Friday, November 12, 2010
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Babies' Dedication(s) Oct 17th and 24th
Dedication #1: Homewood, AL
Dawson Memorial Baptist Church: Dr. Gary Fenton
October 17th, 2010
As you can tell from the title of this post, the boys were dedicated on October 17th AND 24th. Josh and I knew that we wanted to dedicate them at Dawson Baptist Church because it is where we have been attending church for the past few years. I also suggested that we dedicate them at Josh's home church (if it is even still called that now that he's been in Birmingham for 10 years haha) because it was very important to him growing up and it would be a good way to honor his parents (and let them show off their grandbabies, which they love to do!)
It was very humbling how many of our friends and family took time out of their week to come worship with us at Dawson on the 17th and what a wonderful service it was! Almost all of my extended family in Birmingham made it--including, but def not limited to the boys' great great aunt and uncle and their great and great great grandmothers; friends from church came, Paige's soon-to-be B-I-L, my sisters came in from Huntsville, TX and Auburn, AL, and my best friend, Joy, and her husband, Luke, even drove in from Atlanta that morning. It touched my heart to see all of these people who were so important in my life and now, the boys' lives.
The service started with the hand bell choir playing and then the children's choir sang. It was as if God had worked it out for that service to be particularly special and ornate just for us in celebration of these precious, precious gifts he'd given us!
Dr. Fenton gave a wonderful message. The most memorable line was when he quoted: "You can't stop a bird from flying over your head, but you can stop it from making a nest in your hair." Basically meaning, you can't help what thoughts come your way (especially worrisome in this case), but you can choose whether you let them settle in your head and you stew over them or not. One kind of crazy part of of the service was when he put a picture of traffic on the screen and there was a truck with "GAMBLE" across the front! Very doo-doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo-doo... and then, he was talking about cell phones and the picture he put up was all Verizon Wireless phones! (Where Joshy G. works!) Talk about a service tailor made for us and the boys :) Haha... Even though I know they didn't do it all on purpose, it was so neat to see those and know that God was celebrating with us and was surely getting our attention!
Another special part of the day was how excited about the service my friends and family were, especially my sister, Paige. She said that the service really spoke to her heart. Who out there doesn't LOVE for people they love to be spoken to, especially when they invited them to the service!? It was just perfect. Only thing that could have made it better was if a few other friends/family who live out of town and are constantly missed (ie: my BFF Eden in CA, the Jones family in FL, Aunt in NC, etc.) could have made it, but those were trips I wouldn't want them to take just to be there with us in person. They certainly were there in love and spirit!
Let me also brag on Dawson a bit. As my mom put it, they are a "well-oiled machine!" They have the whole dedication day down to an art, not only making it easy on the family, but making it very special for them, as well. Brooke G., the head of the preschool ministry, met with us and Dr. Fenton to make sure that he had the boys' names correct (which he already knew before meeting with us---meant a lot to me) and helped us with the details of the day. It could not have gone better! The boys were delightful, even giddy during the dedication. Then, some of the helpers from the nursery, who brought them up to us fed, dressed, and ready to go, took them back to downstairs for us to enjoy the rest of the service baby-free. Well. Oiled. Machine.
After the dedication, we had a few of our close friends and a lot of family over to my parents' house for a celebratory lunch. It was just a great day on the whole and touched my heart for everyone to be celebrating 2 of the MOST important people in my life as we made a public declaration of dedicating them to our precious, generous, and very gracious God.
I love how proud Josh looks as Dr. Fenton introduces JH to the congregation
Enthralled with Dr. Fenton
JH is smiling at H being introduced... too sweet!
Dedicating JH
H was clearly making himself very comfortable as he propped his foot on Dr. Fenton during dedication haha... Just loungin' while we talk about Jesus.
(sorry, a few of these next ones are from before the service)
LOVE this picture... unfortunately Joshy G didn't know Grace was taking a picture with him in it, so he didn't smile. We have got to get better about making SURE to get family pics. This is our only family pic from such an important day.
