On Vacation For Cow Appreciation...again

If you've read my blog for long, you might remember that last July I was traveling with my mom and the kids from Alabama to North Carolina. We just happened to be traveling on Chick-fil-A's "Cow Appreciation Day" and dressed up to get free food--for breakfast and lunch (in two different towns).

Guess what? We're on vacation again this year in July and are planning to drive back to Dallas on Friday, Chick-fil-A's "Cow Appreciation Day" for this year!

So, once again, we will be dressing as cows to get some free food while we travel. It's an incredibly economical way to feed our family as we drive from state to state in the summertime.

In case you don't remember how cute my little calves were last year, you can check out last year's post here. Stay tuned for this year's pictures. I'll be back into blogging once we return home.

Don't be chicken...dress up as a cow and join the fun for free food on Friday!

Sew Easy and Fun

I quickly uploaded these pics and saved them in a post before we left town last Friday.

I sewed this up in about an hour on Thursday night. My friend Lara inspired me with dresses she has made for her daughter and for little girls in Africa. Very cool way to bless children!
I used a combination of two patterns to create this dress. I liked the idea of a "pillowcase" dress, but didn't have a cool case. So, I used a pattern from habitual (she emailed me the pattern; feel free to email her and request it). But, I wanted the tied shoulder straps, so I used the pattern from Freshly Picked to create the bias tape arm holes/straps and elastic gathers in front and back.

I will be making one for Jenna this weekend and will use the complete pattern from habitual for it. And, by request of Rylee, in the future I'll make her dresses less "puffy". (She's so skinny that it really would look better to make them a little more slim.)

Baby #4 will be Baby #4

I saw this precious picture on the screen today at my ultrasound. Baby #4, called "gummy bear" by the tech, has a strong heartbeat and is right on track for being 9 weeks 4 days along. So, my due date is January 30, 2011.
I was asked what I "wanted" it to be (single, twins...). I was okay with either. Joel's big fear in having another one has always been that we'd have two again. It was a little overwhelming at times to have 2 babies and one who was not quite 2 years older--at least for the first year and a half. But, we have survived and thrived!

I'm excited that there's just one baby. Since there's just one, I'll tell you my reasons for being excited at just one:
--I might get to have a VBAC. Maybe I'll even get to do a more "natural" delivery. We'll see! You can go ahead and pray that I'll go into labor on my own since I never have.
--One baby seems very doable! Sling that baby and I can actually move around the house. I can cuddle with one baby--two at a time is a little harder. I always felt pulled.
--One baby means we don't have to buy a new van! Seriously.
--One baby means it's more likely we will travel next spring/summer to visit friends and family.
--One baby means I can probably breastfeed and get through the rough spots that became impossible with my twins and ended my nursing with them.
--One baby means I already have a car seat and stroller that someone gave me! It also means I can continue not regretting selling my double stuff--the second bouncer, second crib, second car seat, etc.

I'm okay with whatever the Lord brings. I really am. But, I just thought I'd share some of the reasons why I was hoping it was one baby. I have a whole other list for reasons I was hoping it was another set of twins. But, the Lord is good and He knows exactly what our family needs. At this point, I am just elated that I saw a heart beating and everything is going well.

We appreciate your prayers for continued good health and adjustment as our family grows.