Merry Christmas!

Hello Ladies! Thank you for coming to our Christmas celebration. We really look forward to it every year and this year was, as usual, a great time. Thank you to Danielle for being brave enough to share her hard work on the violin with us. It is so inspiring to see a busy mom who has found time for her dreams. Whatever you wish you could do, make some time to do it this year! Our children should learn by example that we should make use of our God-given talents.



Kelly did such a great job on decorations. A lot of time and thought goes into preparing for our meetings and Kelly does her job of hospitality so well. Thank you Kelly! You are loved and appreciated.

We welcome our newest Moppet, Timothy Delaria! What a trooper Sarah is! Thanks for bringing him for us all to coo over...

Christine is doing such a great job on crafts this year. The coasters turned out so cute!

And of couse...it wouldn't be Christmas without cinnamon crunch bagels!

Time for MOPS again!

MOPS is coming up again this week and we'll be having our annual Christmas celebration. We are looking forward to seeing you there! Bring a friend! We're going to have a special Christmas craft, a gorgeous catered buffet, music, maybe some caroling and just a great time with each other. If any of you have any special talents you'd like to share with the group, Friday is the day! Just let us know! Here are some photos from last meeting along with a few recipes. See you Friday

French Toast Bake
1/4	cup LAND O LAKES® Butter, melted
2	cans (12.4 oz each) Pillsbury® refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing
6	Eggland's Best eggs
1/2	cup heavy whipping cream
2	teaspoons ground cinnamon
2	teaspoons vanilla
1	cup Fisher® Chef's Naturals® Chopped Pecans
1	cup maple syrup
Garnish
	Icing from cinnamon rolls
	Powdered sugar
1/2	cup maple syrup, if desired

DIRECTIONS

2.	In medium bowl, beat eggs. Beat in cream, cinnamon and vanilla until well blended; gently pour over roll pieces. Sprinkle with pecans; drizzle with 1 cup syrup.
3.	Bake 20 to 28 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 15 minutes. Meanwhile, remove covers from icing; microwave on Medium (50%) 10 to 15 seconds or until thin enough to drizzle.
4.	Drizzle icing over top; sprinkle with powdered sugar. If desired, spoon syrup from dish over individual servings. Serve with the additional 1/2 cup maple syrup.

Carmel Pecan Wreath (Monkey Bread)
*Warning, this recipe is messy in the oven. Cover rack with tin foil or bake on tray to avoid big clean up

1 cup chopped pecans, divided
16 frozen white dinner rolls
3 1/2 oz. pkg. cook & serve butterscotch pudding mix
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup butter, melted

The night before, sprinkle half the pecans in the bottom of a Bundt pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Arrange dinner rolls on top of pecans; sprinkle with pudding mix. Mix brown sugar and butter together; pour over rolls. Spread remaining pecans over top. Place pan in a cold oven and let stand overnight to rise. In the morning, remove pan from oven and preheat to 325 degrees. Return pan to oven; bake for 30 minutes. Turn upside down onto a platter and serve.

MOPS Recipes

Hi Ladies! We're excited to see you tomorrow and know we will all have a lot of fun as usual. A few announcements: There is a vendor fair at the Children's Farm tomorrow from 4pm-9pm and Kelly and Megan will have a table there with their bows: Hot Mess Bows-Boutique bows at garage sale prices so come on by! Also, if anyone has any other recipes they'd like to share, please just email them to joinmops@gmail.com

Last week's recipes:


Eggnog Pound Cake

1-18 1/4 oz. yellow cake mix
1-4 serving instant vanilla pudding mix
3/4 cup eggnog
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 10 inch fluted or tube pan. In a large mixing bowl combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggnog and oil; beat on l9w speed until moistened. Add eggs and nutmeg: beat on med-high for 4 minutes. Pour into pan and bake 40-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes, remove from the pan. Cool completely and sprinkle with confectioners sugar.


Potato Casserole

2lbs. thawed hash brown potatoes
1/2 cup melted butter
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
8 oz. sour cream
10 oz. mild cheddar cheese
1 cup cream of celery soup

Mix all ingredients together. Top with 2 cups crushed corn flakes. Melt 1/4 stick of butter and drizzle on top of corn flakes. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes

Egg, sausage and potato Bake

1lb of Maple sausage links
20 oz. of Simply Potatoes
8oz. mild shredded cheddar cheese
10 eggs
3/4 milk
1/4 stick butter melted

Beat together eggs, milk and butter. Layer meat in bottom of 9x13 in. pan. Pour egg mixture over sausage. Add simply potatoes, top with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

MOPS Recipe Corner

Hi Ladies!
I got a couple recipes from last meeting to share with you!

