November/ December 2009

Dear MOPS Moms,

Fall has finally arrived!! School has started, MOPS is back in

full swing, and now all the fall festivities can begin. This
newsletter is full of ideas from your fellow MOPS moms:
from yummy recipes, to holiday family outings, gift ideas
for Christmas, places you can meet other moms for fellow-
ship, etc.

We hope this newsletter encourages you, helps you connect

with other moms, and arms you with great ideas for
Thanksgiving & Christmas!

See you at MOPS!

In His Love,

Samantha Fulton, MOPS Coordinator

Jaimie Bowman, Publicity Coordinator

Happy Thanksgiving! Merry Christmas!

MOPS Meetings: November 5th & 19th, December 10th

King’s Harbor Church MOPS 23915 Garnier St Torrance, CA 90505

Newsletter Contact: Jaimie Bowman Jaimie@khcmops.org
MOPS Contact: Samantha Fulton Samantha@khcmops.org
Favorite Thanksgiving Recipes
Baked Sweet Potato Casserole Spicy Pumpkin Soup
Contributed by Paula Arold Contributed by Carol Marks

Ingredients Ingredients
1 cup sugar 2 TBLS butter
2 eggs 1 cup onion, chopped
1/2 stick butter 2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk 1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes or cayenne
pepper
Cook potatoes until done; mash. Mix 3 cups chicken broth
sugar, eggs, butter, salt, milk, and vanilla 16 ounces canned pumpkin
with potatoes and put in a 2 qt casserole 1 cup half-and-half or milk (if you use
dish. plain milk add some corn starch to thicken it
up a bit)
Topping
1 cup brown sugar Directions
1/3 cup flour Melt butter. Add onion and garlic, cooking over
1 cup chopped pecans medium heat until soft. Add seasonings. Cook
1/2 stick butter at least one minute. Add broth and bring to a
low boil for 15-20 minutes. Add pumpkin and
Directions half & half. Boil 5 minutes.
Soften butter. Add to flour, pecans, and
brown sugar and sprinkle over potato
mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for at least
55 minutes or until thickened.

Birth Announcement
Congratulations to our
fearless leader Samantha,
along with her husband
Don and big sister Emily
who welcomed baby
Trevor Allen Fulton born
November 1st at 7:45p.m. precious baby boy!
He was 7lbs 14oz and
20in. Mommy and baby
are both doing great!
Congratulations and we
can’t wait to meet that

Page 2 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009

 Favorite Christmas Recipes
Worlds Best Sugar Cookies Holiday Peppermint Bark
Contributed by Shannon Hons Contributed by Jennifer Stade

Dough Ingredients
2 sticks butter 2 cups (12 oz) white chocolate chips
2/3 cup sugar 24 hard peppermint candies (candy canes) un-
1 egg wrapped
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups flour Directions
1.Line baking sheet with wax paper.
Icing 2.Microwave chips in medium bowl on
2 cups powdered sugar medium-high (70%) power for 1 minute,
1/4 cup milk stir. Microwave 10-20 second intervals,
Mix well. Add coloring, if desired. stirring until smooth.
3.Place peppermint candies in a heavy-
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter duty resalable plastic food storage bag.
and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and salt Crush candies using rolling pin or other
and beat well. Add flour. Mix just until heavy object. While holding strainer
dough forms a nice ball. Roll out and over melted white chocolate, pour
cut into shapes, crushed candy in strainer. Shake to re-
place on cookie lease all small pieces, reserve large
sheet. Bake for 7- pieces. Stir mixture.
8 minutes. Let 4.Spread mixture to desired thickness on
cool, then frost prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with re-
cookies. Allow ic- served candy pieces, press in lightly. Let
ing to set before stand about 1 hour or until firm. Break
storing cookies. into pieces. Keep in airtight container at

Christmas Craft Ideas

Contributed by Heather Nesbitt
I love to make crafts for my family
and friends around the holidays. My
On this same blog they also have a
Eyeglasses Case
tutorial to make a super cute
Christmas tree ornament.

favorite blog with tutorials is You can search this blog for more
Christmas Tree
http: //blog.betzwhite.com. I made great Christmas craft ideas!

an eyeglasses case for myself. Ornament

Volume 1, Issue 1 Page 3

Fun Fall & Winter Family Outings
With the weather becoming colder
(sort of) and the leaves changing
(a little) it is starting to feel like
fall. We wanted to give you some
ideas and stories for you to do with
your family that would be a fun
fall outing.
1.”On Thanksgiving Day after we
have eaten and visited for a while,
we all take off to the bowling al-
ley where it is men vs. women.
Then, we go back home and eat
Bible Verse of the Month (November)
“Make a joyful noise unto the
LORD, all ye lands. Serve the
LORD with gladness: come before
his presence with singing. Know ye
that the LORD he is God: it is
he that hath made us, and not
Bible Verse of the Month (December)
“And an angel of the Lord
suddenly stood be-
fore them. And the
Luke 2:9-11
glory of the Lord
shone around them;
and they were terribly
Page 4
some more.” Paula Arold
2.”Every year we go see the
Christmas lights in Torrance. They
are off of PCH and Calle Mayor
and are the best around.” Jennifer
Stade
3. “At Christmas time we pick a
night (usually a weeknight), and I
make a bunch of homemade treats
which I place in zip lock plastic
bags. We also fill a coupled ther-
moses with hot chocolate and cof-
we ourselves; we are
his people, and the
sheep of his pasture.
Psalm 107:1
Enter into his gates
with thanksgiving, and into his
courts with praise: be thankful
frightened. And the angel said
to them, “Do not be
afraid; for behold, I
bring you good
news of great joy
which shall be for all the
fee. We all take our travel mugs,
and we head over to the Seaside
Ranchos neighborhood. We walk
around the Seaside neighborhood to
look at the gorgeous Christmas
lights. We all have so much fun,
and our group continues to grow
every year.” Paula Arold
unto him, and bless his
name. For the LORD is
good; his mercy is ever-
lasting; and his truth
endures to all generations."
people; for today in the
city of David there has been
born for you a Savior, who
is Christ the Lord.”
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009
Save the Date!
Save the Date for our Annual MOPS Christmas Party on December 14!! Book your

