Reminiscing.

michael's wedding. 
We were in Oklahoma on January 1st. Brady's older brother Michael was getting married. Brady was the Best Man and I was a Bridesmaid understudy who was needed and ended up walking down the isle at the last minute.

I walked down the isle on the arm of another groomsman and watched Brady stand next to his brother on the other side of the platform. I knew then that there was no way I was going to wait till May. I wanted him too bad to wait. I contemplated raising my hand at the end of the ceremony to ask the Pastor to marry us too. We were already engaged-- we knew we wanted to marry each other-- what was the point of waiting till May? A 10,000 dollar wedding? In all honesty I wanted in his pants too bad to wait for that.

The three hour car ride back to Texas gave us plenty of time to talk. We threw around different ideas-- Vegas--the Justice of the Peace but we didn't make a final decision until the next day.

our wedding.
January 8, 2011. Seven days after attending Brady's brothers wedding we decided to get married in my living room amongst immediate family. There wasn't a band or a cocktail hour or a thousand dollar venue-- Just a boy and a girl helplessly in love and desperate to spend the rest of their lives together.

thans mom for making everything so perfect. for throwing it all together in six days. for making all the food, buying all the decorations, and two days before the big day finding and paying for my dress. thank you for letting us use your living room. thank you for supporting us and our crazy plans. i don't know many moms who would have been so cool about it. zero questions asked. you're the best. 

 our honeymoon. 
We left for San Antonio the day after our wedding in a terrible snow storm. We were careful though and got there safe after stopping at several best buys because our camera was acting up. We spent a romantic week on the deserted Riverwalk. Not leaving our room much at all.

Pre-pregnancy. Those jeans WILL fit again. New Years resolution baby! They WILL fit by the end of February dangit!

 We drank too much and ate too much-- we visited the Alamo, a couple different Missions, the San Antonio zoo, and the Japanese Tea Gardens. It was a lovely time.

Check out Brady's cool-guy sunglasses. LOL

i cut all my hair off. 
Nough said.

knocked up.
We found out we were pregnant in March. I had taken a pregnancy test that came up negative a week and a half before the positive one. I was suspicious because I had a zit on my face and I never get zits on my face. I knew that something was off. I knew that we had to be pregnant so I said I believed the negative test but I really didn't. That is why I took another one on March 25th.

Brady was in the kitchen preparing his lunch before he headed out the door to work. I snuck out of bed and into the bathroom-- rummaging underneath the cabinet for the extra pregnancy test I knew we had somewhere.

Score! Found it back behind the mouthwash and under the extra bars of soap. Brady was suspicious because I closed the door. We don't ever close the door.

"You taking a dump?" He called from the kitchen.

"Yup!" I called back while straddling the toilet-- trying not to get the pee on my hand. The second line started to appear before I even set the stick on the counter. I sat there in shock for a minute-- panties around my ankles-- life about to change.

"Alright baby! I'm heading out!"

$%*&! I thought while hiking up my knickers and flying through the door. "Brady! Wait! Go look on the bathroom counter."

Later he told me that it was at that moment that he knew it was a positive pregnancy test.

"Ok," he said as he stepped into the bathroom and looked at the test. "Are there false positives?"

Way to be supportive Slick. "Uh. I don't think so."

He told me that I should go to the grocery store and take another one. It was shocking and unexpected for both of us. I was in a state of denial until we went to the OB and she confirmed it.

She gave us a nifty little picture and everything. We were shocked and ecstatic and in awe.

vacation.
We went on vacation in the summer with my Grandparents. We drove all the way to Kentucky and visited the Creation Museam. We had a fabulous time.

We also took another trip to Granbury with my parents but we didn't get any photos. Next time.

Updated: My mom sent this to me. :) It was the only picture of us taken in Granbury. We had such a lovely time.

kyle and sarah. 
got engaged in July. Nough said.

chloe.
On August 8th Brady's first niece was born.

 availeth.
Availeth Joy Williams.
Born November 21, 2011
5 lbs. 1 oz. 18 in.
To proud mommy and daddy Brittany and Brady Williams.

Click here to read her birth story.

I don't know how 2012 could possibly top all of that. 2011 has truly been the most incredible year of my life. I can't wait to see what the future holds for the three of us. Here's to remembering the good times, learning from the bad and looking foreword to the future.

Happy New Year!

Last Christmas I Gave You My Heart

 Last Christmas was the first Christmas I shared with Brady. He was supposed to head to his parents house in Oklahoma after we had Christmas eve lunch at my Aunts house but he decided to stay with me through Christmas morning instead-- we were engaged at the time. We spent the night at my parents house and we were able to share Christmas morning together.

We hurriedly packed after our gifts were unwrapped and the living room looked like a war zone. We left and arrived at his parents house Christmas morning and stayed with them until January 1st. His parents and I had seen each other several times throughout the 9 month period Brady and I had been together-- though we had never spent more than a day or so together. Last Christmas was when, I believe, they started warming up to me, excepting me as part of their growing family. That trip made them comfortable with me marrying their son. And I am so glad that we took it because little did anyone know at the time but Brady and I were about to switch our wedding date from May 19th to January 8th, just a few short days after we left his parents in Oklahoma.

