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.

No, I couldn't get a tree to you in Italy. I would if I could, really I would. But it's just not possible. Now, the kids thought it would be great to send you a branch that we cut off the bottom of our tree, so you'd have your own Charlie Brown tree, but I wasn't sure they'd let plant-life through customs. So here's what you get ... pictures. We went to Marquart tree farm to get our tree, the same place we've gone every year since we moved to Scappoose. We searched and searched for a nice Noble fir but they were all too puny for our tastes, so we headed to the Grand firs and found this beauty. We wavered back and forth on this tree because it wasn't quite *perfect*. The "fat little fir" we called it, as it was fatter on one side than the other. But it was nice and full and we came to love the fact that it was not quite perfect. Brian hauled the tree out with some help from Chase, a little bit of help from Tristan and pretty much no help from C...

It snowed on Monday. It was snowing big flakes, but didn't stick. Nonetheless, the kids were thrilled to see it snowing. It got me thinking about the one bout of snow we got last year and the layout I recently did of Chase in last years snow. Here it is: Now, it's supposed to be freezing rain tonight. Not quite the same excitement in that, however. But we might luck out with a late start at school if it gets bad enough. Besides the weather, not much is happening. Brian is enjoying the training he's getting this week at his new job, but he's excited for next week when he gets to hit the road with his FTO. I'v been busy with all my things and just haven't had time to do much of anything, even scrapbooking. But since the new month starts tomorrow, I'll share with you the layouts I did (using old 2005 pictures) with the kits that will go on sale December 1st at www.scrapaddict.com . The Christmas one is "Cloudy with a Chance of Flurries" and the Hallow...

It was *THE DAY* - Brian's swearing in. He has been so on edge the last few days as the reality of ending his job and starting a new one really hit him. But today was nothing short of wonderful. Mom, Dad, my Mom, her husband Jim, my friend Tammy, me and the kids all went to the swearing in ceremony in support of Brian. It was a short ceremony, just a few short words to swear in Brian and the other new Officer, Sean. I was called up to pin Brian's badge on his shirt and (thankfully) succeeded in neither sticking him with the pin (no small feat, I assure you as those pins are HUGE and dull and getting them through the shirt was difficult) or dropping the badge (as the other wife did ... oops!). We stayed for a while and schmoozed , watched Brian sign his swearing in documents and then let him go start his new career. Words can't even describe how proud of him I am. And how happy and proud he is of himself. We couldn't have done it without the support of all of those in o...

For three days I've been holding the secret. For three days I've known that the people at his work were organizing a surprise going away party for Brian. And for three days it's all I think about when I look at him. Yes, part of it is the secret. Brian and I just don't keep secrets, even good ones. We share everything and have troubles even saving gifts for one another. So for me to hold onto this for three days was agony for me. The other part of it is the reality of it all. It hit me today while Brian and I were hanging out on the couch together - this is it. Tomorrow he's no longer a Deputy Sheriff. Monday he starts a new chapter of life. Something that we've hoped and worked towards for the last year is finally happening and it seems surreal. It's just such a huge change and it's almost unbelievable that it's finally happening. The party itself went great. The kids were supposed to pop out of the closet and say "surprise" but they just ...

I am a sucker for a bargain. I love shopping sales and clearance, using coupons and feeling like I got the best deal possible on what I was buying. And I love the excitement of it all too, going into a store knowing that there are great deals and hoping I'm in time to get them. So Black Friday sales are right up my alley. I'm at an advantage here because we're such a small community and have only one store to shop at. Cooincidentally that one store is the one I love to shop year after year, not only for their great deals but also because it's not flooded with shoppers. This year was no exception. I got up bright and early at 4:50 so that I could be there when the store opened at 5:00. Zipped in and got a gift for Brian's mom at 1/2 price, some of the buy-1-get-1-free board games for Chase and his cousin Aaron, 40% off on a gift for my niece Ashley, $$ off on a gift for my nephew Josh, some decorative light-up snowflakes for the house at 50% off, 50% off flan...

This necklace wasn't always a necklace. It started out as a pair of earrings. Beautiful cultured pearl earrings purchased in China in 1959 by my Grandpa Imlah. He brought them home to Grandma who loved them and wore them. Years later she lost one of the earrings shopping in a department store in Salem. She had the remaining earring turned into this necklace. A simple pearl necklace, beautiful and elegant. And today she passed that necklace on to me. But more importantly she passed the story on to me, a story that means more than any piece of jewelry. A story of the journey of this pearl, of the love that caused it to be given to her, of the memories it carries. A story that one day I will add on to, with my own story of wearing this necklace at a memorable moment. And one day this necklace, and the stories attached to it, will be passed on to one of my children. Hopefully they will appreciate this gift as much as I do.

