Baked Mac and Cheese ** For Carol

So, I was having a hard time writing a blog following my previous post. It didn't seem right to blog about daily happenings in our lives. To be honest, I'm still reeling from the events of last week. Carol pops into my head often and I have to literally think through the process of dying. I remind myself that she is no longer here in our presence, but in the presence of the Lord. Then, I sigh and thank the Lord for the time that she was here and rejoice that she is in heaven. So there is the reason I decided to post a yummy recipe. Carol loved to cook and share a meal with friends and what better than a "comfort food" to post in her honor.

So here it is ** Baked Mac and Cheese **

I know, I know ... I can hear the gasps over cyberspace. I have actually never had a bite of this delightful dish because I DON'T LIKE CHEESE! There. I said it. I am not a fan, in fact I don't ever eat it. But my cheese loving husband digs this side dish or maybe even main meal depending on the intensity of your love for cheese. I modified Betty's version of the cheesy goodness - so I guess that makes it my own...

2	cups uncooked elbow macaroni (7 ounces)
1/4	cup butter or margarine
1/4	cup all-purpose flour
1/2	teaspoon salt
1/4	teaspoon pepper
1/4	teaspoon ground mustard
1/4	teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2	cups milk
2	cups shredded or cubed cheese (8 ounces) ** I have done a mix of cheddar and a quatro blend from TJ's OR smoked gouda and parmesan ** A couple handfuls of panko bread crumbs for the crunchy top 1. Heat oven to 350ºF. 2. Cook macaroni as directed on package. 3. While macaroni is cooking, melt butter in 3-quart saucepan over low heat. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constanly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in cheese. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cheese is melted. 4. Drain macaroni. Gently stir macaroni into cheese sauce. Pour into ungreased 2-quart casserole. Top with panko bread crumbs. Bake uncovered 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly.

In Memory

Today I’m thankful for technology. I was able to attend a funeral in Washington DC from my living room in Irvine. The funeral was broadcast over the internet so that those of us far away could attend.

Carol Marshall was an amazing woman. She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the early part of this year and on Monday she saw our Savior face to face. She will be greatly missed here, but I’m comforted to know that she is complete, made whole in Christ and no longer in pain. She is experiencing the riches of heaven and the Lord in all his glory. Her life was well lived and she was fervent in telling others about salvation in Christ. I am confident she heard the words “well done good and faithful servant upon standing in the presence of the Lord. I want to be like her.

Carol had placed her faith in Christ. She accepted that He died for her sins and that they were forgiven because of his shed blood. She lived a life worthy of the call and placed her trust in Him. When the cancer started to take over, she didn’t worry because she knew the Lord had a plan for her life and He was in control. When she was experiencing pain, she drew close to the Lord for comfort. When she was scared, she went to scripture and found peace in the Word of God. That is a life worthy of the call. It wasn’t just for Carol. It is for you to, whoever may be reading this that doesn’t know Christ. He died so that all sins would be forgiven. Jesus took on the weight of the world and paid the penalty so we wouldn’t have to..because we never could. We are all sinners, we have been separated from God, but by his grace, through faith we can have a right relationship with him. Place your trust in Christ and allow Him to change you the way he changed Carol. You can have assurance that when you depart from this world you will stand before the savior and he will welcome you in and not send you away.

I met Carol when I was in high school and I became friends with her son, who led me to Christ. We eventually started dating and I distinctly remember a later conversation with Carol where she told me that they had been praying for me. Together, they allowed the Lord to use them to bring me to Himself. I’m forever grateful. Over the next few years that we dated Carol made me part of the family. She had this uncanny way of making you feel like you were the most important person to her. She invested in me, cared for me, treated me to dinners and trips, and taught me about living the Christian life. They brought me to church with them, the church where Matt and I met (also grateful for that!), and made sure my feet were on the right path. She also had an impact on Matt. He wrote this on her blog and it sums up how we feel about her. “Carol, our memories of you span many cities and many different stages of life on this earth. You've taught us both how to know the Lord better. You taught Jenny how to be a woman of God when she didn't have a clue. You taught Matt how to bring faith into business without compromising excellence in either. In all our memories of you, what's consistent is your unwavering solidarity with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and your contagious energy that so easily drew others to you. In his book "Don't Waste Your Life," John Piper writes, "God created us to live with a single passion to joyfully display His supreme excellence in all the spheres of life." Rest confidently that you have done just that. We love you.”

Lost Luggage

This was new. I've had bags come in late before, but they magically arrive in the middle of the night and are waiting for me when I rise. This time was different. I was that girl again, waiting at the baggage claim carousel thinking "am I in the right place?" Matt had gone to get the car and I was put in charge of the bag. I wandered between three different carousels, every time a new red light flashed and made that awful noise I would hurry over like one of Pavlov's dogs. Soon I found myself in the Southwest Baggage Claim office with a handful of other fliers and filed the report. Missing. "I'm sure it will come in later today" the attendant said with such assurance that I felt comforted. Well, that was Saturday and today is Wednesday and they still have no idea where it is. They called yesterday to say they were actively looking for it. What does that mean? Are they walking the tarmac and scouring the baggage claims of airports across America. I doubt it, but the gesture was appreciated. So a few lessons learned from this experience:

1. Carry your jewelry with you, especially if it is the pearls you got for your engagement

2. Carry your medication with you, especially if it replaces a necessary hormone that your missing thyroid used to produce

3. oh..just carry it all whenever possible :)

Bigger and more important lesson learned: it is all STUFF! I am not allowed to enter heaven with it, so why fret that I don't have it now. The bible doesn't say I can bring one bag with me with everything I hold dear...no, it says in Matthew 6:19-20 " Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal." At least on my way to heaven I won't have to worry about whether or not my bag gets there...

