New!

Clearly, I changed my background/picture/font color.... Thought it would be a nice change and feels more Summery. I like it and hope you do, too! :o)

Big 100!

This is my 100th post, Y'all!!! ... Thank you to all of you who actually take the time to read my blog! I hope you haven't been disappointed! :o)

Let's see... over the past few weeks, I finished finals for Spring semester... got grades back (3 A's and a B yay!)... started a new Maymester class...found out Eden is pregnant again!... went to Do Dah Day with my sister Grace and her puppy Bailey.... celebrated our 2 year anniversary at The Melting Pot!... celebrated Miley's 1st b'day... and went to the lake for Memorial Day weekend.
So far, it is looking like we're in for a relaxing summer. Josh, Miley, and I plan to spend a lot of it at my parents' lake house on Lake Martin or here in Birmingham. We are also fantasizing about a possible vacation (first since our honeymoon!--first one alone, at least) in August after Summer school and before Fall semester starts. I think we're both leaning toward a cruise because we loooove going on cruises and feel like it's a great trip for our money, especially compared to some other options. One major bonus is that we have (or will by the time we need them) accumulated enough points for our plane tickets, which would've made the trip a good bit more expensive. We have yet to pull the trigger on the trip, but after a big budget talk last week, it is looking very hopeful, which is encouraging. We'll see... maybe we'll just do a week at the beach or something that might save us some money.

Speaking of "budget" or money.... please keep Josh/us in your prayers because he has a few job opportunities on the rise. Hopefully one of them will work out and will get us on our way to our dream of him being the sole bread-winner for the Gamble home so I can hopefully stay home with babies, or at least until they are old enough for Kindergarten. Thank you in advance for your faithful prayers :o)

Maymester is going well. I have been going non-stop 8-11 Mon-Fri for three weeks now and my last day of class is this Friday. It's been great to get a class finished so quickly, but also a bit tiring because I've essentially had an exam about every other day, and it's burning me out a bit. That said, hopefully I will get a 2nd wind because I start a brand new batch of classes on Monday, June 1st. Needless to say, I'm hoping this weekend will be nice and relaxing to get recharged!

Oh, as I mentioned in my preview... My BFF Eden is pregnant with #2!!! They want their kids close in age, and Wyatt will be about 17 months old when K2 is born. We are so happy for them. They are wonderful, loving, and laid back parents to Wyatt, and will love welcoming K2 to their precious family this December. She is due on Christmas Day! Babies are such wonderful blessings!!! I am so excited to watch their beautiful babies grow up :o)

Last week, Josh (aka: best friend and love of my life) and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary with dinner at The Melting Pot, just like last year. It has become a fun tradition for special occasions... not only is it out of our typical dinner budget, but getting dressed up and driving across town makes it more of a special event. It was wonderful just spending a nice evening together, chatting, fondue-ing, and we even made a list of our goals for our 3rd year of marriage. :o) I'll keep you posted.


2 days after our anniversary, our sweet puppy Miley turned 1 year old! She has been such a huge blessing in our lives through her unconditional love for us, being someone we can love together, hours of laughter, and priceless lessons in responsibility. She is SUCH a sweet girl... loves kids and babies... being chased.... playing with other dogs... retrieving the tennis ball-especially with dad... swimming at the lake... snuggling with mom and dad.... snoozing on the couch... biting at bugs in the air.... eating the water coming out of the hose... and more. She warms my heart and it swells with love for her.

Last weekend was Memorial Day weekend at the lake with my parents and sister, Paige. We had a fun time relaxing... watching tv... eating some great food (i loooove my mama's spaghetti!!!) and visiting with each other. We did not, however, enjoy all of the rain...but were all very happy to see the sun on Monday. Apparently making up for the sun-less weekend, I went all out tanning and ended up getting burned. I'm still pretty tender, but hopefully it'll give me a good base for the Summer so it won't happen again. Something else that will help prevent it this Summer: suntan lotion. I'm just sayin'. ;o)

I included these pictures b/c they were of one of the funniest things ever. Josh was lighting the grill using a few pages from the old Yellow Pages and Miley took off with the whole book in her mouth!!! This is her new favorite thing... grabbing stuff from the house and running into the backyard where she has the greatest advantage... she loves being chased! She proceeded to tear pages from it out in the yard as Josh chased her. It was hiiiiilarious.


Last, but not least, here she is waiting for Josh to come home. It is even more precious to be on the receiving end of this greeting. Her sweet little face just fits in that window so she can see you walking up. I just love her.

In a few weeks....

SOOOO I totally forgot to post about my b'day that was a few weeks ago! Well, it was a lovely day full of relaxation (between exam days) and running errands because I just wanted to do so. That evening, my parents, sister, aunt/uncle, Godparents, and our friend Britney met us at Cocina Superior for dinner. While we were waiting for a table (it took foooorever b/c the lady told josh they didnt take reservations, which is untrue, we found out) i got to open presents from my parents. They gave me 2 incredible and thoughtful gifts:

1. a card organizer--i am a words person, so i love getting and sending cards. my mama bought me lots of cute cards to get me started!

