A Scrap of Life

The Christmas fun is over. The children are nestled all snug in their beds, exhausted from their busy day. I've cleaned up most of the clutter and hauled 10 loads of recycling to the curb. Now I'm looking to head to bed myself to make up for the whole 2 hours of sleep I got last night, but I wanted to post a little about our day. Chase was the first up. I told them that they could come to our room no earlier than 6am, so at 6:01am Chase was waking me up. He told me that he has been up since 4am and tried going back to sleep but couldn't. Too excited -- I remember those years from my childhood. Tristan was up quickly after Chase and Brian returned home from work at 6:10am. We had to wake Carissa up at 6:15 because the boys were just so excited. The kids got their gifts from Santa, MP3's and I-pets to go along with them. They had stockings filled with little toys and candies too. Then we started on the presents from Brian & I in the torturous way we do them...

All us little elves want to wish our friends and family a happy holiday season. For those nearby- we can't wait to see you. For those far away- we miss you, we love you and are we're thinking of you this holiday season. Lots of love, The Pixley's

Preparations for Christmas are complete. The presents are under the tree, the house is clean, the Santa sign is put up in the yard. Tonight we'll make cookies for Santa and I'll make the banana cream pies for tomorrow, but all the required preparations for Christmas are complete. The most exciting part: Yes, those are 3 handmade, cross-stitch Christmas stockings. I FINALLY FINISHED CARISSA'S!!!! It was a stretch, let me tell you. Finished stitching it yesterday, washed it and laid it to dry. This morning I fused and sewed and now it's happily hanging on the wall along with her brothers stockings. I'm SO glad that project is finished. Now Christmas preparations truly are complete.

I have been obsessed with scrapbooking since Becky introduced me to it in 2002. As soon as I picked up scrapbook supplies I let all other crafts and hobbies go. But this year I am determined to return to my roots and finish my cross-stitch. You see, this cross-stitch is special. It's the final piece in a very special 3-piece collection. It's Carissa's Christmas stocking. I started this before she was born over 6 years ago and figured it would take me a year or two to finish it. I had done it with the boys stockings, working on them in my spare time. Yet since 2002 all my spare time has gone to scrapbooking and the stocking continues to go unfinished. Each year when Christmas rolls around Brian's Dad gives me a hard time about his poor Carissa who has to have a DOG stocking instead of a beautiful handmade one like her brothers. And each year I make a minor token effort to work on it for about a week or two. But it never gets finished. As a matter of fact, this is what my...

It's been cold here and looks to be cold for the next few days. Nothing like a nice winters chill to get me in the holiday spirit. Now, if it would just snow ... Maybe one of these years I'll have a white Christmas.

I'd like to introduce you to the newest member of our family - Mia. I have been resisting Brian's suggestion of a playmate for Tucker -- I just wasn't convinced that I wanted another dog. But then I got a call from Becky about this sweet 10 month old chocolate lab who needed a home. Her current owners realized that they didn't have the time or space to devote to a large dog and were looking to place her with a loving family. After a quick discussion with Brian (why I even had to discuss it with him I don't know, as he immediately said yes) we met her and brought her into our home where she's been happily residing ever since. Tucker is in turns thrilled and annoyed by her. He's the ripe old age of 3 now and doesn't have the same energetic view as Mia. But he does enjoy playing with her often and is not afraid to growl at her to let her know when he's had enough. Mia does have some adorable little quirks. The first thing she did when we brought her hom...

Brian has left for his first night on the road. All last week was spent in training so tonight is his first real night on patrol. I must say that this milestone has left me with a variety of feelings. True, I'm extremely proud of him and I'm happy that he's been able to fulfill his dream of being a police officer. And, of course, I love seeing him all spiffed up and handsome in his new uniform. But underneath that uniform is a bullet-proof vest, reminding me of the other side of the coin -- this job is riskier than the one he held before. He could get hurt, he could be killed. I'm not overwhelmed by these fears, but they are there in the back of my mind. So I'm doing my part to think good thoughts and hope that he comes home safe to us at the end of each day.