Jesse is 1!

Our niece, Little Miss Jesse Grace, turned one-year-old on our anniversary, September 18. She is a doll, and is growing so much! Howie & the boys went to the birthday party and had a great time! From what I understand, Andi Cate, Hudson, and Brooks had as much fun with the cake as Jesse! I think they helped to "paint" her face. Too cute! (Callie & I missed all the fun, but plan to visit soon!)

Happy 1st Birthday, Jesse! We love you!

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2-Weeks Old

Callie was two-weeks-old this past Wednesday. Hard to believe it's already been two weeks! She's put her weight back on (she lost quite a bit in the first few days after birth), and she's doing really well. She's a healthy girl, and we are so proud to have her home with us!

When I was taking these pictures, she kept squinting & making faces every time the flash would go off... :)

Big brothers take good care of her, and are helpful to Mommy, too. They ask to hold her every day, and Cade has gone so far as to make sure everyone else that holds her knows that she stays at our house. "She's mine," he says. :)

Here they are in another big brother shirt. They are proud!

Here's the baby girl all wide-eyed & beautiful!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

10 years today!

Happy Anniversary, Howie!

I'm so happy to be celebrating 10 years of marriage with you! I can hardly believe it's been ten years... wow! We had five years of fun, couple time, and getting our feet on the ground, and growing within our marriage... then five more years of growth & change, and creating a family together. It's amazing to experience how much things can change in such a short period of time, yet many things remain the same... only better! I love you for your heart, your humor, your gentleness, and your enthusiasm. I appreciate your kindness & your assistance so much. You are a loving, and giving husband and father. Thank you, God, for sending such a wonderful man into my life.

Here's our newest little angel...

... and our three angels together!

(Hudson was thrilled baby sister was in camoflage! Cade laughed & said, "She's not supposed to wear camoflage! She's a girl!"... Too cute!)

This is one of Callie's favorite places these days... mine, too, baby girl... mine, too!

Here's to 10 more years of love & wonderful memories!
All my love, Howie... cherri

BIG Brothers

Hudson & Cade are great big brothers to Callie! They love to hold her, and shower her with kisses. We are very proud of these BIG brothers!

INTRODUCING...

Here's a peek at our new baby girl!

Callie Jewel

Born September 9 at a little after one o'clock in the afternoon

8 lb, 5 oz, 20.5 inches

Great Expectations

As you can tell by our "ticker", we are approaching the end of this pregnancy. I must say, this go 'round, I am more ready than ever! But I also have more concerns/reservations, too. The journey to meet our baby girl, thusfar, has been much more challenging than I'd imagined... enjoyable in its own right, too, but difficult, as well. Without going into TOO much boring detail, I'll attempt to share. :)

The first trimester wasn't too bad. Pretty typical for me. No real sickness or anything. Just pretty tiring. Here's a picture of baby #3 from early on... Isn't it amazing what you can already see?! what God has already created?!

The second trimester rolled around... fairly uneventful... just excited about the addition to our family and the fact that this baby was going to be a baby sister for Hudson & Cade, granddaughter #2 (of 7 grandchildren) for the Freeman's, and granddaughter #3 (of 6 grandchildren) for the Via's. You can see how she keeps her hands around her face in this picture.

Most of her movements tend to be very low. I think I'm carrying her quite different from either of the boys. Both boys are getting to feel her move, too. Hudson just giggles & grins. Cade is a little like, "Woah! What was that?!" :) It's fun for all of us to feel/see her growing!

By the third trimester, things began to change. I must say, for the last three months, I've dealt with some other sort of "sickness" on top of the pregnancy... nothing truly painful, but extremely annoying!!! Yuck! (I've about had my fill!)

It started in mid-June with a weird case of thrush - white patches that came & went (and came & went, and came & went) in the back of my mouth/throat. I really didn't think much of it. It didn't hurt. It would be present for a few days then go away. At my next regular check-up, though, I decided to mention it to the physician to see if there was any kind of treatment I could take. He prescribed a "swish" that I started the next day. Within 48 hours, I had a rash all over my body... elbows to fingertips, chest to toes... red, irritated, & itchy, itchy, itchy!!! This was early July, and I tried several creams (prescription & OTC) for a few days. Then I bottomed out & cried to my doctor for HELP!!! (Did I mention it was itchy?) The docs were a little confused as to whether it was a pregnancy rash (which could last 8 more weeks until delivery or an allergic reaction to something... I really didn't care as long as I got some relief! ha!). Anyway, they gave me a dose-pak, and to everyone's surprise, the rash went away! Hallelujah! My body literally peeled all over where the rash had been (like dead skin... disgusting, I know), but at least the rash was gone. I was home-free, right? Ha! Fate laughed in my face once again!

