The tradition started our first Valentine's Day as married people. Matt made me a poster sized card! I was so surprised and loved it! He continues to make them for me every year. I'm not so surprised anymore, but I greatly anticipate what he has come up with! This was my card this year. (pics taken on a very cool iphone app that takes Polaroid's! You even shake the phone! I love it!)
Matt has had some big events the last couple of weeks. He received a job offer from Beckman Coulter and then had another interview with Taco Bell and had a very important decision to make all within a couple of weeks or days actually! The timing seemed crazy scrunched to us, but we know better. Our God had this timing in mind long before we were here! Well, we decided on Beckman Coulter as his future place of employment. Which means a lot of things....we stay in Orange County, we need to find a permanent place to live, we continue our ministry at Compass Bible Church, I say good-bye to Red Oak Elementary and resign (I was on a leave)... More importantly, it means we praise God for making our near future clear to us! We are so thankful for another piece of the puzzle and are excited to see what else there is for us.
I got him this shirt for his interview because everyone should feel their best on interview day, right?
This is the email Matt drafted to announce his decision. I love my man - he has such a way with words:
Dear Family and Friends,
We're writing to share some exciting news with you!
As many of you know, about two years ago we embarked upon an incredible journey back into the student life (for Matt), which brought us to Irvine, California for the full-time MBA program at UCI. We've loved learning together, and exploring the many possibilities that post-MBA life could bring.
After a dizzying recruiting season that began in October of 2009 and included countless interviews and hours of dialogue and prayer, we now know a little more about what life will look like for the Poladian's after Matt graduates in June. Yesterday afternoon, he enthusiastically accepted a position at Beckman Coulter, a global medical solutions company headquartered right here in Orange County. Starting July 1, he'll be working as a Senior HR Specialist, reporting to the company's Chief Diversity Officer. The job will be a perfect launching pad for a career in Human Resources and Organizational Development, and we're both very excited. What's more, Beckman Coulter is a growing (and profitable!) company that has made huge strides in diagnosing disease through blood tests. In fact, Beckman Coulter machines are used every six months when Jenny returns to USC for her routine check-ups to make sure her thyroid hormone is stable.
As you can imagine, this decision was bittersweet for us. We love Orange County, but we also miss living in Los Angeles where we both were born and raised, and where so many of our family and friends still reside. But, we are certain that this is exactly where the Lord wants us to be, at least for now. We have developed wonderful friendships in Irvine, and established a fruitful ministry at Compass Bible Church in Aliso Viejo. We will be looking to move from our on-campus apartment to a more permanent location somewhere in Orange County during the month of June, so we'll be sure to keep you posted. We look forward to hosting everyone from near and far!
Many thanks to all of you for your faithful prayers and support.
Much love,
Matt and Jenny
