Music...

programs for kids are always so much fun...and Peyton's 1st grade music program was no exception.

For weeks he kept asking me to "send in a note" saying he could be in the program (for the record, it wasn't as if I was going to say "no," I just kept waiting to get something about it in his homework folder -- never did...poor communication on their part), so wouldn't you know it, on the night of the program as we were getting him ready he just kept saying he didn't want to do it...go figure! (I think it had something to do with the fact that his friend Cannon decided not to be in the program).

Anyway, after some bribing (and threatening), we finally got him in his "good" clothes, of which he said "but Mommy, you said we only had to dress up one time this year...and we did...at the wedding!" Oh good gracious...why must my words of bribery come back to haunt me (It must be noted that his "good" clothes are pretty much identical to his uniform, it's just that I refuse to let him wear his "polo" pants to school -- $45 pants compared to $12 pants from Children's place -- easy decision!)

And we arrived at school...this is him right before the program began:


Entertaining little brother is always fun...thank goodness for the games on the phone!



This is us entertaining ourselves while waiting for the program to begin...our self-portrait!

It was really a cute program...they sang Christmas songs and of course, it is always fun watching Peyton try to find us in the crowd and then continue to make eye contact with us. We wouldn't want him to be too thrilled about being up there -- you can see from the videos below that he was just SO EXCITED to be there.

For 2010, we ARE going to be find a church and my children will be in a CHRISTMAS play....now, whether or not they are chosen to be angels remains a question...I'm thinking the mule might suit them just fine:)

It was a cute night. Not soon to be forgotten. So proud of my favorite firstborn!

Beautifully Blessed and Truly Thankful to be able to have a little boy up their singing,
Chasity

PS...All I can say is Palmer is a handful!

Where...

is the time going?!

I can't believe it almost Christmas...yikes!

It's Monday and my Mom arrives on Saturday. I've got a lot to do. A house to clean, laundry to do, presents to wrap, and oh, I need to call Santa to make sure he's still coming. Wow, lots to do and so little time to do it...

Did I mention that I have an incredibly busy week at work...insanely busy!

There's a saying that I hate to hear, but must admit, wish I could say it and mean it "I'll sleep when I die." I hate that saying, but wish I had the energy to say it and mean it...

For this week, I think I might have to say, "I'll sleep when I die."

Beautifully Blessed and Truly Thankful for sleep when I get it,
Chasity

PS...Mom arrives in just 5 days...YAY...

Stamina...

I have no more shopping stamina...

Where did it all go? I used to be able to shop all day and still keep going. What happened?!

Today was my marathon shopping day for Christmas. Even after my work Christmas party the night before, I still managed to get up at 7 a.m. and go shopping. I hit Walmart first and somehow managed to buy everything I needed for the boys in one location! Except for two things, I somehow managed to buy all their Santa gifts in one location! Rock On...

I typically hate Walmart, but today it came as a blessing!

Of course, I still managed to visit another 10 stores and even managed to walk out of the mall without anything...I know...how is that possible?! Of course, when I told Brent, he said "Isn't that what your supposed to do?" Clearly, he doesn't get it. Not many times have I ever walked out of the mall without anything! It used to be that I could go to the mall and just leisurely window-shop. Not anymore. Now with children, when I go to the mall, I'm on a mission to get something. I don't have time to leisurely window shop anymore.

Well, at least the boys are taken care of...now, what do I get Brent? More difficult to figure out!

By 5 p.m. I was wiped out. No more energy. Had to go home. Somehow managed to only be able to sit on the couch and I believe I was in bed at 7 p.m. Brent put the boys to bed. I ask again...what happened to my shopping stamina?

Beautifully Blessed and Truly Thankful to be able to give my children the things they want!
Chasity

PS...I figured out what happened to my shopping stamina...it's called "Peyton and Palmer."

4th Place...

I'll take it...

4th place in what?! Employee of the Year for 2009! Yep, 4th place. It's awesome. I'm so excited.

I know it sounds cheesy to be so excited about something so silly. But, at my company being Employee of the Year is HUGE...Huge to the tune of $1k and the respect of your peers and leadership.

You see, Employee of the Year is voted on by both peers and leadership. So being voted 4th out of 70 employees and after only a 1 1/2 is pretty dad gum cool -- or at least I think so.

