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?