I did feel good for a few weeks... Then by mid-August, I had a weekend of fever, and four days of congestion & severe sinus pain!!! Ok, I normally have my share of sinus/allergy issues. This, too, shall pass, right?

The next weekend... back-to-back migraines. Huh?! Almost to the end... won't be long now.

Two more weeks... weird mouth & facial sensations... go to hospital to be checked? Bells palsy? What's that?! Yes, this is what's plaguing me the last few weeks of my pregnancy... bells palsy... stroke-like facial symtoms, no explanation as to cause really, medications may shorten duration but don't make it go away... sounds like fun, I know.

Needless to say, I've had a few "pity parties" for myself during this pregnancy. I've really tried hard, though, not to focus on the trials, but to be thankful I have a healthy baby girl still protected & growing inside of me. And she is healthy. If that is the one true blessing in all of this, she has been fine the entire time! Mommy's hormones are CRAZY, but baby girl is great. Here she is around 32 weeks, all chubby-cheeked & content.

We are scheduled to deliver this Wednesday!!! Two more days!!! After everything else that has happened, I'm a little nervous about a smooth delivery, and even more nervous about how my body will respond. If you have a moment, send us a prayer for health. I'd really appreciate it! And thanks for listening!!!

Growing boys!

The boys made a trip to the doctor this week (unfortunately). But with everything that's going on (my sicknesses - which I haven't blogged about... more later, baby coming, etc.), we just wanted to make sure everyone was WELL! Hudson's had a second round with just a lingering cough, and I was afraid Cade was heading into his second round of albuterol treatments in a month. Anyway... Hudson, who sounded sick & is prone to his fair share of complaining, had an irritated throat but tested negative for strep (thank goodness!)... Cade, who just sounded tight and you'd never know had anything to complain about, tested positive for strep! Go figure! (His fussiness comes after the fact, usually, with all the heavy steroids.) Both got medications for strep (to make sure we can be around little sister by the time she comes) and Cade was given a few days of steroids (of course) to knock out his cough with the go-ahead for albuterol, as needed. So, we've been busy doctoring ourselves all week... but we're hopefully heading into a healthy Labor Day weekend!

Anyway... my point in blabbing on & on about this was not to be blabbing on & on, but to make note of how much the boys are growing! :) They were weighed & measured at the pediatrician's office.

HUDSON = 42 lbs. and 43"!

His weight has remained pretty steady, but he's grown about 1/2 inch this summer!

CADE = 36 lbs. and 39"!

His weight, too, has remained pretty steady, but he's grown several inches this summer! He's really stretching out!

Keep growing boys!!!

SOCCER

It's fall soccer season again! When Hudson was playing baseball this spring, he wasn't interested in the possibility of any other sport. Baseball ended, though, and summer rolled around. That led to the opportunity of golf clinic at the country club for a few hours each Monday. He LOVED that! Then when soccer sign-up time arrived, he was ready to entertain this sport again, too. This fall season, we're playing in Brighton, which is just more convenient for us because it's closer to the house! He is having a good time. He's only had a few games, and I've gotten to go to only one, but he runs up & down the field happy as can be! (Twirling his hair while he's running, I might add, which drives his daddy crazy! ha!) He's not necessarily in the thick of things, but a competitive spirit will come soon enough. I'm just glad he's having fun! Cade, of course, would love to be in the thick of things, but age/birthday puts him out for one more season. Hold on 'til the spring, little man!

Way to go, buddy! You are awesome! We are so proud of you!

**Note: Howie took a few pictures at his first game. They weren't the greatest. Sorry! And, for the record, from what I could tell, at his second game that I attended, he was MUCH more into it!

A little fun after the game with cousin, Wesley!

Looks like another underage driver!