It'a been way TOO long and Happy New Year!

       Holy cow!  I can't believe it!  I use to be so good at this and couldn't ever see why many of my friends never updated their blog.  Well, I fear that I may have joined the dark side and let my blog slide just a bit.  I remember the days when I couldn't wait to do something with the kids, my husband, my friends or even just me, taking pictures and blogging about the whole event.  I bragged to others saying, "What a great way to keep your journal current."  Well, dark side... I am going back to the light.  No more.  I really am going to try better and keep up the blog and staying on top of things.  For the most part, I enjoy blogging and I don't know how I got so far behind.  Well, I could tell you what happened through most of 2013.  This could be a novel of some sorts, but not going to happen.  I am starting fresh.  I could tell you about Emilee competing in the Alabama Sports Festival with her killer Taekwondo skills and receiving 2nd place in forms and 3rd place in sparring.  I could tell you all about our trip to Florida and the time we spent at Pensacola Beach.  I could go into telling you about the lighthouse that we climbed the many many steps to get up and learning that it is the most haunted lighthouse in America, the boogie boards we used and the dolphin cruise we took.  I could also tell you all about Hunter and his first year playing soccer and all the fun he had playing defense.  I could also tell you all about Megan and how she has been taking some acting classes, tried out for "The Christmas Carol" and loving her new found talent of singing in the choir.  I could go into Halloween and how Megan was the Queen of Hearts, Emilee was an angel (while one of her best friends was the devil) and Hunter was a Mad Scientist.  I could also go into tell you about our yearly trip to the pumpkin patch and Lyon's farm and how much we still like going there.  I could tell you all about those things, but I think I will just keep you guessing about all that stuff and we will just start with Christmas.  That is always a good place to start.

         Ahh, Christms!  What a season it is.  This is our fifth Christmas here in the Huntsville Alabama area.  I never thought I would live in the South, but I have to say that after six years I have to say that I like it.  We had quite the Christmas this year and as always, I probably went a little overboard.  I can't help it.  I really do try to say that I will be conservative, but I just have so much fun.  Of course, after all was bought and taken care of and we were settling down for the holiday, the Lamps' Christmas traditions could start.  First up:  Making cookies for Santa and  those sneaky Pajama Elves.

     It doesn't matter how old the kids get.  Making cookies for Santa is always something that they look forward to.  Yes, even Megan.  She swears at 13 that she doesn't care, but I think she does.  I think she still likes it all and I hope that even when she is 18 years old that she will still love making cookies for Santa. This is the first time that I haven't frosted any.  I let them do it all themselves.  We usually leave six for Santa (2 each of their most favorite that they decorated) and then the rest are for us.
     And how can we forget about the sneaky pajama elves.  I don't know if they come to your house at all, but every Christmas Eve, pajama elves ring the doorbell and leave brand new pajamas for the kids to wear to bed that night.  They never get caught.  Go figure.  One year though, we will catch them one year.

      Christmas Eve we try to remember our Savior.  Sometimes we have a quick lesson about our Savior and sometimes (like this year) we have something just a bit longer.  This year is was the Christmas devotional that is given by the church.  We didn't get a chance to see it this year, but Jeremy had recorded it so we watched it on Christmas Eve.  We read the Night Before Christmas, open one present and soon after that, the kids were up in their beds with thoughts and dreams of sugar plums dancing in their heads.

     Hunter started our Christmas morning off.  He was excited to get Swap Force which is a crazy game on the Xbox.  That was by far his favorite, but he also got magic tricks, a pogo stick, and a Sega handheld game of some sort.  Of course that's not all, but those were the favorites.

      Emilee is our piano player and what do you give a piano player?  Well, a keyboard, why not?  She plays it all the time.  Emilee mostly wanted clothes and let me tell you, she got a ton.  That is my fashion deva for ya.  She also was the one who found the pickle on the tree that Santa hid.  That means she got to open the pickle present.  She was very happy about that.  I believe she has only found it once before.  (In our family, we leave a pickle ornament out for Santa to hide and the one who finds it, gets to open the pickle present.  It is usually for everyone, but the one who finds it, gets the pride and opens the present.)

     That leaves Megan.  She got one of the coolest things this year.  She got an electric guitar with amplifier and a program to help her learn.  Why not just get her a teacher?  I suppose money and time.  Not enough money and running out of time.  Though, Megan has had 4-5 years of piano, I believe if anybody can teach herself, it would be Megan.  She has a knack for musical notes.  She just has to put in the time and discipline to do it.  I think she likes it though, it is just a matter of sitting down and doing it.

      That pretty much is Christmas in a nutshell.  Jeremy got a fire pit for the back deck, Bunny got a huge mirror for her bedroom and me.....I got the best toy of all, a brand new Cameo Silhouette.  If only I knew how to use it.
       Now here we are....2014.  I am full of resolutions and promises that this is going to be the best year yet.  Come back often and find out.  Happy New Year, Everyone!!