Gobble, Gobble Hope you don't wobble Cause all the food that you ate Now that it's done We start all the fun Of walking that turkey away Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

As a Cub Scout activity one of our leaders organized a tour of a local design studio. I've lived in Scappoose for 4 years and didn't know anything about this studio. I'd never heard of it, barely even knew where the building was. But as soon as I arrived there I knew I'd been missing out. The first thing I see when I walk into Michael Curry Designs was this: I looked at it and said "Wow", and then I realized that it was Scar from the Lion King. I did a double take after that because I saw this: Do you see it too? Do you see that thing under Scar's head? It's an EMMY! I began the tour a little star struck by being in the midst of such greatness, but soon that turned into utter awe as I saw item after item. It was then that they started explaining to us what they do. The make puppets - this I knew - but when you say puppets I expect little sock looking things that go on your hands. No way, this place makes PUPPETS. As in, all the puppets and characters f...

So, thanksgiving is coming. It's just 2 days away, yet I'm finding it hard to get in the spirit. It could be that Brian is working 12 hours and it's just not the same without him. It could be that celebrating thanksgiving on the Sunday after it just doesn't seem as festive. It could be the worry about money and healthcare and all of those things that are unknown with a new job. It could be the busy days that keep me from having time to think and plan. But whatever the reason, thanksgiving is almost here and I'm having a hard time finding the excitement for it. Despite all this, however, I am thankful for many things. I'm thankful for my family. We are happy, we are healthy, we love and support one another. They are the cornerstone of my life and I am thankful every day for them. I'm thankful for Brian's new job. Yes, despite the money issues and the unknown about benefits, new coworkers, etc., I'm so thankful that he got this job. He has su...

What's as close to Disneyland as we're going to get for now? Disney on Ice - The Incredibles Visit Disneyland. We took the kids to see the show and it was great! A couple of times there I got teary eyed with missing Disneyland, especially when the parade started. But it was fun to see the rides depicted on Ice and the kids enjoyed the storyline. It was a great time and a good show, despite the fact that I got busted for taking photos (no photos allowed, though they didn't stop me until after I'd shot about 20 pictures, including those show here) and that the little boy one seat over from Brian decided to puke all over about 1/2 way through the show (ewwww ... it was gross and stinky). But it was a fun surprise for the kids and a nice evening for our family.

In the excitement of Brian's new job, I forgot to mention my little joyous moment. One of my friends had been in the metro area at stopped at a "Craft Warehouse" store. It's a chain of craft stores, similar to Michael's or Hobby Lobby. Well she was wandering the scrap aisles and what does she see - my layout staring back at her (the layout has my daughter, her daughter and 2 other preschool girls in it). Apparentely Craft Warehouse decided to take the page out of the idea book it was in and post it in their store. Not sure what made them do it, but it was certainly a surprise. I had to make a trip to the store to see it for myself and to get a few pictures. Of course, Carissa wanted in too since she was in the layout. Always the center of attention ... LOL.

Life has been a cycle of busy days. One after another they come and are filled with phone calls and meetings and activities. We're now in full swing with school and scouts and all the other things that entail. So life is busy. That's not an excuse for not posting, it's just the way it is. I haven't even sat at my scrap desk for 6 days. That's a huge lapse for me. Yesterday we decided to take some family time and went to see "Santa Claus 3- The Escape Clause". We are huge fans of this series anyways, as I'm a sucker for Christmas movies and watch this several times each holiday season. This movie was another wonderful one, even better than the 2nd in my opinion (though none will be better than the first). We enjoyed all the Christmas scenery and music and happily munched popcorn and Halloween candy together. It was a great break from all the chaos. There's really nothing new to report. School, Cub Scouts and Campfire (for Carissa) have ta...

Yes, it's the reveal of our big news. Brian has a new job! He will be working as an Officer for the Scappoose Police Department. This has been a long process for us. He interviewed a while ago and finally got a call from the Chief on Oct. 10, when I posted the excited but vague message here. Since then he's gone through a background interview and investigation, and medical and psychological evaluations. We have stressed over the entire process, worrying that something would go wrong along the way, but today the Chief called to let him know that he passed and was good to go. He has a public swearing-in ceremony on Nov. 27, which we are all excited to attend. He'll work with a Field Training Officer (FTO) until he leaves for the Academy in (probably) January. He'll be gone there for 16 weeks, though he will get to come home on weekends. He'll finish work with his FTO after returning from the Academy, but by next summer he will be patroling the streets on his own. This...

