Happy Easter, everyone! What a joyous day!
It’s AJ just stopping in to share some pictures with our Blog Peeps.
And by some pictures I mean many more pictures than you’d ever want to see.
On Saturday my cousin Joe, who’s in school to be a fireman, was in town participating in a fundraiser with a local fire department.
Cousin + access to a fire truck + three-year-old boy = no brainer.
We rolled out of bed and headed that way. In fact, Annabeth was still in her pajamas.
I got some fun stuff for my kids from the Target dollar section. Jackson was thrilled that Annabeth “wanted to share” all her goodies.
Those Cadbury mini-eggs were calling my name late last night and – gasp! – I opened them. My excuse is that I’ve been sick and that’s all that sounded good. They were delish.
After attending a wonderful worship service at our church, we went to Mom and Dad’s house for lunch. We were joined by my grandparents, my cousin Joe, and our friends Roger, Lynn, and Michelle. Mom was the hostess with the mostest. We were only missing Melissa and Colin and boy did we miss them!
You never know what will entertain a child. Here Jackson was rolling pieces of Trix cereal down his race car ramp.
It rained and stormed all morning, but then the sun came out and we had a beautiful day. We were excited to have the chance to do the Easter egg hunt outside.
Here’s the Easter Bibby hiding eggs.
All done!
Lynn was helping Jackson go through his Easter eggs when his sugar high kicked in. I now present a photographic series called “Progression of a Mess.” Please hear my child laughing, squealing, and yelling “Surprise!”
To top off an already great day, Curt’s mom just called and said our young nephew, Gavin, prayed to receive Christ last night. Praise the Lord!
I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend celebrating Christ our King. He is risen indeed!
Thanks for sharing the wonderful family pictures. Everyone looks wonderful and full of happiness. How funny, I too had the joy of seeing my almost 3 year old son get to sit in the drivers seat of a firetruck on Easter day. Wow, the grin on his face!
Happy Easter.
Thank you for showing us your easter pictures. They were fun.
Got to agree on the fire truck, I have 2 boys, and fire trucks rank right up there, big time. You get mommy and daddy of the year award on that one.
Love the littel white shoes Annabeth had on. and the bunny ears on Bibby :0)
What a Easter to remember, receiving Christ! now that is a great Easter! Was happy to hear about your nephew.
Thank you Amanda for sharing your family with us.
I love it when you share pics with us – it makes you all seem so real. We love you dearly!
He is risen indeed!! Thanks so much for the pictures. We had a wonderful, wonderful day as well with our children, their spouses and the grandbabies. There are leftovers to eat today (so no need to cook a meal) and even a bit of chocolate hanging around for dessert. He has blessed us abundantly!
You all bless me so much with your pictures. I am so thrilled that your nephew accepted Christ in his heart. That is the most wonderful news!
Happy Easter
Blessed Easter! Thanks for a look at your family on this special day. Glad your’re feeling better Amanda so you could enjoy the kids today. Everybody looks great! We had our Easter program this weekend and it caused me to reflect on just how much God loves me. I never figure it out but I love Him and want to serve Him more each day.
P.S. Beth your hair is looking GOOD girl! Carla Lee
Praise God, He is risen. It means more and more each year.
I just love Easter time. My one year old and eight year old dressed alike and it overjoyed me. They are boys, so no frills or cute hats, but they just made my heart sing to see them. Then, my oldest knew the answer to the question during the “story time” at church. “Resurrection” he said. He even wanted to have a discussion with the youth minister about it, but I had to hold him back. Oh, the mouth of babes. The babies proudest moment was that he discovered jelly beans!! Annabeth and Jackson are precious.
What a feast for the eyes, these beautiful pictures! My kids are grown but not yet married and building families…yesterday they were all home for Easter dinner and I’d made up little packets of Easter candy wrapped prettily in colorful cellphane for each of them (and for son’s girlfriend and both daughters’ boyfriends). They all enjoyed their little surprise (more than I thought they would!) and I told ’em all…when I have grandkids, IT IS ON (meaning full blown Easter egg and basket FUN). All sugar-and fake grass fun aside, our Lord is VICTORIOUS! It was a blessed and beautiful Easter day yesterday here in California.
