The Beginning of Another Year!

Home schooling is in full swing around here.  We do home school year around, but we have officially started the 2013-2013 year!  This year Clark and Joel will be in "school" which we have called Adventure Academy for Boys.  I guess I'll have to drop the "for Boys" now that Karissa is here.

It's going really great considering we just had a baby.  Clark has really turned a corner with school.  He is very motivated and catches on quick.  Joel is doing great with his pre-reading skills.  Levi is learning to play independently.  Karissa is usually nearby in her bouncy seat, or I'm carrying her in her sling.

 BRING ON FIRST GRADE!!!

Super Clark is ready to tackle reading, math, science, and whatever else comes his way!

His super powers included knowing all of his math addition facts, reading, spelling, and writing nonfiction texts or fiction stories.

 

 Powerful Joel is attacking a prek 4/Kindergarten curriculum this year. 

 He is ready to learn and ready to keep up with his older brother!

His super powers included putting all 26 letters in ABC order, knowing all of his letter sounds, and counting to 100 (with help).

Amazing Levi is learning colors, letters, numbers, and how to create havoc while his brothers work.

His super powers are "reading" books for hours and counting to 20 sometimes, and calling every color RED!

 

This is our super cool light saber that we found at a garage sale last week.  

I slowed down my camera and took some cool moving shots.  The boys love the cool effect!

 It has nothing to do with school.  :-)

My 1 Month Old Angel

My little angel is as sweet as pie!  And she is now one month old.

I am so thankful for this little darling.  

 The past four weeks have been stressful, but her little smiles and coos have been our little sunshine during all the stormy days.

Oh, she weighs 10 pounds, 10 ounces which is in the 80% and a gain of almost three pounds!
And she's grown an inch!!!

And thank you, Murphys, for the super adorable dress.

The Watchmen

Holding the Princess

So far it's been a journey!  After a leaving the hospital on cloud nine, we've had some adventures along the way!!  Grandma and PawPaw were able to come meet Karissa this past weekend. We are so thankful for them!

While they were here, I started to get sick.  I ended up with a high fever and severe pain in my abdomen Saturday night and Sunday morning.  Plus other issues that other new moms deal with, I was a wreck.  I ended up going to the E.R.  and later to my doctor.  It seems I got an infection, and antibiotics and narcotics were needed. 

Needless to say, we are a bit in survival  mode, but we are taking pictures like we're on vacation.  :-)

Our boys absolutely love their little baby sister.  It melts my heart how much each of them love her in their own special way. 

 Clark was shaking with excitement when he was getting ready to hold his little sister.  He sings to her and rubs her hair and holds her all the time.

 This picture captures everything.  Mischief, fear, and a future death grip bond.
Levi loves Karissa and maybe a little too much for me.  He loves to touch her everywhere despite that fact that he has a fever and is sick.  I hate telling him no, so I just pray that God will protect her.

There is a grin from ear to ear on Joel.  He sweet talks her constantly and tells her that she is so beautiful and strong and sweet.  He's my words of affirmation guy. 

She's already been nominated and declared the princess of this house!!

Karissa Hope Lillian Is Here!

 Our family is now complete.  Karissa was born on July 18th! Our little girl is the icing on the Lofton cupcake!  She was a scheduled c-section, and she born at 7:47 and weighted 7 pounds, 15 ounces.  She is the runt of our family!!  Everything went great with the c-section.  It was easier than the other times actually.   

 We went home 29 hours later.  We had to wait for audiology for a several hours.  :-(

 We have a tradition of the first birthday party when a baby comes home.  We sing, eat cake, and have balloons and gifts!!  It's a fun tradition that the little ones look forward to.

 Here's our first attempt of taking some newborn photos. 

 Having hats and hairbands is so much fun to work with.

Now the story behind the name.  If you know us, you know that we are very intentional and name meanings are very important to us.  We had a hard time with her name.  We were down to the last minute.  Here's the Bible verse that helped us make the decision:

We have also obtained access through Him by faith into this GRACE (KARIS) in which we stand, and we rejoice in the HOPE of the glory of God. Romans 5:2

 KARISSA HOPE LILLIAN LOFTON

Why Karissa?  It is taken from the Greek word Karis (Charis), and it means GRACE.   We have learned that grace is one of the most powerful gifts to humanity.  God in his mercy has shown us grace through his Son, Jesus.  And we have learned having grace for others is our way of sharing true love.

Why Hope?  Hope means to have faith, to expect.  I honestly never ever let myself hope for a little girl or a such an amazing family.  God has given us more than we even HOPED for.

Why Lillian?  Lillian means consecrated to God and purity.  Lillian main root word is Lily.  Clark really really wanted this baby to be named Lily.  Joel really wanted the baby to be named Sweet, Sweet Flower.  Lily and flower can be her nickname if the boys want to call her that.  She is a sweet sweet lily flower.

Everything is going well, but far from perfect.  Levi is sick with a fever, so I am trying to keep his two year old hands off the new baby.  Doctor said he has an ear infection and virus.  We haven't had as much help as we are used to with a new baby because Grandma and Pawpaw can't come.  Michael is running around like crazy while I am trying to be still and rest. He ended up going to the doctor himself with massive headaches.  I've been to the E.R. twice now with stomach pain and fever one time and bad headaches and high blood pressure/low heart rate another.   I'm coming around slowly but surely. 

