Run For Cover

So 3 weeks ago Johnny and I decided we were going to run in the annual Run for Cover 5k.  This run benefits the Samaritan Inn in McKinney which is the only homeless shelter in Collin County.  In years past we have volunteered at the event and we thought we would mix it up a bit and run this year!  With very little training under our belt, we showed up on Saturday ready to go.  I know that a 5k is no biggie in the running world, and that some people do that as their daily run, but for us it was a big deal :]  Here's Sammy getting ready for the race....

Don't worry, we got her straightened out before we started running!

It was a beautiful day and there were a lot of people to help motivate us through the race.  Johnny and I finished with an average of a 13 minute mile which I was pretty happy with.  The point is we made it.  We didn't give up {which I wanted to before the race even started....I asked Johnny if we should switch to the 1 mile fun run, and he sweetly said no}.  We were being examples to our children that fitness and family go hand in hand.  We also got to show God's love in the process by supporting the Samaritan Inn!  

Here we are at the end of the race....

The girls did great in the stroller, and we were pooped in the end, but it was a great way to start the day and an awesome thing to do as a family!  Stout family 5 k...check!

Things Stout Kids Say

Not sure if you've checked it out lately or ever, but our kids are saying some cute things these days...check it out! 

Things Stout Kids Say

Snack Trap

Sammy is getting bigger and she is eating real foods these days in addition to her baby food and oatmeal.  Some of the things she loves are real peas, cheerios, cut up fruit of any kind, mashed potatoes, and bread.  She's been doing really well and hasn't been gagging or choking on her foods so I gave her some cheerios in a snack trap and went on about my business {taking pictures} that is!  For those of you who don't know what a snack trap is, check it out in all it's greatness....

"Hey, what's this??"

"Totally cool mom!  I get a snack just like sister!"

"Oh No!!!  My cheerios fell out!"

"No problem, I'll just eat them off the floor.....it's clean right?"

"MMMMMMMM, these are good!!!!"

"Like oh my gosh, there's more!"

"Let me try this thing again...."

"I'm getting so big Mommy!"

And there you have it.  Snack Trap.....hand goes in and grabs the food, and the lid keeps food in as long as your child doesn't grab onto one of the flaps and shake it upside down :]

More of the Same :]

Here she is moving again!  Go Sammy :]  Our world is already crazy and it's about to get even crazier with this little mobile girl!

Worship Wednesday - He Loves Us

He loves us, and I am so grateful! Enjoy the song this week.....go ahead, close your eyes, and when you catch on if it's a new one for you, raise your hands, dance around and praise our King!!!  This song rocks!!! {facebookers click on original post to see video....believe me, you are gonna want to hear this!}

He is jealous for me, Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us oh
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all

He is jealous for me, Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us oh,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all

He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.

And we are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If His grace is an ocean, we're all sinking.
And heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don't have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way…

That He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.

Yeah, He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.

On The Move

Sam is on the move and here's the proof....the real action starts about a minute into the video :]

Worship Wednesday - When I Finally Make it Home

I love this song..the lyrics rock and the sweet melody is amazing.  I love singing harmony as loud as possible to this in my car!  I hope you enjoy {facebookers need to click on the original post to see the video}.

I'm gonna wrap my arms around my Daddy's neck
And tell him that I've missed him

And tell him all about the man that I became
And hope that it pleased him

There's so much I want to say
There's so much I want you to know

[chorus]
When I finally make it home when I finally make it home

Then I'll gaze upon the throne of the King
Frozen in my steps

And all the questions that I swore I would ask
Words just won't come yet

So amazed at what I've seen so much more
Than this old mind can hold

[back to chorus]

And the sweetest sound these ears have yet to hear
The voices of the angels

[back to chorus]

I love the image of wrapping our arms around Jesus and telling him all about the person we've become.  I also love the part about gazing upon the throne of the King frozen in our steps.  Pretty sure I'll be frozen in awe!  I hope you enjoy :]  What are you listening to these days??

Super Babies {Sam's 1st Gymnastics Class}

So Sammy had her first gymnastics class on Friday!  It was at my work Eagle's Wings Athletics and it was so much fun!  What was more fun was that 3 of my friends joined us with their bambinos too!!!

Amanda and Ben, Liz and Willa, Carolyn and Isaiah, and me and Sammy

gotta get stretched out!!

apparently I thought something was funny :]

go Ben!!!

We rolled on mats..on their tummies then side to side like this :]

Who knew that these old roomies would end up raising our babies together :] So fun!!!

Ben and Isaiah were bonding, they even wrote the same onesie :]  Pretty sure they planned it :]

We also worked on some flips!!!  Go Isaiah!!

Here's a class pic!

Obviously Willa was worn out from our class!

The class was super fun and we even got to jump on trampoline with our little ones.

While the babies were busy being super, the older siblings got to play in the gym with Coach Kassandra!  All in all it was fun and I can't wait for next month's workshop!