Additional note. At our annual reviews, we are required to put down "measurable" goals for the next year. That's kind of hard to do -- how do you measure how good of a job you are doing? One of the goals I put down was to eventually be "Employee of the Year." One of my "big, huge future" goals. I never expected to be in the Top5 in the first year, much less #1...that is why I am so excited. I can't wait to go into my annual review this year...knowing I got really close to one of my "big, huge future" goals.

In addition, it's also very humbling knowing that my peers thought so highly of me. Kind of awesome. Ok, really awesome!

It was a great Christmas party. We had a blast. We didn't win a door prize, but I did get a $100 gift card for my 4th place finish and a bonus check that is always higher than I expect.

What a great night...I'll take it!

(Brent and I having a great time...he was so proud of me!)

(This is April..my partner-in-crime, office mate, confidant --- love this woman!)

(Us Brand Managers...everyone thinks we have a "glamorous job" and most days it is cool, but we also get all the crap and none of the glory...it's quiet amazing how it all works out!)

Like I said in yesterday's post...going to a work Christmas party where you love to work is so much fun!

Beautifully Blessed and Truly Thankful for such a great place to work. If I have to work, this is an awesome place to do it,

Chasity

PS...Brent was really proud...that made me proud!

Party time...

Work Christmas parties are so much better when you like the company you work for....this is my old age wisdom!

I've had many years of attending Christmas parties of places I absolutely hated working. Places where going to the Christmas party was not only tortore, but a must...you were "invited," but technically you didn't have an option of not going. Ugh...

I love where I work. I love the people. I love the management. I pretty much love everything about cj! That's why going to the Christmas party is actually a treat:)

I'm so excited about our party. They give out door prizes and I'm not talking stupid door prizes, I'm talking Blue Ray DVD players, Boze Sounds Systems, Digital Cameras, iPods -- 15 in all. They give away our annual yearly bonus. They give away Employee of the Year Awards. It's truly a great time.

I've found my Christmas party outfit...ready for the party. Bring it on...

Beautifully Blessed and Truly Thankful to love where I work,
Chasity

PS...the boys actually had a Christmas party to go to as well -- Santa and all:)

Life...

is crazy!

I'm way behind on updating my blog. I got stuck on the wedding and life seems to be speeding by since then.

Thanksgiving has come and gone and now Christmas is in just 18 days...yikes. I think I need to get busy buying presents and maybe, I'll finish decorating in this lifetime.

Stay tuned. I'm working on updating the blog! I'm gonna go backwards in time and try to keep it up-to-date all at the same time. Wish me luck!

Beautifully Blessed and Truly Thankful,
Chasity

PS...This is my sign-off:) I came up with this for our Thanksgiving cards and well, I think I might keep it!!!

Merry Chaosmas...

What's that?! The chaotic month of December...

Shopping...what's that? Decorating...who need's trees anyway?!

The way I'm going...we're the Scrooges on the block -- no decorations (I just got up the Thanksgiving stuff for goodness sake) and shopping...the way I'm going, Santa won't be bringing any presents to our house. Santa's little elf had better get busy!

The first week of December has been CRAZY. With two clients in town at the same time, I am exhausted from working very long days, entertaining at dinners, catering to every whim of my clients...not complaining, just venting!

Magic, the Elf on the Shelf, arrived the day after Thanksgiving, so the boys have officially made out their Christmas lists...Santa decided that the boys could choose 3 toys each to get for Christmas. Peyton keeps asking why only 3...every year I go way overboard, so 3's the limit for him and me!

Peyton:
Nintendo DSi/Charger
Super Mario Kart for Wii
Star Wars Legos

Palmer:
TV (free thanks to Brent's points from work)
Easy Bake Over -- yes, you read it right
Digital Camera (the preschool kind)

Of course, these don't include the one from us and the one the boys give each other.

Maybe, just maybe, I'll go shopping soon. First, I need to get the house decorated...ugh!

Trying so hard to find the Christmas spirit, but it seems to be eluding me this Christmas...maybe it's because I have so much to do and no time to do it!

Beautifully Blessed and Truly Thankful to have no worries this Christmas,
Chasity

PS...we are truly blessed to both be employed this Christmas, as so many people (including people we know) are out of work.