Belle's Crash and Burn

My blog's 'description' under the main title is, "The Ups and Down of this Sweet, Crazy Life."

Well... this was a "down." Keep your eye on Belle.



She recovered quickly and was pretty proud of her speed. I mean... she is like lightening.



And super cute. Boo boos and all.

Beauty and the Beast (x 2)

This past Saturday, we packed up all the girls in the family and went to the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville for a showing of Beauty and the Beauty.

It was a-MA-zing. I have been to a few productions there, but this was, by far, my favorite. I'm a little embarrassed to admit... I may have teared up a few times. Even sweet Belle, at one point, was sobbing next to me. So precious.

Here is a shot of me and my girls before we went in. The next one is of the whole crew. Carolyn (Sarah's sweet mother-in-law), Lynlee, Sarah, Gran, Gigi, Estella, Belle, and me. Good times.


Ok, get ready.... Later that night, me and the kids were out driving and spotted another wild beast on the side of the road.

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! Is that not terrifying??! You must click on the picture and make it bigger so you can peer into that beastly face. Utterly terrifying. We pulled over, unbuckled (Is that illegal? Anyway...), and ooohed and ahhhed for a good five minutes while he hissed at us. Gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. Jeb wanted to "go pet him" but I advised against it. I'm a good mom like that.

Easy, Schmeasy Beach Art

The girls found LOTS of shells at the beach.

And I was pumped because I remembered this post featuring a great way to display them at home without it looking tacky. I thought it was an excellent way to capture some beach memories while at the same time, creating a nice piece of decor. So, this is what we did...

I found a half price frame at Hobby Lobby and popped out the glass.

Then I covered the inside with some cool left over fabric I already had from an old sewing project.

Then we chose our favorite shells and hot glued them all the way around right onto the fabric.

We picked the best beach shot of the two shell collectors and stuck it right in the middle of their fabulous shells with straight pins. And that was it. It looks wonderful sitting on the dresser in our room. Beautiful memories captured. Love it.

And while I was at it....

I found an old frame I had used ages ago sitting in the bottom of our coat closet. Who knows how long it had been there. It was holding a painting Belle did when she was just a little thing. She was a budding Van Gogh, I know.

Using the same concept as the shell project, I popped out the glass and covered the back in a fun fabric I bought for $4 at Hobby Lobby. While there, I also picked up a small, dark frame for $4 and a $1.99 wooden S.

We painted the S a cool turquoise color to match the pop of color in my bathroom.

I took the back off the small frame, put in my favorite beach picture of the kids, then glued it, along with the S, onto the fabric in the frame. And there you have it... a cool piece of wall art on a very bare wall for around $10.

I think even Matt was impressed. And that's saying a lot!

Estella's Story

Fall 2003 was one of the most hectic, stressful, insane times in my life. I had a six month old baby girl who loooovvvveeed to fuss, cry, and NOT sleep. Matt and I were living in a small apartment. He was going to seminary and staying at home with Belle. I was working full time, taking a heavy load of grad courses, and studying furiously for a crazy hard comprehensive final exam to complete my master’s degree. I was a busy, busy girl and floundering first-time mom. My hands weren’t just full, they were overflowing.

One night I was walking to my car in the parking lot of our apartment building when something caught my eye in the sky. At first, I assumed it was a helicopter coming in for a landing—we lived very close to a hospital. But as I got a better look, I realized, it wasn’t moving. I stood there staring at it for a few seconds—the biggest, brightest star I had ever seen or have ever seen since. This may sound silly, but my immediate thought was, “God is telling me something with that star.” As I got in my car, shut the door, and went to start the engine, I felt the words, “you’re pregnant” spoken to my heart.

And I proceeded to laugh out loud. No, I certainly was not pregnant! I had no time to be pregnant. I had a degree to finish, a crying baby to care for, a job…. The notion was ridiculous, and in seconds I forgot about the whole ridiculous incident.

A few weeks later at an office luncheon, I began feeling sick… really sick. I remember sitting there, surrounded by co-workers, when the thought hit me—I’ve only felt this way one other time in my life. Suddenly I remembered that star. As soon as I could get out of there, I raced to the pharmacy and picked up a pregnancy test. I snuck it in the apartment and took it. And you guessed it… I was pregnant.

I sat on the floor with Matt in the next room and bawled my eyes out, too afraid to tell him, completely overwhelmed, and absolutely terrified. The next day, I went to my doctor, and she confirmed that I was, indeed, going to have another baby. Belle had just turned seven months old.

Matt, of course, was wonderful. He was happy, and that helped. Still, I couldn’t imagine my life with another child. I was barely keeping my head above water with the one I had, not to mention the horrible post partum depression I had just struggled through. The thought of walking through those dark places again was horrifying.

In my heart, I knew the baby was a girl. I just knew. Matt kept asking me about names, and I told him only one had come to me. Estella. Every time I thought about the baby, I thought about that name. I liked it. I didn’t love it. But it was relentless and refused to go away.

Then one day while at work, I decided to look up the meaning of the name, Estella. As my computer pulled up the website, what I saw nearly caused me to fall out of my chair. I was still not ok with this baby. I was still crying every night. I was still questioning God’s horrible sense of humor. And there it was... the meaning of the name Estella... is “star.”