9 Months Old :]

{There's a video in this post, so facebookers, click on the original post}

So I'm only 8 days late, but Sammy is 9 months old already and I can't believe it!!!  We are 3 months away from a first birthday!  Holy Schmoly :]

{Booyah, I'm 9 months old now!}

Here are Sammy's stats!  Not sure why they are sideways, but I can't get it changed so tilt your head and check it out!  She's still tiny but growing on her own curve! I love our tiny girls, and they are certainly following in their momma's footsteps!

So Sammy's up to a lot these days!  She's all over the place and into everything!  She's still not crawling but she's rolling super fast and she can maneuver her body whichever what she wants to get the things she wants!  Sammy is talking up a storm and she can say dada, lala, da ma la, mmmmmm, and that's kind of it!  Sam will sit as you read short books to her, and she can play with toys and entertain herself if needed.  Sam's pulling up to her knees, eating like crazy, pulling everything down that she can reach, getting into her sister's things, and this week we started her on real food!  She's had bananas, mashed potatos and peas.  We tried to get a video, but of course it turned into the Joey show....

  I can't wait till she can eat our food all the time!  It makes things so much easier!  

She's really getting the hang of her Jenny Jumper too....Here's a video...please ignore her sister in the background :]

Well, I think that's it for now!  Sam did great at her doc appointment by the way, she doesn't need anymore breathing treatments, and her ears are looking better!  We love you Sammy and can't wait to see how much you change this month :]

Worship Wednesday - What Do I Know of Holy?

The beginning of the song says a lot and we've all been there!  No separate lyrics this week, just have a listen and read as you go.  {facebookers will have to click on the original post to see the video} Enjoy, and let me know what part you liked best!

What do YOU know of holy?

Sick Sammy

So we've been nursing our sick Sammy the past few days and that's why we've been a bit absent from the blog :] 

 I took her to the doctor last Tuesday because she was pulling on her right ear.  She had snot, but we all do in this house, and it was running clear.  Honestly we just didn't want her little ear tug to become a big bad ear infection so we took her in as a precaution.  Boy are we glad we did!  Sammy ended up having a sort of "baby bronchitis", and a double ear infection to boot :[  We were quickly prescribed a steroid, breathing treatments, and an antibiotic.  My heart sunk and I felt like the worst parent ever!!  I told that to our doc and she said had we come in 2 days prior they may have thought it to be a cold and sent us on our way only to end up back in the doc office a few days later.  That made me feel a bit better, but I can't believe she was that sick and still playing, laughing, rolling, and being herself other than the ear tugging!!!  I hear of kids who scream when they have ear infections, and both of our girls handle them like champs...we've never had an issue...which is a good and bad thing I guess...good that we don't have to listen to them scream...bad that we don't catch them early because of the lack of signs!  Anyway, Sam is on the mend and we are done with her breathing treatments and steroids! We have her 9 month well visit tomorrow and we will see how she's doing.  I just hate when the babies are sick!  It's no fun and I just wish they could tell you what hurts ya know?  

Anywho, here's some pics of our super fun breathing treatments that we are now done with....

She did surprisingly well with the breathing treatments and just let you put the mask on her face and she sit relatively still for the 15 minutes 3 times per day for 5 days!  What a good girl :]

{A special thanks to the Luedke's who let us borrow their nebulizer so we didn't have to buy one of our own!!  Love you guys!!!}

Like I said, her 9 month appointment is tomorrow so we will be back with some stats and good stuff then!!

The Little Couch

So we have 2 couches in our living room...a full size one and the little one {as Joey calls it}.  Anytime I'm on the little couch, daddy's on the little couch or anyone for that matter, Joey has to be on the couch too.  She doesn't care if you are crowded or if you don't feel well or if you are napping, she wants to be on there with you!  Although it can be annoying at times, it does make for some cute pictures and videos :]

And here's a little video {facebookers need to click on the original post if you want to see the video}

Worship Wednesday - Desert Song

Back for another Worship Wednesday here at Stouts R Us, and I just love this song!!  I was trying to find the video and all I could do was raise my hand in worship every time I clicked on a version, and I decided to go with this one for no apparent reason other than I love it :]  I found an acoustic that I love but for a first time Desert Songer I thought y'all might benefit from the original :]  {facebookers have to click on original post to see video

Verse 1:
This is my prayer in the desert
And all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in the hunger in me
My God is a God who provides

Verse 2:
And this is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved
Of more worth than gold
So refine me Lord through the flames

Chorus:
And I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon forged against me shall remain

I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here

Verse 3:
And this is my prayer in the battle
And triumph is still on it's way
I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ
So firm on His promise I'll stand

Bridge:
All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship

Verse 4:
This is my prayer in the harvest
When favor and providence flow

I know I'm filled to be empited again

The seed I've recieved I will sow  { I love the line about being co-heirs with Christ!!!  How phenomenal is that??? If you are questioning whether or not you will be co-heirs with Christ, let me know and I'd love to chat with you about that :]}