We are back!

I promise to post pictures tomorrow of the wedding (if I can figure out how to get them off Colin's phone) and of vacation. We have had a very busy couple weeks....an amazing time of celebration followed by some relaxation. The wedding was beautiful, the weather was PERFECT (almost chilly) and the rain stayed away. I am happy to report that my little brother now has a beautiful wife. They are still honeymooning away in Vegas. They get home on late Thursday night, so we are hoping to see them on Friday. Mac just called to inform me that he went to Emerill's restaurant Delmonico....so yummy!

Our vacation was so wonderful. Driving the first leg from LEX to ATL was awful due to Camden screaming 4 out of the 6 hours....he did great the following day from ATL to Sarasota (we followed his sleeping schedule and invested in a DVD player....miracle). The week entailed a lot of nothing! We worked out three times and that was the most activity we had all week....oh except for our 6 hour shopping spree at the outlet mall (so fun!). We went out one night to a really great seafood restaurant and the rest of the week we did carry out. It was so nice to spend time with my mom, dad, Jess, Cam and Colin. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE me some vacation!

Camden is down for his afternoon nap early this morning because we are heading to see the Doctor at 1. During vacation he did a ton of drooling, chewing on anything (shirt, fingers, our fingers, burp cloth, etc), we think he may be teething. He is still working on rolling over (we keep practicing, I think he is waiting for his Nana Pam to get here this weekend). He is eating 32oz each day (8oz every 4 hours), and gaining weight...love his cheeks and chubby thighs (when does that become uncool?).

On our way home from Sarasota we stopped in Ocala to see Cam's Great Grandparents (Mama and Papa), they had prepared a feast for us. Jelly rolls, muffins, fruit, casserole, OJ, and fresh coffee, it was the perfect stop to stretch, feed Camden, and visit. We stopped again in ATL with our friends Jenny Ann, Jason, and Addisyn for the night and really enjoyed seeing the Barber's...they will be making the trip up here soon for UK football.

We are beyond blessed and so thankful for a great week away with family and friends. Promise to post pix tomorrow

17 Weeks....(weddings,vacations,etc)

It has been a crazy week so far with preparations for the BIG wedding and vacation. This past weekend I had a blast celebrating Whitney with a bunch of her friends in Louisville. We went and stayed at the Galt House in a large beautiful suite, followed by a night on the town at Fourth Street Live....so much fun. Monday and Tuesday have included trips to the gym, packing little man up, and cleaning the whole house. (we are super excited that during vacation we are having hardwood floors installed in our living room).

Today looks to be super fun. Stef and Jordan are coming over because we are starting to make our own baby food. Jordan is the guinea pig because my little man isn't eating food yet. However, last week I made a batch of carrots and sent some home with Nakada and some home with Stef and from what I hear they were a HUGE hit. So today we embark on this journey with hopes of saving all kinds of money to buy shoes (I mean baby clothes and stuff). Tonight I am going to get my pedicure with mom and then heading out to church for a bit.

Tomorrow and Friday we are creeping into wedding mode and packing ourselves for Florida. (can you tell I am so, so excited about Florida?) The cool part is we are stopping in Hot-lanta on the way down and home to split the trip up. We are staying with some great friends, the Barber's. They have a sweet little girl named Addyson....she is too cute. On the way home we are also stopping to see Mama and Papa in Orlando for lunch. We are so lucky to get to see our friends and family!

Friday....bridal luncheon at Murrays, manicures, decorate for rehearsal dinner at Giuseppes, rehearsal at Keene Run, and then dinner. Lot's of awesome activities to celbrate Mac and Whitney.