LOOOOOVE this one with my sweetness, Harrison.
We served lasagna, salad, and bread.
Oh, and we can't forget an Edgar's cake! YUM! I asked them to add almond to the icing to make a french vanilla almond taste (like our wedding cake, actually), but it was too overwhelming. I don't recommend anyone else doing it... nor will I be doing it again. Regardless, the cake was still delicious.
Fantastic pic of my sister Grace with some of our very favorites, Katie and Cullen Byington.
VERY PROUD PARENTS!
The pumpkins that Paige (top left: spooky castle), Grace (bottom: growling wolf), and I (spider on a web) carved the night before.
That is my Aunt Sharon, the boys' Great Aunt, sitting at the table with my Great Uncle Johnnie, the boys' Great-Great Uncle! Coming in the door is my Great Grandmother, Nannie, the boys' Great-Great Grandmother, and behind her is my Daddy, the boys' Grandfather, aka: Big Daddy. :)
The front two people are my Godparents, Susan and Michael Bayliss. Appropriately, they are two of the sweetest, most Godly people that I know. In the back are my Aunt Cynthia and Uncle Tim. They are so much fun and I enjoy spending time with them!
Here is my sister, Paige, aka: Aunt Podge looking foxy, as usual.
Dedication #2: Hendersonville, TN
Cornerstone Church: Pastor Maury Davis
October 24, 1010
(Right outside of Nashville. Where Daddy Josh grew up after moving there in elementary school from Shreveport, LA. His parent still live there.)
The next weekend was Vanderbilt Homecoming, which many of you know, is a tradition in the Gamble household. Josh and I started dating Summer 2004 and we have been to every single Vanderbilt Homecoming since then! This post isn't about that trip, just the dedications... I'll include that trip in my post about the rest of October. I will say, though, that, in a nut shell, Josh's mom went out of her way to make sure that the trip up was easy for us and she did such a great job. I can't thank her enough, and tried to do so every opportunity I could get. We'll definitely be going back up soon!
Back to the dedications... Since we knew we were going for that, I asked Josh's mom if: A. She'd be interested in us doing one up there at their church (she def was!) and B. She thought that they could get it scheduled on that Sunday that we'd be up there for Vanderbilt Homecoming. (Pastor Davis usually does dedications on Weds nights, but made an exception for us!) We got up that morning, did our regular thing w/ the boys, and prayed they'd take a good nap, since we were going to have to wake them up early in order to make it to the service in time. Josh's mom was really anxious about us making it on time, calling a few times to check on where we were (I think she was just anxious/excited), etc..., and usually her nervousness about our making it to church on time is unfounded because we can handle it and we always make it on time (she and F-I-L go ahead for Sunday School and we meet them there for the service), but this time, it was true... we were running late b/c we wanted the boys to get as much nap in as possible.... then, we got half-way to the church, and realize that we went off and forgot their dedication outfits---totally my fault. I think I was anxious about being late, so I went off and left them. We weren't actually *late*, but we weren't early, as we'd originally hoped we would be. When we were almost to the church, we got stuck in traffic b/c there had been a bad 3-car wreck right outside of the church. We finally got through that traffic after some prayers for the people involved and gratitude that it wasn't us, and got in the church in time to change the boys' clothes and diapers, go into the sanctuary for a minute or two, and then we were called to the stage! Whew.... Just in the nick of time! Later, Josh's mom said it was probably good that we had to turn around for the outfits, because it could've been us in that wreck. Funny how things have a way of working themselves out, huh? Praise the Lord for protecting us and our babies!