Carmel Snack Mix-from the kitchen of Leanne deKonig

Put in large paper bag and set aside:
14 oz. Crispix cereal
2 cups peanuts
2 cups pretzels
Combine in large bown:
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white corn syrup
Microwave on high for 2 minutes; stir mixture and microwave 2 more minutes on high. Add:
1/2 t. vanilla
1/2 t. baking soda

Put in large paper bag and set aside:
14 oz. Crispix cereal
2 cups peanuts
2 cups pretzels

Mix the liquid mix thoroughly and pour over cereal in paper bag. Microwave 1 1/2 mins on high with bag folded shut. Shake well. 1 1/2 more minutes in microwave and shake well again. Microwave 15 more seconds on high and then spread out on Reynold's Wrap. Let cool and enjoy! (Store in air tight container)




Caramel Apple Dip
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 c powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Mix above ingredients together and refrigerate. Serve with apple slices

Breakfast Casserole

12 eggs
2 c milk
2c cheddar cheese
4 c hash browns, shredded
1lb bacon or sausage browned or 1 lb ham cooked
chopped onion to taste

Combine eggs and milk and beat well. Add other ingredients and pour into a 9x12 inch greased baking dish. Bake one hour at 350 degrees.

First Meeting of the Season!

Breakfast is awesome as usual! Look for recipes in the upcoming newsletter! And if you ladies who are bringing food to the next meeting would be so good as to bring your recipes for Jean she will put them in the next newsletter!

Craft time is so much fun! We made bracelets and anklets out of buttons! So creative!

Violet Fox is here!

It was great to see some familiar faces along with some new faces too!

MOPS is a great place to find lifelong friends! Join us next time on Friday October 2nd from 9-11am. We're looking forward to seeing you!

Together on Planet Mom

Hi Moms! It's time for another exciting year of MOPS! Are you ready? We've missed you! I hope your summer was awesome! We can't wait to have you back. We have lots of new topics in store for you this year that will be sure to inspire you in your relationships with your families and your relationship with God.

Join us on Friday, September 18th for the kickoff of our new year!

WHAT IS MOPS??

For you new members, MOPS is from 9am-11am on every other Friday with CHILDCARE! We have breakfast, make a craft, hear a speaker/entertainment or watch a video and have discussion groups! When was the last time you had 2 hours to socialize with your friends without the constant "MOMMY, MOMMY, MOMMY," demands? Let our awesome Moppets workers play with your kids while you play with your friends! Our kids love Moppets. They make crafts, have snacks and learn about God! What a wonderful opportunity for you to relax and keep those kids off the TV for a bit (I know that's MY struggle...)

Don't forget, if you have any special talents, musical, poetry, whatever, we want you to share it with us this year! We found so many hidden talents last year let's keep it going. If you want to volunteer to help this year we have opportunities in our Care Group-a new group which will coordinate a ministry to cater to our MOPS moms who have babies with meals, or light house cleaning, or babysitting. We also want to help out our MOPS moms who are in crisis with illnesses or hardships. We want to work hard this year to be a blessing to each other. Let us know if you have a heart for this ministry. We all know we want to get help when we need it and we would all love to volunteer to give it when needed. If we all pitch in, we can get it done and be blessed because of it!

Don't forget to invite your girlfriends! Contact Megan Fox if you would like cards to hand out at playgroups.

See you soon!

Love,
MOPS Steering Group

Take the ONLINE SURVEY!

It's time for the end of the year survey! Please take a few minutes to fill out this survey so we can make your MOPS experience even better next year!

CLICK HERE!

Brian Skala Fundraising Benefit!

As most of you know, Janine's father-in-law, Brian, has been diagnosed with a very aggressive form of brain cancer. He is currently undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments like a champion. He is dealing with this life-altering situation with dignity and a strong, brave heart. During this difficult time, Brian is unable to work and the cost of his care is exceptional. There is a wonderful opportunity for us MOPS moms to reach out in a time of need. Brian Skala's benefit is only $30 per ticket and includes:

• Beer
• Food
• Raffle Prizes
• Silent Auction
• DJ and Dancing
• Split the Pot

DATE: Saturday, May 16th

TIME: 4pm-9pm

PLACE: The Joliet Moose
25 Springfield Ave.
Joliet, IL 60435

For ticket information/donations, please contact Amanda at (815) 439-3790. If you are unable to attend the event and would still like to send a donation, please make your check out to Brian Skala and mail to:
Amanda Dehm
2364 Essington Road
Suite #324
Joliet, IL 60435

Petland Outing!

Hi ladies! Here's some photos for the super fun outing to Petland. There's another one coming up next week so check your email for the invitation if you missed this one. Looks like a lot of fun!