This weeks blog challenge: Tell about handed-down talents. What specific talents or hobbies did you learn from your parents, grandparents, etc. I can think of a few things from childhood that I learned. I remember whistling with cut-grass, how you picked just the right piece and held it just right between your thumbs before carefully blowing into it. And by carefully I mean doing it *without* cutting your lip on the grass! LOL I remember trying to learn rock skipping from Dad. We used to go innertubing, camping and fishing along nearby rivers during the summer months and my Dad was great at skipping rocks. I remember trying and trying and finally, after a while, I was able to skip rocks a few times over the river. My Mom taught me to sew and to cross-stitch, as were the style at the time. She used to make me school clothes and I still have a teddy bear that I sewed when I was young. I don't sew much anymore (does sewing on scrapbook pages count?) but I could probably figure ...

So, I decided to sneak a few of my projects from the November ScrapAddict kits. No reason why, just felt like sharing. And since I still can't share our exciting news yet (but it's in the works ... we're getting closer) I thought I'd share these layouts. Enjoy. From the "Life's A Beach" altered kit. From the "Out on a Limb" kit.

... who wanted to know when and where I've been published/will be published recently here is a list. I've had a total of 23 published/to be published layouts but I've only listed everything from this August forward. Here's the most recent stuff: Scrapbooks Etc. – April 2007 “Rat Responsibility” Scrapbook Trends – December 2006 “A Cherished Tradition” Memory Makers Idea Book “Scrapbook Idea Gallery 7” – October 2006 “The Shelter of Good Friends” Memory Makers Magazine – August 2006 “The Cyclone of Scrapping” Simple Scrapbooks – July/August 2006 “My Peaceful Spot” Memory Makers Idea Book “The Amazing Page” – June 2006 “The Path” (in book and on cover)

I've broken the Scrapbooks Etc. barrier! YEAH!!! They called today and wanted a layout I'd made of Chase and his rat. Scrapbooks Etc. is one of 2 scrapbook magazines I haven't been in yet and my goal is to accomplish each magazine at least once. So watch out CK, you're next!

This weeks blog challenge is this: Tell us what keeps you sane, what helps you relax, what relieves your stress. For me it's this: My MP3. This tiny little thing keeps me sane. I secretly call it my Personal Sanity Device because at times that's what it is. When I'm having a bad day, when the kids get on my nerves, when I'm upset or sad, when I'm worried, I turn my music on and forget about it for a while. I drown out the kids bickering, I drown out the issues that have me stressed or the reasons that I'm sad and I just listen. And after a while listening turns into singing. And then singing turns into belting it out. And when I've reached that point I know that all is well with the world again.

Tuesday was Carissa's last riding lesson, at least for now. The choice came about for two reasons -- Carissa wanted to take a break and winter was upon us and her instructor doesn't have a covered arena. So this is her final ride. I must admit that I was sort of sad about it all, especially after this lesson. It had all just kicked in for her. She had really gotten the rhythm and movements and was posting well on the lunge line. And she had just learned how to gather and ask for the trot on the wall. She was doing these things so well this last lesson and I hate for that progress to be lost. But I respect Carissa's decision. Maybe one day, when she's a little older and more able to dedicate herself to something, she'll choose to ride again.

OK, here's the kids lists about themselves. Sometimes they are similar to mine, sometimes not. Now, I'm not sure that Carissa got what I was asking her to do, and Tristan had a pretty hard time with it. But they tried. Chase on the other had threw out 6 words really quickly and could have described himself in 100 words if I would have let him keep going! LOL OK, here they are. Carissa: Girl Nice Cute Likes Animals Pretty Tristan: Reader Cool Handsome Funny Lazy (?!?) Chase: Fun Intellegent Easygoing Friendly Artistic Super Speller

So, I decided to do another Blog Challenge on ScrapAddict. This one is to describe your children in 5 words and then to have them describe themselves in 5 words. Since the kiddos are all at school I'll do my part now and post their part later on. Here's my descriptive lists for the kids. Chase: Smart Polite Handsome Intense about things he loves Rule-Follower Tristan: Funny Sensitive Mischievous (but in a fun way) Adorable Sweet Carissa: Talkative Curious Cuddly Cute Silly

I don't know why, but I'm sort of crazy about taking pictures of myself. I don't like others taking photos of me and rarely turn the camera over to Brian. So when I need photos for my Book of Me album I find a spot in the house and do self-portraits using the remote control for my camera. Anyways, thought it was time for me to do that again so I did. Here's the only 2 good photos from yesterday.

