Twelve days of Christmas

If you were hanging around our place this past month you would have had an abundance of Christmas spirit to partake of. Here's a few highlights:

Tiger loves the nutcracker, so we painted a nutcracker on the front window for him to see when he got home from school. He Loved it, the only backfire was when he loved it so much he tried to break my window so he could have it with him always... "I will take it now", he says very determined. We took a picture, he carries that around and saved my window. Puppy and Monkey wanted all of the windows done so we complied and spent three hours dressing our home. Puppy had so much fun she decided that she and monkey should continue the fun; the rug doctor saved both of their lives and my bedroom floor.

Gingerbread houses aren't really our thing so together we made a gingerbread out-house complete with an open door and marshmallow toilet paper all over the floor- it should after all be true to reality. To prove we do have a cute side we also made a gingerbread zoo train- 2 words- glue gun. Once covered in icing and candies they turned out so cute I was almost had a tiny bit of guilt to have to hide it from the kids; so after I got over being selfish, I displayed it for all to see- the dog ate it that night.

Presents were wrapped, re wrapped and then wrapped again Christmas Eve.

Hot Chocolate was served daily, it wasn't drank by most but I loved it (and Rhino insists it's part of the holiday)

The tree managed to keep all of it's lights on, the stockings didn't stand a chance and we only lost five decorations to the holiday loving carnivores. May our bells forever ring... wherever they are.

Rhino asked for 3 things: a stick, a toy panda and a triceratops. Santa managed to find a five foot walking stick with an alligator design and alligator head for the handle. SCORE. Santa hired great grandpa as an elf this year (yes, it's OK to hire holiday help. The weekend before Christmas we go the call and loaded up the truck and trailer. The 10 ft x 4ft dinosaur was loaded up, covered up and driven 4 hours in fog and ice to get it home. Christmas eve left four grown adults slipping in the mud trying to move it to the appropriate place in the backyard. Finally Santa ditched the slay and hooked up the beast (Rudolph's got nothing on the Chevy), moved a few things around and we elves used muscled we never knew we owned. The next morning brought one happy little boy... the toy panda? well, you can't have everything.

Tiger wanted legos. Tiger got legos- about 1500 of them and if you'd like to see what that number looks like it is currently on display in the upstairs loft. The best gift Tiger gave was his constant singing of Polar Express songs and I (don't) want a Hippopotamus for Christmas... even if it was in the middle of church; I loved hearing his sweet voice.

Puppy got puppies. 8 of them. She wanted a few barbies because some neighbors have them so she was (for once) treated like a little girl) but it didn't take long before the barbies were beheaded... luckily she was more interested in the puppies. She spends everyday renaming them and making sure we all know they take priority in her secure life.

Monkey was amazed. At first she was just happy to get a jingle bell and then Tiger showed her the more interesting side of Christmas. She quickly learned that underneath each piece of paper rested a very nice gift. Like Tiger, she didn't care whose name was on it- she loved it as her own just the same. By the end of the present supply we had to restrain her in Dad's arms because she would launch in every direction a gift was being passed reeking havoc on the person it was really intended for. A stocking full of chocolate finally encouraged her to put her fangs away and be happy for what she herself got.

We started a new tradition this year. Not the one where Mr. Zookeeper gets sick leaving me alone with 4 crazies at a Christmas party or the one where he falls asleep at 8:00 on Christmas Eve. Instead the intentional one was that we'd open presents after breakfast. My kiddos require every meal. It doesn't matter if breakfast is served at 11:45, lunch is demanded. While not well received at first, I stood my ground and set my alarm clock (to try and make it a little less painful, for me, I figured I'd get a head start. The Christmas Eve fog lingered and daylight spared us a few hours so it worked out better than I had dared to hope. It was so refreshing to get to enjoy the presents and time spent unwrapping (because now it was actually allowed)and to not have to rush off to feed the hungry animals. Ahh, a plan that actually worked.

The season was here and we loved every minute of it! The real reason for the season is always with us, my children, while nuts and crazy most of the time carry the spirit of Christ everywhere they go so this time of year just enhances the blessings we have. I love my family with all of my heart and it was very full every time I got to see their faces light up.

To close out the year I'd like to share our Christmas card that went out; our version of the twelve days of Christmas:

Twelve months of "is it Christmas yet?"
Eleven months of "no- not yet"
Ten years of marriage
Nine times five pounds of flour
Ate lots of hashbrowns
Seven meals to cook each day
Six (almost) calls to 9-1-1
"mom, Tiger's doing it again"
Four amazing kids
Three (please don't ask)
Two very happy parents
And a Merry Christmas from our family Zoo!