaching the community rather than taking their money. Recently, I received several phone calls from the Superintendant of Port Arthur ISD. I originally wanted to meet with him way back in November, but time his schedule was full; therefore, I could not remember what I wanted to meet with him for. I agreed to the meeting and invited Pastor Noble and I were invited. We went into the meeting just to offer our services to the community and more important, the school district. When Dr. Brown heard that, he got a big “Grinch Who Stole Christmas” grin on his face. After calling some of his colleagues into the office, we all agreed that Impact would be used for the new Port Arthur Reading Academy. Due to the fact of the low reading levels and test scores, they were looking for a location with enough classroom space and kitchen to host the academy for the fall. Each class will have approximately 10 kids per 1 teacher. I think the thing that made Dr. Brown happy was the fact that we said that we would not charge them a dime!!!

Talk about OUTREACH! Now this is what I mean about helping the community and taking our schools back from the devil! We are a brand new church and God has given us favor for such a time as this! He could have used any church, but He chose us! Thank you all for your prayers.

Lastly, we will have our first free carwash at Impact this Saturday as an outreach effort. Each car that gets washed will receive a free bottle of Impact labeled water. While some of us are washing cars, others will be cleaning the inside of the church. I pray that we wash at least 75-100 cars in two hours.

I just wanted to give you all this quick update and thank you for your continued prayers.

Jermale

PS the picture of me is one a friend took for an upcoming GVSU article.

Almost There :)

I just wanted to give a quick update. I am now 37 weeks pregnant and could have the baby anytime. Yay! It looks like we will be pretty close to the due date though (June 24). My midwife predicts anytime between June 20th and 29th. I am just so excited that we are talking about weeks instead of months. Pregnancy is long! As of June 3rd, I was 1 cm dilated and 25% effaced so there is still a long way to go but it was nice to know there is at least a hint of progress. I will have weekly appointments now until baby Eddie gets here. My last day of work is June 10th. After that I will do last minute prep things and try to stay active and get the baby moving. We have one more class on Saturday focused on natural birth. I’m feeling pretty prepared, but still a little nervous.

Jermale plans to take about 2 weeks off when the baby comes. My best friend, Gihane, will be here the first week of July and my mom will likely come the 2nd two weeks of July. So - all that is very comforting to me :) Stay tuned because we will try to update Facebook and this blog right away and follow up with phone calls. Please pray that everything will go well and we’ll have a labor and delivery without complications and a healthy baby.

The beach picture is Memorial Day, the picture of Jermale and I is from our surprise shower at Impact, the pictures of me are the same day (36 weeks pregnant) and the ultrasound picture are from May 29th .

Love,
~The Eddies

Testing 1,2,3

Okay- so we are wondering who actually reads this blog? Please leave us a comment and let us know you're out there. Our purpose with this blog is to stay connected with friends and family, but we aren't sure how successful it is (Becky, you can disregard this b/c you always give us feedback - thanks :) Anyway, here are some pictures of the baby's room. We can't paint so it is still kind of plain, but we plan to at least put up a border. Anyone know how to do that in a way that is temporary and will easily come off? We pretty much have everything we need- now we are just waiting on the baby LOL

We have a few classes coming up- so I'm excited about that. We are taking a birthing class at a local hospital this Sat. Then I have a breastfeeding class next Tuesday and we have a natural birthing class on June 6th. I will be 36 weeks on May 27th and it is pretty much safe for the baby to come anytime after that. Yay! I'm very ready to be done and have this little guy here. My last day at work is June 12th and I'm not going back. At this point, my plan is to take the summer and just focus on learning to be a mom and getting to know the baby. After that, I will work part time for the church taking care of a lot of administrative tasks that need to be a priority. This will allow me complete flexibility with quite a bit of work I can do from home and it will be nice for me to give more time and energy to the church. From there, we'll see. Eventually, when the baby is older I would like to go back to school social work at least part time. I'm just leaving it all in God's hands since He's been handling things really well so far :)

I'm feeling good some days and bad others. Jermale remains very helpful and caring, but I think he too is ready for me to not be pregnant anymore. Still, we know an infant will be a whole new set of joys and challenges. Jermale is getting more comfortable at Lamar and enjoying it more. Thie church is busy and we still need more people to step up and help in certain areas, but we are making progress and God is blessing Impact.

That's about it for now. Leave us comments we miss all of you!!!!!

Love,

~The Eddies

On Being Pregnant...