There's no denying that Chase is one smart cookie. This kid has always enjoyed school and found it very easy. And we finally found a teacher who encourages him to try harder and who gives him things that aren't too easy for him. She talked to me last week about giving Chase harder spelling lists that were more to his ability level. Here's some of the words on the list that came home yesterday: absorption inoculate deciduous slough simian malleable indigenous proboscis (I'd never even heard this one and had to look it up to pronounce it! LOL) Now keep in mind, Chase is in 4th grade. He's only 10 years old. These are some HARD words! But he soaked it all up like the smart little sponge that he is.

I know my message below was very cryptic, but I'm still not ready to share yet. I want to make sure it's a "sure thing" before I do. It's looking positive but not 100% yet so I'm going to hold off on the public announcement. Some of you already know what it's about but for those who don't rest assured I'll post it as soon as it's final. In other news, we have no news. Our life is consumed with the discussion and worry about the item above. The kids are doing fine in school and all is going well around here. Since I don't have much to say I think I'll post a few of my recent LO's.

And I'm not talking about the kids now. At least not my kids. I'm talking about these kids: I was digging through photos today to use with the new "Cloudy with a Chance of Flurries" kit from ScrapAddict and came upon this beauty. Yes, that's me and my brother and sister back in 1979. I was 5 1/2, my sister Wendy was 8 1/2 and Jimmy had just turned 3. Weren't we cute? And check out those fashions and haircuts. Oh, and Jimmy's adorable boots. Love it! I can't believe this photo was taken 27 years ago! My, how time has flown ...

Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh. Just when you think you've got life all figured out it throws you for a loop. No details now, will share them if it all pans out. And no, I'm not pregnant so don't even think it.

It's happened, Carissa lost her first tooth! Only last week we noticed that she had a wiggly tooth. She had taken a bite of Cloissine's apple and complained that it hurt her tooth. We looked at it then and noticed that it was wiggly. This week she's been wiggling it a bit and it was getting more and more loose. And this evening Brian pulled it out! He said she was very brave and didn't cry or scream. This left me with a little quandry. I always make the kids a "tooth pillow" when they get their first wiggly. Carissa and I had been to Wal-Mart just this afternoon to buy the material but I hadn't had time to make it. Yet here she was, 8pm and a tooth out of her mouth. So I set to work on it and had it made before bedtime. It was a bit of a rush but it turned out adorable and she loves it. She headed to bed with her tiny bottom tooth safe in the pocket of her tooth pillow. She was thrilled when she woke up to a $5 bill from the tooth fairy. Now she sports thi...

It's flying by right now. I can't believe it's the end of Sept. already. School has been going for nearly a month. The boys birthdays have come and gone. Scouts has started for the boys and Campfire is starting next week for Carissa. We're fully immersed in the hustle and bustle of life. After some ambivelance about where Brian's career was heading, we've come to a decision and that's made looking ahead to the future easier. I'm already starting to plan for what is next. October is Halloween and I took the kids to get their costumes already. Chase will be Dr. Toxic (crazy scientist) complete with radiation green hair and eyebrows! LOL Tristan is a ghost with rattling chains and a scary mask. Carissa is going to be Aleta from Barbie Fairytopia. They're all adorable and so fitting for each child. November is Thanksgiving. Brian's working 12 hours that day so, of course, no plans for that day. Nothing to plan for, nothing to do. *sigh* ...

Bek and I have returned from our scrap retreat. We had a GREAT time. We went with a group of 12 ladies, most of whom we didn't know, and stayed in a resort home in Sunriver. What a BEAUTIFUL place. The homes were gorgeous, the weather was nice, Sunriver was absolutely charming and it was just a great weekend. We arrived Friday afternoon and did a little last-minute grocery (aka: chocolate and other munchies) shopping before heading to the house we were staying it. Bek and I were first to arrive and spent the first 1/2 hour in awe walking around this beautiful home. It was a 5 bedroom, 3 1/2 bath home, beautifully decorated and just absolutely perfect. We set up our tables and spread out our piles and piles of supplies and got to work. About an hour in we remembered that we hadn't picked up any alcohol. What's a girls weekend without a bit of girly drinks? So we headed to the store again for some alcohol. While buying our Mike's hard cranberry lemonade (yum) Bek and I g...