Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is such a nice holiday, don't you think? It's a holiday dedicated to being grateful. There is so much to be thankful for this year in the Rodriguez household. God once again has shown His faithfulness the whole year through. He surprised us by making it affordable to buy a home this year...a blessing I can't even begin to comprehend the benefits. Our children are wonderfully thriving...our marriage is fantastic...our family and friends are well...we couldn't be more thankful.

I included some pictures of our Thanksgiving. We had a great time with my mom's immediate family...1 set of Grandparents, 7 sets of aunts and uncles, 23 grandchildren, and 5 great-grandchildren (with one more on the way)...quite a lot of people...but so fun! It was a JOY to see everyone.

My Amazing Parents Joel & Susana Catalan

My Eldest brother Joel, My Mom, and Me, Bec

Joel, His Bride Anna, and Precious Son Caleb

Bec, My Honey Erik, and Our Sweet Lukey

My Aunt Rose, My Mommy Susana,My Grandmother Socorro, My Aunt Maria,and

My Aunt Isabella (My Nina)

My son Noah, with his second cousins,

Melissa and Mia





Family is great

Christmas Outting

We had such a nice Thanksgiving weekend. It's so great to see family and spend time enjoying lots of yummy food. I love having Erik home with me...it's the way things ought to be! To start out this Christmas season properly, Erik took us out for our Family Night to see Christmas lights at Griffith Park. We first got hot chocolate at Starbucks...such a nice treat. Then we ventured off for the two plus mile walk of Christmas lights on display at the Holiday Light Festival. Erik and I got to cuddle as we walked and enjoyed some of Southern California's occasional cold weather. It was Heaven! The boys had such a great time too. They are in love with Christmas lights. Even with our moving and all, Noah insists on having Christmas lights up in the house...which stay on all day! Oh...the season has begun!

Happy Christmas Everyone!

Luke tried to hop the fence a few times.

Noah could have stayed here all night

Me and my Noah

Me and My Honey

Our New Nest

So the Rodriguez family has some good news...we are finally in escrow. Yea! The home we hope to get meets all our criteria we set up before we started looking into buying a home. It's completely God's Hand of grace and blessing at work here. We can't wait to get to work on it...we have SO much to do, but are so thankful that we'll be able to finally have a residence we can call our own. The big move will take place in mid December, so we'll have to make the best of this Christmas season as we attempt to make our home suitable for human habitation. Please keep us in prayer.

The Living Room

The Living Room from another angle

Our Bedroom

One of the bathrooms

The Boys Room

Erik's Office

My Office

Enclosed Patio

Nice Big Yard for us to play...Yea!

THE END

Purse Play

My boys really like to play with my purse. Noah is old enough to zip it open and rummage though it. So when I happen to leave it on the floor, Noah and Luke flock to it as if it were a bag filled with candies. They both LOVE opening up all the little compartments and small zippy bags that hold all the things I can't be without(namely my ipod, camera, chapstick, and phone). The boy's favorite bag is the one that has my lip glosses and chap sticks in it. They like to apply it themselves as they see me do it all the time. Luke also usually attempts to eat them as Noah likes to hide them in his pockets for later use. Most times the contents gets everywhere or I loss some of them and my boys usually smell like strawberries and I almost always wish that I hadn't let them play in my purse in the first place...but I know how much they LOVE it and I can always buy more lip glosses.

Luke

I want to eat this kid alive sometimes...he's just so cute and loveable. I can't believe he's mine.

Breakfast of Champions

What is it about being on vacation that makes one want to forgo all their traditional healthy eating habits and consume everything one normally considers off limits? Since my hubby is off this week we have been battling all the evil cravings we otherwise would victoriously over come. I have to say that it's easy to fall in battle when you are up against donuts and coffee....as we were this morning for the SECOND time this week. Breakfast of champions my friend Leisa would say. I must admit that the yummy goodness in my mouth over shadowed the dread of the vast amount of empty calories I know I consumed. I'm not really a donut person but there is nothing like freshly baked pastries...especially with coffee. So today the donuts and coffee marched off of the battlefield in glorious victory...quite a site to behold.

