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. 

Countdown to Christmas

This was last December!  Hard to believe that a year has come and gone, and that we are just days away from another Christmas!  This week is going to be busy as we get ready to head to New Orleans to celebrate Christmas with my family.  We are really looking forward to our trip and some good, quality time with my parents and sisters and some friends!

I was looking back at pictures of our last Christmas in New Orleans, and I came to realize that I was pregnant that year too!  And, Nora looked like this:

Hasn't she changed!?

Also, two Christmases ago, she wasn't even walking yet:

Now here we are with a big ole girl, a crazy little toddling boy, and another on the way!  God is so kind to us!  Here's to a wonderful Christmas filled with precious memories, laughter, good food, and lots of love. 

Labor of Love

I was recently introduced to Andrew Peterson when our choir sang a song of his for our Lessons and Carols Christmas service about two weeks ago.  Since then, I have been enjoying his Christmas album along with his other worship music.  (You can listen to him for free on Grooveshark).  This morning, I was listening to him again when I just fell in love with his song "Labor of Love" which recounts the night of Jesus' birth.  It is amazing!  Seriously, crying.  (I'm pregnant, but still, it's beautiful to meditate on.)

I found this version of the song by Point of Grace in video form, if you would like to watch and listen, but Andrew' Peterson's version is amazing.  Do yourself a favor, go to Grooveshark.com, and search for Andrew Peterson and Labor of Love.




Lyrics to Labor Of Love :

It was not a silent night
There was blood on the ground
You could hear a woman cry
In the alleyways that night
On the streets of David's town

And the stable was not clean
And the cobblestones were cold
And little Mary full of grace
With the tears upon her face
Had no mother's hand to hold

It was a labor of pain
It was a cold sky above
But for the girl on the ground in the dark
With every beat of her beautiful heart
It was a labor of love

Noble Joseph at her side
Callused hands and weary eyes
There were no midwives to be found
In the streets of David's town
In the middle of the night

So he held her and he prayed
Shafts of moonlight on his face
But the baby in her womb
He was the maker of the moon
He was the Author of the faith
That could make the mountains move

It was a labor of pain
It was a cold sky above
But for the girl on the ground in the dark
With every beat of her beautiful heart
It was a labor of love
For little Mary full of grace
With the tears upon her face
It was a labor of love

It was not a silent night
There was blood on the ground
You could hear a woman cry
In the alleyways that night
On the streets of David's town

And the stable was not clean
And the cobblestones were cold
And little Mary full of grace
With the tears upon her face
Had no mother's hand to hold

It was a labor of pain
It was a cold sky above
But for the girl on the ground in the dark
With every beat of her beautiful heart
It was a labor of love

Noble Joseph at her side
Callused hands and weary eyes
There were no midwives to be found
In the streets of David's town
In the middle of the night

So he held her and he prayed
Shafts of moonlight on his face
But the baby in her womb
He was the maker of the moon
He was the Author of the faith
That could make the mountains move

It was a labor of pain
It was a cold sky above
But for the girl on the ground in the dark
With every beat of her beautiful heart
It was a labor of love
For little Mary full of grace
With the tears upon her face
It was a labor of love

 

May your heart be affected like mine was and is!

Snow Days

Well, for those of you not in Knoxville, we have had some major snow the past few days.  Yesterday was an official Snow Day with canceled schools and all that, so we decided to have some fun in the front yard with our neighbor Dillon and Ms. Anne.  We ate lunch and then bundled up extensively before heading out into the cold weather. 

Liam's first full exposure to snow.  He was too little last winter.

Shortly after we came outside, some other neighbors down the street offered to take the kids sledding in their front yard on their sled.  By sledding, we mean they were pulled around on a flat surface, but you know....sledding is sledding.  It so counts!

First up, Liam and Dillon.  Nora was a bit hesitant.

Then, Buddy Man decided to sit it out for a while.  So, Nora finally got the nerve to try.

After the sledding, we headed back to our yard to build ourselves a snow man.  Actually, Dillon, Nora, and Ms. Anne made the snowman while I kept track of Liam and managed to take some pics of everyone.

He wasn't very big, but he was all we could do.

A small view of our house covered in snow.

Before I knew it, Ms. Anne instigated a snowball fight.  The kids had a blast throwing them at each other.

But then the little rascals turned on me and tried to get me with the snow.

I tried to distract them by suggesting we move over between our houses where there was lots of deep snow for them to get into.  It seemed to work.

