Happy Valentine's Day!

Yesterday after church my family and my Grandma and Grandpa Lambdin and I went to Applebee's to celebrate my Mom's birthday. She turned 45 on the 8th. I ate something new this time, stuffed meatballs with fettuccini. It was soo good! Afterwards, we went back to our house and had cake. Then Grandpa and Grandma gave Mom her present. She received money which Grandma specifically told that she was only to use for herself, not on the children or her husband, just herself. She also received a new blender! Our old broke a few weeks ago.

Grandma then gave all six of us grandchildren a card that said Happy Valentine's and We Love You with a piece of candy and five dollars. After they left, Moms and Dad gave all of us a box of sweethearts, a Reese's peanut butter heart and a five dollar card to Starbucks!

Today we are all going to Starbucks to spend our gift cards.

The Good Samaritan

About a week a ago I was nannying for the Thifault's. As I put Haddie and Libbie, three year old twins, down for their nap I read them the story of the Good Samaritan. When I read the part of the Samaritan coming along and choosing to stop help the man who was robbed, beaten up, and left for dead I saw a clear picture of Christ as the Samaritan.

I imagined what it would be like to be robbed, beaten up, and left for dead. You are laying on a dirt road, clothes stripped off, bleeding, beaten and bruised. A man comes along, a priest, and you cry out to him to help you, but he just walks away on the other side of the road. A while later another man, a Levite, a man of God, walks down the road. You call out to him and he walks on the other side of the road. Soon after that another man comes along. You call out to him and amazingly he stops. He bends over you and bandages your wounds. After that, he picks you up and places you on his donkey and takes you to the nearest Inn and continues to care for you. The next day he pays the Inn keeper, telling him to take care of you and that he will return to pay for all the expenses.

Is that not a beautiful picture of Christ? He we are broken sinners in a fallen world, beaten and bruised because of the sin in our lives and in others. Jesus comes to us and quenches our thirst, bandages our beaten bodies, clothes us and picks us up and sets us on His donkey.

Christmas in Florida

This year for Christmas we went to Florida to be with my Dad's side of the family. We left on early Monday morning on 20th around 7:30. We stayed at a hotel a little ways south of Atlanta, GA. To save money we rented one room that sleeps four. The only problem was that we had seven people. Sooo, we had to sneak in Daniel, Andrew and me. Mom, Rachel and I slept in the same bed together (very uncomfortable). Dad and Daniel slept in the other bed with my Dad under all the covers and Daniel on top of the blanket with just the comforter to cover him. Andrew slept in a chair with a suitcase under his legs because he refused to sleep in the bed with Dad and Daniel. Matthew was on the floor. Dad went to bed early but everyone else stayed up a little later because we had slept in the van and were not tired. We got a little bit rowdy and got on my Dad's nerves a little. When we did go to bed I got the giggles and could not help but laugh out loud because of the sleeping situation. Well, that made Rachel and Mom laugh and the boys started laughing too. We eventually settled down once Dad got on to us.

The next morning we finished driving to Fort Myers, FL. and got to our condo at about 6:30 p.m. We quickly unloaded and then headed to Fort Myers beach which was only five minutes away. The water was really cold but that did not stop Andrew, Matthew and I from getting in the water. The sunset was beautiful!

The week was filled with visiting my grandma and grandpa Wallace who live in Fort Myers in a trailer during winter, and visiting my Dad's older sister Lynn and her husband Larry in Naples. Also, my Dad's younger sister, Missy, flew in from Chicago to be with us. Lynn and Larry's son Eric, lives close to Naples with his wife Amy and their newborn son, Christian Andrew. He was born December 3rd. The only person missing was Jessica, who could not get off work, and my cousin Heather (Lynn and Larry's oldest child) who was Ohio with her family.

Some of our activities included going to the beach, eating dinner on the beach, walking the boardwalk, riding the Everglades, looking at an animal exhibit while waiting to ride the Everglades.

I will post pictures later as they are on my Mom's laptop.