Happy (Almost) Halloween!

Hello mamas! I hope you are excited for some special Halloween fun coming up in just two short days! This is a picture of a dear friend of mine's little 19-month-old daughter. She is Little Bo Peep! YES, her mom MADE everything. Don't you love her little woolly sheep legs? Not to mention the dress. Tooooooooo cute. Yep, this mom is a sewer and has been long before kids. Me? I purchase from the store or online and it's all good. :) Regardless, it is one of those times to make great family memories---from pumpkin patches, decorating or carving pumpkins, dress-up, and finally---trick-or-treating.

But speaking of memories---what about when you have one of those "parenting/kid episodes you'll never forget?" moments, which will also no doubt be etched in your memory forever? I had one of those yesterday. In a desperate attempt to take a shower (and thinking my oldest two would not fight for 10 minutes, or get into trouble) I locked my bedroom door and proceeded to get in the shower. I eventually heard banging on the door, yelled back that I would be done soon, then the banging stopped. I thought they had heard me and went back to playing. NO---they LEFT the HOUSE and went to TWO neighbors houses thinking something had happened to me! The next sound I heard was the doorbell---where I go sprinting in my bathrobe to find my sweet retired grandma neighbor and the kids, now in tears. In their escape from the house the front door had also locked behind them, so they had been locked out, as well. In a big misunderstanding---we had lots of talks and I will NEVER lock my door again, so they can ALWAYS get to me. They also could not hear me yelling at them due to the noise of the shower, fan, and a second bathroom door that was closed. And I did NOT take a super long shower---it was an over-reaction on Allison's part. We also got to discuss how to call 9-11. OH MY. But to TOP IT OFF---that afternoon I locked myself and all the kids out of the house (again!) when we went to play outside. Luckily, we were playing with neighbors, who warmly welcomed us over to their house until my husband got home.

Somehow I managed to stay decently calm through it all and probably the best part was getting to chat afterwards with my sweet neighbor who had ushered the kids back to me. She told me not to feel bad, and told me story upon story of when her son was little and all the similar things that had happened when raising him. I think we should write them down---so we can laugh later, if we haven't already. Or maybe the fear/anxiety will make a permanent imprint so there is no need to write it down. So many adventures in parenting!!!!!!!!!!!!

Words of Wisdom

Something Yummy

http://www.skinnytaste.com/

http://www.justapinch.com/

Be You, Bravely!

Hello MOPS mommies! Welcome to the first blog post of the 2014-2015 MOPS year. :) I hope you enjoy what you find on here. Just email mopsncpc@gmail.org or comment on our Facebook page (NCPC MOPS) if you have anything you'd like me to share---whether recipes, great quotes, parenting articles, fun things to do with kids, etc. You name it!

What a great theme this year, yes? It certainly takes a lot of bravery and courage as a mom---whether that comes in small forms or large. Small like getting through the next hour of your day, or larger life changes. One thing is for sure: with God and each other, we absolutely can do it! Luke 18:27 says "What is impossible with man is possible with God." And Proverbs 17:17 says "A friend loves at all times". I hope that in this group we find a true place to experience God's love, and to love and support each other. It amazes me to think of how each of our unique mothering journeys might unfold this year and to see God work in our lives in us and through us. Let's take a deep breath and see where some bravery might lead! :)
~Hannah

Wise Words

Something Yummy

A place for individual recipes, and/or entire websites devoted to food and cooking! :)

http://allrecipes.com/

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/

Book Nook

Devotionals, parenting books and inspirational stories that may help us in our mothering journey.

Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young

Personality Plus for Parents, by Florence Littauer

Happy Almost Summer!

Edmonds Marina Beach

Hello mamas! Can you believe summer is just around the corner? What a blessing it has been to get out and enjoy the warmth of the sun already, even though it's still spring. I have been pondering the sermon I heard on Easter Sunday studying John 20:1-18 where Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene after having risen from the dead, but she didn't recognize him, "thinking he was the gardener" (John 20:15). Pastor David urged us to consider the ways in which we sometimes don't recognize Jesus in our everyday, routine lives---because we may be too busy, distracted, or just don't stop to think about the situation and look for God's work there.

And it got me thinking---there are so many ways God shows up to meet our needs in the everyday----so many blessings and small things to be thankful for----what are some of the ways you have seen God in your everyday lately? A toddler napping when you desperately needed them to? A 2-year-old trying a bite of new food? A longer stretch of uninterrupted nighttime sleep? A friendly text from a friend? Playing outside? A brief moment to yourself? The list can go on and on.  I think the more we can do this, the more we will realize just HOW MUCH God loves and cares for us---and He has each of our days in His hands.  Even though there will always be tough moments during the day, or sometimes many tough days in a row, if we really look we WILL find the bright spots there too---we just have to remember to look, and say "Thank You, Lord!" :)

Wise Words

I have so enjoyed the "Beautiful Mess" theme this year. I hope we have all come a little closer to embracing our beautiful, messy, chaotic lives with little ones.  This may include usually having dishes in the sink, living mostly out of laundry baskets, and stepping on lots of crumbs with bare feet.  But it ALSO includes breathing in the sweet smell of skin after bath, feeling cuddly bodies draped on ours, and exploring the world through big, round, curious eyes---eyes that need their mama to love them through the mess.