Man down!  Poor Liam kept falling over...he must have been top heavy or maybe it was his boots.

Someone did not like the snowball fight.

After the snowball to the face, Liam decided to venture off far away from the fun.

When all was said and done, we headed inside for some hot cocoa before naptime. 

I managed to take a few pics of our decor.  Here are our Christmas stockings made by Aunt Hazel. 

Our tree!

We had a great time in the snow and the kids absolutely loved it!  This is one of the first times we all got to enjoy it since both kids can move around by themselves in the snow.  Can't wait to see if we have many more snow days in store for us in the future.

Seriously!?

I cannot BELIEVE that it is December 13th.  Where has 2010 gone?  For real!?

I thought Thanksgiving was yesterday, and it feels like last weekend we were celebrating Halloween and trying to potty train Nora!?  I can't believe we are less than two weeks from Christmas!  This year has flown by, and in particular, this holiday season.  I guess that's what two kids under three, starting a new business, and being pregnant will do to you!

On a serious note, I cannot tell you how blessed we are.  Even in the midst of a very busy season of life, Jonathan and I are so aware of God at work in our lives, and we are even more thankful that we can see His Sovereign Hand of Blessing on us and this new dental practice that we've started.  (I use the term "we" loosely here, folks.  My husband works his TAIL off every day of the week, and I just try to keep the rest of us sane, fed, and clothed).

Here are some things we've been doing the past three weeks which may explain why I have no concept of time:

1.  Practice Update:  Everyone who knows that we've started a practice has been so faithful to ask how things are going and to continue to pray for us.  Jonathan is working so hard, and God has been so kind to keep him very busy.  Much busier than we expected to be.  First of all, this is what Jonathan would say a "slow time of year."  The weather is cold, there is SNOW, people are busy with the holiday hustle and bustle, so dentist visits and teeth cleanings are not always high on the priority list of time and finances.  However, we have been blessed with consistency for the past four weeks that Heritage Family Dentistry has been opened.  Some days are slower than others, but all in all, things are so much better than we thought and than we deserve.   We serve a good God!

2.  Pregnancy Update:  Woot Woot!  We are out of the first trimester!  Tomorrow I will be 14 weeks pregnant.  I am definitely getting a baby bump, and on many days I am sporting the maternity clothes.  One funny thing is how much my belly grows as the day goes on.  When I first wake up, I look barely pregnant--just a small bump--but as I eat, retain fluid, whatever, I grow!  Seriously, I look months bigger by suppertime!  After our last appointment, I have started having a gut feeling that this baby is a boy.  Before seeing "it" on an ultrasound, I just couldn't even get my head around having either a boy or a girl this time....it was hard to imagine what it would be, but now I am leaning toward boy.  We will hopefully find out on January 3rd, so stay tuned for that glorious news.

3.  Nora Update:  Nora is just a busy, growing little social butterfly.  She is maturing and growing right before our very eyes.  The funny expressions, her habits, her mannerisms.....she's getting big, folks!  Some cute things she says lately include:

a.  "Mommy, can you get me a favorite?"  -- translated, this means, "Mommy, will you do me a favor?"  Favor and favorite.  Cute.

b.  "We haven't done that in a whiles." --translated, "We haven't done that in a while."  Whether it's an activity or putting on a pair of pants she hasn't worn in some time, she loves to point out when we do things that we have not done.in.a.while.

c.  "I told you."  We are getting into the "Daughter thinks it's okay to correct her mother" stage.  Working on this.  Trying to explain how in some regards, this can be disrespectful.

Of course, that's all I can think of right now.  I'm certain that as soon as I post this, an abundance of cute Nora quotes will come rushing to my pregnant brain.  All in all, we are in love with our girl.  She can be the sweetest, most affectionate thing at times, and she is so fun to be around.  She doesn't want to miss out on a thing, especially if Liam is doing something she's not doing.  We battle with complaining and doing this with a joyful heart, but since these are things that I too struggle with, I hope the Lord does a mighty work in both of our hearts and helps me in training her and setting Godly examples. 

4.  Liam Update:  Liam is now 19 months, and he is busy.  Nonstop, 100 mph, into EVERYTHING!  He loves the phones, the tv, the Wii, the toilet, the garbage.  All things kids are supposed to stay away from are Liam's must-haves.  He's getting so much better at obeying, and I am seeing much progress in his listening when I tell him to "come."  He definitely knows the word "obey" and he knows what "spanking" or "discipline" means and that he DOES NOT want one.  He is also learning that when Momma says something that I want him to do, he is to say "Yes, Momma."  Naturally, it doesn't quite sound like that, but it is so cute when he repeats it.  Sweet boy.

