Hand in Hand Program @ The Children's Museum

The Children's Museum at the Museum of Nature and Science has wonderful early childhood programming. The link is:
http://www.natureandscience.org/dcm/default.asp

Be sure to check out the Mommy and Me "Hand in Hand" Programs. They take place Wednesdays 10-11:30am. Hand-in-Hand is a literacy based drop-in program for adults and their preschoolers to imagine, explore, and discover together. Each week hear a story, get your wiggles out to music, create theme-related crafts and enjoy fun activities!

February:
Shape of the Month: Heart
Color of the Month: Red & Pink
Alphabet Hand sign: H – Heart

February 4 “Little Buckaroos”
Put on your favorite cowboy boots to hit the dusty trail for our Texas Rodeo Round-up story time! Come dressed in your favorite cowboy/cowgirl attire. Create a printed bandana and a Texas painted pony craft!

February 11 “Have a Heart”
Enjoy a heart warming morning creating valentine crafts for your special loved one. Hear how to keep your heart healthy and create your own Dr. Kit to take home! Stay for your special valentine cookie treat!

February 18 “Wags to Whiskers”
Celebrate “love your pet.” Meet our Friends from Operation Kindness to hear a special pet story and meet their very special “pet friend.” Learn all about pets, and pet safety. Bring along your favorite stuffed pet for us to meet.

February 25 “Dinosaur Rumpus”
Stomp along as you listen to the story, “Dinosaur Rumpus” by Tony Mitton. Create fossils and dinosaur crafts for a morning of DINO-mite fun!

Cool Kids

Thanks to Brad Schwall for a great meeting today and for a copy of "Blueprints" for each of us. Be sure to check out his website.
http://www.coolkidschannel.com/

Strawberry Pretzel Parfait

Nancy McWilliams

2 cups crushed pretzels
1/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. melted real butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, mix pretzels, sugar, and melted butter. Press into a 9x13 pyrex dish. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature.

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. cool whip, thawed

Blend softened cream cheese and sugar with a mixer. By hand, fold in the cool whip. Spread over room-temperature crust. Set aside. (I put into refrigerator.)

6 oz. strawberry jello (large package)
2 c. pineapple juice
20 oz. frozen strawberries, thawed and cut up if they are whole. If you get whole frozen, unsweetened strawberries, I cut them up and add sugar.

Heat pineapple juice. Add jello. Do not add any water. Add strawberries. Refrigerate until mixture is soft set. Watch carefully so jello does not set up. It should just be barely set. Pour strawberry mixture over cream cheese layer. Spread carefully. Refrigerate for several hours before serving. Can be made the day before serving. Keeps well for 3-4 days. After that, it still tastes good, but the pretzel crust becomes soggy.

This salad works well for those who need to use Splenda instead of sugar. Use sugarfree jello. Substitute Splenda for regular sugar except in the crust. Splenda can be used in the crust, but it makes the crust very hard. Unsweetened pineapple juice can also be substituted for the sweetened kind.

This salad works well with many menus. Sometimes people have chosen another serving of it rather that the dessert choices I had planned!

Grape Ambrosia

Nancy McWilliams

3 lbs. sweet (if possible!) red or purple seedless grapes

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

8 oz. sour cream

3/4 c. powdered sugar

De-stem grapes, wash and pat dry. (Very important step to dry the grapes completely so the salad won't be runny.) In a mixing bowl, use an  electric mixer to blend together the softened cream cheese, sour cream and powdered sugar till smooth.  Add grapes to cream mister and refrigerate overnight.

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. chopped toasted pecans

To toast pecans, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put chopped pecans on a cookie sheet. Turn oven off and place pecans in the oven for 5 minutes.

JUST BEFORE SERVING, sprinkle salad with brown sugar and toasted pecans.

This salad keeps well for only 2-3 days in the refrigerator. After that, the grapes tend to get soft and lose that nice "pop" that tastes good. Also, the salad just gets a little watery. Can still be eaten but is not quite as good!

Vickery Mops

Our Vickery Mops group is in need of our help in (re) furnishing the community center where we meet. If you have items to donate, desks, tables, chairs, bookcases, children's books, etc.  OR if you would like to get involved please contact Sindy Smith asap!!!  sindy@sindy4health.com or 214-363-2124

Mrs. Merrie's Summer Dressing

2c. cooked rice

1/2 c. Crisco oil

2 c. milk

2 eggs

Salt

Garlic salt

1 onion, diced

2 Tbsp. dried (or fresh) parsley

1/2 lb. grated Velveeta

Preheat oven to 350. Place cooked rice in 11x13 dish.

Mix oil, milk, eggs, onion, spices in a blender. Pour mixture

over rice. Cover with cheese. Cover and bake for 30 minutes.

Outreach Opportunities to Vickery area moms!

There is a MOPS group to help reach Hispanic mothers and their precious children and we NEED you!

When: Friday, Nov. 14th and Friday, Dec. 12th

Time: 10 am - noon

Where: 5929 Melody Lane, Dallas 75231 Gate code #0925 (this is by Skillman/Abrams Super-Target)

Questions: alwisner@sbcglobal.net

Basically, the needs are providing food, caring for the kiddos, planning crafts and getting a speaker. The goal is the same as our PCBC MOPS, just in a different area. We always present the gospel and have a devotional. Andria Wisner (Pike's wife) has headed this ministry up and desperately needs our help.  Let's be the body of Christ to this community in need!

"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother or sister in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us love with our actions." 

1 John 3:17-18

Attention all BOY moms!!!

