Thanks Grandma and PawPaw!

In anticipation for Levi's arrival, Michael's mom and dad came to stay with us to help out while I healed.  They were troopers by letting us sleep in late and take naps, cleaning the house, taking care of the boys, and doing various other house chores.  Pawpaw and Michael spent the last week building a playhouse in the rain.  Their 3 week stay flew by.   Thanks Grandma and Pawpaw for loving on us and taking care of all five of us.

Brothers

 

Here's our first attempt at taking pictures with all three!

The boys are wearing their new Big Brother and Little Brother shirts.

(Thanks McFadden family.  The shirts fit perfectly!!!)

 

Clark loves his baby brother.  He sings to him and gently touches him all the time.  

Clark enjoys babies so much. 

 

This is Joel's first time to hold Levi.

 

By the end of this photo shoot, Levi got a little wiggly and squirmy.  Joel tried to soothe Levi by rubbing his head.  Clark started talking to him to calm him.  I have such sweet boys.

Why Levi? (joined in harmony)

Michael and I had the hardest time deciding names for our son.  We actually didn't name him until we were holding him in the hospital and after much prayer.  We wanted to name him a name that had deep meaning for our lives as well as his.  When we name our children, we consider what kind of person we hope they will grow up to be and what this child means to our lives. 

Levi was Jacob and Leah's third son in Genesis.  This is our third son.  Leah was longing for affection and love from her husband, so she hopefully named her third born a name the means, "joined in harmony."  My heart breaks for Leah, and we understand her plight somewhat.  We are at a time in our lives were we are longing for harmony in our lives.  We both have a deep desire to be in harmony with each other, our children, and our loved ones.  Lately we have had an insatiable desire to be in harmony with God's will for our lives.  We have been seeking wholeheartedly what He wants for our lives instead of having a self focused drive.  We also want our son to seek harmony with God all of his days.

Levi wasn't really a good guy in the Bible.  In the end, his father couldn't even leave him a decent blessing because of all of his misbehavior.  BUT....God uses all things for good.  Levi, who messed up so much, was the father of the Levites--the chosen people to serve God.  Michael and I have felt the sting of regret and the consequences of mistakes.  We know that our Levi will mess up as well.  But in the Biblical Levi's life we see God's amazing restorative powers and redemption that is for us all.  We plan to teach our little Levi that nothing can separate him from the LOVE of God, and our God even uses our mistakes for good.

Levi Joseph Lofton--Happy Birth Day!

 

Here we are in the operating room, right after Levi was born.

Levi Joseph was born at 9:00 am on March 16.  He weighed 8 pounds 14 ounces and was 21.25 inches long.

 

Here's relieved momma and her bright eyed boy. 

 

Proud Daddy and his yawning son

 

Happy baby with a full tummy of warm milk

 29 hours after the c-section, we headed home.  I can't stand hospitals, so we get out of there as soon as they let us.  Joel and Clark were happy to see us. Joel wanted to help with the diaper change.

Happy Birthday Party for Levi!

We stopped off and picked up a cake, balloons, and a few gifts to celebrate Levi's Birth Day. 

My four big boys.

Less than 24 hours!!!

Well... in less than 24 hours, I'll be in an operating room meeting my son!  I'm so excited and READY. 
I think I would be willing to do just about anything to have this baby.   Here's a few snapshots of our last day with just the four of us.

 

 

If I look tired, I am.  I have been exhausted for the past few months.  And I promise I feel even bigger than I look. :-)  I can't wear any of my "big" maternity clothes because my tummy sticks out too far.  I can't wait to find out how big this boy is. 

 

Joel is laying on the crib mattress in the nursery which is full of kidney dialysis boxes.  If this was my first baby, I would be panicked. But I've come a long way.  On Sunday, we discovered our crib was recalled.  So we took it down and mailed pieces of it to the company.  We should be receiving our new replacement crib in a week.

 

Here's hide and seek Clark hanging out with Grandma and Paw Paw during PawPaw's kidney dialysis.  Michael is trying to focus on work while we hustle around getting ready for the big day.

Five Days and Counting.....

Today was my last doctor's appointment before the big day. 
My sonogram indicated that this baby boy is 9 pounds and 4 ounces already at 38 weeks. The biggest concern was the amount of amniotic fluid I have.  I have an excessive amount of fluid, and it's steadily increasing.
So my doctor gave me his very strong medical recommendation for a c-section next week.  He's concerned I will not make it that long due to the increased chance of uterine rupture.  Another sweet thing he said was that I'm as large as a woman carrying twins full term.  I have to agree with him.  I am HUGE!!!!


