encouragement and announcements

WHAT an awesome meeting we had yesterday!  I feel like we are all getting to know the ladies at our tables a little better, and I don't know about your table, but mine went so smoothly.  Everyone had something to share, we stuck to the topic, AND I came away feeling really encouraged.

Rachel's C.H.A.T. acrostic was really great, I think it's genius!  It's great and applicable for any gathering of women, MOPS or not.

Let's all remember to:
C
H
A
T

      The message this week was great! Plunging into relationships with other women creates an impact!  There will be a BIG SPLASH and will affect a lot of areas of our lives and families.  Plunging is all about going deeper and being authentic in our friendships, taking risks to use the gifts and talents that the Lord has given each one of us!  We encourage you to find that gift inside that you have and use it as your expression of love!

Some notes and reminders:

Thank you to Dana B. for coordinating our first big group play date!  "Picnic in the Park" Weather permitting, we will be meeting at City View Park on Tuesday, Sept. 25th from 10:00-12:00.  Bring your lunch!  Address: 2073 Kempsville Rd., VA Beach

                                                                                  

Our next group play date will be the "Holy Ghost Wiener Roast" at the New Life.  More details to come!


If anyone is still interested in joining the "Good Morning Girls" bible study group on facebook, please send Cresta  a friend invite and she will get you added.  Cresta can be found on our MOPS facebook page.http://www.goodmorninggirls.org/2012/09/how-to-soap-your-quiet-time/


Please be SURE to label your child with a bright yellow allergy sticker if they have an allergy. 

The book "Mom Connection" is available for purchase for a very discounted price of $7.  If you would like more out of MOPS and to follow along with the studies and get encouragement from them, the book is available.  Please contact Shawna M.    #530-604-9606

Check out these GREAT muffins!

Cheese & Bacon Breakfast Muffins

3 slices bacon (rind removed and chopped)
1 tablespoon olive oil
400 g button mushrooms (finely chopped)
1 1/2 cups plain flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt (freshly ground)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper (freshly ground)
1 cup cheese (grated, tasty, cheddar is good)
2 tablespoons chives (finely chopped)
80 g butter (melted)
2 eggs (lightly whisked)
2/3 cup milk (skim milk was used)
Directions:
In a frying pan (skillet) fry bacon over a medium-high heat until light and golden stirring often, about 4 minutes.
Remove to a kitchen paper covered plate.
Increase heat to high, add oil and mushrooms to the frying pan and cook for 5 minutes till tender and then set aside to cool.
Preheat oven to 200 degree celsius.
Grease a 12 hole muffin tin (regular size) or a 6 texas size (3/4 cup) muffin tin.
Sift flour, baking powder and salt and pepper into a bowl and add cheese and chives and mix together.
Whisk butter, egg and milk in a jug and pour into dry ingredients, stirring gently until almost combined.
Fold through the bacon and mushrooms.
Spoon mixture into prepared pan.
Bake for about 15 to 18 minutes for regular size muffins and about 20 to 25 for texas size.

Read more at: http://breakfast.food.com/recipe/cheese-bacon-breakfast-muffins-264533?oc=linkback

Some more recipe ideas!

Breakfast Hash Brown Casserole

1 package simply potatoes southwest hash brown
1 lb breakfast sausage (I like the Sage flavored. )
1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese or 1 cup freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 dozen egg
2/3 cup Bisquick
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup water
Directions:

Follow cooking instructions on sausage packaging and crumble while cooking. Drain any excess liquid when finished. In a large bowl, toss together hash browns, sausage and cheese, set aside. In a separate bowl combine the remaining ingredients and whisk or use a hand blender until the eggs start to foam on the top. Coat a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spay or butter. Place hash brown mixture into baking dish and pour egg mixture over the top. Make sure the egg mixture completely saturates the potatoes. Cover and place in the refrigerator if baking in the morning. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour. Place foil over the casserole about half way through as the top will start to brown.