Happy Birthday to Me!

I had the perfect birthday celebration this year! It started with a weekend in the mountain with great friends. Then an early morning breakfast with Goofy and friends and the other birthday girl, Adeline Duncan. Then a lunch date with my cute husband. Then a visit to Disneyland with Heather. Topped with dinner at Smokey's BBQ with the Eckerts. Below are some Arrowhead pictures. Unfortunately, I was terrible at capturing the rest of the festivities!

The Matthews, The Kalubs, The Poladians, The Guties, The Brannons

Andrew and Chad have August birthdays also! We each got a candle!

The Man I love!

Weston!

Hudson!

The Brannons (with Ford on the way)

The Kalubs (with Madison on the way)

The Matthews (with Cade on the way)

The Dads and the little men :)

My main man Job

We just finished reading through the book of Job. If you haven't read it, I recommend it. Our main man Job is prospering and doing really well. In enters Satan for a little competition with the Lord. Are you kidding me? What was he thinking? Anyway, the Lord allows Satan to test Job's faith. At this point I start thinking, what if Satan asked, "I want to test Jenny Poladian." Would the story have the same results?

I continue reading and am met with four "friends" all trying very hard to help Job. At first it kind of reminded me of the Gilmore Girls. A lot of words to say a little. They each thought they had the answers to why Job was suffering the way he did. Oh, let me back and give you a glimpse into what Job was facing here. This is no ordinary suffering. Painful boils from head to toe, severe itching, great grief (all his children were killed), lost appetite, insomnia, worm and dust infested flesh, decaying skin and severe halitosis. That isn't all, but you get the idea, it was bad. His "friends" speeches tell him to get right with God, he is suffering just and what he deserves, and so on.

Job has a few speeches too. He kindly responds to his friends and points them back to God, but he also questions God, boy does he question. It seems to me that Job, who was put through the wringer for no reason other than Satan wanted to, would have reason to question. But then the part of me that knows the truth thinks that is not the response that honors God. I was reminded to listen to the part of me that knows the truth with the Lord's response to Job's questioning.

It is refreshing to hear from the Lord after the friends give it a go. Someone who can actually say "I have all the wisdom and knowledge - listen to me!" He address Job rather frankly, saying I created everything - including you - so why question me. Wow! Words from the Lord that penetrate to the heart. Don't question, I am mighty, just trust that I have it all figured out. The Lord uses two mighty creatures to prove His point in the last chapters. I really enjoyed what John MacArthur's commentary says about the Lord using the behemoth and leviathan (probably some dinosaurs or elephants or sharks or hippos..) as examples. "God created these awesome creatures, and His might is far greater than theirs. If Job couldn't stand against them, what was he doing contending with God? He would be better of to fight a dinosaur or killer shark." This goes for me too...humbling...

So there is Job in a nutshell. Too much more and it would be too much to read - but read it yourself! I pray you are encouraged as much as I was!

Cade Jeffrey Matthews

My sister and Eric planned a big event to reveal the gender of their child. My Mom, Dad, Lucy and I headed over and found the table decorated in blue and pink, giving us no clue as to what "it" was. At each of our places was a baby food jar with pink and blue candy inside. Not really being one for competition, I figured we were going to have to count and I was going to have to win. I can't let my parents beat me after all!

So out poured the candy and as you can see below I had a number of small candies to count. Being totally focused, because that is what winners do, I didn't even think to look at my parents plates to see what they had to count. Well! They had FAR less to count and determined LONG before I did that I was to have a nephew and they would have a grandson. Still, with all the gusto in me, I shouted "It's a boy" just to feel like a winner!

Lucy was undecided and so she sported a yellow bow to demonstrate her love for what ever small child would soon play with her!

The Matthews Family w/Cade pictured :)

They also did a really fun thing to let us know his name. About a week later, they gave us each a hangman game! So fun. So it's a boy and his name is Cade Jeffrey. Love it and Love you cute boy! Can't wait to meet you!

Wedding #2 and #3

Cousins! This is actually Wedding #3. I didn't have a single picture from Wedding #2! It was still a very fun wedding even though I captured not a single moment. This is Josh, Matt's cousin and his new, very cute wife Kara. Every year this group of cousins run off to Arrowhead for a weekend of fun and eating. It has continued to expand over the years with the addition of spouses and significant others. Kara has been at every one for at least the last 3 years, so we have been able to get to know her well. We are so excited for them and their marriage!

This is Lauren, she is a "kind of" cousin according to what the book says, but a true blue cousin in the hearts of the Poladians! I think it is her first appearance on the blog! We think Lauren is a hoot!

The Poladian siblings all wore pink. I promise they did not plan it! What a great family I gained :)

This is all of us!