Payton's First day at Dance...

Well, Payton finally had her first dance class yesterday and can I just say that she LOVED it!!! She was so cute. I got her all ready and we went to the place here in Helena that she is taking. I took her in and met her teacher and then I had to leave her. She was so okay with that though. She just told me bye and off she walked. Of course when I asked her what she learned after the fact, she told me "I don't know". But hey, she had a good time and that is what counts!!!

Pics of Shawn leaving...

I forgot to post some pics of the day Shawn left. I wanted to put these up to remind me every day to pray ....

Air National Guard

So many people I have known have been affected by someone close to them going into the military - either here in the states or being shipped overseas to fight for my freedom. Now I am seeing things with a whole new perspective from my end.

My little brother, well not little, I should say younger, has been gone for a week and a half now in Basic Training for the Air National Guard. He is in Texas and the first and only time we have heard from him since he has been there, he was having a tough time. I usually talk to my brother at least every other day so this is different and difficult for me. I miss him and I am constantly praying for him.

I asked God to wake me up in the middle of the night whenever Shawn needed prayer. That first night he was there I woke up 6 times with him in the front of my mind. I prayed diligently then, just as I do now. When Shawn called and talked to mom he told her that the first night was literally one from hell and he didn't think he was going to make it through. But he did, and now it is the first week of physical training. I know he is going to come out of this a stronger man and a better man, but I just ask that you pray for him whenever you think about it. From what I have heard, the first 2 weeks of any boot camp is horrible and can be the worst of your life. Being away from family with no tv or music or communication would be difficult for anyone, but especially for him since he still lives at home with my mom and dad and has never been on his own, this is a real world wake up call for him.

My mom and dad are having a hard time too because they are used to seeing him everyday too. This is just an adjustment, but please pray for him when you think about it. If you are interested in sending him cards (he would love it) let me know and I can get the address to whoever is interested. Now off to bed for me...

New Hair Cuts...

Well, I finally broke down and cut the girls hair ... you know so it would grow back thicker and fuller. Their hair had grown so much but was looking kind of thin around the bottom, so we chopped it tonight. And let me just tell you how cute they both look. Pay's isn't as "drastic" as Em's but she insisted on cutting hers after she saw her sissy's. Very cute and sassy and I think I did a pretty good job :) (and Emi's hair is even, even though it doesn't look like it on this picture... about drove me crazy getting it right!!!)

Spring family photo shoot...

We have a very dear friend that we use twice a year for a photo shoot. I will gladly plug his name (many of you know him) because he does an INCREDIBLE job of capturing wonderful pictures. Jason Wallis Photography.... We had our "spring" shoot last week and here is the link to look at our latest slide show. Enjoy :)

http://www.walliskids.com/reed08/

if you really want to check out how much the girls have changed and also see some of Jason's previous work, here are some earlier slide shows he has done for us.

http://www.walliskids.com/reed2/ - this is right after Graci was born

http://www.walliskids.com/reed3/ - this is last fall