So now on to my 17 week old baby....yes 17 weeks. I can't believe it. He is so awesome nd so much fun these days. He is still waking up with that HUGE smile on his face and normally eats (7oz) and goes back to bed an hour later. At about 10 we have play time on the mat. We have been practicing rolling over (which he has done once on his own), I am trying so hard to capture it on camera. He is in love with his own reflection. (I have a video I need to upload to FB with him just staring at that oh so cute baby in the mirror. He is also grabbing things (slowly) and pulling them up to his mouth. Around noon we eat again (7oz), and then another nap (usually 2.5-3hours). At 4ish we eat again (7oz) and play, play, play. We have so much fun swinging, excersaucering (with help), walking, talking, singing, and reading. Daddy gets home around 6 and Camden sits with us while we eat. I have noticed he is VERY interested with what we are eating....I think cereal and rice are close. We have been doing bathtime at 7 and then bottle at 7:30, followed by books (highly reccommend Pajama Time), prayer, and bed. I am loving my sweet, sweet boy.

and...it is official TLS has started their school year, so now I am a stay at home mom. I have a few days of subbing lined up...yeah!

I may not be blogging for a while, but will return with wedding and vacation pix soon. Love ya'll.

16 weeks....

Our sweet little frog. We have been taking Camden to the nursery the last two weeks and LOVE the girls that take care of him (Thanks Emily, Kate, and Cara). He is in the frog room...only fitting we show him off in his frog towel.


I love this picture of Camden sleeping with his little lovey in his left hand. Too cute.


Our friend baby Jordan came over to play one day. We had a blast.


First time in mommy and daddy's extra large bathtub. Sorry I didn't fix the red eye.


This was our first attempt in the exersaucer. He is getting more and more in control of his head, but I don't like leaving him alone in this bad boy. He seems to love it!


The last time I tried to put this hat on Camden it was way too big...now it is too small. I just had to get him in this cute outfit!!


Anyone who knows me understands my obsession with M&M's and my friends Kris and Matt bought this delicious little onsie and socks for us at Christmas.


Our friends Aaron and Leigh (son to be mom and dad of twin girls) came over the other night and Camden couldn't figure out what was on Aaron's face?!?!

hubs has the camera...

So I was going to post some cute pictures of my growing boy, but Colin took the camera to capture pix of deer stands and other hunting sites. Bummer, because my pictures are way cuter :) We are gearing up for a busy August and September. This next weekend I am off to celebrate my soon to be sister in law in Louisville. I will be leaving the boys at home to hang and I will be having some fun at 4th Street Live. The following weekend is the wedding. I can't believe we are less than two weeks out from my baby brother's wedding. So exciting. I did get my dress altered and I don't hate it, and just know I will look back at pix and remember my brother and his new wife and not me. It isnt about me.

The day after the wedding my mom, dad, colin, cam, and I are loading up the suburban and heading south. It is our first vacation in a few years. Every trip we had planned last year was cancelled due to bed rest. God knew about this trip with our sweet boy would make all the resting worth while. I am looking forward to relaxing and eating a ton of seafood!

Labor Day weekend Nana Pam is coming to visit us again from Texas. I can't wait for her to see how much camden has changed. She is going to LOVE loving on her sweet grandbaby.

The third weekend in September (I think) we are heading to Colorado to visit our dear friends the Nickell's. This is our frist long trip away from Camden. We are going to celebrate our anniversary while away. 7 years!! Can't believe it. Lots of fun in store and many, many reasons to celebrate!

catching up....

Well, I have been terrible at keeping up with my blog. I am so sorry, but we are busy, but not busy. Make sense? I have had full days, but I couldn't tell you what I have been doing. Now I do remember my special friends who come by the visit, and I did get to go to TLS Thursday and Friday for a quick couple days of work. The day to day routine with camden is so wonderful, I just love every minute I get with him. He has been sleeping from 8:30-8:00 (we don't like to speak of this, we are afraid it might jinx this new found love of sleep). He wakes up VERY happy, and ready to eat. We stay up for about an hour where his new found hobbies are; gagging himself with his fingers, punching his giraffe and zebra toys, staring at himself in the mirror, and continues to be quite the pooper! Our afternoons change everyday, we can't quite get the napping down. I really am OK with that because he is sleeping through the night. He is awesome! I will post some pix tomorrow. We are off to run errands after Camden wakes up and eats. We get to go buy presents for the Ranson twins, a present for Aunt Whitney (wedding in two weeks!), and tennis shoes for mommy.
Em

Romans 5

18-19Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life! One man said no to God and put many people in the wrong; one man said yes to God and put many in the right.

