Williams Christmas in ABQ!

We had a lovely, peaceful Christmas here in our cozy apartment in Albuquerque. Things had been quite chaotic leading up to Christmas with all of our traveling that staying home and just being "us" was exactly what we needed! Our Christmas celebrations began with going to church on Christmas Eve. We both really enjoyed this service. Pastor Wayne talked about how to "identify a Christian". He spoke how "Christians" are known by how they display the fruits of the spirit. Unfortunately, he also had to apologize for most of us who say we are "Christians" but then don't show or bear that fruit in our life. It was convicting! I especially like how he went through each fruit of the spirit and defined what it means. For example he defined patience as the divine ability to graciously forebear people who get on your nerves. Do we all need to hear that at Christmas or what? How many times do we secretly want to run over the people in the Wal-Mart aisle who are blocking the whole aisle and taking five minutes to peruse the different box stuffing options? How many times do we want to yell at the guy who steals your parking space in the mall parking lot after you have waited five minutes for it? I know families look forward to Christmas all year and then sadly when it comes and you are with your family in a condensed space for more than an hour those people that are so special can suddenly become "annoying." I know everyone who reads this blog always has a gracious response in these circumstances, but it was convicting to me! Do people know me by my patience? Does my family know me by my patience? Does my husband know me by my patience?

Ouch...I'm not so sure.

After the service we then went to IHOP. Last year Adam and I were visiting his best friend in Tyler, Texas and drove back to Houston on Christmas Eve. We got really hungry and stopped by IHOP for dinner. We had these amazing pumpkin pancakes that we both have been thinking about all year since then!

Unfortunately, upon looking at the menu and ordering our pumpkin pancakes...

we found out they had run out! There were no pumpkin pancakes at IHOP!

We then settled for omelette's and berry pancakes. I'm not going to lie. My omelet made me a little sick and I could only eat half of it. We are currently re-thinking if we want IHOP to be a family tradition on Christmas Eve...we'll keep you posted:). We then came home to our decorated apartment! These are the lights Adam hung up!

These are our stockings. Both our parents had given us stockings last year so we decided to hang them all up even though there are only two of us currently...someday there will be four we hope. :-)

This is our nativity set that we received as a wedding gift last year...what a great gift!

This is our little tree sitting on our kitchen table. It looks large in this photo but don't be fooled, it is only three feet tall.
This is Adam on Christmas morning. Poor thing was tired as he woke up at six AM to take the cinnamon roll dough out of the fridge for me! I love you baby!

This is our finished product of our cinnamon rolls. Only half of them have icing because Adam doesn't like icing...I know weird....I just go with it.

I got the recipe from my good friend Kelly Dunn so I can't take credit for it but they were delicious! Here is the recipe if you want to make them:

Dough:

1 pckg. active dry east

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 cup luke warm milk

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter softened

1 t salt

1 egg

4 cups flour

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 T milk

1/2 t vanilla

(double this recipe for 13x9) pan

Dissolve yeast in H20

Stir in milk, sugar, butter, salt, egg, and 2 cups flour

Beat until smooth-5 minutes

Stir in the rest of the flour

Kneed for 5 minutes

Place in fridge over night

Roll dough into rectangle

Spread with melted or softened butter and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon

Roll into log and cut into sections

Bake in buttered 13x9 pan at 375 degrees fir 25-30 minutes

Top with glaze!

We ate our rolls with pumpkin lattes! We have an espresso machine and buy lots of pumpkin creamer during the holiday season...so good!This was our little tree with our stockings! Me and my stocking...I got lots of socks which is great because all my socks were falling apart and my toes were COLD!Here is Adam with his stocking! He was excited to get Madagascar the movie! We then read the Christmas story to Baby "J" in his baby Bible and then read it in the normal Bible for us.

We then went to our friend's - the Bassetts - house. We had a huge Christmas lunch with turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and more!Our good friends the Dunns were there too. They are from Vermont and have lived here just about the same time as us. We enjoyed bonding together as friends since we were all away from our families. I brought this spinach salad. Here is the recipe:

Dressing:

5 slices bacon

1 T minced shallot

1 t minced garlic

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1 T Dijon mustard

1-2 t honey to taste

kosher salt and pepper to taste

Salad:

1/2 lb. fresh baby spinach

6 ounces thinly sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion

To make vinaigrette, in skillet cook bacon. Discard all but two tablespoons of fat. Crumble bacon on salad when done.

In remaining fat, saute shallot, and garlic. Whisk in vinegar, mustard, honey, and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and then remove from heat.

Combine salad ingredients together and then toss with dressing.

I really liked the salad but the dressing was slightly too strong for me. A little amount of dressing goes a LONG way on this salad. I think if I make it again I would put in half as much of minced onion.

