Last night was filled with singing, eating, dancing, and just plain wonderful fun as we gathered for our Staff Christmas party!!

This year one of our awesome volunteers opened her home to us and invited us to celebrate our party at her beautiful home. I was in awe of the place as I walked in. Have you seen the movie Father of the Bride? It’s one of my favorites. Well that line that Steve Martin says that goes something like “we can fit our entire home in their foyer” came to mind. It was stunning.

I felt so happy and blessed the entire time I was there. Like a little kid at his own birthday party. I know some people may think it sounds cheesy but I just can’t believe how lucky I am to not only be a part of my work team but to be able to mix that in with being a mom and a wife. I realize that so many people may not feel this blessed because they may not like their job, or who they work with, or a billion other little things that just take away the joy and make their work life mundane. And that’s why I feel so thankful because I do get to feel such joy.

I love to sing and dance along to karaoke as much as anyone else and last night I got so much happiness from just hearing the gals I work with and our one guy colleague belting out their tunes and shaking their booty to the rhythm of the music. Sometimes, like last night, I just get so much joy just sitting comfortably on the couch watching from the sidelines and belting out the lyrics from there. I absolutely love seeing other people happy and enjoying themselves. It’s like fuel to my soul. It makes me that happy.

One of our sweet colleagues that wasn’t able to make it felt bad because she was part of the secret Santa exchange and wouldn’t be there to hand out her gift to the person. So I told her I would cut out a picture of her so that she could still be “present” and I would present her gift for her. She was like “go for it!” Oh what a blast that turned out to be!!

So I zoomed in on a picture we had on file of my colleague and then cut it out and taped her photo to a ruler and when it came time for her gift to be handed out and I pulled out her cut out, everyone cheered and laughed. Her cut out quickly became the life of the party last night, getting passed around and included in every photo! The best part was when I sent photos to said colleague she told us how much we made her laugh.

It was such a wonderful night of fun and appreciation for the relationships I’ve gotten to form at work and the realization that I get to enjoy each and everyone of these people when I’m away from home from my dearest loved ones.

Here’s a few pics from our party. That’s me third from the left in the first picture.

Even Santa Claus made an appearance!

One of the treats my boss made!