Yesterday (Monday) was a BIG DAY for our family. at least for the Payne girls! As alot of you know, I have three daughters: Jessica just turned 30 and has three children of her own: Maddie Kate (7), Ava (3), and Cohen (8 months), Kimberly is 27, has been married for 7 years, and is a Junior High math teacher (I can't take any credit for her math skills, they all come from her Daddy!), and Alisa is almost 22, is a "real artist", and works for Jessica in her photography business, Jessica Hollis Photography. (go look at Jessica's blog, Itsasweetcrazylife. The link is on the right of this page) Yesterday the "Payne girls", plus Cohen, went to Fairview Heights to David's Bridal for Alisa to try on wedding dresses in anticipation of her wedding next June. None of us expected her to find "THE dress" yesterday, but WE DID! It is absolutely beautiful, and we knew for sure it was the one when it made both Sweed (our family pet name for Alisa) and me cry! Now I can't show you any pics of "THE DRESS", because that wouldn't be fair to Cody, Alisa's sweet fiance', but I can show you some pics of our fun day! First, here is my pretty girlie! We ate lunch at O'Charley's before we went to David's, which was a good thing, because we ended up spending 3 1/2 hours there!

It was such a special, fun day! I have now had the privilege of being with all of my daughters when they found "THE DRESS". My mom passed away when I was almost 11 years old, so it has been so precious for me to be with my daughters through so many milestones in their lives!

Next, here are a couple of pics of Cohen at O'Charley's. He had never had a crayon in his chubby little fingers before, and you can tell he really made them fly on the paper! We kept his "pop" in his mouth so he wouldn't eat them!

Here's my girl trying on a dress (not THE DRESS)that "didn't even feel like a wedding dress":


Here I am trying to help her see what this dress (not THE DRESS) would look like with more "bustle":


Where are my eyes? I think I need a bang trim! lol!
Jessica & Kimmy tried on bridesmaids dresses:


After trying several, I think we have the bridesmaids dresses narrowed down to two styles, one color!


Cohen kept himself busy with the clips for the back of the dress:

How many baby boys have the patience to go wedding dress shopping with their aunt????? He was good as gold the whole day!


By the time we left the store we had ordered Alisa's dress, my dress (no pictures of me, sorry!), and dresses for Maddie Kate & Ava! Now all the bridesmaids have to decide is which style of dress they want to wear from the two styles Alisa has chosen!

After the bridal shop we went to Hobby Lobby (you will be seeing some of the fruits of that excursion in the near future!), hit the mall for a bit, and then Maggie Moos for some fantastic ice cream before heading home. We didn't get to my house until 11 p.m, but all in all it was a fun, memorable day!

I know it’s been forever since I blogged, but with Christmas and the new catalog, going to Leadership in Palm Springs, CA, and now a new grandson, I’ve been swamped! Johnny Mark Cohen Hollis arrived on February 7, 2008 and weighed 8lbs, 3 oz. He was actually due on Valentine’s Day, so he would have really been a big fella if he had waited another week! I had the wonderful privilege of being able to stay with my daughter and help take care of him for a few days, which makes being a Grammy all the more sweet! In honor of Cohen’s (we are calling him Cohen, even though his first two names are for his two grandpa’s, he is the first grandson on both sides of the family!) I am offering you all my very first BLOG SPECIAL!  See my next post for details!
P.S. If you want to see more pictures of Cohen, click on the blog link on the right to my daughter’s blog, It’s a Sweet Crazy Life! She is a professional photographer with her own in-home photography business, so she is having a ball taking newborn pictures of Cohen!

I know it’s been forever since I blogged, but with Christmas and the new catalog, going to Leadership in Palm Springs, CA, and now a new grandson, I’ve been swamped! Johnny Mark Cohen Hollis arrived on February 7, 2008 and weighed 8lbs, 3 oz. He was actually due on Valentine’s Day, so he would have really been a big fella if he had waited another week! I had the wonderful privilege of being able to stay with my daughter and help take care of him for a few days, which makes being a Grammy all the more sweet! In honor of Cohen’s (we are calling him Cohen, even though his first two names are for his two grandpa’s, he is the first grandson on both sides of the family!) I am offering you all my very first BLOG SPECIAL!  See my next post for details!
P.S. If you want to see more pictures of Cohen, click on the blog link on the right to my daughter’s blog, It’s a Sweet Crazy Life! She is a professional photographer with her own in-home photography business, so she is having a ball taking newborn pictures of Cohen!

My almost-25-year-old, single, blonde son, Troy, is helping me get my blog set up! He knows uber more than I do about web stuff, so I’m having him help me, practically doing it for me, but I seem to have so little time these days with all the workshops and camps I am doing, I need help! I love him!

My almost-25-year-old, single, blonde son, Troy, is helping me get my blog set up! He knows uber more than I do about web stuff, so I’m having him help me, practically doing it for me, but I seem to have so little time these days with all the workshops and camps I am doing, I need help! I love him!