kids will play...

While the parents go out on a date or go back home and watch HGTV!!! Thank you for letting us play with your kids and fill them full of sugar;-) just kidding!! Here are a few pictures to enjoy! !

The BEST part of the entire night every kid sitting quietly watching Frozen! 

Things I Want My Kids to Remember"

We had the privilege of having pastor Pete from Woodcrest Church and his wife Dawn give us a few pointers on raising our children with a godly attitude at our recent meeting! Here they are in case you missed it:

1. Life isn't always fair! (Jeremiah 12:1) 

Kids watch how we model when life isn't fair! How do you react to God? 

2. Take responsibility for your actions! (Exodus 32:21-24)

This is a sign of courage and maturity...

3. Watch you tongue! (James 3:1-12)

Kids hang onto your every word and sometimes it is the negative words that hurt and stay with them the longest

4. Enjoy life now-not later!! (Ecclesiastes 11:7-10)

Don't wait to invest in your children or spouse take time now and enjoy every moment!

Beet & Chèvre salad

 

 Beet & Chèvre salad

 

 

 

 

1/2 package Spring Greens and 1/2 package leafy romaine

1/4 c freeze dried corn

1/4 c julienned beets

1/4 c goat cheese crumbles

1/4 c Craisins

1/4 c candied nuts

Toss with oil and vinegar, or Brianna's poppyseed dressing.

Chocolate Chip-Peanut Butter Bars

 

 

 

 

 

Chocolate Chip-Peanut Butter Bars

Base and topping:
2 1/4 C quick oats
1 1/4 C packed brown sugar
1 C flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 C butter, softened

Filling:
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1/4 C peanut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 C semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 C coarsely chopped salted peanuts-optional

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13X9 inch pan with shortening or cooking spray. In a large bowl, beat base and topping ingredients on low speed until crumbly. Reserve 2C crumb mixture for topping. Press remaining mixture evenly into bottom of pan.

2. In a small bowl, mix condensed milk, peanut butter and vanilla until well blended. Pour evenly over base. sprinkle with chocolate chips and peanuts, if desired. Sprinkle reserved crumb mixture over top; press down gently.

3. Bake 25-30 minutes until golden brown. (Center will not be set) Cool completely, about 1 hr. Cut bars to desired size

The Power of Spoken Blessings

Mentor Mom Devotional by Mary Timmers

 

In Place of a major life overhaul--an maybe you need it, try using a blessing to bring peace and calm.

 

God gave this blessing to the Israelites for a good reason. He wanted them to remember it and then USE IT OVER AND OVER. It's an example of w hat a blessing looks like, but we can always come up with our own.

 

The important thing is to take God and His qualities and personalize them and then place them up to the person you want to receive God's blessing.

 

One for your child going to sleep at night is:

 

"Johnny, May God give to you deep and refreshing sleep.  May He bring dreams of you walking with Him in beautiful places. May you rest in Him tonight and all day tomorrow.  Love and peace be with you as you close your eyes."

 

These are the last words your child will hear from you before he falls asleep.

Maybe you're thinking "Oh yeah, you don't know my kid.  He might hear many more words from me before he finally goes to sleep." :)

 

Here's my challenge to you.  Keep doing this every night. Say a blessing over your children, to your teenager as they go out the door to school, to your husband as he leaves for work, and see how God blesses you and your loved one!

-Mary

Burlap Christmas Wreath

We all had the chance to get crafty and make a cute burlap wreath for our homes. Here are a few pictures of our moms helping each other and having fun making the wreath. Here is a link to the tutorial in case you missed it:-) Burlap Wreath

This Iis what the wreath looks like!

Bunco

You may have seen on the mops FB page that tables 3 and 4 were getting together to play bunco. You may have wondered, “what in the world is bunco” Well, it is basically a dice game. There is no skill involved (other than trying to keep track of your score while talking, but, hey, that is why we kept our tallies- right ladies). It is a fun reason to have a girls night and have some good food and conversation. And, that is what we did.

We enjoyed it so much we have decided to try to do it monthly starting in January. So, mark your calendars for the next night (open to all) which will be January 16^th. Courtney Bradshaw has offered to host. More details will come. 

Here are a couple pics from the evening as well as the recipe for what I now know are called the official bunco sandwiches.

Baked Ham Sandwiches

Sandwiches:
24 dollar buns
1 lb sliced swiss cheese
1 1/2- 2 lbs sliced honey ham

Sauce:
1 cup butter
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp poppy seeds
4 tsp Brown sugar
 Boil sauce and let cool

Place buns in rectangular cake pans (12 in each 9x13)- used 1 1/2-2 slices of ham and 3/4 slice of cheese on each
Spoon cooled sauce over top of sandwiches then cover with tin foil and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Bake for 20 minutes covered with tin foil, then remove and bake for 5 more minutes.

There is a little bit of a variation with this recipe (uses Hawaiian rolls and mustard)
http://www.recipelion.com/Sandwiches/Bunco-Buns