The Big Man

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A trip to the North Pole (a.k.a. the Galleria Mall) allowed the kids chat with the big man about their holiday wishes. Abigail told Santa she would like a 'Hannah Montana Ricco's Surf Shack.' He asked if she would like anything else, she said a B.B. Gun for Caleb. Santa asked Caleb what he would like for Christmas, Caleb explained he didn't have any specific wishes, he was just going along with it for Abigail's sake! The only child that was truly excited about seeing Santa was the one child that wouldn't sit on his lap!

Christmas Party with Our Friends!

Above is a collage of photos from our annual Christmas party. We had a full house, 35+ homeschool friends from curch! Even with the chilly weather, the kids played outside and all over the house. We had crafts and karaoke, but they never got to those because they were having so much fun. One of the favorite activities is the gift exchange. The oldest kids get to select a gift, then the younger children can either steal one of the big kid's gifts or get gift from under the tree! It makes for great fun! The food is always yummy, we have great chefs that cater our party, (a.k.a. each family brings a favorite recipe)!

Christmas Cheer

I haven't posted much this week, I've gotten caught up in all the hustle and bustle that is the season!

Our stockings are hung
by the chimney with care.

So look at the photos,
go ahead and stare!

Jon's stocking is a black leather Harley Davidson boot. My stocking is the witch stocking with ruby slippers. Frankie's stocking is a beautiful Barbie princess. Caleb's stocking is Santa on a Harley Davidson. And Abigail's stocking is Pooh bear!

With my birthday being right after Christmas, this is my favorite time of the year. And I love all things colorful and sparkly. With that said, our house has Christmas in every corner. The posts below are our pretty trees, enjoy!

Family Tree

This is our family tree. It's the tree with all the great homemade ornaments. We also have ornaments from our field trips, everything from Dallas Zoo, Tulsa Aquarium, even a King Tut ornament. Jon and I also have sweet 'our Christmas together' ornaments for the last 18 years. There are photo ornaments of loved ones. This is the tree full of great stories and memories.

Caleb's Star Wars Tree

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This is Caleb's Star Wars Tree. It is decorated with Burger King and McDonald's Star Wars Happy Meal toys. Caleb has also converted some of his favorite action figures into great decorations. The tree is topped with his Yoda stuffed animal dressed in a Santa suit!

The Girl's Barbie Tree

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The girl's have the Barbie tree in their room. It is pink, pink, pink! Complete with purple boas, and pearl strands! The tree is home to 18 years of Frankie's Barbie ornament collection. It is topped with a spinning Barbie carousel. It is such a girly tree. Some of the ornaments include a Barbie townhouse, boots, shoes, so much sweetness!

Wizard of Oz Tree

Every home needs a Wizard of Oz tree! Many of the lights are ruby red slippers! There are talking and singing ornaments. There are nutcracker Wizard of Oz ornaments. Jingle Bell ornaments that look like Dorothy, Tin Man, Lion & Scarecrow. I topped the tree with our version of Glenda's wand. Every one of the trees are my favorite. I love the twinkling lights, and cheer! I realize normal people don't put up four trees, but we're not normal, 'we're the Kirkwoods!'

It is Finished!

The Ziggurat puzzle is finished! Whew! With most of the 1,000 pieces being sand colored, this was by far the most difficult puzzle we have attempted! The kids are wanting to send this one on to Granny, she would have the patience for it!

Happy Birthday, Padme'!

Today is puppy's birthday! Padme' is three years old today. I was going to take a photo of here with the birthday hat that Abigail made for her, but every time I tried to put the hat on her, she would give me kisses. Caleb grabbed the camera and took this photo. She is the snuggliest dog ever. She is Frankie's buddy. Frankie can sit on the floor and love on Padme' for hours!

The Ziggurat Puzzle, . . . still!

We are finally finishing up on our 1,000 piece Pieter Bruegel 1563's famous rendetion of the Tower of Babel. We have done several thousand piece puzzles before, but these pieces are very small! I snapped a few photos today of Caleb using a magnifying glass to check out pieces. Not to be out done, Abigail drug out the microscope! As you can see, all the activity had Padme' really worked up! Our Thanksgiving weekend is winding down, the kids have a goal of completeing the puzzle by tomorrow, we'll see!