Love…Love…Love all the pics. What a wonderful day. He is Risen!!!
God bless all you Siestas!!!
Celebrate! He is risen indeed.
Thanks for sharing, the sun looked marvelous. My five kids tore through my parents basement as we had an afternoon of hail. We had a blast anyways.
-Easter Monday here and I just snuck a single Peeps chick for breakfast with my coffee. (It has lovely contrast with the bold notes of my freshly ground Starbuck’s breakfast blend. 🙂
The pics are fabulous! Thanks so much for sharing them. Ya’ll are just the cutest!
We had a wonderful service Sunday. Serveral in my class came to the alter with our dear sister LaRue (who is battling cancer) and held hands and prayed for her healing. It was overwhelming, to see my “girls” gathered ’round, lifting up this precious sister. Our God is so good.
Oh how fun! Praise for your nephew. I was Baptized on Easter many many years ago.
Our Easter wasd 45, rainy and nasty! Rainign now as I type. My yard is a foot high but we’ve had only one or two days of dry and that’s when I was working so…
Love the Easter Egg Hunt! We had an all day “Eggstravaganza” at our church on Saturday with Ken Medema and it was perfect! I got to “hide” eggs and watch hundreds of kids run to get them.
We had face painting, puppet shows, train rides, archery shoot, rock climbing wall, Humane Society with dogs that got adopted, mobile fish hatchery unit, ambulance, child fingerprinting, food and of course Easter Bunny.
It was great day and the weatehr was perfect.
Love your bunny ears! Thanks for sharing
Oh dear me, I cannot tell you how much I love seeing pictures of your family. Thrilled to see some with Beth and Keith! I don’t have a huge family and so when I get to experience events with your family via pitures, it makes me feel like you are my extended family and that makes me smile.
The whole Holy week was incredible. Maundy Thursday we took communion, Good Friday was poignant and intense and on Saturday day, I participated in a Sader – passover meal. I felt so richly blessed by each encounter with God.
Our Easter Sunday was a freedom- filled-get-down-good-time. We had a special musical guest at our church; Rob Mathes. He played a song by Bono, “Yahweh” and he played a song by B.B. King and Bono, “When love came to town,” not to mention “when the stone was rolled away.”
I had been asking our worship team for about a month if they would play “Blessed Assurance,” they never did. You can imagine how thrilled I was when God surprised me with this guy singing it on Easter. Hallelujah!!!!!
The music was so spirit filled, I have never known freedom like that, and the music was rockin, we had this one darlin’ African american woman dressed in her Sunday best (yes hat and all – I mention that b/c we don’t usually wear hats to church where I live ) well she danced her way down the aisle of church, by herself, it was like out of a movie.
What a blessed holiday. This is the year anniversary of me becoming born-again, again! And let me tell you, last year the focus was on Good Friday, and what the crucifiction meant and God and I just camped there. Well this year, God really moved me to the Resurrection. Glory!
Love the pics, love everything! You darlin’ family.
Sorry, this is my second comment but I just had to mention this after reading all the comments.
To Melissa and all the moms and those of us who couldn’t be with loved ones to celebrate Easter. Hope you all are into Skyping!
We got into it when our daughter was in Africa on a mission trip. Both of our kids and spouses (and seventeen month old grandson!) live on the east coast and we are in Michigan. It truly is like a “visit” rather than just a phone call.
It’s easy to set up on a Skype account on your computer and FREE!!!
Just had to share with all the “lonely” siestas. Love you all!
He is risen. He is risen indeed!
I can relate to Melissa’s comments. It’s so hard to be away from family during those precious times. Celebrating together with family is such a special gift!
LOVE the Easter Bibby picture… it made me say – “Praise the Lord, Beth does actually wear jeans and throw her hair in a ponytail sometimes!” Love the “realness”!
I thank God for your families and His love for all of us.
Thanks for sharing with us,
Barb
I love it! 🙂 And I love marshmallow peeps…Happy Easter!
