Ready for the New Year

As 2008 comes to a close we have so much to be thankful for!  Reflecting back over the past year, we feel so blessed for the memories and experiences we have had....but most of all for the friends and family in our lives!  Thank you to each one of you for the memories of 2008!  We can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for all of us in 2009...Love The Rodriguez Family

Make a Smilebox slideshow

A Cowboy Christmas

We went to Grandpa and Grandma Cash's house on Christmas day.  The kids all love to spend time there.  The little boys received cowboy outfits and a new ride on horse that was just their size.  Grandma made a wonderful dinner and we all had a great time visiting.  It was a wonderful day!  Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for making Christmas so memorable!

Christmas...Mexican Style!

We started Christmas Eve off by stopping in at Mel's Diner for breakfast.  We played old Christmas carols on the jukebox sung by Elvis! Plus Luke's favorite, the old classic chipmunk Christmas song...ALVIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That afternoon we went to Grandpa and Grandma Rodriguez's house and celebrated with a posada party.  This is the way Christmas is celebrated in Mexico.  All the girls dressed up in authentic blouses and we all put flowers in our hair!

Grandma Patsy, Tia Steph with Charlotte, Kim and Mariah

We ate very yummy tamales and enchiladas for dinner.  Then grandma helped Mariah make Mexican Hot Chocolate and Luke loved it!  After that we broke open the star pinata.  The star pinata is used at a posada party because it represents the star that led the shepherds and wise men to baby Jesus.  We all had a wonderful evening spending time with our family and making memories.  Thank you Grandpa and Grandma for such a fun time!  We love you!

Christmas...Mexican Style!

The 22nd of December

Today has a special place in our hearts. It's the day that Luke came home to us five Christmases ago!  We got the best gift a parent could ever receive that Christmas.  This time of year always feels extra special to us and we feel so blessed to have been given the opportunity to expand our family through adoption!

Chilli and Lights

We had our families over last night for chilli and then we went to see the lights on Christmas Tree Lane!  Although it was crowded...we had a good time!  We usually drive the route but decided to walk it this time which was wonderful.  I love doing these things a Christmas time...such good memories!

Dinner at the Mission Inn

A few years back my dad started a new Christmas tradition.  Each year, just before Christmas, we all meet for dinner at the Mission Inn in Riverside.  This has become an evening that we all look forward to.  Every year the table has grown and we've added people close to us that we love and care about.  After dinner this time, we took a horse drawn trolley ride around the mission and sang Christmas carols...it was very fun!

Dinner at the Mission Inn

Mariah's Wicked Birthday

Mariah received Wicked tickets for her birthday this year.  She had been wanting to see this production for a long time now and was very thankful and excited to be given the chance to go!  Thank you grandpa and grandma Cash!  

The girls LOVED the play!  

We can't wait to get inside!

Hollywood, here we come!

I can't believe our little girl is nine!  Happy Birthday Mariah!  We all love you very much!

Angel Breakfast

We went to our church's Angel Breakfast on Saturday!  This is a really great preschool event that has a very fun "kid" breakfast, singing angels that visit the children, and the Christmas story told by Mary herself!  It was very fun to spend the morning with friends and celebrate the season together.  I've always loved taking my kids to this event and Luke had a wonderful time this year!  However, he did question how "real" the angels were...just look at his face in this picture. 

Make a Smilebox greeting

The Nativity

My friend Jenni recently blogged about setting up their nativity and showed a picture of how her children set up the figurines.  We too, have a small nativity that Luke likes to play with and I noticed the other night that he set up our nativity the same way the Bishop kids did!  Every figure was turned to very intentionally face the manger where Jesus was.  That got me thinking...how powerful that is!  No one told them to face them that way, they just knew.  They knew that the whole reason for that scene, the whole reason all those people were there, was for that one special baby!  I think that's pretty cool...don't you?

Never Silence Life

Those of you who know me well, know that unplanned pregnancy and abortion are close to my heart!  My life experience has forced me to have to make those kinds of decisions and to experience the joy of a child when a women doesn't choose abortion.  But every 22 second in our country a child dies because of abortion...that is 3700 babies A DAY!  It breaks my heart to hear about the mistreatment or injustice to even one child, but these numbers are staggering.  I've become aware of a new movement called Never Silence Life.  On January 22nd, 2009 they are planning a gathering  across our nation at abortions clinics.  This is a non violent gathering to PRAY for our country, our leaders, unborn lives, but mostly the decisions of each women who feels that is their only option.  I've spent so much time talking with women at Alternate Avenues who regret their abortion decision and wish they could go back in time and take it back.  Please visit neversilencelife.com and consider joining me on the 22nd of January to pray!

Holiday Fun

We made a Gingerbread House this weekend! 

It was really fun to all work together on it!

First we put the walls up...

Then the roof...

Next, the kids decorated the house with candy...

Here's how it came out!  

Yummy...Cookies!

If you know me, you know I don't like to cook...at all!  But baking, I enjoy that a little bit more!  Mariah has really gotten into baking too.  So last night Mariah, Luke and I decided to make Peanut Butter cookies!  They came out really yummy!  Side Note: (Check out Luke's outfit(lol)...needless to say, he put that fabulous ensemble together himself!)