OPTIONS: You can sprinkle additional cheese on the top before taking it out of the oven.
I usually use some freshly grated cheese in the recipe, as it seems to have more moisture and I find the packaged shredded variety a little dry. This usually will make a difference when refrigerating and reheating leftovers, so the casserole won't become too dried out.
Try adding any leftover or fresh vegetables you might have on hand. Remember that frozen veges will contain some water, in which you would need to increase your baking time.
Substitute the sausage with precooked crumbled bacon. Not sure how much you would use.
Serve with salsa.

Breakfast casseroles!

here's some fabulous ideas for some easy breezy breakfast casseroles!

Sunrise Breakfast Casserole

What you’ll need: 
12 ounces Johnsonville breakfast sausage links
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 onion minced
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon ground dry mustard
salt/pepper
4 cups frozen hash browns – thawed
1 1/4 cups cheddar cheese – shredded, divided

What to do: 
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place sausage links into an oven proof dish. Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes OR until no longer pink. Slice cooked sausages into 1/4″ sections. Set aside.

2. WHILE sausage is cooking, into a small saute pan add oil and onions. Cook until softened. Allow to cool.

3. Into a large bowl add: eggs, milk, mustard salt/pepper. Whisk together to combine. Add: potatoes, 1 cup cheese, sausage, sauteed onions. Mix to combine.

3. Spray a 13×9 baking dish with cooking spray. Pour mixture into dish. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup of cheddar on top.

4. Increase oven temperature to 375. Bake for approximately 30-40 minutes OR until set and lightly golden. Allow to set for approximately 10 minutes prior to serving.

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

This is one of my very favorite recipes of all time!

Strawberry Pretzel Squares
(Source: Kraft Foods)

2 cups finely crushed pretzels
½ cup sugar, divided
2/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
1½ pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. milk
1 cup thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
2 cups boiling water
1 pkg. (8-serving size) JELL-O Brand Strawberry Flavor Gelatin
1½ cups cold water
1 qt. (4 cups) strawberries, sliced

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Mix pretzel crumbs, 1/4 cup of the sugar and the butter. Press onto bottom of 13×9-inch baking pan. Bake 10 min. Cool.

BEAT cream cheese, remaining 1/4 cup sugar and the milk until well blended. Gently stir in whipped topping. Spread over crust. Refrigerate until ready to use.

MEANWHILE, stir boiling water into dry gelatin mix in large bowl at least 2 min. until completely dissolved. Stir in cold water. Refrigerate 1½ hours or until thickened (spoon drawn through leaves definite impression). Stir in strawberries. Spoon over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate 3 hours or until firm. Cut into squares to serve. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze

Serves 18
Ingredients

⅓ cups Water
1 can Pureed Pumpkin (15 Oz)
2 whole Eggs
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
2 teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 box Yellow Cake Mix (18 Ounce Box)
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 cup Brown Sugar, Divided
½ cups Flour
4 Tablespoons Butter, Melted
¼ cups Granulated Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
¼ cups Heavy Whipping Cream

Preparation Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F.

In a large bowl mix together the water, pumpkin, eggs, 1 Tablespoon of vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice until well combined. Add the cake mix and baking soda and mix until just combined.

Grease a 9×13 pan with butter and pour batter into pan.

In a small bowl mix together 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1/2 cup flour and melted butter. Use your fingers to sprinkle over the top of the cake. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

For the glaze, combine the other 1/2 cup brown sugar, granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and heavy cream in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir until all sugar is dissolved.

When cake is finished baking, poke holes in the top with a toothpick. Pour glaze over the cake, making sure to cover all surfaces. Serve cake warm or at room temperature.

Simple, but true!!

Relationships and Refreshing!

It's time for a blog post other than just recapping our meeting.  We ladies here on steering had 2 really great meetings this week and covered a LOT on how we can better serve all of you, how we can grow as Christians through our motherhood journeys, and talked about informational things as well. 

To get the info out of the way:

Later this week, I will be posting in the new events section about 2 opportunities we have:  BETH MORE and the MOM CONNECTION BOOK.  Please look for these later

*Allergy info!!!!-  So far this year, there has only been 1 mom come out to tell us that their child has an allergy.  PLEASE if there are more children, you need to let us know.  The confusion about the milk allergy from last week is being sorted out currently.  If your child has an allergy steering team members will be around with allergy stickers and they will will also be on the table in Kid's cove. These need to be ON your child.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I personally am loving MOPS so far, and we've only met once as a group!  Even though we all chose numbers out of a box to pick our tables, let's not forget about the sovereignty of the Lord in how the tables are laid out.  I truly believe that He placed what table leaders He wanted to be at certain tables with certain ladies.  Let's remember that we are here to form new and lasting relationships. 