Love you, mommies.

-Hannah

Happy Easter

Hello mamas! So I panicked a little (or a lot) last weekend when I thought I had left my 3 newly-purchased Easter buckets in the cart at Fred Meyer and was dreading they would be sold out, and it was going to be rather inconvenient to try to get them back, or find others. I still feel like a "newbie" when it comes to a lot of this stuff (Easter baskets, Santa, etc) and it often stresses me out---just going in the stores. Ick. Overwhelming! But I know, and YOU know, what Easter really is. I am trying so hard, as we are just embarking on forming our own traditions with our little ones, to keep things simple, and in perspective. Jesus. Love. Died. Cross. HE LIVES!   Thank you to a former MOPS mom, Melanie, for sharing the following Easter post----short, powerful words from the popular "Momastery" blog, by Glennon Doyle Melton. (p.s. Found my kids' buckets hidden all-too-well under the stuff to fill them, down in the black garbage bag I am using to HIDE everything). I blame it on mommy-brain for not looking more thoroughly. :)

http://momastery.com/blog/2014/04/13/back-from-the-dead/

Family Fun! 

(click on links, below)

Local Easter Egg Hunts-this has a list for all over Washington state. Check under King and Snohomish counties for ones in our area!

City of Mill Creek Easter Egg Hunt

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival-breathtaking views up in Mt. Vernon, WA.

Resurrection Rolls 

Recipe and Instructions for Easter Rolls that tell the true meaning of Easter which is the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
...
Ingredients needed:
Crescent rolls
Melted butter
Large Marshmallows
Cinnamon
Sugar
Preheat Oven to 350 degrees
Give each child one triangle of crescent rolls.
Explain that he crescent roll represents the cloth that Jesus was wrapped in.
Read Matthew 27: 57-61

1. Give each child a marshmallow.
This represents Jesus.

2. Have him/her dip the marshmallow in melted butter.
This represents the oils of embalming.

3. Now dip the buttered marshmallow in the cinnamon and sugar.
This represents the spices used to anoint the body.

4. Then wrap up the coated marshmallow tightly in the crescent roll (not like a typical crescent roll up, but bring the sides up and seal the marshmallow inside.)
This represents the wrapping of Jesus' body after death.

5. Place all in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.
The oven represents the tomb--while you are waiting for the rolls to bake, read Matthew 27:62-66.

6. Remove rolls from oven and let them cool slightly.
Now the children can then open their rolls (cloths) and discover that Jesus is no longer there! HE IS RISEN!!!!
(The marshmallow melts and the crescent roll is puffed up, but empty.)

~ Now read Matthew 28:1-10

Enjoy your warm rolls as you rejoice at the good news of Easter!
And then go and tell someone else the good news today! ~ C4C

Bottom of Form

Recipe found at: Cowboys-4-Christ Facebook page

Northcreek Presbyterian's Holy Week Church Schedule, click here

Wishing you a very Happy and Blessed Easter.

Love, Hannah (and my baby bunny Allison, when she was 5 months old) 

March 19th, 2014

There are so many great mommy articles out there on the web.   But the following one is really, REALLY good. Please read. Thank you Stephanie from our group, for sharing.

http://faithandcomposition.wordpress.com/2014/03/10/mom-unmasked-embracing-authenticity-in-motherhood/

Wise Words

True! Keep up the amazing work, mamas.

Hehehe. True, too! I think I would also add three-year-old. :)

A Beautiful Mess

Brought to you by my kitchen counter. The catch-all for everything! Today's bounty boasts some hand-washed dishes, a marker box, a pile of boxes to be recycled, toys and socks. :)

Something Yummy

 The kids and I have had some fun (and actual success) in the kitchen recently! That's huge. :) We enjoyed the following healthy snacks.

Yogurt Muffins (with added blueberries)

This recipe is from the cookbook "How To Cook Everything" by Mark Bittman.

1 T oil

1 C white flour

1 C whole wheat pastry flour

1 and 1/4 C yogurt or sour cream (I think the secret for us was using whole milk baby yogurt! Ours was strawberry but any kind would work)

1/4 C sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 egg

1-2 C blueberries, if you wish

Mix dry ingredients together. Mix wet ing. together. Gently blend together. Bake at 375* for 20-25 min. Makes 12 muffins.