Things I don't Like:

• The 1st trimester in general


• Being tired (I know it is nothing compared to what it will be with an infant though)


• Getting up to pee at night and having to go seemingly every 15 minutes during the day
  
• Painful kicks in the ribs and punches in the bladder


• Having an upset/unsettled stomach often


• Being overly emotional and irrational at times


• Acknowledging that I can no longer paint my own toenails (Seriously, I broke out in a sweat last week trying to do this. It will have to be a new job for Jermale)


• Getting winded from grocery shopping
  
• Dropping things, which happens a lot for some reason (and trying to bend over and pick things up is even worse)


• Running in to doorways (this usually happens at work-my equilibrium is off I guess)


• Being mean to Jermale (I really try to control myself, but I know he gets the worst of my mood swings)


• Having this experience and being far away from family and most friends


• Baby brain (this causes me to be forgetful at times, unproductive at work and obsessive at home all because I constantly think about the baby and all things related to him)


• Struggling to shave my legs (this will likely be another new task for Jermale)


• Being hot (I shouldn’t complain too much since I have historically always been cold, but it is pretty bad sometimes and the Texas weather doesn’t help!)


• Being uncomfortable in a general sense that is hard to describe


• Facing the unknown (I’m a planner- labor, delivery, infant care, parenthood- you can only plan so much and I’ll have to learn to go with the flow)

Things I don't Mind:

• Gaining weight (I have been blessed to have a slow and steady weight gain that has centralized in my belly. I have a month and a half left and have gained 17lbs so far)


• Strangers touching my belly (I’ve always been intrigued by baby bellies and I don’t mind people having a little rub)


• Baby hiccups (not the most fun thing I ever felt, but kind of cute and not a problem)


• Eating frequent snacks (I was already a snacker so this was easy to kick up a notch)


• Working (if I wasn't working my days would go so much slower and I'd be a big blob who did nothing all day except eat, make lists and watch episodes of a baby story and bringing home baby on TLC)


• Maternity clothes ( I have found a way to make a lot of my normal, flowy clothes continue to work and the maternity stuff I have isn’t bad)

Things I like:

• The amazing anticipation (waiting for this baby is like no other anticipation I have ever felt)


• Baby movement (I’ll never forget the first tiny pulse, tug kind of feeling I had at 17 weeks. Ever since then it has been so cool for the movements to change and get stronger and more distinct. It is so cool)


• Hearing the heartbeat (I love it every time and it was especially important to me before I could feel him move. Very reassuring)


• How Jermale randomly rubs my belly and talks to the baby (So precious)


• SHOPPING! (I have more fun buying things for the baby than I do for myself)


• Instant friends (It’s crazy how people just randomly talk to you like they’ve known you forever when you have a baby belly. I have heard the question “when are you due?” from every type of person you can imagine)


• Getting the room ready (the more things we get done in the room the more real it seems)


• Not having a monthly cycle! (Need I say more-fabulous!)


• The fact that I never threw up or had heartburn (what a blessing)


• My belly - and pictures of it. (Yes, it is a bit bothersome at times, but for the most part I love my belly and have enjoyed all the growth)


• My birth center (I have never had a hospital birth, but so far I have truly appreciated my experience at the birth center with the midwives and doulas)


• Eating ice cream (it’s really the only real “craving” I have so I let myself indulge pretty frequently)


• Going to Jason's Deli with Jermale after prenatal appointments (it has become a fun tradition)


• Reading, watching videos, and taking classes (Yes, I have discovered I’m an info. junky when it comes to pregnancy and childbirth. I can’t get enough)


• Ultrasounds (I only had one so far and it was so amazing. I will have one more at the end of May and I’m looking forward to it)


• Reading to the baby and playing music for him (bonding moments)


• Loving Jermale in a new way (I think back to the day I met Jermale as a new staff member at Calvin College. I was a junior. Little did I know when I shook his hand that he would later become my best friend, my husband and the father of my children. With each step I love him more)


• Loving the baby (it is almost insane how much you can love a tiny person you’ve never really met, but I’m already head over heels for this little guy)


• Seeing God's perfect plan unfold (If we had it our way, we probably wouldn’t have had a baby at this exact time, but God knows best and has worked out every last detail showing us that He is in control and confirming that this life was always meant to be and meant to be right now. I am humbled, amazed and thankful)
  

Here is the whole album of belly pictures my cousin took :)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2570479&id=2247339&l=40b89113b2

~Anissa

Back In Texas...