Just like that, I understood that this was His plan, in His timing.

Now think what you will. Think it’s a coincidence about the star I saw that night and the feeling in my heart. Think I’m crazy for all of it. But be assured that Estella Dru Slaughter is a special little girl with a special story to tell. Ask her and she’ll tell you, God named her Himself. And that little girl… she does shine. I am convinced she has a purpose beyond anyone's imagination. She's going to surprise us all... again.

Happy 6th Birthday my sweet Estella Dru. Shine away.

Reality Check at 1:30 am

I was up late writing last night. I was tired. Maybe a little delirious. Around 1:30 am, I burst into tears. There, alone in the dark, I sat boo-hooing and had no idea why (other than the tired and delirious part). After I got into bed, I began thinking... and praying, and I realized that, once again, fear had crept into my thoughts.

It's so easy to believe the lie that what we're doing down here is futile... that we are so flawed we can never reach our goals or do any true good for this world or the people we love. But ultimately, what that means is that we aren't believing God is who he says he is or will do what he says he will do. Last night, I was crying because I felt ridiculous for sitting at a computer, writing at 1:30 in the morning, when I'm just me--a girl from Hector, Arkansas, who has made every mistake in the book and continues to mess up daily--and, therefore, can not possibly make a difference. I almost got mad at him for letting me think I could.

And then this verse popped into my head, "For I know the plans I have for you... They are plans for good... to give you a future and a hope." We see it all the time, but how can we not do a Tom Cruise couch jump every time we hear those words?

And my favorite, say-it-out-loud-all-day verse... "And I am sure that God who began the good work within you will carry it on to completion...." That is the one I'm holding on to for dear life.

My favorite character in my book is Malcolm, the pastor of a tiny congregation who has stopped believing God is who he says He is.

Even in the dimming light of dusk, Kate could see the wildness of his eyes. He took hold of her shoulders. “Is that well with your soul? The God you just forgave watched it all happen. Sat back and watched it! Just like with Anna, and just like with Ruth and your baby. So, no!” His voice grew louder with each word, and he pointed toward the church. “I’m not going to go in there and tell those people that he's good and that he loves them and protects them. Because all I see is a God who singles out the old and the helpless. I see a God who could save them but doesn’t. I’m supposed to tell them to keep trusting? To keep hoping? No! I will not lie for Him a day longer!”

Kate stood frozen, emotions surging through her—anger, frustration, sadness, helplessness, another she couldn’t put her finger on. He wanted to let go of her but couldn’t will his body to move. Her heart pounded as she studied his face so close to her own. When the tears began to pool in his eyes, he released her and disappeared into the shed.

Losing sight of Him, if only for a moment, is easy to do. Isn't it awesome He never loses sight of us? Oh, and don't worry about Malcolm. He'll find his way. And who knows? Maybe Mr. Cruise will portray the role of Malcolm in the movie. I told you people... I'm dreaming BIG! (Ok, maybe Matthew McConaughey.)

Are-nuld Palm-urr

In the last few months, my husband has changed his normal restaurant drink of choice from Diet Coke to half sweet tea and half lemonade. This drink, as you probably know, is referred to as an Arnold Palmer.


The problem is... bless his sweet heart, Matt can. not. say, "Arnold Palmer." Each time the waitress/waiter asks him, "Can I get you something to drink?" I cringe. In my mind I'm silently begging, "Please just say half tea, half lemonade. Please! Don't try to say it. Don't try--. Oh, he tried. And now he has to say it again because they didn't understand a word of it. No one could! Pretend to text, Ang. Just pretend to text."

But instead of trying to explain, cue the YouTube video.



See!! I'm so glad he is such a good sport. We laugh a LOT in this house, but tonight, it was the roll-on-the-floor kind of laughing. In fact, it got so bad that the kids came in to see what we were doing. I pointed the camera at Estella Dru, and was shocked at the result. I'm afraid genetics may play a role.



Turns out, the two-year-old can say it better than anyone in the house.



If you're wondering about Belle's attempt, she was having none of it. The girl is still traumatized over her "gift certificate" attempts and ultimate failures. Click here for that blast from the past of Slaughter history. Makes me smile every time... and sort of cringe.

On the beach with the Slaughters 2010

I am about to post a lot of pictures. More specifically... I am about to post way too many pictures for one post.

Our trip to the ocean was amazing. No distractions. No worries. No oil.

I love the ocean. Such a simple statement, but as true as true gets. I am always amazed at how God's awesomeness overwhelms me when I look out over the ocean. It's one of those feelings that just consumes you whether you want it to or not, and I never get tired of it. I wish I could feel it every single day. You know that old hymn that goes, "I've got a mansion, just over the hilltop in that bright land where we'll never grow old..." I can hear Grandma singing it next to me right now like she always did. Well, I told God a long time ago, that I don't need a mansion... just a little shack by the sea. I remind Him all the time that I can't wait for my new place. Who needs a mansion?

The Slaughter kids had a great time and couldn't have been better (other than a few days of whining to go to the pool, but no one's perfect, right?) Honestly, they were amazing and Matt and I are so proud of them. Even little Jeb rarely complained... even on the super long drives. Give that kid some toy cars and trains and a Curious George movie, and he's good to go.

So here are some pictures from our beach excursion 2010. Hope you enjoy. I miss it already.