Samuel loves camping!

We went to Pisgah, NC with a group from our church for the weekend. Samuel slept better then he sleeps at home!

We hardly had to hold him all weekend. =)

Samuel was also one of the few people who actually stayed dry all day Saturday.

The Bachellors had tarps that we stretched over picnic tables and so we got to hang out with them and the Faders for the weekend.

The Bachellors also have a baby Samuel and here they are sharing a stroller =)

All bundled up to stay warm and mosquito free:

He also got to meet his other great-grandparents, who had their honeymoon in that area 60-some years ago:

First Bath

A couple weeks ago we gave Samuel his first - and second - bath. He wasn't too excited about it (though he's started to enjoy them more). After his first bath he decided to give us a little present before we got him back into a diaper, so he got his second bath within a few minutes. At least we got to use both of the cute hoodie towels that we have.

Samuel in his Lion hoodie towel after his first bath - also our favorite photo

Apparently Samuel doesn't like being clean

Samuel's second bath

Samuel in his cute duckie towel

This Time in History

Samuel is a strong, healthy two week old baby. That, in and of itself, is a miracle. His tiny hands, the quiet sleeping noises, the bright light in his eyes - it's obvious why they call it the miracle of life. All that knit together by God in Heike's womb over the past nine months. That means so much more when you realize that word, "knit" means an active work in progress, an intentional handiwork.

It's even more amazing to realize that it's a miracle Samuel's alive because he lives here and now. Because of such a "simple" problem of meconium inhaled into his lungs, Samuel ran into some serious problems when he was born. He's alive right now because there were four amazing, well trained specialists and nurses standing by when he was born.  They intubated him, pumped oxygen into his lungs while deep suctioning them, and set him up on a CPAP machine to force oxygen into his blood stream. Because of another issue his blood volume was seriously low, forcing him to be on IV fluids for two and half days.

If Samuel was born any other time in the past thousands of years of human history, if he was born in most parts of this world today, he would not have lived for more than a few minutes after birth. I can't even understand what a blessing it is to have him with us now, so strong and healthy.  Or how devastating it must be for families across this world and throughout history who didn't have the medical care we have today.


All that to say, we have been blessed by God, and are thankful for that blessing and all your prayers. It's great to have this miracle in our lives.

Samuel with Opa

Samuel with the great grandparents

With Grammy

On the way home from the hospital

Getting checked out by Eddie

He's finally here!

Samuel Clark Riddle was born August 16th, at 11:24PM on his official due date. He shocked everyone by being 9 lbs 1.5 oz, and 21 3/4 inches long!

Samuel had a rough start, having swallowed a lot of meconium in utero and requiring some oxygen when he did finally come out. He had to spend several days in the special care unit on fluids and antibiotics. Thanks to many prayers, he recovered quickly and is now home with us and thriving.

We are adjusting to being new parents and the lack of sleep, but are so thankful that Samuel is healthy and doing well. He brings us joy and wonder each day.

Some more pictures of us this year

At Heike's brother's wedding in May:

Heike's dad, brother Josh, and his new wife Courtney, a wonderful addition to the family

Hanging with Heike's aunt and cousins!

Doug and Heike's dad

Tired but happy

Out on the lake on Memorial day with Heike's dad and some friends:

Preparing and waiting for our baby!

Doug practicing using the infant carrier with a tolerant kitty

37 weeks and counting!

July Update

THE MOVE!
So God has provided and we have moved again!
We moved the second week of June, and spent the first two days in our new apartment wet and sweltering. It turns out the main drainage line was blocked and because we're on the bottom floor we got the brunt of it, in addition to our A/C going out. Thankfully management jumped right on it, and we quickly got used to a giant fan blowing air under the carpet to dry it out. Even though this made our moving process more difficult and added significant stress, God placed friends around us to encourage us and we got through it.  =) We delivered a long list of broken items and while they have been slow to come and repair, we are hoping that the rest of our stay here will be much more smooth and functional. Through it all God has shown us how much he cares for us through those He has placed in our lives at this time.
We are really enjoying being closer to our friends--who have really helped us out! Though we haven't been able to enjoy them yet, we are also looking forward to the many walking trails and pool that are now available to us.
Our new address is:
100 Fairforest Rd.  Apt. K2
Columbia, SC  29212
Our cell numbers remain the same.

PREGNANCY

Shakespeare and Eddie enjoying the diaper 'cake'

The pregnancy continues to progress well, though Heike is still struggling with morning sickness. She is 36 weeks along now and we sure are looking forward to August! We were blessed with two wonderful baby showers as we try to figure out what we need and how to prepare for the new member of the family.