Ecclesiates 4:9-12 pretty much sums up MOPS this year:  

 Two are better than one,
    because they have a good return for their labor
¹⁰ If either of them falls down,
    one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
    and has no one to help them up.
¹¹ Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
    But how can one keep warm alone?
¹² Though one may be overpowered,
    two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AWESOME FIRST MEETING!

What an AWESOME first meeting!  It was so refreshing, was it not??  A BIG BIG Thank you to everyone involved on our steering team and to our new leader Rachel W.!    I think she spoke with extra grace today. First time meetings are bound to have their quirks, but I really do think our meeting was blessed today.  I think the Lord is really going to bring us all together this year.  

The Sister tables were a BIG success and it's exciting meeting so many more faces than just the few we have at our set tables.  I'm excited to see our relationships blossom into what God will have them grow into.  MOPS is all about lifting each other up... a place where we can come to laugh, to cry, to chat, to learn, most of all, to form new and lasting relationships!

A few preliminary notes from today's meeting:

CHILDCARE:  If you child has a food allergy of any kind, at the next meeting please pick up a bright yellow allergy sticker for them to wear.
-Brochures about Moppetts are available at the front desk of kids cove 
-ages 3, 4, and 5's will be doing a little lesson and will have outside play time during MOPS.  Please bring weather appropriate wear for your child.
- PLEASE LABEL ALL ITEMS!  Diaper bags and sippy cups in particular.
-MOPS is a great place to come and chat.  We dismiss at precisely at 11:30.  PLEASE Pick up your children FIRST before finishing conversations.  Let's be fair to our child care workers and let them go home on time as well
-PLEASE follow the same rules with MOPS as you do with schools and day cares.  If they are sick, please don't share that with other kids or moms.  Please do everyone a favor and stay home. We will miss you, but we will see you at the next meeting

Can you just imagine new comers, coming to this blog seeing this picture?  HA haah... it's funny thinking about what they would think of MOPS.  We participated in a fun ice breaker today and THIS was the main prize for each table and I was the lucky winner at our table!  I feel very priviledged ladies.  For anyone just visiting, the theme this year is Plunge! 

  

Come one Come all!

It's that time ladies!  MOPS time! 

Feeling a little like THIS?------>

Who's excited for some much needed refreshment?  ME!  

This Wednesday, September 5th at 9:30 am is our very first meeting and we are all so excited to see some old and new faces and make a whole circle of new friends. 

We have all met together and have new ideas and brainstorms about what will be best for our group for this new MOPS year and it's exciting to see just what will come out of it.

Please look for us all on Wednesday, we will be wearing special name tags and will be there to HELP you with anything.  We all look forward to serving, and also to serve WITH you as a group as we support and encourage each other. We mommy's need that don't we?

I wanted to provide you with a list of our new steering team! 

Look for these names:

Avita- Moppet Curriculum and Administration
Becky - discussion group leader
Carol  - moppets Director
Dana - special Events leader
Lauren - Publicity
Mendy - Hospitality
Michelle- finance and registration
Rachel O. - Mommy Blogger
Rachel W. - Coordinator
Shawna - Supportive staff


If you haven't registered at the MOPS table yet at the church, please don't worry.... just come prepared to pay with your checkbook or cash and we will have a sign up table there on Wednesday.  I know there has been a lot of general confusion about registration, but I do believe that all of the quirks have been worked out and we are ready to go.  
As a refresher, the MOPS international fee is $23.95 and added to that is $50 per semester.  So, you only pay $23.95 one time for the whole year, that being this time.
Your payment for this semester will be $73.95 total and then again in the winter semester, it will be $50.

Please arrive a little early if you need to register still so that you can get your children settled in his/her new classrooms and still have time to register before the meeting starts.