Here's Levi adjusting to not being the baby anymore and not able to have mommy's full attention.

Thank you God for all the blessings and challenges of life!

The Birth of a Mother's Heart

As I'm getting ready for my fourth and final birth, I'm getting nervous and excited.  I always journal during my pregnancies in my baby journal, and I read the first entry the other day.  I wrote it on June 1, 2006 when I had just found out I was pregnant with my first child.  I thought I'd record it here, so that I may never forget the birth of my mother's heart.

"To all my future children,  I offer all the hopes, dreams, and love that this mother's heart can pour out on you.  I love you so much already.  I can't explain loving someone without even setting eyes on them or hearing their voice.  I can offer this explanation: God in His glorious riches grants a mother's heart the ability to love furiously and sacrificially beyond her own ability. 

I have not always had this mother's heart.  For years, I thought I didn't want children. My heart was closed off.   I was determined I could not be good enough. I was afraid my past would seep into my parenting, and as a result I would wound you.  I also struggled with selfishness and fear.  

God again in His graciousness gave me  a new heart when we cared for my niece for a year.  My mother's heart became alive as I fell into my new role as her "mother".  After losing her, I ached  for children to hold, guide, and love .  I lived for the day you would enter my life and see you with my very own eyes."

In a few days, my family will be complete.   All my dreams have come true.  I will have four beautiful, precious children to love, serve, teach, train, and hold.  I feel so fulfilled with motherhood and staying home to raise my family. 

God has blessed me with more than I could have ever have desired or hoped for.  I feel so unworthy of this incredible honor. I praise God for giving me my mother's heart.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Baby Girl's Room

Here's the view from the door

We have 19 days till she is here!!!  July 18th at 7:30 am is our scheduled c-section!  In some ways I can't believe it's already here, but in other ways this pregnancy has been so so long.

We've had so much happen in the past year.  It's been a busy year.  We have survived

•  my most unique and challenging pregnancy
• our first year to home school
• Michael's travels out of town (he was gone five weeks in the Nov/Dec, plus tons of little trips)
• trying to sell our house
•  working as children's director at the church
• extended family illness
• converting to a plant based, whole foods lifestyle and learning how to eat again
•  trying to keep three precious active boys busy

And that's just to name a few things.  :-)

In our free time, we've managed to convert our boys' nursery into a little girl's without too much effort.  We have been blessed by so many people's generosity.  Look and see...

Her crib!  Bedding was given to us by our friend, Ruth.  Some of the decorations were made by our friend, Amanda.

I made some pretty paper flowers to continue with the paint theme that was already there. And the dresser and closet are slammed full with girl clothes.  I have not bought a single stitch of clothing yet and won't until she's four.  We really have been blessed by our family and friends.

I made some girlie, pretty pictures to add a special touch to the room.

  

I made the owl pictures to represent our four kiddos.  Each owl is different and unique, yet cut from the same cloth.  The flower has six petals to represent our six member family.  I'll put up her name and meaning on a plaque beside the flower once we decide on a name.

Mystery Color

I always thought my kids would come out into this world brown hair and brown eyed.  I also was told by countless others that same thought since Michael and I could pass as twins with our coloring minus my pale skin and his dark.

So it's fun to me that my children are all obviously mine, but they each have a little different feature that makes them unique.

Clark has freckles and hazel eyes with dark brown hair.  He is my little clone.
Joel is a darker complexion with brown eyes and lighter hair.
Levi has his sweet curls and mystery colored eyes.  They have blue, grey, brown, and yellow.

I can't wait to see how our little girl turns out!!! 

Our field trip to Cincinnati

 

 Michael was asked to come to Cincinnati for training this past week, so we decided to make the most of it!  Despite the fact that Joel had been suffering from a stomach bug, we loaded up with buckets and bleach and a prayer and made our way to Ohio!

We drove straight to the Cincinnati Zoo and had a blast there!  Polar bears, manatees, giraffes, cheetah races, a 4D movie, train ride, and 4 times on the carousel were just some of our favorites things.

 

 

Then the next day, we loaded up and headed to a local park that is a working farm as well.

We had fun playing with the animals, catching tadpoles, pumping water with the windmill, and playing on the playground!

 

 

 

The next day, we headed to the country and rode a train through beautiful Ohio.  We got to ride in an open air car, blow the horn, and check out the engine.

 

 

Then we headed over to a park that has a huge 2 story tree house play room with ball pit and tons of slides.  They boys could have played there all day.

At nights we swam in the hotel pool.  That was Clark's favorite part by far! 

We are back home, and I have to say it's so nice to have a vacation to help you see what you really have! 


Oh...No one else got sick, and Joel was a trooper.
We got to spend some great quality time together all day and all night!!
And we only spent $60 for the whole four day trip!  Whoo hoo! 
That's a great vacation!

The Roar of White Water Is Music to My Ears

We went to our favorite place yesterday afternoon--The Blue Hole.   It was more white than blue because of all the rain the day before.  The roar of water was deafening and exhilarating. 

The boys did their typical thing--throw rocks in the water and get Mommy wet.

Joel even tried his hand at rock climbing, and I think he fell in love.  And after seeing a crew of kayakers go by, I began to realize I need to start praying now for my boys asking God to keep these crazy, wild little daredevils safe for my heart's sake.

Sorry the picture is blurry.  My camera was smudged.

But I hope you can see the magnificent beauty of the place.