babysitter now for a fun night of food and fellowship with your fellow MOPS moms

and spouses!. Exact time and location will be announced soon!

What’s Happening in Mops?

We want to hear your stories touched by how your table because we are eager to hear how
about how God is working at reached out to you, please send us MOPS is encouraging you during this
your table and in your life. If you an email. We'd love to feature your season of your life! Please email us
have a testimony or have been story in one of our newsletters, your stories!

Mentor Mom Corner:

Cindy Kaney

Please tell us about your family.: When I met Henry neither of us was interested in

the things of God. We surrendered our lives to Jesus Christ which led to our marriage in

1981. For most of our marriage we have been in the ministry and so we raised our one-and

- only son Adam, in the church, literally. I was so excited to be a mother! After 3

miscarriages and being nearly 38 years old, I just wanted to be a mommy.

Please tell us about your life with a young child.: With the LORD's guidance, I left my 16 yr. career as a flight

attendant and dove in. With our own families being thousands of miles away, the church became our local 'family.' We agreed that I would

stay home and raise our precious boy. He talked so much by 18mos. and surprised us by reading at three yrs. of age... we decided we'd better

home school in a hurry!

What was one of your greatest challenges as a mother, and how did you deal with that? One of my greatest challenges was seeing to it

that Henry and I still nurtured our relationship with each other. We traded 'baby-sitting' services with our dear friends, for a date night or

a weekend getaway. This was great 'sibling type experience' for our only child.

What advice do you have for young mothers in MOPS? As a young mom and new Christian, I think I was too proud to ask for help from

wiser or older women in my church. I guess I thought I was supposed to know it all! Having made that mistake, I advise mommies to seek

God through a relationship with women who have gone before them; to seek a godly friend or mentor. It will save you a lot of heartache

( and time.)

What is a scripture that encourages you and sustains you? Philippians 1:6 says, "...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in

you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." How much peace I receive from that! God knows I cannot make it in

life without him and I can put my confidence in his love and faithfulness now and forever!

Volume 1, Issue 1 Page 5

This Years Service Project
This year our MOPS group has chosen to offer service to Harvest Home. The vision of Harvest Home is to
transform the lives of homeless, pregnant women and their children by identifying and overcoming the root
causes of homelessness and by promoting physical and emotional health, spiritual growth, and financial inde-
pendence. Harvest Home is the only maternity home serving the West Los Angeles and Santa Monica
communities. It can accommodate 8 residents with an average resident stay of 6 to 12 months.

Through volunteer service and donations our MOPs group will partner with Harvest Home in meeting the
physical, emotional and spiritual needs of each woman with the goal of preparing these women for independent
living and motherhood.

Do you have a heart to serve other Mothers or a skill that you might be able
to teach the mothers at Harvest Home? We are looking for MOPS moms
who might be able to volunteer for a number of service projects over the
next 6 months: Supply drives (cleaning, paper goods, diapers), Work days
(cleaning, painting), Gardening, Organizing Mothers Day Tea or Baby Showers, Adopt a Family for Christmas,
Survival Baskets for Mothers transitioning out of Harvest Home. The needs are vast .

For more information, please contact Kimberly Speranza, Service Coordinator, at Kim-
berly@khcmops.org. You can also visit Harvest Home’s website at:www.theharvesthome.net

Fall Fundraiser: We Need You!

Each month we would like to publish a new
newsletter but we can’t do it alone! If
Help support farmers and their families you come up with anything that you think
in impoverished countries, while also other moms could benefit from or enjoy we
helping to keep our MOPS annual costs want to hear from you! Whether it be
low. For only 10 dollars you can purchase a recipes, special outings, or even the
bag of fresh coffee beans or a can of bak- best family-friendly restaurant, we
ing cocoa. These make great Christmas
want to know. As we all know it is hard to
gifts!!
come up with ways to entertain our kids
We will be selling these prod-
on the weekends, especially during those
ucts this Fall to raise money
for our annual MOPS budget. fast approaching Holiday breaks. So
Whoever raises the most money please share with us what you come up
will win a 50 dollar gift card to with by e-mailing us! We look forward to
the store of her choice! Contact reading it!
Heather Nesbitt at
heather@kchmops.org for more
**Please submit any newsletter material
information. to Jaimie@khcmops.org. Thank you!**