Amanda, you have your tummy back! You go, girl!
I liked the peeps. I always think of Travis when y’all call us your peeps!
My fav picture is Jackson and Curtis looking inside the firetruck. Jackson’s hands held back and wide open. The very picture of being overwhelmed and that’s what Easter should be all about. He overwhelms us with His Love and Power.
Thanks for sharing such joy with all of us.
These pics are darling, thanks for sharing them with us! Sweet AJ you look mahhhvelous after two babies, and they are beautiful! I have to say that my favorite was your mom playing easter bunny with her cvs bag..i play that role too, with my cvs bag..hahaha
you have a beautiful family! thanks again for sharing with your peeps!
Annabeths little head piece is to die for!!! too cute!
I love peeking into other people’s lives. Thanks for sharing the beautiful family photos. He is Risen indeed!!
Oh, what a wonderful day. We didn’t get to have an easter egg hunt with our kids. We had no money. We just went to church. They wouldn’t have gotten any candy if our neighbor hadn’t delivered and left some gifts on the porch for them yesterday morning. I should’ve known she would. She absolutely loves my kids.
Praise Him! What an awesome day! Thank you for the photo’s. Melissa, I’m sorry you couldn’t be there! Love to you all.
Judy
hi amanda wonderful pictures glad you shared with us siesta’s
PRAISE THE LORD HE HAD RISEN
it lookslike you all had tons of fun which all of siesta’s were there boy that would probably be a dugar overload for sure ah ah
little siesta annabeth looked lovely and the whole family did.
Loved your mom dress she looked marvelous darling just marvelous
Love carol albuquerque nm
What great family pictures with the parents and grandparents! Love ’em!
1) we’re gonna have to talk about that DUKE shirt.
2) cadbury eggs are the death of me every april
3) loving the bunny ears 🙂
4) my parents have a really big front yard, and we live about a block from the elementary school that i went to as a child. so a new fun tradition they started a few years ago is inviting the classes to sign up for days/times to come have easter egg hunts in our yard. 100 first graders scrambling to find eggs. to watch, it is, in a word, AWESOME.
Amanda, you have two BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL children! Thank you for sharing the pictures with us. It looks like Bibby and Baby coordinated outfits (Annabeth’s sash on her dress matches Beth’s dress!). I’m glad to know your family is just like ours…all gather at Mom’s and Dad’s (my house) for lunch and family time. Keep those precious pictures coming!
Those pictures are awesome-Beth just continues to get more beautiful-the pictures of her and Keith and the grandkids are just great-proud grandparents. I am not sick but I feel the mini Snickers that were in my kids candy are calorieless -its Easter nothing on Easter is bad!!!!!
The Easter Bibby is my favorite! Truly, does it get any better???
I had to click on the picture of Bibby holding Annabeth so I could that sweet, tiny dress better. So cute!!
But what made my heart happy was that even with her perfect-looking skin and perfect teeth and perfect hair color (I know she was worried about it at the ministers’ wives thing), Bethie has an empty roll of paper towels. Why that did my heart good I’m not so sure, but it did. And so I thank you both.
And YEAH Gavin!!
You all look like you had the best time. Annabeth is sooo cute! Sounds like your Easter was great! God bless you all.
AJ – Never will I say "enough with the pictures" from you! I love them all and these are especially beautiful!
It just blesses my heart to see your family. Jackson and Annabeth are beautiful and your parents are such a handsome couple! Your family picture is precious. And welcome Gavin to the Family of God!
Now what I saw in the "Jackson Easter Basket Progression Photo Montage" was one All-American Energetic Boy! As a mom to boys and Gran Jan to a boy, I recognize the classic symptoms!!! He is 100% boy – and I love it!
That Easter Bibbi is a doll!!! I would call her the "Energizer Bunny Easter Bibbi." She gets prettier and prettier – I know she is FUN!!!
We had a wonderful Easter Day too! Awesome worship – two adult men saved! Then my whole family gathered around our table – I am so very blessed and thankful.
I also hope and pray you feel better and stronger this week.