2. DRUM ROOOOLLL...........................................




A DNA KIT TO TEST MILEY'S BREED!!!!!
Not even kidding!!! It is what I consider to be the perfect present: something that I really want, but won't spend the money on it. We swabbed Miley's cheek last week, so it should be a few weeks before we find out what makes up our lovemuffin, Miley. I know... try contain your excitement...it's really hard b/c this is so huge!!!! I'll keep everyone posted!


Delicious b'day cake!

Wrestle fest on the way home from KRF

Ok...so even though it was the same weekend, I decided to do our ride home from Kelly Run Farm, where we board the dogs, with 3 dogs... it was a little wild at times. Ha ha. I sat up front with calm Elsie, while best buds Miley and Bailey had a wrestle fest in the back seat. I finally got my camera out to film it to show my family...and they stopped. haha. Ah well. The pics say it all.


They are so pretty!



Save me from the insanity of these young whipper-snappers!

Grace Brannon, College Grad.

Last weekend, we took the dogs to Kelly Run Farm, and headed over to Rome, GA for one last time (for Grace at least) to celebrate Grace's graduation! Here are some pics from the weekend. We are so proud of Grace. Berry was an excellent college for her and she worked very hard while she was there. For those that do not know, Grace was at Berry College on a volleyball scholarship in addition to a Winshape scholarship, which gives her some money and let her live in the same special dorm for all 4 years. She was 1 of 50 other students chosen from 100's. In return, she had to commit to not drink or do drugs all 4 years. Because of her faith, that was like asking Grace to breathe....it came naturally to her...even after turning 21 her junior year and pressure from friends. This weekend, at 22 years old, Grace graduated from college, and finally had her first drink, which she chose to have with my daddy at our Mexican dinner Saturday night. It was amusing, and, of course, I documented it (see pic below). I'm so proud of her and the commitment she upheld to Berry and the Winshape program. Good job, Gracie!

Our BEAUTIFUL graduate!!!

I've gotta get some sun!
First sip of beer....not so tasty...haha

Trip to Tulsa, Ok

The first weekend in May, Josh and I took a trip to Tulsa, OK to attend the wedding of my best guy friend (under Josh, of course!) of over 10 years, Clint. Clint and I met on a Young Life ski trip our junior year of high school and have stayed in touch ever since. He is one of THE sweetest guys you'll ever meet and comes from an incredible family. Seriously, they are so genuinely kind, love the Lord, and are very unpretentious. If we were not married to our respective (God-chosen) spouses, I would consider marrying Clint b/c not only do I know he'll be an amazing husband, but mostly to get into that family! hahaha. The wedding was delightfully laid-back--i got to wear a cotton dress with cowgirl boots...clint got married in jeans...mason jars with flowers...stacks of cookies as the cake....BBQ, beans, and potato salad...and lots of love. The whole day was full of family. Clint's brother-in-law performed the ceremony, his brother wrote/performed a song for them, his nieces were flowergirls, his nephew was the ring bearer, and his dad was his best man. Bless their hearts, the wedding was originally planned to be on Clint's family land, but due to weather, they had to move it to his parents' church last minute. Needless to say it was a stressful few days for them and their families, but they pulled it off beautifully! Here are some pics from our trip out and time there. It was a fun trip and definitely went too quickly! They aren't in any very good order. Sorry about that....Since we were going to be on a plane in a very confined space with others for hours, we decided to go with the masks... it wasn't like we went out and bought themesp since we were stopping in TX by Mexico... better safe than sorry.
The airline lost our luggage. Fortunately, it came in on the next flight from Houston, but in the meantime, the Pollards gave us these kits that Clint's brother had gotten flying overseas to be at the wedding.... in them was stuff like toothbrushes, toothpaste...and as you can see, sleep masks. Josh originally put it on as a joke, but fell asleep before he could take it off. hahaha
Heading to the wedding!



The cookie "cake"...
With sweet Kathleen, Clint's sister before the ceremony.
Cute flower girls!
Beautiful bride!



He couldn't take his eyes off of her.
Manchi was a beautiful bride.


The...(silly) love of my life. :)
Clint's sister, Liz, and her family. 2 girls, 1 boy, and one boy on the way!
(She is one of the best looking preggos I've ever seen. This pic does not do her justice.
I guess by the 4th one, she's a pro!)
Their precious "cake" topper.
Mr. and Mrs. Clint Pollard!
Flash caught J.Gam off-guard...
Playing around with the bride after the reception
I really like this pic... despite Josh being a bit of a goober. haha
Clint, Manchi, and his parents.
Clint is very indulgent of his nephew!