Dedication

My Sweet and Most Devoted husband has taken this week off of work with 1 goal in mind: To find his family a house we can call our own. Erik has been house hunting for us for the past 5 months. He has read countless books and articles on owning your first home, spent so many hours crunching numbers in our budget and visited tons of potential houses. He's carefully looked into school districts, safety and environmental issues. This man is a machine. He is so thorough, he doesn't miss a beat. I adore this man. He LOVES his family so much he has practically dedicated half of this year into finding his family a new home. We are excited to see what this week brings, but nevertheless...home or no home...I still have the most amazing husband EVER!

Birthday Wishes

Birthdays are a big deal in our family. We stretch out the Celebration for as long as we possibly can. My parents love to host Birthday Dinners for all 6 of their birth children, 2 children in-law, and 3 grandchildren. How it usually works is that we pick our favorite dinner and Mom takes care of the rest. I have to say it's always great fun whenever we get together for these occasions. There's lots of food, laughing, and entertainment. This time around it was my baby's birthday...not either of my children...but my husband...my dear sweet Erik. He picked Mexican food as his dinner of choice...his FAVORITE and my Mom's specialty. I have to say my mother really outdid herself this year. The cake she made with my brother Gabriel's help was beautiful and really yummy. She could really give Martha Stewart a run for her money on this one. It was a fantastic night. We played some games, ate A LOT, and enjoyed each others company. Erik was showered with all sorts of fun things he can enjoy (I'll be enjoying that movie gift card with him though...babysitting WAS included). Another Birthday Party success...

Our Fine Nation

It is a privilege to be an American. Our country offers rights and freedoms unequal to any other. It is important to value that and acknowledge our responsibility to our nation. So on the morning of Nov 4th I packed my two boys, sporting their American flag T-shirts, in our car and took them to vote. Noah has come with me twice in the past, but it was Luke's first time in assisting mom as she exercised her right to vote. They were so good as we waited in line. It was as if they knew this was something not to be taken lightly. As we turned in our ballot the boys got their very own "I voted" stickers and wore them proudly.

It's an honor to be a part of a government where we can voice our opinions. Now that the Nation has spoken, let's all join in prayer for our new President. May God give him wisdom and guidance to lead our fine nation.

Halloween Happiness

Halloween was great. Costumes, candy, and crazy children. Noah refused to put his Peter Pan costume on, then by the end of the evening he didn't want to take it off. Kids are so funny like that.Luke was a wild man the whole evening. I think he only had two pieces of candy too. When he grows up let's hope that he won't be much of a drinker. Our kids had a wonderful time. We LOVED it. How was your Halloween?

Movie Night

Erik and I LOVE watching movies. Sadly we haven't been able to get out to the theater much since we've entered our babies days. Nevertheless, we are happy to catch up on the latest movies cuddled up on our own sofa at home. The only problem is that we and our children have very different ideas of what a good movie is. Erik and I have a list of movies we'd like to see, but our little ones are happy with a VHS of "Bob the Builder"...not usually how we want to spend movie night. Keeping that in mind, two weeks ago on our Family Friday, Erik decided it was time to introduce the world of Star Wars to Noah. We could enjoy an adult movie and hopefully our kids wouldn't protest too much. Win, win, right? But could a two year old handle it? We were ready to find out. I made the popcorn. Erik set up the DVD and we were ready to roll.

Noah was hooked from the first booming notes of John Williams. It's been awhile since Erik and I have watched any of the Star Wars films. We both forgot that pretty much every scene has some sort of fighting in it and wondered why we haven't thought of watching this classic sooner. Noah has now officially entered into the world of light sabers, droids, and wookies. He has become a walking Jedi always on the look out for a star trooper, even if we are just roaming the grocery aisles...I have lost him to the Dark Side...