Walnut and Dried Cherry Bars. We loved these! Could substitute almost any nut, or dried fruit.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/walnut-and-dried-cherry-bars-recipe.html

March 5, 2014

Well, this day my blog post happens to fall on Ash Wednesday! Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent, or the 40 days preceding the beginning of Holy Week, leading up to Easter Sunday. Often people either GIVE UP something or DO something during this time, to remind themselves of the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross. I think there are so many great things we could do. But, to be totally honest, trying to attempt doing something special during this supremely busy time of mothering little ones feels a little overwhelming to me. But then I got to thinking----aren't we ALREADY sacrificing, daily, so many things, as we live into our calling as moms??? Showers. Sleep. "Sit-down" meals. Going to the bathroom alone. :) Breathing in one minute of quiet when someone is not yelling "Mommy!" at you? The list goes on and on. So it is my prayer during this season of Lent that we offer up these daily small (and yet they aren't!) sacrifices to the Lord and remember him in all these things we are already doing.
  "I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you; I will praise your name, Lord, for it is good." Psalm 54:6

Wise Words

In light of our topic on marriage last week, I appreciated finding the following quotes:

This came from the Facebook page for "Focus on the Family" with the caption: "Never underestimate the power of your God-given love for your husband or wife. Love heals, restores, & covers a multitude of wrongs."

From the "Conscious Parenting" Facebook page. I like how it could apply both to a relationship between spouses, and between parents and their children.

A Beautiful Mess

Brought to you by my lovely "Leaning Tower of Laundry" :)

Something Yummy

Thank you to Mary from our group for sharing the following recipe with us! (She brought it to our Feb. 13th meeting--delicious!)

A New Year!

Hello mamas! I have missed my last couple of posts so here we are now and it is the end of January. I have been so inspired by hearing from our mentor mom, Judi Little, and speaker, Barbara Everett, in the past few weeks so I am sharing a bit from them below, under "Wise Words!"

Wise Words

Judi encouraged us to pray that God would lead us in a "New Year's Renewal."

In the  Message, Romans 12: 1 & 2 says: “So here’s what I want you to do: take your everyday, ordinary life…your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking around life, and place it before God as an offering. Fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you and quickly respond to it. God brings the best out of you: He develops well-formed maturity in you.”

She said "We can make all the resolutions we want but we can’t change ourselves. But when we willingly offer our lives to God, He will change us." Amen to that!

Barbara Everett spoke on "Loving the Little Years." I have very choppy notes (because she spoke quickly and was so intriguing!) but here are some highlights to the best of my ability:

• Don't get defeated by negative "self-talk." Look in the mirror each morning and tell yourself "YES YOU CAN, AND YOU WILL."
• Our bodies are tools, not treasures. They will never be the same after pregnancy, childbirth, and nursing. Accept it.
• Don't fall into the myth of needing to "find ourselves" apart from our children. They are forever a part of us and we are being refined through our journey as moms. 
• When you are presented with new problems, praise the progress of the old problems you don't have anymore.
• We are the boss of our children, and God is the boss of me.
• God is my Boss. "These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full." John 15:11

A Beautiful Mess

This is Rose's washer. :) Her husband restored it to perfect working condition!

If I could actually take a picture of the entire inside of my house right now, I would. Just visualize parts and pieces of toys LITERALLY strewn from room to room because I have three mini tornado children. Hey just doing our most important job of playing!! (But we do need to work on cleaning up somehow....) :)

Something Yummy

Rose shared the following links for us:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Slow-Cooker-Pepper-Steak/Detail.aspx?evt19=1http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/blueberry_pie/http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Maries-Easy-Slow-Cooker-Pot-Roast/Detail.aspx

And here are two yummies from breakfast at our last meeting!

Hillary's Fritata:

1 cup artichoke hearts, sliced (frozen, canned, or in oil)
1 cup zucchini, chopped
2/3 cup onion, chopped
2/3 cup red bell pepper (can use roasted if you want)
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
5 eggs
1/3 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper
1 1/2 cups soft bread crumbs
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
8 oz cream cheese, torn into small chunks (can substitute reduced fat kind if you want)

Sauté artichoke hearts, zucchini, onion, bell pepper and garlic in oil until tender crisp. Combine the eggs, milk, salt and pepper in a bowl and beat until blended. Add the vegetable mixture, bread cubes, cheese and cream cheese and toss gently to combine. Spoon into a greased 9-inch pie plate. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until light brown and set. Cool 5-10 minutes before slicing.

Double the recipe for a glass 9x13 inch rectangular pan.

Rachael's Pasta Salad:

The salad is very easy: favorite pasta(i used rotini), favorite veggies 

( I used tomatoes, olives, cucumber, bell pepper and green onion) and I added ham but it taste great w/out meat. Then you mix all that with a bottle of Italian salad dressing and I add Parmesan cheese ( about a 1/2 cup), let it sit in the fridge overnight before serving. You can tweak this recipe with many different veggies, boiled eggs, cooked bacon, diced chicken, etc.