I have struggled with c-sections every time.  But I rest knowing God is fully in control, and this is the safest thing for my baby.  As a mom, life is all about sacrifice and dying to self.  The way my child enters the world is no different. 

So Wednesday, March 16, 2011 at 9:30, my third son should be making his grand appearance.

I can't wait to hear his little cry and see his face and hold him close. 

BTW
Clark was 8 pounds 0 oz. 21 1/2 inches long at 40 weeks 3 days.
Joel was 9 pounds 6 oz. and 21 inches long at 39 weeks 6 days.

Finally...a Happy Birthday

Clark ate some of the icing off the front of the cake before I could snap a picture. :-)

 Today (10 days after his real birthday) marks the completion of Clark's fourth birthday.  It's been quite an saga of illnesses and exciting twists in this story.

  I canceled his party the first time so that we could spend time with family that surprised us with a short visit.  On that birthday, Clark got his Diego cake and his first Happy Meal thanks to Aunt Diane. :-)  We had to take Joel to the doctor during their visit for an ear infection.  And Clark woke up that Sunday morning with everyone here with a fever.

We have been plagued with illnesses ever since.  A few days later, Clark came down with an ear infection on his real birthday that landed him his first ever antibiotics!  He was miserable that week, so we didn't even tell him it was his birthday.

So today, we had a birthday play date with his good buddies.  We had lunch, cupcakes, and got to play outside together.

I'm sure we set the expectations high with extending his birthday two weeks.  Hopefully he'll forget that detail to his fourth birthday and just remember the highlights.

He requested strawberry cake and green frosting, so Mom obliged.

The boys playing with the new toys

Happy 4th Birthday, Clark!

 

It's official.  My silly, tall, thin, imaginative joker is FOUR today!!!! 

It almost breaks my heart to think how fast these four years have gone.  Just "yesterday" he was a baby.

Now he's a big brother and has chores.  Next he'll be driving a car.  EEEEKKKK!!!

Clark is an amazing boy.  His sweet tender heart makes mine melt.   He's the kind of kid who says hello to everyone and makes small talk with all.  He looks people in the eye and introduces his family just like a big person.  He makes everyone feel welcome in our home by his hospitality.  At church one day, he offered his chair to a late comer who didn't have a seat.  What a sweetie pie!!!

He is a peacemaker.  He is constantly seeking peace and justice.  When Michael and I get into a debate, Clark is the first to remind us to be nice to one another.  He is always seeking mediation between friends fighting over toys.   He has taken on the role of big brother/protector already. 

When we named him, I had a vision in my heart of a boy/man who would make the world a better place by helping others and standing up for justice just like Clark Kent.   In his short four years, he has already made this world more friendly, colorful, and peaceful. 

So happy birthday to my little Super Man.

Taking It Easy

No, I'm not singing an Eagles song, I'm under doctor's orders to "take it easy".  I have 8 weeks to go to my due date.  And I don't think I'll make it that far.  I don't know how to take it easy, rest, or be still, so the next two months are going to be hard on me.  I've taken up knitting to keep me busy.    My amazing, awesome husband has been taking up my slack by cooking, cleaning, and house chores just to get me off my feet. He's even been doing my "honey do" list items.  This weekend he built me a garden box and shoveled dirt into it for my spring veggie garden.  I love how Michael includes our sons into everything he does.  He pulled out the kiddie shovels and taught them how to shovel dirt.  He also allowed them to practice hammering while building the box.  And of course they loved every second of helping Daddy.

I often wonder, "Did I marry Superman?"  He's a super man and dad, and I can't believe how blessed I am to have him.

Here's a funny picture of our boys wearing their safety goggles and their backpacks as they play with trains. It cracked me up how funny they looked.

Our Snowy Day

 

We woke up this morning with 8.5 inches of snow on the ground and more falling! 

So with the world at a stand still, 

we set out to enjoy this gorgeous day.  

We ran out for a few minutes in the morning, 

but we waited for daddy to go sledding.

 Clark and Daddy had a great time sledding in our backyard.  The dogs had fun eating snow.

  Then we went to the front yard and made snowballs.  Clark enjoyed throwing them in our faces which ended up down our shirts.  Brrrr!

This snowball is for you, Grandma.   

Poor Joel cried most of the time.  He couldn't walk in the snow because it was too high. 

He kept falling down and getting frustrated.  Clark on the other hand loved every 

second and didn't want to go in.

After an hour in the snow, we went inside, warmed by the fire, cuddled up. and ate snow cream!!!  Yum!!