We know that it has been a while since the last time that we wrote a new blog, but what can we say…life is busy! It is now between 70-75 degrees when we leave for work every morning, but hurricane season is about 5 weeks away. We are obviously back in Texas trying to get things back to normal in our lives. The church (Impact United Methodist Church) is now having weekly worship services. It seems like every time we turn around, it’s Sunday again. We have been averaging about 45 people per Sunday. We are looking to get out into the community of Port Arthur on this Saturday for “Prayer Walks.” This will be a time of walking around and scouting out the community for prayer needs, as well as shaking hands w/ and talking to community residents. While doing this and passing out flyers, it is our hope that we might inspire someone to come and give Impact a try. I really want to increase membership so that we can have more volunteers around the church. Now that I am working full-time at Lamar University, I am not as accessible as I was before. I am also excited to get some more ministries going.

As for 4:12, the name of my Student Ministry, taken from 1 Timothy 4:12 (Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity), things are moving slowly. I finally finished painting the Student Ministry room after 3 weeks. We had one meeting a few weeks ago, with a nice turn out, but I have only seen 2-3 of those students at church since then. I do know that the college students do not have a ride to church (I remember how that used to be). I am praying that God will bless us with a van and a driver, as well as young families. I do believe that God will use us this Saturday to bless the community in which we will be walking. Please keep us in your prayers.

On a more personal note, Anissa is doing well with the pregnancy. Baby Eddie is kicking really hard EVERY DAY all the time. I think he is working out in there so that he is ready for his world premier in June. My workout/office is now the baby’s room. It is looking more and more like a nursery. Anissa is doing a fine decoration job, even though she did not want the baby comforter set that I picked out. I tell you what, this baby is going to be on a 6 month probation to prove himself worthy, then he better get a job, because I am giving him a bill for all the stuff that we are buying for him! We are still renting our home out in Michigan and renting an apartment here in Texas. We would like to buy a home w/ more space, but I am scared about these dang hurricanes! I just feel like we are throwing money down the drain, because we really are by putting a rent check in someone else’s pocket! Overall, with all this being said, God is still blessing the Eddies. We would like to thank you for ALL your prayers and thoughts God Bless You! Please send us all the encouragement and prayers you can, while we are in the wilderness with nothing but Jesus!

Prayer Requests:
Adjustment at my new job (Lamar University)
Anissa & the baby
Adjustment to our ever changing lives
Home-sickness- we really miss all of our family and friends, especially now that we are having a baby (come visit us)The continuous covering of God’s anointing and direction

Here's some pictures from our baby showeres in Michigan

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2566664&id=2247339&l=4c8fea8b87

Love,

~The Eddies

PS We tried to change the settings so that anyone can leave comments now. So, give it a try :)

Remembering Felicia...

The home-going celebration for Felicia Eddie (Jermale’s mother) was today. She passed away on April 1st after a 2 year battle with stomach cancer. All though it wasn’t in this life, we know she still got her healing miracle and was victorious. Jermale and I have been in Michigan since April 2nd and we were able to help with all the final arrangements and spend quality time with the family. The service was a beautiful celebration. Felicia had told all of us that if she passed away she didn’t want a long, drawn out service that was sad and dry. We honored her wishes with up-beat praise and worship music, positive tributes, an inspirational message, and pictures reflecting happy memories. At the end, people were invited to respond to Felicia’s testimony and give their lives to Christ and many did just that. As friends and family said their final goodbyes, they were able to take flower seeds and fresh fruits with them such as apples, oranges, plumbs, and melons. Felicia loved gardening and wanted people to have something tangible to take in her memory. We really felt God’s presence throughout the whole day and thank all of you that prayed for the family. The weather was beautiful and the day really couldn’t have gone any better.

We will be in Michigan until April 18th because we originally had a trip planned for April 13-18 but came early after Jermale’s mom passed. We will be spending time with family and friends this next week and celebrating my grandmother’s 85th birthday along with mine and my niece’s birthdays. We are also having a baby shower while we are here. The pregnancy is still going great. We are 7 months along and time is going fast. Our “office” is taking on more of a baby room feel now that we have the crib, changing table and bookshelf set up. I am anxious to get everything ready. It is so fun to prepare, but overwhelming too because the more we get ready the more the reality of impending parenthood sinks in!

Impact has reached a new milestone as we are about to launch weekly Sunday services starting on Easter Sunday. Unfortunately, Jermale and I will not be at Impact for Easter Sunday, but we are excited to stop meeting every other week and begin weekly services. We have various volunteers in place now and we know that this consistency will help the church get more established and grow.

Love you all!
~The Eddies