Trip of a Lifetime...

Hello blogging friends, if there are still any of you out there. Per the request of my grandfather (who whenever I see him, almost immediately tells me the exact date of my last blog entry) I attempt, yet again, to return to the blogging world! I would like to attribute my absence to the busyness of school, the fact that I am not sure I really wanted to share much of what has been going on in my heart and head with any and everyone who wants to read this, and the fact that seriously all of my funny stories come from the kids I nanny for, and those are just not my stories to share! But I figured the laid back and fun nature of summer would give me both more time to write and more stuff to write about, and thus I am back.

And if anything is worthy of writing about it is what I spent 8 of the last 14 days doing- sailing on a river boat cruise on the Seine River from Paris through the North of France with my entire extended family!! Seriously, it was the trip of a lifetime and one that I will never forget!

My moms parents, known to us as Pops and Jackie, will be celebrating their 60th anniversary this November and decided to celebrate by graciously taking us all on this trip to France. Pops fought in WWII in France coming about 2 weeks after D-Day, and though he and Jackie had returned 20 years ago, he thought it would be really special to bring us all back with him now. And special does not even begin to describe it. It was such a privilege to spend 8 days of concentrated time with my grandparents, parents, John and Lindsay, aunts, uncles , and cousins. It was an honor to travel with my grandfather to the beaches of Normandy and to remember to the courage and sacrifice of so many young men who fought and who gave their lives for the freedom we known all our lives. It was surreal to walk through a cute, quaint little town filled shops, pubs, and churches and hear my granddad say that the last time he had been there, it was completely devastated because of bombing.

This trip made me thankful for so many things- for my family, for the unique opportunity I have as a 28 year old girl to have this experience especially with my grandparents It made me thankful for freedom and for the opportunities that we are blessed to have here in our country. It made me thankful for the gospel, and that God has graciously given me the opportunity to hear it and to know it and to be transformed by it.

This trip opened my eyes to so many things. I feel like it opened my eyes to the world. For that I am very thankful. But, more on that to come... For now, here are a few pictures of highlights from the trip:

All of the cousins on our first night in Paris! Our boat was docked here for several nights. We loved just hanging out up here- pretty surreal to have the Eiffel Tower light up behind you!!

This is probably one of my favorite photos of the trip. In typical Lamberth family fashion we drank diet coke everywhere. Even under the Eiffel Tower!! By the second day of the trip, I would walk up to the bar on our ship and our friends, the bar tenders would just smile and say, "Diet Coke? Room 230?:))

Our first day in Paris, we had a fabulous guided tour of the Louvre! We loved it!

The cemetery and D-Day Memorial at Omaha Beach. 9,000 of these crosses line these green fields to honor the lives of the 9,000 young American soldiers who lost their lives in the D-Day invasions.

I absolutely love this pics of Pops gathering up sand to take home from the Normandy Beaches.

Freezing cold and rainy, but still one of the more memorable aspects of and photos from the trip... all of my cousins and I with my grandfather at Omaha Beach.

Just one of the many scenic views from our boat as we sailed down the Seine. I believe this castle once belonged to Richard the Lionheart.

My sweet family on board the deck the night of the "Captain's Dinner."

One of my very favorite nights of the trip- on our final night in Paris, all of the cousins watched the US v. England World Cup game under the Eiffel Tower! It was pretty amazing! Watching the next game from the treadmill at the gym this week just didn't quite compare!!

The whole Jones family wishing you "Bonjour" and "Au Revoir" from Paris!!!