The Rodriguez Family Blog: January 2009

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Spell it!

A-W-E-S-O-M-E...definition, Jacob! He participated in his school's spelling bee last night and did a great job. He has been practicing very hard the last few weeks and it paid off. He came in 3rd place! The words that were given were very difficult, but he handled each one very calmly. His mom on the other hand...not so much! We are so proud of you Jacob! We love to see you go out and try new things! Thank you to our friends who came to cheer Jacob on!

Monday, January 26, 2009

The Fun Club

Mariah and a couple of her friends started a club. They call it the "Fun Club". It was her turn to host this weekend and she decided on a heart theme. They did crafts, watched a movie and LAUGHED! It was so much fun!

Thursday, January 22, 2009

I saw the craziest thing today...

Okay, so I engaged in some illegal activity today. Since the new law here states that you cannot even have your phone in your hand while driving...much less talk(unless you have a bluetooth) or text, it's put quite a cramp in my ability to stay in communication with everyone! Not to mention work and stuff. But today, I HAD to break the rules, being a designer this fascinated me while driving down the road! This truck was driving around with a whole interior vignette setup(it was a promo for a local store)! Have you ever seen this? It was incredible...not to mention is was PURPLE! How great is that?

Monday, January 12, 2009

Adoption Day

January 11th is the day that we finalized Luke's adoption in 2006. So, each year we celebrate as a family. This year we went to Wabi Sabi! It was very fun and very good and Luke loved it! He had a great day. Luke has been such a blessing to our family. We cherish him beyond explanation. He brings so much joy to us. We feel incredibly humbled to have been given the opportunity to parent him. God is so good!

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Our last Visit to Disneyland

Last night we went to Disneyland for the last time (our passes are up). We had such a fun time! We've enjoyed going for a few years now and it's time for a break. We will miss all the magic at the happiest place of earth...

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Winter Vacation Cont'd

Playing in the snow for the first time takes alot out of you!

It was cold!

Mariah wins for the biggest snow ball!

You can never have too many of these pictures!

Luke's form is amazing while making a snow angel!

Winter Vacation

We decided to make this winter vacation all about family time! So we played games...which included a Hungry Hungry Hippo tournament, a two hour round of Monopoly and even my favorite, Yatzee! Then we watched movies...old ones mostly but we did see a couple new ones too. Wallie, Kung Fu Panda, Narnia's Prince Caspian, Kit Kittridge An American Girl, Father of the Bride(my all time favorite movie...if you've never seen the second one, it's great too! LOL), and Bedtime Stories! We also went on a bike ride! A VERY long bike ride. We have an awesome bike path near our home and have really enjoyed using it. Luke received a new bike for Christmas that attaches to mine and we couldn't wait to get out there and try it. He had a blast and mommy got a good workout! On Friday we went and checked out the floats in Pasadena. It was quite cold but very fun! It's so amazing how they make those! Then today we finished off the last two weeks in the snow! We headed to Wrightwood to let Luke experience snow for the first time...he loved it! He made a snow angel, we all threw snow balls (they were actually more like snow chunks! LOL), and then decided we were all ready for lunch so we stopped at a little cafe in town before we headed home. It was a wonderful vacation!

Something to Consider

Adopting a child doesn't change the whole world. But for that child the whole world changes.

Unknown

It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so you may live as you wish.

Mother Teresa

Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

Truem

Whether you believe you can do something or not, you are right.

Henry Ford

What we are is God's gift to us. What we become is our gift to God.

Eleanor Powell

Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition!

The small things we do in life for others don't mean much...they mean EVERYTHING!

Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one come to you without leaving happier.

Mother Teresa

A friend is someone who knows you well and still likes you.

Unknown

Kids Say The Darndest Things

Luke often says such funny things, so I thought I would start to share them with all of you from time to time! So here are some of the most recent ones that have kept us laughing...

Apparently Luke has recently become fluent in French. When I inquired about where he had learned French he replied, "From the FBI!"

Recently our dog Maddie was barking to get outside. I sternly said, "Be quiet! Go lay down!" Then I heard Luke say, " Mom, I could be wrong, but I don't think that is the way to earn Maddie's affections!"

Luke has narrowed down his career options recently. He told me he just can't decide whether he should work at Walmart or be a Doctor!

Luke asked me the other day if we could stop at Starbucks for a "Frap-a-chonie".

After our walk through a living nativity this Christmas, Luke said "Wow...I didn't know Jesus was "king of the jewels" thats cool!"

Luke has been asking about heaven lately. When we will go there, who will go there and now...what will go there. He told me that he'd like "jacket" (his blankie) to be there so please put it in a box, write "JESUS" in big letters and He can pick it up at the post office when he has time!

When I asked Luke how his day at school went earlier this week, he said "Great! I met Avery and she's willing to marry me!"

Today Luke announced that he is getting a tatoo. It apparently is going on his stomach and will read: God is awesome...and so is my mom! It does have a ring to it! I like it!

Luke was watching the kids walking by as we waited for Dylan after school today. When suddenly he blurted out, " Oh dang! I just saw a Jonas brother! I didn't know they went to this school." I said, "You did?" And he said, "Yeah, the one with the hair!"

Luke hurt himself on Friday and we had to visit the emergency room. When the Dr. came in she asked me if he had lost conciousness at anytime. And although he was very much out of it, Luke opened his eyes just a little bit and said, "No, I lost my balance!" Then closed his eyes again.

Luke was asking about the logistics of how God could make everything in the world in just a few days. So, I began to review with him what happened each day. When we got to the 6th day I told him that God made the first people. I said, "Do you remember who the first man was that God made? Do you remember his name?" "Grandpa?" was his reply!

On Halloween Luke asked his dad, "What is Jesus being for Halloween?" When Mario said he didn't know...Luke said, "I think he's gonna be a hamster!"

Luke received a call from Geoffery the Giraffe at Toys 'r' Us for his birthday today! He listened quietly, then said, "What the heck? I didn't know giraffes could talk!"

We were at the doctor's office recently and the nurse told Luke that she loved his curly hair. This was his reply, "Seriously, it's not MY fault! It's my mom's..."

Recently one of Luke's siblings was sent to their room for disobeying. As he assessed the situation and they went upstairs, he turned to me and asked, "Are they gonna get their rear-end paddled?" To which I replied, "No! Where did you hear that?" He said, "You know...that's spanish for a spankin'!"

Most nights I tuck Luke into bed and they all go pretty much the same...tuck him in, pray, give him a kiss and turn on his music. But tonight was different! When we were done praying he said to me,"What did you say?" I said,"Amen!" "M-O-M!" he told me,"It's Hey, Man! When we're done praying we say Hey, Man!"

Man, you've got to love kids!