After the dedication, JH started to squeal a little bit, so Josh and I took the boys to the room for parents and babies w/ a tv screen showing the service. It was way better in there, b/c we weren't concerned about the boys making noises, etc. Pastor Davis did great job w/ the dedication and service! Afterward, we grabbed lunch at Cracker Barrel and headed back to start packing. I don't want to forget to say how much I appreciated my cousin, Laura, and her boyfriend, Warren, coming from Nashville to the dedication! They weren't able to make it to the one in Birmingham so it worked out perfectly that they could come to this one! I have really amazing and supportive family, if you didn't notice! On our way out of town, we stopped in Nashville to eat dinner, feed the boys, and spend a little time with Laura and Warren before driving the rest of the way to Birmingham.
Pastor Davis introducing us to the congregation and giving a little back story about how Josh grew up in that church, moved "far away" (LOL.... Um... Birmingham? ha ha) and that Regenia constantly blesses his family and so he wanted to make an exception and dedicate the boys for all of us.
GREAT picture of the proud Gigi and Papa watching their grandbabies, son, and D-I-L on stage.
It was a good service and I am very grateful that Pastor Davis did our family the favor of making a special exception for our baby boys. I know it also meant a lot to Josh and his parents, so that means a lot to me.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Beginning of October
Ok... I'm going to get started on October so I can finally be blogging in present time! I'm pretty proud of myself that it's the 18th and I'm blogging about the CURRENT month... that hasn't exactly been my M.O. lately, unfortunately! Sorry to any readers out there.... between the twins, 15 hours of school including 1 online class, a husband, and keeping a house, I get behind on the blog :)
So let's see... here are a few pics from the very end of September of my 2 little turkeys playing on the blanket.....
9/25 As I said in my previous post, they've recently begun grabbing their feet in the air.... I love it :)
10/1 I randomly put the boys in the same crib to just hang out for a little bit one night. I heard JH crying... this is what I found. H LOVES his brother and does this occasionally. He just wants to be close to him! haha..... JH doesn't like it as much as I think it's cute lol....
10/5 in our exersaucers...
10/7 Was a special day for me b/c it was the anniversary of the day when we had our first ultrasound last year and found out that we were going to have TWINS! What a life-changing day :) We were blessed more than we could have asked or imagined for ourselves!
10/8 Harrison is getting better and better at holding his own bottle! I used to feed the boys up on the love seat, but have recently moved to feeding them on the floor. It is safer b/c I'm not worried about them falling/rolling off :) Plus they were getting too squirmy for me on the couch. As you'll see in the 2nd and 3rd pic, sometimes I use these bottle holders to hold their bottles for them, and other times I'll hold it for them or let them hold it (as long as they can). I've also discovered they really like it for all of us to be touching :)
That morning, we went to my parents' so my mom and I could go ahead and cook the lasagna for the boys' post-dedication lunch that I was going to have at their Mimi and Big Daddy's house after their dedication the 17th.
HUGE NEWS!!!! Jack Henry cut his first tooth that day!!!!
10/10 I had been chatting with my mom about how we'd started feeding the boys my home made baby food and that we were feeding them in the exersaucers b/c that was the best we had at this point... and man was it crazy! There are toys on it to distract them and it bounces! H actually got an eye full of applesauce one morning! haha... So, Mimi offered to buy us their highchairs for early Christmas. Boy do we love them! We got a great deal! We were going to get the Chicco chairs, bc they were cheaper, but they werent vinyl (or plastic-y, easy to wipe material) and these were. i didnt want to spend $170 x2 of our cmas money from my parents but we liked them and they were nice....also easy to wipe off. well they rang up as $130! then we got multiples 10% discount (BBBaby) and then i had a 20% coupon from babies R us...so they ended up being about $103 and $115 or something. awessoooome! CHA-CHING!
10/11 H has been holding his bottle on and off for the past few months, but on the 11th was his first official feeding of holding it the whole time! He does better with the 5 oz bottles (if he drinks 9 oz, I give him a full 5 oz and then refill it w/ 4 more oz) but he's getting a lot better at the big bottles, too! This is getting to be so helpful! I just have to kind of monitor it in case he drops it, but otherwise, I can help JH with his and let H feed himself. We have arrived!!!!
