I have a family

"Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. ‘Children are an heritage of the Lord’ (Psalms 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.” ~The Family, a proclamation to the world.

I have a few families . . . each one is important, each one is meaningful, each one is much loved and cared about . . .



My first family is composed of all the people that are related to me by blood and by choice . . . and unfortunately most of these much beloved ones live quite far away from me at the moment. These are my husband, my parents, my siblings, members of my extended family, my children, their spouses and my two grandsons. A family is such a special institution and, I believe, a gift from God. It's like we are all the part of one orchestra, and we are all playing the same symphony . . . each one of us a different instrument, but in total harmony with one another . . . each playing a song of the heart that is singular and understood only to that family. No matter how much distance may separate them from one another . . . the song remains and draws them together in a unity of feeling and love for one another . . . or at least that's the way it should be . . . that's the way it was planned to be.



My second family is like unto the first, but the family that is with me all the time . . . Todd and my Jess. We are a family. Todd and I met rather late in life, too late to have children together, but we have Jess. She is a dog, but she is much more than that to us. We love her the same as we would had we been able to have a child and she is important to us as any child would be. The three of us, we make beautiful music together. We understand each other. We love and care about each other. We belong together . . .



Then there is my church family. These are the people that I feel a special kinship with, a supernatural bond. We meet together at least once every week, sometimes more often than that, and there is always this special feeling present. It's hard to describe, but . . . we love each other and we feel the same way about most things, we, too . . . understand each other, or at least we try to! It's so nice, in a world where good people feel increasingly like aliens, to have a place where we can go and feel like we fit, like we belong, like we are not alone . . .



I have a family at work. United in purpose, we all strive to do our best to please our employers, both singularly and co-hesively as a group. We help one another, because we know that, if one of us falls, it will drag the rest of us down and so we need to support one another in all things. We care about each other and about our employers, and while we seldom, if ever, get together apart from in those working hours, when we are together there is a friendly harmony that helps to cement us and to keep us strong and unified. It is a real blessing. I have worked in other places where these feelings were not present, where there was no real caring or compassion from my fellow employees, or even my employer, so this special relationship that I have with my co-workers . . . this is a special treasure . . .



Friends are family too. I like to think that friends are family you get to choose for yourself. This is another special bond and I am happy to say I have special friends all over the earth. We love and care for each other as well. Like minded, and yet different in many ways, there is a special kinship that draws us together and speaks to our individual hearts. Each one is important to me in their own unique and individual ways and I feel as if we have known and loved each other forever. It's a truly special way to feel, and my life has been truly enriched and blessed by these very wonderful friendships.



You, my readers, are another special family to me. I come on here each morning and I pen my thoughts, and you come on each day to read them. There is a wonderful bond that is forged between me, the writer, and you, my readers . . . another relationship of caring and special feelings. You are all very important to me, and I hope that I am important to you, and I can tell from each comment that is left, or, even the words that are left unspoken . . . that I am . . . another blessing in my life.



And those are my thoughts on this Saturday morning . . . I hope you didn't mind me sharing them.

Boudreau is home and while he is in a bit of pain (who wouldn't be!!!) he is resting comfortably and is happy to be back with the people who really care about him, his family. Many thanks to all of you for your special thoughts and prayers. We should find out next week if the growth was malignant or not. We're all praying that it wasn't

I think one of the things about any family is the feeling of comfort that goes along with the relationships. I like things that are comforting and cosy, a home, a special chair, my own pillow on my bed and this delicious version of macaroni and cheese . . . convenient, easy and much tastier than anything you could ever get in a box . . .



*Stove Top Macaroni and Cheese*
Serves 4

I got this recipe from my sister a long time ago, and yes, it too comes from my big blue binder. I'm not sure where she got it from, but I am sure it's delicious! Whenever I make it, I picture her in my mind . . . standing at her stove and stirring it up the very first time she showed me how to make it. I guess that's what makes the recipes in my blue binder all the more special . . . each one has a particular memory attached, a person, a feeling . . .

8 ounces of uncooked macaroni
4 tablespoons butter
2 eggs, beaten
6 ounces evaporated milk (not sweetened condensed)
If you want to make it lower in fat, use the low fat version
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1 teaspoon sea salt, rubbed between your fingers
freshly ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon mustard powder
10 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (I use a combination of mature cheddar and leicester cheese)

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Cook your macaroni in this until just al dente, according to the package directions. Drain well, then return to the pot. Add the butter and toss the macaroni well in it to coat. In a large beaker, whisk together the eggs, milk, hot sauce, salt, pepper, and mustard. Stir into the hot pasta, and add the cheese. Turn the heat to low, and continue to stir and cook until cheese is melted and mixture is creamy. Serve.



PS. The Tres Leche Cake lost out by a narrow margin to my Peanut Butter Picnic Cake on my Make Me Bake Poll this week. Look for a new poll shortly!