Sweet Lauren

How can I write a post about this little girl without crying? I will give it a try:)

I came across a few fun pictures the other day of her and it really stopped my in my tracks to see how fast she is growing up. To back up a little, Lauren came into this world a little early. She was born at 34 weeks due to preeclampsia. It was a hard and difficult pregnancy but she was worth it! She weighed 5 pounds and 10 ounces. Our little bundle of joy quickly melted our hearts. When Lauren was 6 months old we moved to Iowa due to Casey's job. I knew nobody there but I had this precious little girl to keep me company. God's timing was right with her. He knew I would need her. Lauren is beautiful inside and out. She is gentle, loves with all of her heart, sometimes shy, crazy about animals, smart, a second mother to the boys (I have to reminder her who is the first mother), a good friend to have, beautiful, caring, stubborn at times, loves God and knows the importance of Him in her life, and everything a mom could ever want for in a daughter. Ok, that was hard to write this without boo-hooing! I just love her so much and everyday I thank God for her. We love you Lauren Nicolle!

A few fun nicknames for Lauren are: Tootie, La-la, Laureny, little Robin, and of course Big L.

Super Heroes to the rescue!

The 3L's decided to dress up as super heroes. Apparently there is a lot of crime fighting that needs to be done in the neighborhood! Two Halloweens ago the three of them wanted to be super heroes so when they told me their plans today I was expecting to see them come around the corner as Wonder Woman, Superman, and Batman. Nope, instead I got crazy hair hero who has special powers from her long hair, snake charmer who can hypnotize any creature to do whatever he wants them to, and wonder boy with a magic apron that helps him fly. Hmm......I think the world is much safer now with these new heroes! Maybe not. ha!

A brother from another Mother!

Look at these two! Don't they look like brothers? Meet Landry Pierce Reed and Walker Reed Pierce. ha! These two not only look alike but share the same loves in life. Pixar cars, Thomas the train, slithering creatures, red and pink starburst only, the need for speed on their bikes, etc. They are two peas in a pod I tell you. I swear Walker is a brother from another mother! Speaking of his mother, here is his beautiful mom Mindy. One of my dearest, fun friends. Maybe we are long lost sisters who share the same DNA and that is why our kids look alike? Wishful thinking:) Anyway, I had to post a picture of these two. We love Walker Reed Pierce like he was truly one of our own. Check out Mindy's blog to see the rest of her beautiful family! http://mindyloves.blogspot.com/

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!

The joy of playing with a cardboard box!

How many times have you heard the old saying that kids prefer the boxes to the toys? Well I know that I used to play with boxes when I was little but I underestimated just how much fun an empty box can provide. After watching my kids and their friends play with/in a cardboard box the other day it reminded me of this simple low cost fun. A few markers or crayons and before you know it you can have a spaceship or the fastest race car in the neighborhood. I love to watch little imaginations at play!

Who needs water?

This week has been a loud one at the Reed house. They have been jack hammering rock in our backyard. My apologies to our neighbors! The 3 L's have had a blast everyday seeing how deep the hole is getting. Luke asked "Do we have to fill it with water? It is just more fun like this mom". ha!

Our beautiful Rock Pool!

We are now the proud owners of a beautiful rock pool! Oh, don't be jealous of our gorgeous oasis. ha! They started digging for the pool today. The kids were up early watching every detail. Luke and Landry have decided to go into the "rock clearing" business. They could sit there for hours at the window just watching the bobcat tractor do its job.

While Daddy was out of town.....

While daddy was out of town my sweet mother in law who I think the world of kept the kids this week while I worked. She is always so creative and so much fun to be around. Lauren was a little under the weather on Monday so she got the boys outside in this HOT weather and came up with a fun way to get wet. As you can see they just had a blast! Who needs a pool? haha. Luke and Landry had the best time playing in big buckets. We also attempted Chuckie Cheese while daddy was out of town. Wow, this place can be nuts sometimes! To an adult it is germy, over crowded, and high priced but to a kid it is a little slice of heaven. Ha! The 3L's had a great time and were sad to see their tokens gone in a hurry.

*To my mother in law I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are always so loving and we enjoy having you around. Thanks for the help this week!

(update: Daddy is coming home today early because of Hurricane Dolly. Yippeee)

Daddy out of town

Casey had to be out of town this week due to his job. I always miss him so much when he has to go. He truly is a blessing to me.

Pizza Hut look out!

The 3L's made their own pizza the other day. This was a huge hit. It made me realize that they are old enough to do more stuff in the kitchen. Even Landry got in on the fun. We talked about the food pyramid and what is healthy for our bodies and what is not. Although, poor Landry could not understand how ice cream isn't really that good for you. That brought up a new subject.....moderation. ha! I think if I also let them help on cooking things ( like green veggies) I will have a better chance at them eating it. Hmmm.....just a thought! Anyway, we are having a great summer and hope you are too!

Landry McQueen

My three year old LOVES the movie CARS by Pixar. I really have to laugh at this little boy and his obsession! Even his room is all CARS. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't find a Lighting McQueen in the washer, in his little hands as he falls asleep, or him zooming around the hard wood floors yelling at his brother and sister "Look out Queen is behind you". It cracks me up! He will line them all up (as you can see) and put them in order as to his most favorites to his least favorites. I am guessing there are PLENTY of little boys out there like him (uuhmm....one down the street! ha) who share this obsession. It is soooo bad that we even make trips to certain stores (Target, Toys R Us, Walmart, and HEB) to make sure there isn't any new ones in. Also, we even have our best buds on the look out if they see any at the store! I know, I know I am not helping his obsession by encouraging this but it is so darn cute to see him so happy when we get a new CAR! I think the CARS people know that kids get hooked on these so they only release a FEW at a time so crazy moms like me can travel around town waisting $$$ gas for a dang toy! haha. Oh my goodness! I just realized I too share the obsession! haha. Oh, I love this little boy with all my heart. I probably am spoiling him but I sure cherish these times with him. Love you Lanny McQueen!!!!