How many times have I been the person that is in the wrong. How many times have I made a poor choice, walked down the wrong road only to realize I was doing exactly opposite of what God intended for me. I am a sinner, every day I have to make a conscience (sp) effort to make good choices and to follow Christ, and ever day I fail. Why is it so hard to be a Christ follower.....Jesus has already done everything for me, he died, he paid the price, so that I could live forever. But I still find it difficult each day to fight the earthly desires of my heart and give myself to Christ.

20-21All that passing laws against sin did was produce more lawbreakers. But sin didn't, and doesn't, have a chance in competition with the aggressive forgiveness we call grace. When it's sin versus grace, grace wins hands down. All sin can do is threaten us with death, and that's the end of it. Grace, because God is putting everything together again through the Messiah, invites us into life—a life that goes on and on and on, world without end.

The beauty of my above problem is this, "sin doesn't have a chance in competition with the aggressive forgiveness we call grace." Grace is such a beautiful word... I am so thankful for it, I am covered each day with the Grace of God. When I stumble, grace picks me up, when I say the wrong thing, grace forgives me, Grace is what I am thankful for today. With this gift of grace I can live.

elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion, or action.
2. a pleasing or attractive quality or endowment.
3. favor or good will.
5. mercy; clemency; pardon: an act of grace.
6. favor shown in granting a delay or temporary immunity.
8. Theology. a. the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God.
b. the influence or spirit of God operating in humans to regenerate or strengthen them.
c. a virtue or excellence of divine origin: the Christian graces.
d. Also called state of grace. the condition of being in God's favor or one of the elect.

It.....is here!

Synonyms for Radical....basic, essential; original, innate, ingrained, complete, unqualified, thorough, drastic, excessive,

Last night as I walked into church to hear about what It is, I was very excited. I know that this series has been hyped up, and I knew that it was going to probably change the church as we knew it. I took Camden to the nursery for the first time last night and he did awesome. The process was easy, organized, and I knew my little guy was safe. I wanted him to be in the nursery so I could really focus on what "it" is.

Essentially it is Jesus. Southland is tired of going to church and sitting in the pews being consumers. We are being called to step out of our seats and go....go out and love on people, make Jesus knows in Lexington. We want people to fall in love with him and then follow him. Sounds so simple....but I think that it was one of the most powerful challenges ever put in front of me. I believe I am one of the consumers. I believe that I don't do enough to make Jesus known.

When Colin and I got home last night and we were in Camden's room feeding, reading, and praying together I got a little choked up. I don't ever want Camden to know the "going to church" mentality, I want him to forever know he has to be the church. He gets to serve and love on people. We prayed a scary prayer last night, for God to use us in the radical movement.....to take our lives and use them for His glory.

I posted synonyms for radical above....essential (I can't live without Jesus), ingraiied, complete, but the one that got me was unqualified....I am soooo unqualified to do this job, but with Jesus I can do ALL things. I can't wait to be a part of this, I can't wait to see where God leads the Stout's.

Check out the "It" website here http://www.itlexington.com/ or southland's websited here: www.southlandchristian.org

Em

Please don't think I am crazy....

So ever since my Grandfather passed away when I was 11 I have had this huge fear of death. I don't know what it is, as a christian shouldn't I be OK with dying. I realize that I get to go to a much better place, but all I know is this place. All I know is this world, my family, my friends, this life. I am looking forward to the day I get to spend eternity with Jesus, but I honesly find the thought of death so scary. My prayer has been not to worry about death, to live day to day, thankful for the gift it is to me. However, I often find myself thinking, honestly, worrying about dying. Am I alone in this? If you think I have gone off the deep end, you can stop reading my blog, I understand :)

I do not like having this fear, I do not like living each day thinking it may be my last. I do not like being consumed with these thoughts....I want to be free from this. Will you please pray for my craziness? Thanks...tomorrow I will post something warm and fuzzy....

If you are in town you should come to Southland tonight (5:30) or tomorrow (8:30, 10, 11:30) for the new IT series.....It is here!