Count down to School!

Lauren, Luke, and Landry were not real happy today when I told them it was August 1, 2008. To them this means school is quickly approaching. To help them get a little excited we made a trip to Target to pick out their backpacks and lunch boxes for the school year. They had fun choosing their own and getting to see what new school supplies are out this year. Lauren loved looking at the new gel pens. These are a huge hit for girls her age because they like to trade them. Luke was into lunch boxes. He even picked out one for next year that he would like to have (that is in his head. We didn't buy him two) Landry was excited to see anything McQueen. Even though Lanny boy is 3 he still wanted to be like his big brother and big sister. I think this little trip to the store really helped them get more excited about school but they were quick to put on their swimsuits when we got home to enjoy this summer day!

Meet "Tuggy"

With all the craziness going on in our backyard for this pool we found a turtle. I guess he had enough of the jack hammering and decided to look for a new home. I can't say I don't blame him for looking for a quieter place to live! ha. Because of all the Dora shows a kid (and parent) watches we decided to call him Tortuga. Which means turtle in Spanish. (Haddie we needed your help with the Dora Spanish) Tuggy is his name for short. The 3L's thought this was the coolest pet to have. They began to make plans for who can come over to meet Tuggy and whose room he would stay in. I just kept saying "let's talk to daddy when he gets home." As the day went on Tuggy was not that friendly of a pet. He hissed at you and demanded to be let out of the laundry basket. Poor guy! All he was looking for was a quiet place to live and ended up with three kids poking him and shouting his name. When dad got home the kids were ready for Tuggy to find a new place to live. What fun is a pet if you can't pick him up? I was just happy that I wasn't having to be the mean mom by saying No Way right off. haha! It just worked out. Thanks Tuggy! Anyway, we took our new found angry friend to Warren park and placed him in the creek. He was as happy as he could be. He popped his head out of the water as if to say "Thanks 3L's" and swam off.

Just another interesting day at the Reeds!

A life lesson

My job has been one of that hardest jobs I have ever had as a nurse. I am a nurse for an Oral and Facial surgeon. My job is to put people (mainly children) under while he fixes their car wreck injury, takes out a cancer lesion, impacted wisdom teeth, etc. Just about anything that has to do with the face. There is a fine line to keeping someone under while they work on him/her. You don't want to put them to under where they don't wake up for you at the end and you don't want to give them to little where they wake up during surgery. The past couple of months have been a challenge for me. Because of the medicine I give drops the heart rate down so fast and with some people their blood pressure bottoms out. I have had a couple of real scares already. Even though I am surrounded by some awesome capable docs (one who fought in Iraq) who are there to help me anytime my patient gets into trouble it is still scary to me. To be honest every Sunday night before I work I am almost in tears because I know what is ahead of me the next day. I "might" have a code blue. My fear isn't from me not being capable of doing my job or being prepared if something bad happens. Those that know me know I am a pretty good nurse who handles emergencies. The fear comes from I just don't want something bad happen to my patient on my watch. I am a very tender hearted person. They joke with me at work because I am that nurse who tells you everything I am doing and hold your hand till you are asleep so you will feel more comfortable about the surgery you are about to have.

I started reading this book by Linda Dillow called Calm my Anxious Heart. I started this about a month ago when I started dreading going back to work on Monday mornings. God has really been opening my eyes and heart in this book. One quote that I keep going back to is "I asked God to give me the strength to live today, just today, to leave the fears and worries of tomorrow with Him." This week I have had an amazing peace come over me. Spending time in prayer, praising him with songs, and reading has done me a world of good. I am ashamed that I haven't been doing this more often. If God is first in my life I have nothing to worry about. I think I just went through one of God's life lessons to put my priorities back to where they needed to be, centered on HIM.

I wrote this in my blog today not really to share with others(but it is ok with me that I did) but for my kids to see one day. (I print these out for them to have when they are older) I want you to know 3L's that God is always with us in everything we do. If you are struggling with life then you need to look at your relationship with Him. He has the answers and is always there for you. Don't get to caught up in your struggle like I just did to forget about Him. The devil will take your problems and run with them! I love you guys~Mom

Swimming with Friends

We are so blessed to live in a neighborhood where our good friends are just next door! I don't think we will ever be this lucky again if we have to move away someday. The Conner's took their summer vacation to Galveston and left us in charge of their pool. It was so much fun and a good lesson to us on how to take care of pool before ours is ready. Our dear friends came over and we had a pizza party with the kids. Got a little wild and crazy at times. Ha! It is always a good time when your with Hoodies!