We stayed at the Bassetts for the afternoon and then came home and rested a bit. We then went over to the Dunns for games and dessert. I brought these Christmas meatballs. I really liked them. I got the recipe from good friend Meg Wallace. Here it is:

1 (16 0z) can whole-berry cranberry sauce

3/4 cups ketchup

1/2 cup beef broth

3 T brown sugar

2 T minced onion

2 t cider vinegar

Mix all ingredients and pour over browned frozen meatballs, or make home-made meatballs. I left it in the crock pot all day.

For dessert at the Dunns we brought an old family favorite of the Tune household-Cherry Cheese Pie. I didn't get a photo of it until it had already been eaten...oops. It looks better whole:).

Here is the recipe: It is from my momma:)

Filling:

8 oz. cream cheese softened

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 t vanilla

Blend this until smooth and refrigerate in crust over night or for several hours

Make graham cracker crust-cooking in oven

Top with cherry pie filling

This is so easy and so good! Adam actually made the crust and did a GREAT job. Christmas Eve I was cooking a bunch and he asked if he could help. I told him that he could make the crust. His eyes got so big! I could have asked him to solve global warming and he would be like "okay, I'll get on it," but baking put him totally out of his comfort zone! He was a trooper though and did it with love. I have to say it was a great crust!

Adam doesn't like things too sweet. I think when I make this again I may top it with fresh strawberries instead of canned cherries to reduce the amount of sugar. I love it but it is a pie you have to eat in small amounts because it is SWEET!

After game night, we came home and fell into our beds. It was a great Christmas! We are so blessed to have each other, have sweet, great friends, have wonderful families even if weren't with them, and to have a loving and living Savior!

Silly Commercials

This post is about a very annoying, silly commercial. Before I elaborate on it though, it must be known that it is snowing HARD in Albuquerque RIGHT NOW! It just started about twenty minutes ago. I'm ecstatic!

Moving on, there is this little thing called the Bender Ball that has a commercial that has come on television three times in the last hour. This incredibly fit young woman says happily to the camera "I love my abdominals. I love my tummy. I love my abdominals." Really, is this necessary? I will be 35 weeks pregnant on Monday. I don't even think my skin can stretch more. I tried to do some abdominal exercises with my exercise ball the other day just to see if I have any Abs. I was able to do it, but then Baby "J" started freaking out and I was scared I was damaging my baby or ripping the interior of my body and decided to not try that again until after Baby "J" comes!

I just don't think people who make these "I love my tummy" commercials think about the pregnant women of the world who can't even sit up straight out of bed. We have to do the awkward roll around the tummy and have your husband push you out of bed move. How insensitive can the media be these days:).

Cathing up!

The photos aren't actually in order but they show what I'm going to be catching you guys up on. Adam and I have been busy! We went to College Station for his work, then to Houston For T- Day (the above photo shows my sis Anna with cousin Havannah on T Day), then to Orlando as Adam had a conference and we enjoyed ourselves at Sea World. Then, I returned to Houston for a Baby Shower my precious Momma and Melinad Dericek gave me, and then to College Station again for Amanda Price's wedding...yes, I was a bridesmaid prego and all:).

It was SO GOOD to see family and friends but we were ready to come home. When we came home we returned to SNOW (rotate your head to the left to see above photo of our apartment complex covered in snow)! I also returned to a decorated apartment as Adam decorated when he was in ABQ without me. I promise photos will be posted of our decorations. I am going to do a full documentary on our Christmas Day...no worries, you will see our little, decorated apartment. Since we have been back we have been catching up on things, sorting through Baby J's things, and getting Christmas stuff done. I know this post is a bit of a teaser, but now you know what you will be filled in on! I'm off to watch a movie with my hubby and eat a bit of Ben and Jerry's because....well, Baby "J" needs calcium (I know Mom, leafy plants have calcium too. No worries, I eat salad as well).

Emily

Hubby Look Alike

My gorgeous hubby
Adam Williams and father of
Baby "J":


Eric Benet:
R&B singer and
Halle Berry's ex-hubby:

I had heard of Eric Benet but I had never seen him. Knowing the names of singers has never been my strongpoint. Knowing the names and faces of R&B singers is pretty much impossible for me. Today I saw him on TV and immediately sent Adam and e-mail asking if this is how he would look without dreads. Apparently, Adam has known for awhile that he looked like Eric Benet, but it was all knew to me. I have never seen my handsome husband (besides highschool photos) without dreads. I am way excited to have a better idea of how he would look. I have a hottie husband!

Update On The Belly...

This is Adam and with one of our favorite baby's Kai. How cute are they? Adam is actually really good with Kai. When we hang out I think Kai prefers Adam...so sad!