CADENCE
Malachi has officially changed it’s name to Cadence Student Ministries in an effort to be more closely associated with our parent organization, Cadence International, as well as to reduce confusion when explaining that organizational relationship.
We just got back from a Cadence conference and God really used it to encourage us. We were able to reconnect with our team who are already serving in Germany as well as those are still raising support to go.  God renewed our hope as we face more support raising and we are so looking forward to serving Him in Germany. We had a very helpful meeting regarding our support situation and deficit. The BIG NEWS is: The contract was renewed for Germany, leaving us only 40-50% more of our support to raise!!! Our new target date for departure for Germany is June 2011. This may be ambitious, and we hold it with an open hand to God’s direction, but this gives us a goal to work towards. In regards to the deficit, Cadence is working with us on this so it  will be taken care of and not hinder us going overseas. The bottom line is that we are hugely encouraged by these developments and rejuvenated in our drive and desire to reach the field as soon as possible.  Please contact us if you have more questions. We would be happy to answer any questions you might have!

We can’t thank you enough for your love and support for us as we have struggled with getting to the field. While we need to wait for the baby to come first, we hope to begin to plan our next trip and visit many of you in the near future.

JOBS
Doug's job at the census is over and he is back to his old delivery job, but he is now running the office and got a raise. It was neat to see God work out several major issues such as pay, hours, and responsibilities that will allow Doug to stay in this job until we head to Germany. Heike particularly is thankful that he is now working somewhat regular hours! She has not been able to work lately because of her health, and we are not sure yet if she will go back to work after the baby gets here.

Thanks again for all your love and support!
Doug and Heike


Praise:

• Contracts for Germany!
• Encouraging time at Conference
• Heike is 36 weeks along and baby is healthy!
• Many blessings: our friends, apartment, and income that God has encouraged us with

Prayer:

• The rest of our support to come in
• Continued health for Heike and baby and wisdom and strength for us as new parents
• Spiritual health and balance in our own lives as strive to put God’s priorities as our own and develop our relationship with HIM individually and together

Our update letter!

OUR APOLOGIES!
We are so sorry! We have not communicated with you, our dear supporters, in such a long time. While there has been a lot going on, we feel bad that we have not been consistent in sharing with you all what God has been doing. In effort to keep this letter shorter then our last one =), we have a brief summary below. Please feel free to call us or ask us for more details.

OH BABY!

Heike is 25 weeks pregnant with a baby boy. She was very sick for at least 4.5 months, and pretty much lived on the couch with ginger ale as her dearest companion. Thankfully the past couple months have been better, and although she hasn’t felt wonderful, she is doing much better. We are very excited and looking forward to a new addition to our family in August.

MOVING AGAIN
We need to be out of the house we are in by the end of June, so Heike has been slowly packing up the house. Please PRAY with us as we search for somewhere to live.

NEW JOB
Doug started a job with the census as a supervisor a few months ago. He is enjoying the challenge of leading a crew of enumerators (the people who go door to door and ask you how many people live in your house). Even though Doug ends up working 50-60 hours a week, which limits our time together, this job is such an answer to prayer financially and we are thankful for the income it provides. Working with the census is temporary, however, and not guaranteed past July, so we would appreciate prayer in regards to where Doug should work next.

GERMANY/SUPPORT RAISING
Our new estimated departure month is January. We long to be in Germany in ministry with kids, but God is apparently not in a hurry! We are slowly making progress on our deficit with Cadence and truly appreciate your support in that area. We did speak at a church in SC a month ago, which went well. We are still planning to visit many of you, we are just not sure how to plan with a baby on the way. God has been teaching us a lot this past year and we are looking forward to seeing what He has in store for us!

We love you!

Our new cheap form of transportation! (Don’t worry, Heike isn’t riding it anymore)

PRAISE
- Our baby boy!
- God’s provision for us through a new job for Doug as well as other random checks which got us through a tough couple of months.
- Our Discovery Group

Our church “Discovery Group.” We meet three times a month, and these people have become family to us!

PRAYER
- Heike and baby’s health and wisdom as we prepare to be parents
- House to live in that we can afford
- Support situation: We feel like we are both constantly battling exhaustion in day-to-day life which makes it hard to focus on anything else.
- Finances after Doug’s job ends
- Heike’s dad is in town for a month, as her brother just got married last weekend. She had some really good times with her family.