DRU DAY!!!

Do you have a middle child? I do. In every sense of the word... I do. Bless her sweet little heart, I love my Estella Dru to pieces, but that girl can push my buttons like no other. She is precious, loving, beautiful... a pro at turning on the water works for no good reason and a champion whiner. Every morning I wake up ready to "deal" with whatever she throws my way. And then I realized just that... I wake up ready for her to mess up. I remember the way she acted the day before that and the day before that and literally wait for her to do something wrong. And when she does... I have all those past mistakes in mind.

I was praying last night and thought... what if God was like me? What if He dealt with me based on my past screw ups? Wow. I doubt He would even look my way. He shouldn't.

A few years ago, Belle woke up and got in bed with me. I was holding her and playing with her, and she looked up at me and said, "Mommy, why do you like us so much in the mornings?" It stopped me cold. She was right! I do like them more in the mornings because they haven't had a chance to be bad yet! But the fact that she formed that thought... it hit me hard. Thank God His mercies for us are new every morning. I need to be more like Him. Much more.

So today, I woke up and instead of waiting on my middle child to make a mistake, I pulled her into bed with me, hugged on her, told her I loved her and how awesome she is, and declared July 20th as DRU DAY in the Slaughter house. If only you could have seen her little face. She was beside herself. It is now the afternoon, and that child has yet to do one thing that requires discipline. She has been nothing but sweet, kind, and a joy to have. Wow. Really makes me stop and think.

Estella Dru's favorite color is blue. She may be a little obsessed with it. So we have had a blue theme today. We began with a photo shoot in the backyard with a BLUE dress. And let me tell you... she worked it. (In this first one, she's showing off her BLUE silly bands.)



And then she decided to do a wardrobe change. We got this little bathing suit at a consignment store here in Springdale, and she thinks it is the most beautiful thing she has ever seen. She hangs it on a hook next to her bed and stares at it, waiting until we go to the beach so she can show it off. And I only paid $6, so I sort of love it, too. It is pretty fabulous.



Next... we made BLUE and white cupcakes with BLUEberries. It got a little crazy....







For the rest of the day, she is in charge of the remote and can pick what "activities" we do this afternoon. She feels so special.

I think it's awesome to pray scripture over your children. Estella Dru has her very own verse. Phil 2:14-16a... changed up just a little. I pray that Estella will do everything without complaining or arguing, so that she may become blameless and pure, a child of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which she shines like stars in the universe as she hold out the word of life.... (By the way, "Estella" means "star.")

So, here's my challenge to the mommies. If you have your very own middle child (or whatever ever order they came!) who is pushing your nerves to the brink, devote a day to them. Remind them how special and loved they are and go out of your way to show them in creative ways. I think you will be amazed at the result.