5th Annual Truck Time

Sunday, November 16

11am -2pm

Admission $5 per person ages 2 and up

9401 Douglas Avenue, 75225

(SE corner Walnut Hill Lane & Tollway)

For more information, contact Esther Wolf

214-361-6606 or ewolf@shearith.org

The Magic of the Holidays

Join other women from PCBC on the evening of Wednesday, November 5 as we welcome Teri Sawyer (caterer, wife and mother). We will have a blast as Teri shares some of her ideas for creating "The Magic of the Holidays." Check out her website www.deliciouslyspeaking.com, and plan to come!

The Magic or the Holidays with Teri Sawyer

Wednesday, November 5, 6:00-7:30pm

PCBC - Ellis Parlor 

Seeds of Hope Sale

Most of you remember the Seeds of Hope SALE has been held in the fall for the past few years. This year they've taken the SALE online!!! Same fabulous Christmas goodies and gifts, but so much easier to shop. Check out the link to the right or www.seedsofhope-online.org.  Such a great organization to support and what a convenient way to do it. Enjoy!

Parenting advice from God

Hearing from Becky Teeter about "a mother's mouth" on Monday and knowing that Jody Capehart will enlighten us into the world of discipline at the next meeting has really got my mind going. It seems the only real times my mouth gets me into trouble (well, with my little one anyway) is when it comes to discipline. Ah, the ever popular topic of discipline. It seems to be the one thing that we argue with our own mothers about, the thing we are often most defensive about, the thing we spend the most time studying up on, and for most of us... the place where we get most frustrated in parenting. 

Since AJ was born, I've really learned a great deal about the grace of God and what exactly that means. In all of the research I do about parenting, I have learned the most by looking to scripture - to see God as my father and look to Him and to His Word for His "parenting advice." Ephesians 3: 18 (just happens to be the MOPS theme verse for this year - isn't God good!) states "... how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ..." His love is immeasurable. There is NOTHING I can do that will make Him love me any more and there is NOTHING I can do that will make Him love me any less. How's that for a model to follow?

This might be fun for our first "discussion." Comment below to recommend references on discipline you've found helpful. I've just picked up a few things by Dr. Tim Kimmel on Grace Based parenting (www.familymatters.net), and I know that many in our group are fans of Love and Logic (www.loveandlogic.com).

Group Gatherings

Blue - Playdate - Tuesday 10/14 3:30pm @ Amy's House

Green - Mom's Night - Thursday 10/9  7:30 pm @ Kathleen's Sky Diner

Yellow - Playdate/Photo-op - Monday 10/13 10 am @ the Dallas Arboretum

Check the bottom of the page for a full calendar of  MOPS events.

If you'd like me to include your group's info, just let me know!

Vickery Moms

Several members of our own MOPS group were incredibly blessed last year to be the hands and feet of Christ in starting a moms group in the Vickery area.  If you would like to join this group, it meets on the 3rd Friday of each month. If you would like to support the ministry in other ways, donations (clothing, furniture, appliances, toys and books) are always welcomed and appreciated.

Contact Sindy Smith to make arrangements or find out more about the group.  

sindy@sindy4health.com or 214-363-2124

SDWSC

At this morning's meeting, Lora mentioned a beautiful point that was raised to us at convention. So many of us long to find intimacy with God in the busyness of our crazy lives as mothers. The answer could be as simple as taking a cue from Mary of Bethany. She did what she could - not ALL she could, just what she could, and what a legacy she's left for all of us. Take a minute to study the WORD for yourself...

Mark 14 (New International Version)

1 Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some sly way to arrest Jesus and kill him. 2"But not during the Feast," they said, "or the people may riot."  3 While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.  4 Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, "Why this waste of perfume? 5It could have been sold for more than a year's wages and the money given to the poor." And they rebuked her harshly. 6"Leave her alone, " said Jesus. "Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.  7 The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me.  8 She did what she could.  She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. 9 I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her." 10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them.  11 They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over. 

MOPS Convention

Several members of our steering team and discussion group leaders, including myself, just returned from MOPS International Convention. We had a fabulous time and were uplifted, encouraged, and inspired to return to our families and to you, our MOPS family, with renewed spirits. We were reminded that for over 35 years, MOPS has been creating authentic communities where moms gather to experience encouragement, hope, support, and spiritual growth - all to help them impact their families, communities and world. The ministry of MOPS International is incredible. Take a look at the stats below and be honored, as I am, to be a part of such an awesome movement of women!

Mission Statement:

MOPS International exists to encourage, equip and develop every mother of preschoolers to realize her potential as a woman, mother and leader in the name of Jesus Christ.

MOPS Groups:

4,030 in the US

123 International groups

30 Countries

MOPS International Members:

102,700

Mothers of Preschoolers in the US:

14.3 million

If you haven't already, take some time to look around the www.MOPS.org site. Check out this amazing ministry you're already a part of!

Welcome

I am so excited to be posting this morning, as soon we will be unveiling our very own PCBC MOPS blog!!! This is your space - a place to come together, communicate, and share with each other those things we do every day and are so passionate about. As you look around, you'll see this is a very rough space that has a lot of holes... I need your help. Please let me know about those things you do - your blog, places you volunteer, your business, etc. The best way to get your info onto the blog is to shoot an email through the link at the top of the page. Don't let this replace your other contacts for MOPS. This address is for maintaining the blog only. If you have fabulous skills that may make our blog look AWESOME, don't delay - contact me today!!! Okay, look around, have fun, and come back often!