We have been doing room time with Liam for the past month.  I started with him at 18 months.  What this means is after breakfast, after he's dressed, clean diaper, etc., I set Liam up in his room with his toys, books, etc., and put a gate up.  Then I set the kitchen timer for a certain number of minutes, and he is not allowed to get out of "Room Time" until the timer goes off.  Before I started this, Liam was terrified of being in a room with the gate up unless I was in there.  Even if he was in Nora's room with Nora, the second I put the gate up, he wanted OUT.  When I first started training Liam for R.T., I set the timer for two minutes.  That's it.  For the first two days, he cried the entire two minutes, while standing at the gate.  I would tell him it was okay, occasionally walk by him or talk to him, and then tell him when the timer went off he could get out.  As soon as the buzzer buzzed, I made a big fuss over how great he did, gave him a hug and high five, then let him out.  (Nora has been a great cheerleader, by the way!)  Within the first four days or so, Liam got to where he was in R.T. for about 5 minutes, and he wouldn't cry the whole time.  Maybe for the first 30 seconds to minute, then he'd wander off for a few minutes to check out something in his room, and then he'd be back by the gate ready for the timer to buzz.  I saw that as progress!  I have gradually increased his time, and this morning he was in R.T. for 14 minutes.  He doesn't cry at all anymore.  He will play with toys, "read" books, or even throw things out of the room to see what kind of reaction he'll get.  But, I am really proud of him and am so thankful he is making slow, but steady progress.  I wasn't sure he would take to it at all.  Nora was up to 20 minutes within the first two weeks of R.T.   She LOVED having the independent time, and almost every morning STILL she ASKS to go.  She'll stay in there for at least an hour, sometimes me making her leave.  Even if it's only 14 minutes with Liam, that is 14 minutes that I get to do some morning chores/tasks without him shadowing me.  And, I think it benefits him in learning how to play independently, which he'll need to grow in once Baby #3 arrives!

5.  Holiday Update/Forecast:  Since Christmas is just around the corner, I must tell you about all of our fun, holiday plans coming up.  We will be celebrating Christmas with Jonathan's family this coming Saturday night.  Jonathan, the kids, and I are heading to New Orleans on December 23rd, so we decided to celebrate Bradshaw Christmas early this year.  We plan to stay in NOLA for about a week before heading back home to have a few quiet days together as a family before JB returns to work.  I am so excited to spend the holidays with my parents, sisters, and our little family.  I'm certain we'll have a great and exhausting time!  Now, if I can only get my Christmas shopping done.  The Bradshaws are going to keep the kids for me one day this week so I can get that done soon.  Time is a ticking!

Well, that's an overdue update of all of us here in the Bradshaw fam.  It's been snowing like crazy here since yesterday, and we have several inches of snow on the ground.  After lunch, I am hoping to take the kids out in the snow and capture some pictures.  Plus, I have yet to take some Christmas decoration pictures of our house.  Seriously, I haven't picked up my camera in weeks.  Sad, but true.

Anyway, I hope you and yours are enjoying the season and are having an opportunity to think about what the true significance is!  I've been reading through a Christmas devotional which has been really great, but I'll post about that later.  Gotta run!

Family Photos 2010

We had our family pictures taken by Lillian Prince a few weeks ago, and as always, we loved the way they turned out.  I have posted several on our blog site, but here are some of our favorites.  Seriously, we got hundreds of photos, and they are all amazing.  I could spend hours posting them all, but I won't. 


Let's get started:  Here's our Nora Girl.

So, Nora knows how to wink.  This is what she did when I told her to show Ms. Lillian how she winks:

Trying harder.

Trying REALLY hard.

Me and my favorite girl.

Some precious, priceless photos of my two babies:

For some reason, this makes me visualize him in college.  Such a big boy!

Definitely one of the most FAVORITE.  This is SO Nora.

Here are some more of our Liam:

He was wanting to run away from Ms. Lillian, so....

I had to chase him down.

Caught ya!

This picture defines Liam at this age.  He LOVES to read and sit in a "big boy" chair.

Me and my man:

So handsome, he is.

To say my man loves my little girl is a huge understatement.  He's smitten with her.