This Christmas has been no less eventful. Our little bundle turned one month old four days before Christmas. She has brought so much happiness to us. Her birth brought Brady and I closer-- something I didn't necessarily think could happen. It's incredible how love can grow. I thought I was tapped out. I didn't think there was any possible way I could love him more but that little bundle made it happen. We had lots to be thankful for this Christmas.

When we found out we were pregnant in March discussions began. Where would we go for the holidays? Which family would we spend each event with? How could we make it fair? To me, so far, that is the hardest part of being married. Deciding which family to spend each Holiday with is terribly terribly hard because there is no real way to make it fair.

Sister sleeps with one eye open just to make sure you don't go anywhere.

I'm such a homebody, much like my Dad, I don't want to travel, I don't want to leave my house. It's my center of command. It's my Starship Enterprise. It's where I do my thinking, my planning, and it's where I conquer. I don't like to spend much time in other peoples Starships.

Obviously though there are two families to work with and one lives in Oklahoma. And even though I don't like to leave my command center-- they are so so worth it.

This year was a bit different though. We were going to have a baby around Thanksgiving time. Because we knew we'd be stuck in Texas come the end of the year we decided to have Easter and 4th of July in Oklahoma.

We spent Thanksgiving in the hospital but Christmas was big this year. We had a new baby and the only logical conclusion-- since there was no way I was going to travel to OK with a one month old during RSV season-- was to host Brady's family over at our place.

I excitedly started planning.

We spent Christmas morning in our Starship.

 Christmas afternoon was spent at my parents house with my siblings-- watching movies like we do.

Monday the 26th Brady's parents and sister came for Christmas. It blessed my heart to see Avey bless theirs.  His sisters hadn't had a chance to come down and meet her yet-- his parents had come down right after we had her but weren't able to hold her because she was in the NICU.

This was all rectified.

Christmas was different this year. It was the first Christmas morning I didn't wake up in my parents home. It was my first married Christmas-- my first Christmas as a mother.

It was the best Christmas.
It was the best Christmas.

And I can't wait till next year.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

 I stayed up baking uber late on Christmas Eve Eve so I didn't have that burst of energy Christmas Eve morning one desires when waking at 5 am to bake lovely, delicious things and pump so Daddy can feed the baby while you make the lovely, delicious things.

Bad news beckoned when I entered the kitchen and pulled out the hard-as-a-rock dough for my signature Berry Shortbread Dreams Cookies. I tried anything and everything I could think of to liven up the batch but it was no use. It literally crumpled in my hands along with my sugary shortbread dreams (So lame. I'm so sorry.) 

Great start to the morning. I was feeling like a winner. Nervous about trying a new pumpkin pie recipe I decided I had nothing left to lose and went for it. It was incredible. I've made it again since Christmas Eve and I still can't get enough!

The rest of the morning was a busy hustle bustle of last minute touches and hurried nursing.

Sister wasn't too excited about that last part.

But she got over it like only she can.

We arrived safely and soundly at party central, greeted by all the people we love. Little missy was the belle of the ball. I had to fight to keep her. Approaching Brady once with my plight and pouting because everyone wanted to take my baby from me.

I got over it fast though. It's a special thing to see everyone delighting in something that you made. I stood a little taller as everyone oohhed and aahhed over her hair, her dress, her silly faces. Puffed full of pride because that little thing is a little piece of me.

For the last several years since we've moved to Texas my mothers side of the family has gathered for a Christmas Eve celebration. It's the way we all prefer it. That way Christmas Day is somewhat of a Sabbath Day. A day of rest, a day to soak in all the spoils of the year and the true meaning of Christmas.

You don't leave your house, you don't leave your pjs, you don't leave your presents. It's perfect.

Check out these two love birds. My brother Kyle is getting married next summer to his high school sweetheart. They are adorable and absolutely mad for each other. They had been up for over 24 hours at this point-- just got back to Texas after a 10 day stint in Hawaii.

They ooze happy. Those are my favorite kind of people. The ones you can't help grinning around. The ones that know what life's all about and aren't afraid to go for. I love how the two of them are going for it.

My family oozes lots of happy.

 He has the ability to make my stomach flip-flop even through a picture. Now that's talent. Mad talent.

 Meet Grandpa. I love the way he sits.

This is Colin. My Taylor Lautner look-alike brother-- at least thats what everyone says. I'm not feeling it in this particular photograph.

And this is the jewel of the Christmas Eve photographs. My Mother. Mid Conversation. I love everything about this. Her hands. The way she's sitting. Her facial expresion. I count it all priceless.

It would not have been Christmas Eve without a competitive game of ping pong. The hilarity that ensued watching these four grown men play was well... priceless. There was dancing, spanking, singing, witty banter--the whole enchilada.

Note the kid under the table?

They worked up an appetite so it's only fitting that after the game lunch was served.

I hope that your Holiday Season has been as blessed and exciting as mine has.
I pray that your family is well. 

We wish you a Merry Christmas!