And I didn't think he was ready.

My True Love

Shortly after I met Erik (two weeks to be extact), I knew I'd be his wife one day. How I knew? I can only attribute that to God. I was confident. Sure over the four years of dating we broke up a few times, seperated for longer then I'd of liked, but I never doubted we'd be man and wife. I simply knew that we'd raise a family together. I was going to be the one he'd come home to every day. He was the one I'd live life with, make life with, and grow old with. I just had to convince him of all this...

This month my groom and I celebrate our fourth year of marital bliss. In the four years of our marriage we have moved three times, brought two beautiful boys into the world, transitioned into our third church, traveled nicely, and without saying made countless traditions of our own. What's in store for us in this next year? A new home? A another baby? Maybe just hang out and enjoy life...definitely!

Thank Heavens Erik somehow too was convinced.

Happy Anniversary My Love!

Celebration

My baby turned one this past week. I am no longer a mother of an infant...bring on the toddler years. Luke has been so much fun to raise. He's one of those kids that's just happy. Every morning he wakes up with such joy to start his day that it's hard not to be upset that he's waking me up at 5:45am most mornings. He usually spends his days flipping through books, climbing on everything, and wrestling with his big bother. I can't get enough of this kid. I hope he grows up always aspiring to do what he loves in life. God, grant me and Erik the courage and wisdom to raise this child in Your ways.I LOVE my little Lukey. Happy Birthday Little guy!

What I LOVE...

So, I am one of those people who just LOVES many things. You know the kind...
"I just LOVE such and such...Oh yeah, me too..I love that...it's my favorite. I wouldn't know what to do without it." I don't simply like things...I LOVE them. I'm extreme that way. Yes, it's silly sometimes. I make it sound like I LOVE coffee in the same way I LOVE my husband and children...which of course is crazy, but I just use the word LOVE that way. Why not use it all the time though? There are so many LOVABLE things that surround our lives...
I LOVE movie theater popcorn...and browsing through bookstores. I LOVE romantic comedies and strangely enough...Harry Potter too.I LOVE pizza and my homemade spaghetti sauce. Like I said before I LOVE coffee...a Starbucks tall Pike Place roast with 3 raw sugars and some cream. I LOVE books on tape/CD...mainly because that's the closest I'll get to actually reading books in this particular season of motherhood. I LOVE date nights.I LOVE pumpkin pastries of any kind and vanilla ice cream with chocolate fudge on top. I LOVE roaming Target and Ikea for ideas and inspiration. I LOVE photos...they say so much without having to say a single word.I LOVE a clean house , but who doesn't? I LOVE all things that help me be organized. I LOVE being a mother to my two boys. I LOVE watching my kids play together. I LOVE when my husband hugs me. I LOVE Martha Stewart and all her crafty ideas. I LOVE to cook...and LOVE to eat. If eating could be a pastime it would be for me and my husband.
I LOVE cool cloudy days... the ones we rarely have in Southern California, but when we do, I can throw a scarf around my neck and imagine I am on the East Coast in the Fall. I LOVE Bungalow style homes...the ones that line every street in South Pas, CA. I LOVE my bed...I LOVE to sleep. I LOVE hanging out with my husband after our children have gone to sleep. I LOVE Disneyland and how I feel when I am there.I LOVE spending time with family and playing board games. I LOVE good competition...but don't need to win. I LOVE Christ and His Word. I LOVE to dream and imagine.
I LOVE Christmas Time. Everything about the season just make my heart warm and gives me that fuzzy feeling inside. I LOVE the lights, the colors, the excitement surrounding that time of year. I LOVE the Christmas music so much I'll start playing it in early October and well into the New Year. I LOVE watching my kids sleep and LOVE seeing them laugh.I simply LOVE my husband. He's my strength, rest, and example.
I LOVE my life...
What do you LOVE?