YAY HARRISON!!!
10/11 The boys used their high chairs for the 1st real time. It seemed to go pretty well. We need to do better at feeding them their "breakfast" (puree in the AM after bottle) earlier b/c they start to get fussy and that makes for a bad time trying to feed them. We've also discovered that Josh is really good at feeding them :) I do just fine, but he's good at it and it's nice b/c that gives me some time to eat breakfast, clean up, etc. while he feeds the boys. Plus, I like it that they have their "thing" each AM. :)
This week....
For a while, H has been sleeping through the night most nights, but this week, he has started getting up a few times a night like JH has. As of today, he has slept well again the past 2 nights--unless he leaks out of his diaper. Let's hope he keeps it up...and that we can get some overnight diapers!
JH has REALLY started paying attention to Miley. He's all about her! H has started noticing her, too, but JH is more into her than H is so far.
10/14 That morning, I was loving on Harrison and, being in a very "grabby" stage, he accidentally grabbed my eye, scratching it 2x giving me a bad corneal abrasion. It hurts SOOOO BAD!---I cried! My mom was generous to take me to the Dr. for an emergency appointment while Josh stayed with the little turkeys. She and the Dr. were impressed by how big the 2 cuts were. I was given some moisturizing drops to put in my eye every 30 minutes and some antibiotic drops to do 3x that day. My eye was so sensitive that I had to wear my sunglasses inside all day long. I also had to get a prescription for Lortab to help with the pain. They put a contact on my eye to act as a band-aid--which is the reason for the moisturizing drops (to keep it from sticking to my eye/the cut). Friday morning I had to go in for a follow-up appt Friday AM where they took off my contact and prescribed me some antibiotic ointment (which is basically like putting Vaseline straight in your eye--yuck!!!). She said that I must be healthy b/c the cuts were 99% healed already! My eye stayed swollen/squinty and red until Sunday morning. Thank goodness it cleared up just in time for the boys' dedication!
10/16 Harrison has started giving kisses lately! I LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE IT! I've always kissed them on the lips and he has really picked up on it lately b/c he has been either giving me one back (opening his mouth purposefully) or randomly leaning in for a kiss! (sometimes on mouth, sometimes on face). What a sweetheart.
On 10/16, the boys turned 6 months old!!! What a milestone, to me. I used to think how far away 6 months sounded. That afternoon, we tried to get some pictures of them at my parents' house. For those of you who don't know, my mom is a great photographer and even knows how to hand-tint, which is a lost art, IMO. We may have gotten some good ones, but I think the best ones will be from our previous photo session a few weeks prior. I am working on finding the perfect picture for our birth announcements. :)
That day, my sisters were both in town for the boys' dedication on 10/17, so the boys, Josh and I went to my parents' house. We watched football, hung out, and the girls and I carved pumpkins! It was such a JOY to have them in town and for all of us to be cut up (no pun intended [carving pumpkins haha]) and laugh together!
HUGE NEWS is that JH cut his 2nd tooth that day!!! I love it when the boys have milestones/big things that happen on their exact "month birthday" :o)
The boys are getting a LOT better at sitting up, which is exciting :) We're working on it and I think they'll be there pretty soon! They have their 6 month appointment on Wednesday and I am interested to see what their stats are these days! Josh weighed himself and then himself with each of the twins individually and they are both weighing approximately 19 lbs!~ So... we'll see what the scale at the Dr. says!
I'm going to do a separate post about the boys' dedication this past Sunday. It was a wonderfully special day. We were VERY blessed by both the service and by all of our friends and family that came to celebrate that blessed day with us!
Sunday, October 10, 2010
September with the Gambles
Here is a quick run-down of September with the Gambles. There are a good bit of "firsts" including Harrison rolling to his tummy :)
9/1 first time in johnnie jump ups
H loved it
JH was tired so not too into it
9/2 hanging out in the johnnie jump ups
9/4 first game day
9/6 i didnt have school bc of labor day so we got to go walk that evening
9/7 JH has been putting feet in the air a lot. started kicking toys on his bouncer... so cute!
