The Office Christmas Party

One of my favorite activities in December is going to our office Christmas party.  I love picking out just the right gifts for my boss, his wife, and my co-workers...and I really love wrapping the gifts up in pretty paper, ribbons and bows!  

Here's my "gifts to give" piled up near my front door...ready to be loaded into my car.

For the past several years we've had our dinners at the home of my boss, Geoff, and his wife, Peggy.  It's such a pretty home...a little bit of snow, and you'd have the perfect Christmas card!

Dinner was served in this cozy dining room....grilled pork loin and homemade mac & cheese among other things.  So yummy!

Geoff's son made each of us these wonderful snowmen!

And Peggy made us these amazing coconut cake, 
and a delicious apple pie (it's hidden under the foil)!
Notice the red and white checks in the background?

Here's a better look!
Love this cozy corner!!

A toasty fire waited for us.  More of Greg's handiwork is in here. The mantle, and the birds and ship on it, and that beautiful coffee table!  The photo doesn't do it justice.  It's made out of two planks of wood and a set of old sewing machine legs.  

It's perfect in this room!

The tree is so pretty...I love seeing ornaments I've given them hanging on the branches.  
I also like to get ideas from other ornaments hanging there.

Like this angel...I love her wings. 

A doily folded in half. So sweet!

I gave Peggy this little felted sheep several years ago.

Another friend gave her this pig...I LOVE this pig! 

Every pig needs a polka dot sweater!

Speaking of sweaters.....how cute is this one!  Peggy found several of these at a little coffee shop.  

I can see bits of three other ornaments I've given her in this photo.  A silver vase, a paper mache star with baby Jesus on it, and a creamy, white mitten.

And here's the most important part of the evening...the people.

This is the current office staff.

Geoff, Jennifer, Regina, Mike, and me.

Definitely a fun group of people!!

First of all...this is black and white because I couldn't get the color edited correctly.  

Secondly, this is the office staff as we began the year.  

Four of us.  The same four that have been together for seven years.  Joan retired the end of June.  We were happy to have her back with us for our Christmas party!

I'm so blessed to work with such nice people!!

Here's a peek at last year's party.
And here's a photo of Peggy and Greg....a little grainy, but special just the same!

It was a wonderful office party!

Speaking of parties...there's another reason to celebrate today.
It's my daughter-in-law Johanna's birthday!!
Happy birthday to you!!
Hope you have a wonderful day!!

My Work is Done!

It wouldn't be Christmas if Hank didn't join in the fun!

I think he looks great this year!!

Shiny garland wrapped antlers are his look, don't ya think!?

Yep...Hank decorating was a success this year!

Even my boss said that Hank looks good!

Fabulous I say!!

Squirrel & Turtle

It was kind of a slow day at work today....so I amused 

myself playing with my desk decor!

Gotta Love the Olympics

That's an understatement with some of my family.

Bill, Katie, and Mandy LOVE the Olympics!  They plan their lives around them.

They pretty much watch everything (Curling is one of their favorite events). 

Some of them take vacation days so they don't miss a minute!

 

 

 My mom is visiting this week. She likes the Olympics too...I'm just not sure

she's prepared for the intensity of the liking around this place! 

Or around Katie's and Mandy's workplace for that matter!!

There was a little bit of Olympic spirit going on at

their office last Friday!!

Office Party

I have been blessed to work for a very kind and godly man for the past (almost) ten years. 

Besides being my boss, Geoff is also an elder at my church, and a very dear friend.  One of the perks of working for him has been visiting his home for lunches and dinners.  Wednesday evening we had our annual office get together....and lucky us, the get together was, once again, held at his home.   One of the very best parts about visiting his home is visiting her home!  This is his wife Peggy.  She is one of the kindest, sweetest, most gracious women I know...and she definitely knows how to make a house a home!

 

I can't believe that I forgot to take a photo of the front of their beautiful home. It's nestled in a wooded area, and looks like a house that should be on a Christmas card...just look how welcoming this front porch is!

Speaking of porches, this is the screened in porch. It's not heated, but I think it's warm and cozy!  The fresh snow on the ground just added to the view!!

  

Forgive the lighting in some of the photos...but really, this space looks wonderful no matter

how the lighting is!

 

 

Greg, Peggy's son, has been making some awesome wood crafts this year (I have a few of them in my home).  One of his newest creations is this really fun snowman!!  Peggy dressed him up with beads from an old necklace, and a hat made out of a glove.  He also created the little wooden tree.  My daughter Mandy made the "Be Merry" sign...Peggy bought it at my recent craft show.