So proud of Cousin Joe – thankful to all our public servants!
Hey to Melissa & Colin too! You are LOVED!
Blessings to you,
Georgia Jan
“The Easter Bibby” —- makes me grin just to say it.
Love y’all
Susan K.
HI AMANDA THIS IS CAROL AGAIN FROM ALBUQ.NM I GUESS I SHOULD PROOF READ MY COMMENT FOR MISS SPELLING WORDS I MEANT TO SAY I WISH ALL OF SEISTA’S COULD HAVE BEEN WITH YOU AL AND THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A BIG SUGAR OVERLOAD AH AH SO I THOUGHT I WOULD CLARIFY MY SPELLING A BIT.
THANKS AGAIN FOR TAKING TIME OUT OF YOUR DAY TO SHARE WITH US SIESTA’S WE LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH
HAVE A GOOD DAY LOVE CAROL
I so enjoyed the pictures. Tell us about cousin Joe??? Jackson and Annabeth are so cute. We had an egg hunt at my Aunt Sue’s and my cousin Caroline who is two would not pick up a “real” egg it was the funniest thing. She said she didn’t want that kind they were hard to open. 🙂 Glad you all had a good time!
Kelly Jo
Albany Ky
Had to add that my little girl accepted Christ this Easter weekend too 🙂 Sure made it a great Easter :)Thanks for all the pics.
I love seeing your family photos. I can understand why Melissa is so homesick at holiday times!
Happy Easter to you and your so very precious family! Love Jackson's zeal for his Easter eggs!
Great pictures of the bunny ears & the Easter Bibby! Too funny…
He is Risen! He is Risen in deed!
Blessings,
Kim
Hideaway, TX
What a wonderful Easter gift to get that fantastic news! Thanks for sharing all the fun and adorable pictures! 🙂
I am so glad to see that you all celebrate Jesus and the Easter Bibby…bunny…
Jackson looks like he is having a blast! Amanda, it is so awesome that you are getting all of these precious moments in the form of pictures. And then, you share them all with us. What fun. Jackson’s energy is tangible. I can also see what happens at the end of the sugar rush. We can only hope for a crash and burn. That’s what happened to me anyway! heh, heh, heh…
Kels
LOVE the pictures!
Welcome to the family, Gavin! My 5-year-old accepted Christ as her personal Lord and Savior on Palm Sunday. She made her public profession of faith at church on Easter Sunday!
Rejoice! He lives!
Jennifer – Texarkana, AR
Thanks for sharing your day with us! Your skirt and Annabeth’s dress are gorgeous.
Here is a story for your dad. We did do the easter egg hunt here in the yard with the boys but only AFTER…we had to go and do a treasure hunt at Bass Pro Shop!! My youngest was insistant on going. I never thought I would step into a outdoor sports store on Easter. All was fun though!
Thanks for the pictures! There could NEVER be too many. You’re family, you know!! We love you.
Karen in Oregon
Amanda,
I love when you share pictures. A picture paints a thousand words or so I’ve heard.
Jackson enjoyed finding those Easter eggs almost as much as Bibi did hiding them. Ha ha
Your little princess was so cute in her first Easter dress.
The fire truck was a big hit for the entire family.
Keep sharing every chance you get.
Love to all,
MW
THANK YOU for sharing your family with us, your blog sisters!
He is Risen!! Praise His Name- we are deeply loved!
Great pictures. Thanks for sharing. We Duke fans like your Duke t-shirt there on firetruck day. 😉
Loved the pictures. Thanks for sharing!
“the Easter Bibby”
oh I don’t think I will ever recover!!!! Love that you guys are so real.
And no, there is no such thing as too many pictures.
Oh my gosh, I loved all the pictures, but I gotta say my favorite is Mama bunny and baby bunny. :o)
Well bless my soul!!! The Easter Bibbi shops at CVS too!! How cool is that???
*giggles*
I love the pictures. Your family is beautiful and such a great example for the Kingdom of God!!!
How did your mon choose Bibby for the name the grandkids call her. I love it and her too!! She is such a blessing to all women.
Tammy, Cincinnati