9/8 Just hanging out with Mommy and Daddy and playing on the floor
9/9 just hanging out before mommy goes to class
9/10 Today is my daddy's b'day! The boys celebrated by jumping in the JJU's and taking great naps :) We were supposed to get together for dinner with my parents, but my dad had a very long day at work, so we celebrated on 9/11/10 by getting take out Cocina Superior and watching some Alabama football.
9/11 I started making baby food.... my mom VERY GENEROUSLY bought me some Beaba containers, baby spoons, plastic (easy to wipe off) bibs, and a few books about making my own baby food after I'd mentioned, totally in passing, that I was planning to make our baby food. It not only meant a lot to me that she listened and remembered, but also that she was so supportive of my efforts that she went out of her way to make sure it happened and I was successful. Thank you, my momma!
9/12 Jack Henry has been scooting in his bed all week. yesterday he was scooting across the play mat. really good at pulling knees up under himself already. Neat to see signs of future crawling.
9/15 BOTH slept thru the night = 5 month b'day present to mommy and daddy
9/16 turned 5 months old, Gigi flew to town. First trip to the airport
MOST IMPORTANTLY, HARRISON ROLLED TO HIS TUMMY ON THIS DAY!!! He, apparently, was just waiting until he knew he'd be good at it, b/c within a day, he was just as good at it as Jack Henry, who had been doing it since the end of July! Here is his first successful roll...
Gigi came to town that day, too... Here are the boys when we were about to leave for the airport to pick up Gigi!
This last one cracks me up.... Jack Henry is all... "enough mom..." and Harrison is saying... "sigh... come OOON mom..." LOL... 9/16-9/19 Gigi Papa kept them alone for the first time while i was in rachel's wedding
That weekend I was really busy with bridesmaid duties and events to attend... I had a great time (although I did miss my sweet boys). It was a special weekend b/c my cousin Rachel (the bride), her sister Laura, my sisters, and I have grown up very close---more like sisters than cousins. I can't believe Rachie is grown up enough to be married! (or me having babies?? wow...) It's crazy that Paige, my little sister, will be getting married in May. Although it is a little hard to believe how much we are all growing up, it also excites me that we are entering the stage of life where we will spend time together with our husbands.... and eventually let our children play together and hopefully be close like all of us were. :)
Bridesmaid luncheon at my God mother's house
Rehearsal at Highlands United Methodist Church
My precious twin sisters, Grace and Paige
Rachel and her daddy, my Uncle Ira
Paige and her betrothed, Brent.
The rehearsal dinner was at the Veranda
Paige with her fiance, Brent, and his twin brother, Robyn (yep! twin engaged to twin!)
JH snoozing on his daddy Saturday AM
Nervous, but very excited bride waiting for time to walk down the aisle!
1st dance as Mr. and Mrs. Chris Weingartner
They are a great couple. I love Rachel to death and Chris is a fantastic guy!
sept 22 started for real on cereal---much better at moving food from front to back of mouth, rather than innate reflex of pushing things out of their mouth
last week josh said jack henry started grabbing toes but I saw it for the first time yesterday?
putting paci in their mouth
harrison getting good at holding bottle
9/24harrison started grabbing toes while sitting on josh's tummy a while ago, but is now starting to grab them in the air.
9/29 squash last week, sweet potatoes this week
last night, Aunt Sharon and Uncle Ira said JH was petting Miley's face, nose and ears for a long time! I'd never seen him do that...but since then, I've noticed that he's really into her!
this AM was josh's first time to feed the babies---better than mommy!
9/30 went to visit professor from Spring semester Dr. Melanie Shores
I'll see if there are any more pictures to add to this post... hope you enjoyed it!..On to October!
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