 

A pretty table setting.....LOVED the beautiful runner!

Loved this piece of pumpkin pie too!

Greg made little trees for each of the guests this year...this is the one I got to take home. 
So sweet!

 

Peggy displays her Christmas carolers each year.  Did you catch a tiny glimpse of them in the photo of the front porch?

 

Candle light and cookies...the plate of cookies was a gift to Geoff from Mandy.
She cleans our office each week.



 This was my view during the gift exchange portion of our evening.  The tray was my gift to Peggy last Christmas, and the little silver cup was her cup when she was a child.

Now how did he get in here!!  Oh, that's right....technically it's HIS party!  Geoff and I have a love/hate relationship when it comes to squirrels.  Guess who hates them?  Joan gave him a gift certificate for Bass Pro, along with this example of wall art that he might be interested in purchasing.  So sad......

Peggy is one of my favorite people to buy gifts for...if I like it, chances are very
good that she'll like it too!  

I love this vignette...that tree is another one of Greg's creations.

This year, Peggy added the Shepherd with Bagpipes to her Willow Tree nativity.  She told us a story about a 'crippled shepherd" ~ but perhaps that's for another blog post!

 

Isn't this a cozy corner?!  See that sketch hanging on the wall?  That's a drawing of their home...it was done by a family friend.
So I guess you do get a peek at their home nestled in the woods after all. 



 

Everything about their home is warm and welcoming...it's one of my most favorite places to visit.  Of course it helps that two of my most favorite people live in it!!

 

Here we are...Joan, Geoff, Regina, and me.  And we're still smiling after all these years!  Joan and Regina go to my church as well.  Not only do we all work together, we also share a love for Jesus Christ. We get together to celebrate another year of business, and friendship, but most of all we get together to celebrate the birth of our Savior and King.  That's why we're smiling....because we know just how blessed we are!!

Speaking of blessed...here's a peek at some of the gifts I received.  Geoff gave each of us a Visa gift card too...woo hoo...shopping here I come!!  The gifts are very special, but it's the people that made the evening pretty perfect!!

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

 



Monday

I haven't taken time to decorate for Fall in my house this year. I probably won't at this point.
It's almost time to get the Christmas stuff out!

I did decorate at the office a tiny bit.  Here's a peek!

An acorn picnic on my desk.

My newest squirrel ...he's a cutie, don't ya think?

A 'thankful' teddy and a fall bouquet!

Here's Hank - My boss loves when we mess
with the deer head. No, not really!

It's almost nice to come to work on a Monday around here....almost!



New Garden Pretties!

I received a couple new garden decorations for my birthday from a couple of my friends (and co-workers) this year.  I don't know what I like more ~ the flowers, bushes & veggies or the bright garden decorations!



I love red and I love fat birds ~ this little cutie is a perfect combination of the two. Joan gifted me with this fun piece of yard art!

This great sign was a gift from Regina. I love the pop of yellow and the "blue faucet handle flower center" makes me smile!

~~:::~~

Isn't it nice to have friends who brighten up my time at the office and brighten up my garden too!

My Office & Matchbox #13

My co-workers and I are blessed to have a boss who likes Christmas.  He loves what we do to the office each year!  We put up a tree and a snowman, play Christmas music and decorate our own spaces.  It's a small office but we try to make it very festive.  Here's a peek at some of our decorations.

 

The snowman light, bears and squirrel are all part of my desk decorations.  I think squirrels are so cute. I love to watch them and I love to discuss the "sweetness that is a squirrel" with my boss.  He's not very fond of squirrels...so you can imagine how those conversations might be.  I decided that he needed a squirrel of his very own...so he could really see just how cute they are.  So for one of his Christmas gifts I asked Michelle Palmer to draw a squirrel for him.  Here's what she came up with!

I framed her drawing and added a little definition inside the frame.  I asked her to personalize it and she put his name on a little tag.  I just love it!  I think he liked it too!  Michelle has an Etsy shop where you can find many more of her wonderful drawings.

I must admit that Geoff doesn't love EVERYTHING we do to the office.  I'm sure he wishes we'd leave "Hank" the deer alone.

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Matchbox #13

Matchbox #13 comes from Sherry of If I Could Set My Soul Free.  Itr's so festive and bright.  I love the paper Sherry used to cover and line the box and I really love the tiny tree garland she tucked inside.  It will be perfect to wrap around a tiny tree that I have! Thank you Sherry ~ this one is so cute!