Our Weekend of Holiday Revelry

We partied 'til the cows came home this weekend! Our Christmas season kicked off with 2 parties, one at a country club and another at our house.

The Husband and I got all dressed up for the par-tay at the country club on Friday night. A lady that works in my office invited us and it was simply mah-vel-ous, dahling. Quite. Her and her husband are very sweet and they had about 100 people for this beautiful event that felt like an upscale wedding reception. We sat with boss friends, J and J and their wives, along with another couple we met who I'll fondly refer to as Thurston and Mrs. Howell III. Sitting with the Howells was like hanging out with a live Google keyword search. For example:

Mrs. Howell: Who does The Husband work for?
The Husband: Coca-cola. I ...... (keyword: Coca-Cola)
Mrs. Howell: Oh! We were in Atlanta and toured the plant the day before it closed.
The Husband: I'll bet it tastes better directly at the plant.
Mrs. Howell: Oh yes, it is much better.
Me: That is like the perk of living near the Hershey Chocolate Factory..... (keyword: Hershey)
Mrs. Howell: Oh, when Mr. Howell did business with Hershey they gave him this giant 1 pound bar of chocolate with his name on it to say thank you. And, then when they asked him back he said only if they gave him 3 of those 1 pound chocolate bars for each of our grandchildren.
Mr. Howell: Yes, I saw the Hershey Outlets seem to be doing better the last time I was in town.
Me: I think Starbucks has really helped them because..... (keyword: Starbucks)
Mr. Howell: Oh, do you know that when Starbucks was just starting up I had a shot at buying a large amount of their stock and I passed it up thinking no one would pay that much for a cup of coffee.

And, on and on this went. It was really comical. All we had to do was mention a topic and he either did business with the company, almost did business with them or knew someone that did business with them. After they said they take their kids and grandkids to Mexico every Christmas and watch the sunrise on their private beach I could hardly keep a straight face. I was thinking, do you have any idea that I have Dollar Store snowman socks on under my Payless black boots?

But, anyhoo....we had a few chuckles over The Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, secretly hoping that we can take our kids to a private beach in Mexico with their families one day.

Saturday night we hosted out Youth Staff Christmas Party and there was a ton of food and a lot of laughter. These are some amazing people. I was a little worried (I mean intimidated) to get involved with the youth group earlier this year because I hardly knew anyone on the team and teenagers terrified me. Since then, I have gotten to spend time with these people and they are kind, loving and on fire for the Lord. They have made me and The Husband feel so valued and accepted into their family. And, the teenagers no longer terrify me, they are such a blessing! Here are some picture highlights from the evening.

We had a lifeguard on duty so no one drowned.

Look it's Beautiful Grace and isn't she beautiful?

Can you feel the love? There wasn't even any mistletoe!