This is us just before one of our date nights. We went to a Sandia dinner in Santa Fe and listened to a scientist who was on one of the apollo missions. It was really interesting and we got to get dressed up:).

Here is a full view of the belly...I told you it was big!

This is us at the Wallaces for the OU v. A&M game. Yes, the Aggies got slaughtered, but Adam and I were still supporting our Alma Matter. I even pulled out a college shirt and pulled it over my belly. I was just excited I got it on!

We had to teach the Wallaces how to whoop. I think we scared them a little bit!

I haven't done a good job of updating belly photos. Although I have truly failed at updating at all, I must let ya'll know it is an impossible task. Every single day my belly is BIGGER...scary. Baby J is growing and developing on schedule it seems. He has started kicking like crazy, normally at night when I'm trying to sleep. It has made me lose sleep, but I can't say I mind too much. I love knowing he is active and moving!

Adam and I are packing and getting everything ready to leave for a bit for the holidays. We will be in Houston, College Station, and Orlando. We are able to combine Adam's work with Thanksgiving, family and friends, and even a wedding! I don't have time to update now, but I'll update when we return!

Enjoy the photos!

Nesting....Oh My!

I've heard about the whole nesting instinct that comes over pregnant moms. I always thought that would be a good experience of pregnancy. Your house would get really clean and your husband's tummy would be full with great food, even more than normal:). Well, I think it has begun.

The problem for me is it began simultaneously with the mood swings. I have heard about pregnant people crying a lot and how they can be really emotional. I had secretly wondered if this was just an excuse for uncomfortable, hungry women to get moody. I can honestly say I hadn't felt my emotional state had really changed much. I didn't find myself wanting to cry or suddenly getting emotional with Adam.

Well, it all changed. Please pray for Adam. He did so great and went through my first MAJOR mood swing and nesting instinct craze all at once. Being that I work quite a lot now, it is really important for me to get cooking, grocery shopping, cleaning, and chores done on my off days. Well, that is a lot to do in one day. I had Wednesday off and had decided in my mind I wanted to get all those things done. My day started calmly until around four when I had just finished dinner, our weekly must of pumpkin bread, and a few chores but NONE of the mandatory cleaning (in my head at least). I then looked around the house and realized not only did it need to be cleaned, but I found it repulsive. I felt like it was the most unorganized space ever. I then could barely clean because I went into a state of shock of how unorganized my home was. My thought progressed from "Wow, I need to re-organize our shoes" to "Baby J can't come home to a house like this!!" I went into panic mode.

Adam arrive happily from work to a wife on her knees cleaning out the bottom of the book shelf...you know the way back parts that are never seen. It didn't take him long to notice I was distressed. When he asked me why, my eyes filled with almost tears as I read off a list of things I had just decided our "cluttered" home needed. You see, Baby J would just not be a happy, loved baby unless we had some greenery! Adam was quick to see I was being nonsensical. When he pointed out to me that really greenery was not a "must" right now, the full on tears came streaming in!

Thank goodness I have a loving, PATIENT husband. He didn't make fun of me (although now he would). He just held me in his arms and had me talk to him about the "clutter". I then told him I hated small things. I wanted every "small" thing from our house removed. I decided it was clutter, and it had to be gone. I don't know how Adam kept from full out just laughing at me. We then spent the rest of the evening organizing together. He even organized the bottom shelf of the pantry...every girl knows that is a must before a new baby arrives!

Today is another cleaning day for me but at least I'm not emotional. I just hope this emotional state passes quickly because I'm the first to admit I was crazy the other day! Who would of thought greenery could be a tearful topic!

Thanks Adam for being so patient! I love you!!

Baby J Baby J!

It occurred to me that I have referred to Baby Williams as Baby J in previous blog posts and never explained myself. No "J" is not the name of Baby Williams, but it is his nickname for now. Adam and I finally decided on a name. Picking out a boy's name was much harder than I imagined. I guess growing up with girls something happened to where I only like girl names. It took us quite a bit to come up with a selection of boy names I liked for us to pick from.

That said, it has been picked and is at the tip of my tongue! I want to scream it as loud as i can. Oh wait, maybe I will being that none of you can hear me:). Adam and I have decided to keep Baby J's name under wraps until he is born. Then we will present to you Baby Williams with his name! I am horrible at keeping anything under wraps. I am way too open and loud to keep things to myself so this is difficult for me.

We are revealing that his name starts with a J and ends with an H and is from the Bible. Feel free to make your guesses! We will neither be able to confirm nor deny any of the names, but when Baby J is born and his name revealed, the winner will win the satisfaction of knowing they guessed the right name!

I am getting quite attached to calling this sweet baby "Baby J". I think I'm going to have a problem calling him his real name when he is born. I'm going to have to get over that as we can't someday have an eighteen year old son being called "Baby J" by his momma!

Happy Guessing!