Brian and Cindy Eddinger knew they wanted more than one child. “I wanted a lot of kids,” Brian says. “My sister and I are eight years a part in age and for the most part I grew up like an only child.”
“We wanted our children to enjoy siblings,” Cindy echoes. She and her one sister created many good memories as children. The couple met in college, fell in love, and after graduating, they married in 1999. Both became teachers and to Brian’s surprise they ended up returning to his hometown of Thomasville. Brian teachers in the high school he once attended.
“My goal was never to come back home,” Brian says. “But God has worked in our lives to bring us here – to where He wants us today.”
Cindy left the classroom and began a career with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs becoming a trainer and quality review specialist. It was not long before her contribution to the family’s income leap frogged Brian’s. So, when their first child came along, the couple, like many
other couples, faced some tough decisions.
“When we were expecting Haley, we talked about one of us staying home with her,” Brian recalls. “But it wasn’t that easy. We are both passionate about our careers.”
The couple compromised. Brian freed up lots of his time by not coaching in the school’s athletic department. Cindy took a different position at her job which gave her more time, too. They were determined if they were not going to leave their jobs, they would not spend all their time on the job.
Then they set their attention on finding quality, Christian child care to help them.
“After we visited Baptist Children’s Homes (BCH) Weekday Education program, the search ended,” Cindy recounts. “Deciding to partner with a child care center meant we were looking for a place with people who would support what we were teaching our children at home.”
“We found through BCH’s program a place that reinforced the priorities important to us as parents – Christian values, education and learning, and an emphasis on growing socially,” Brian says.
First child Haley’s experience was everything the Eddingers had hoped. Brother Camden followed a few years later and Cindy and Brian turned to BCH again.
“Even though there was a waiting list, we didn’t relent,” Brian says. “We knew BCH was the best place for Camden, too.”
Today, the Eddinger family is comprised of mom and dad and four children: 11-year-old Haley, eight-year-old Camden, five-year-old Jessica, and three-year-old Josh. All four children
are served by BCH’s Weekday Education program.
Between the Fleshman-Pratt Education Center and Robert Idol Child Development Center, BCH’s Weekday Education program provides developmentally appropriate full-day childcare for infants and toddlers; full & half-day care for preschoolers; pre-kindergarten (formerly More At Four) classes; and school-age care before/after school for students through the fifth grade. Weekday Education’s two centers are five-star (the highest rated) state licensed facilities located on the Mills Home campus in Thomasville.
Hayley and Camden participate in the after school program while their younger sister and brother Jessica and Josh benefit from the full-day program.
“We have had parents that have chosen to place more than one child with us,” Weekday Education director Linda Russo says. “It is so affirming to our teachers and speaks well to the program we offer. But the Eddingers are unique in that they have entrusted us with all four of their children and all at the same time.”
Brian Eddinger asserts that it is “what’s best for our children.”
“We set our hearts on doing what God wanted us to do for our family,” Cindy says. “He led usto BCH and has provided the way for our children to be here
together.”
The Eddingers appreciate how they are treated by the teachers and the program’s staff members.
“We are kept up on everything,” Brian says. “If a teacher has a concern, she talks with us. And if we miss each other,
she’ll call.They are phenomenal.”
The couple asserts that the proof in the quality of the program is how well prepared their two older children were when they entered school. The Eddingers have confidently referred other parents to BCH.
“It felt right for us from the beginning,” Cindy says. “It’s never been a question who we wanted to help us as each child has come along. It was going to be BCH.”
The four Eddinger children all attend BCH’s Weekday Education program. Eleven-year-old Haley and eight-year-old Camden participate in the after school program. Five-year-old Jessica and three-year-old brother Josh attend the full-day program. Josh, above center, plays with other children at the Fleshman-Pratt Education Center located on the Mills Home campus in Thomasville.