Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian! Lift up your voice and sing
Eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ, the King!
The Hope of all who seek Him, the Help of all who find,
None other is so loving, so good and kind. (Alfred H Ackley, “He Lives” hymn lyric)
I bought the children’s clothes at The Children’s Place. I like that store because they sell the boy’s polo shirts in all the sizes (up to size 14). I even got one extra, so that I could make Sarah Joy’s hair band out of the same material. It was fun.
Sarah was so tired after church. I sat next to her to comfort her. She sucks her finger (not her thumb or a pacifier) whenever she’s feeling sleepy.
Last year there was no sister for Grace quite yet….but now there is a sister and Grace loves her so.
Thank you, God, for our baby Sarah…..
Sarah’s first Easter!
We went to church this morning and then we had a whole houseful for Easter dinner—my parents, my sister and her family, my brother, a friend of my sister, and our friends the K’s (family of 4). I made 2 hams, scalloped potatoes, and other things. I had the ladies bring food, too. The weather was nice enough for the children to play outside for the majority of the time. Now that everyone is gone we are going to relax and enjoy the rest of the night together. Rich is asleep beside me and Sarah is over there on the floor pulling out every baby wipe from the box. The rest of the children are playing.
Happy Easter! He is risen!
He lives! He lives! Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way.
He lives! He lives! Salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart.
(the hymn, “He Lives”, Alfred H. Ackley)











I love your choice of green. Each time I look at one of your recent family pictures I think that it won’t be long before one of your sons is taller than Rich. It looks like the two oldest are taller than you.
I absolutely love that you made everyone match! Happy Easter!
Love the pictures. I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening. Love you all, Happy Easter!
i absolutely can’t believe how BIG seth is now. wow. such a sweetie…all your kids are. And Grace…wow, blown away by how absolutely gorgeous she is and how much she looks like her mama!! what a beautiful picture of your dear ones. very nice Shanda…so exciting to see your littlest one experiencing new moments with the family. she’s getting sooo big, sounds like her birthday is fast approaching, hard to believe she’ll be one already.
Great family pictures and so coordinated! I love seeing pictures of your family. Happy Easter! He lives – hallelujah!
So cute!! Love how you all match!And Grace is one of the most beautiful girls!!!
Great family pictures. I love the ones with Grace and Sarah! BIG and little sisters, so sweet! I am having ham and scalped potatoes too. Along with baby carrots, brussel sprouts, corn and a tossed salad with mandarine oranges and apple, flax seed, sunflower seeds, cheese cubes, peppers, cucumber and a choice of salad dressing and of course fresh dinner buns. Dessert is banana cream pie with fresh strawberries sliced on top. Now I am really hungry. Guests should arrive in around 10 minutes and then I can serve dinner :)Yes He has risen! Rejoice in Him. Happy Easter.{{{{{{{{{hugs}}}}}}}}}
@cerwindoris – I feel that same way. It’s very strange to see the boys so tall. And their voices are changing, too. @Baseballchik138 – Thank you! Happy Easter!@NandMandM – Love you, too!@mytoesareblue – Thank you so much! Yes, Sarah is just about 11 months old. Her birthday is 5/30.
@myhopeisinjesus – Thank you! Yes, He lives! Such a wonderful day for believers. I love all the hymns that we sing on this day. @mommashannon – Thanks for saying that Grace is beautiful! She is such a joy to me in so many ways. Happy Easter!
Very neat color!!
everyone is growing up! Sisters are great! Mine is 13 years older than me and though we’re not very close, I love having one! Happy Easter to y’all!
Um, Shanda? Are you NOT wearing any green??? ( 8 These photos are great and I can’t beLIEVE how all the kids have grown!!! I adore the closeups of Sarah sleeping and awake. The lighting on her sweet face is beautiful. You amaze me, doing all that you did today and are alive to tell about it. I hope you sleep well tonight!
Happy Easter!
Such wonderful pictures! I just love little Sethie in his little green shirt:) Happy Easter.
Lovely. I love Sarah’s hair bow too. π Aren’t little girls so fun with all the frilly stuff you can do? Happy Easter.
Happy Easter! LOVE all the pics! π
Simply gorgeous, and my very favorites are the one’s with Grace and her baby sister, oh how it made my heart swell!!!!
what a wonderful family picture,everyone looks so nice. π I am happy that you all had a great day. π
Seven sharp knives.
Love that Caleb’s shoes are on the wrong feet. Cracks me up! Your family is precious. I enjoy seeing the sibling love. Sarah is sweet beyond words, and Grace obviously adores her!
@alaskahannah – Hannah, LOL, and I didn’t notice until we were at church! Isn’t that just so typical of a lot of kids to keep track of?!? As he walked off I called, “Caleb, switch your sneakers around when you get to class!”
@Richgem – Sad, I know. I regret that I didn’t throw something green on. Oh well. I was last to get ready and at that point I didn’t care anymore. LOL
Love the matching outfits! I have been having fun making baby headbands for my new granddaughter, too. I found some antique doilies at the thrift shop and formed them into little flowers to decorate a couple of them. They are so cute! I am posting a pic of her wearing one tomorrow!
These are so beautiful! I can’t believe how fast your children are growing. π I really enjoy your photography.
What a beautiful family. Grace is so pretty and is starting to look so grown up.Glad you had a nice Easter. =)
Such wonderful family pics! I am loving those sister pictures you have here! smile. ~ I am sure Grace is an awesome big sister. Look at all those boys too π ~ hope you had a wonderful Easter Sunday. What a lot to rejoice about! ! !
Lovely family pics!Seth looks so grown up!
I love the pictures of Grace and Sarah!!!Grace is getting so tall…and her hair is getting so long…Sarah is so big already…
Love! Grace is looking like such a young woman!!!
that last shot is too sweet! and the sisters together. all of them wonderful though. the 3 older kids look so grown up.. funny how they seem to do that all of a sudden like isn’t it!:) happy monday friend.
Happy Easter! The photos are wonderful, the green is perfect! Children’s place has the softest clothes, I love how they do not fade and last so long! You can tell in the photos how much Gee loves her sister!
Love every last picture! I am so bummed I didn’t get a picture with my family yesterday. It was such a crazy day for us.
I love how Grace’s ear rings match Sarah’s headband and the boys shirts. They are such a joy to see through the years.
You dressed your family beautifully, Shanda – not an easy task to keep everyone relaxed, hey..but you managed.I simply adore the sweet romantic photo of Grace and Sarah ( it’s the first one ) , don’t you…really one showing their bond…Lieve groetenGodeliva van Ariadone
Wow! I haven’t been on Xanga for a while. Your kids have grown up SO much! Grace is just gorgeous and all of your kids are such great looking people. Baby Sarah is so adorable. These are some amazing pictures. Thansk for sharing!
@Janas_Journal – Thank you! It’s so good to see you again! π
OH MY, you are all just Beautiful! I love your family photos. The pic of Sarah sleeping is so lifelike and sweet sweet sweet! I got teary though over Grace and Sarah, wow, you can just see the sisterly tenderness. Happy Easter!! (my internet has been out)
You have a beautiful family, Shanda! Very pretty Easter pics! Love your outfits~
Shanda, you have a beautiful family. The kiddos are are getting so big. Its been a while since I have been on Xanga and I can’t believe how grown up your children look. Time sure flies doesn’t it? Have a blessed day.Melody