Parenting...

...with love and logic. Thank you to Diana Huston's husband for giving us a taste of this parenting philosophy which allows natural consequences to teach our children. I admit that I used this a lot as a teacher, but it's harder to use with my own kids!! You can learn more about love and logic here, and I have a copy of the book Parenting With Love and Logic if anyone wants to borrow it.

There are so many parenting books out there. If you have a parenting book you'd recommend, leave a comment - I'm sure we have a vast selection of resources out there among our own MOMS!!

Dr. Kevin Leman has a book that follows love & logic pretty closely - Making Children Mind without Losing Yours. Dr. Leman has great practical tips and a good sense of humor, which helps when you're looking at discipline.

Anyone else? Leave a comment! :)

Easter Tea

One of my favorite spring MOMS meetings is always our Easter Tea. Delicious tea and snacks, a wonderful testimony from Lisa Fortney, and time to chat with other moms...it just doesn't get better than that! :)

Frigid Park Day Part II (spring edition)

Cupcake Decorating

At our last meeting Anna Adkins, who owns the Specialty Shop with her husband David, gave us some great tips on decorating cakes & cupcakes.


Here's her recipe for Soft Decorating Frosting:

2 cups Crisco solid

2/3 cup "Brite White" (available at the Specialty Shop)

1/3 c. plus 2 Tbsp. water

2 lb. Powdered sugar (this is one package)

1 tsp. Cream Bouquet (available at the Specialty Shop) or other CLEAR flavoring

1 tbsp. Meringue Powder

Cream crisco, Brite White and water. Add remaining ingredients slowly, and beat at high speed with a heavy-duty mixer for 20 minutes (Yes, I did say 20 minutes! If using an electric, handheld mixer beat at 5 minute increments, allowing machine to rest in between). Store icing in an airtight container. Need not refrigerate.

And I have to say that when I took my cupcake home, it got the taste test and stamp of approval! ;)

Personal Finances

Since Jenny Migdal was called to jury duty, her faithful husband Walt stepped in to fill her shoes, along with fellow financial planners Brenda and Robyn Ashworth, gave lots of great ideas on spending, saving and debt...

If you didn't get one of the many handouts with resources, let one of the steering team members know and we'll get you a copy. A few people asked about credit scores too, and here's a link that gives more information: http://www.kiplinger.com/columns/ask/archive/close-a-creditcard-account-to-avoid-fees.html

Calendar Creations

Our first January meeting found us making adorable calendars for the busy months to come...you can find calendar templates for the rest of the year just about anywhere on the web if you do a google search. ;) I found some here, here and here.



And who else LOVES having mentor moms who hold our babies so we can drink coffee and go to the bathroom? (me! me!!)

Thank you, Beth, for the photos. And the first person who comments on this post gets a $5 Starbucks gift card. Shameless bribery for reading the blog, I know! ;)

Bible Study Opportunities

Our fearless bible study leader Jen Anderson is starting another fabulous bible study just for us MOMS, and a prayer meeting opportunity. If you're interested in either, please email her at andersonsinthedesert@gmail.com.

1) MOMS Bible study for the spring is starting March 2^nd. We will meet from 9:30-11:30, on the first and third Tuesdays of the month. We are going over a book by Lysa TerKeurst called: Becoming More Than a Good Bible Study Girl. With humor and personal stories Lysa talks about seeing and meeting God in the “stuff of life” in our relationships, in our dreams for life, even when our “uglies” come out!

We would love to have you! Childcare is free, but I will need to know the ages/names of the children you will be bringing so we can be adequately staffed. Let me know if you want to buy your own book, or I can do a bulk order on CBD. I can get the books for $ 9.99 at CBD, I think they are $12.99 at Bibles Plus.

2) We will also start meeting once a month on Sat. morning starting in March to set aside time to pray for our children. We will be briefly going over Stormie Omartian’s book The Power of a Praying Parent, and then we will spend the rest of the time praying over specific and general areas of our kids lives. My hope is that this becomes a group of ladies that meets throughout the year, whether you stay in MOMS or not. Lamentations 2:19 says: “Pour our your heart like water before the face of the Lord. Lift your hands toward Him for the life of your young children.” That is the purpose for this group. That we would go to battle on behalf of our kids, that we would cover their lives, physically, emotionally, spiritually, with God’s grace and blessing! Once I know who is interested we will work out the details. I am thinking 9-11am, and we will see which Sat. morning each month seems to work with everyone.