Christmas in NOLA

Well, we safely made it here yesterday evening around 5 pm central time!  Guys, we made INCREDIBLE time driving down here yesterday.  Without kids, the drive is about 9 hours with minimal stops.  Typically, with our two kiddos, it takes us between 10.5-11 hours, which includes potty breaks and a lunch break for Chick-fil-a.  Yesterday, we left our house, drove through McD's for some biscuits, and were on the road by 8:30 am ET.  The traffic was great....or, pretty much nonexistent!  Praise the Lord, there were no major accidents, construction, or detours, so we were able to move really smoothly with a potty break mid-morning, lunch in Birmingham, and a mid-afternoon bathroom stop.  We pulled up to my parent's house at 5 pm CT which means we got here in 9.5 hours!  AMAZING!

The kids did great.  Nora watched movies the entire time, which kept her quiet and content.  Liam, on the other hand, wants to be entertained the whole time.  If I sat up in the passenger seat next to Jonathan, Liam would constantly call my name so that I would look back at him.  He was content as long as I was giving him my undivided attention ;) He really didn't care to watch too much TV, but he did like Cars.

Anyway, it was probably one of the least stressful drives we've made, and for that, I am so thankful!  Thank you Lord for protecting us and giving us the grace to stay sane, calm, and full of joy during a long, long drive!

Jonathan snapped a picture of Liam and I during our one and only 30 minute power nap.  I was in a post-lucnh coma:

Don't you just love shots like this?  Classy.

When we got there, my mom kept asking how we were feeling.  She was worried the drive would be hard and exhausting on us, particularly with me being pregnant.  But honestly, we felt great.  We visited for a bit, and then got to work making supper.  My dad had a start on his seafood gumbo, and my mom fried up some fresh shrimp and French fries!

All I wanted though was a big bowl of gumbo!  Can you understand why?

This is AMAZING.  It's my grandfather's recipe that my dad makes once a year!  We call it the Million Dollar Gumbo, not only because it tastes like a million bucks, but because there is so much fresh seafood in it, that it can cost a pretty penny to make.  But, it feeds a TON of people.  We'll eat off of it for several days!

As soon as we got food in our bellies, all four of us Bradshaws were ready for bed.  We got baths, set up pallets and cribs, and went to sleep without any struggle at all.  Well, Liam busted his mouth open, but that's pretty much par for the course for our little man!  He's okay.  Well, folks, that's my update for our NOLA Christmas 2010 thus far.  I pray your Christmas Eve is joyous and fun, and not too busy!  I need to break out the camera and capture some memories.