Cookie Exchange

This week at MOPS was our annual cookie exchange!  It was a very relaxed morning as we spent the first half of the meeting having breakfast as a big group and the second half exchanging cookies we all had brought in.  For the cookie exchange, each person who wanted to participate was asked to bring in 8 dozen cookies to share.  Although it is a lot of cookies to bake, taking home a beautiful cookie tray with so many different kinds of cookies is a wonderful thing!  I posted all the recipes that I received at the bottom of this blog in case you want to try something new!

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We also had asked people to bring in Christmas books that they use with their children to share the gospel during this time of year, so I have included pictures of some of those as well in case you are interested!

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Press Cookies

Allison W.

2 cups unsalted butter

1 cup white sugar

5 cups all-purpose flour

2 egg yolks

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add egg yolks and vanilla. Add sifted flour one half at a time.

Put dough into a cookie press and press into desired shapes.

Bake at 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) for 10 minutes. Do Not Brown.

 

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Magical Peanut Butter Cookies

Justine N.

1 C peanut butter, creamy or crunchy

1 1/3 C sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a large baking sheet.

In a mixing bowl, combine the peanut butter, 1 cup sugar, egg, and vanilla. Stir well. Roll the dough into balls about the size of a walnut. Place the balls on the prepared baking sheet. With a fork, dipped in sugar to prevent sticking, press a crisscross design on each cookie. Bake for 12-15 min. remove from the oven, and sprinkle the cookies with some of the remaining sugar if desired. Cool slightly before removing from pan.

Make about dozen cookies

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Old Fashioned Soft Pumpkin Cookies

Justine N.

2 1/2 C All purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 C softened butter (1stick)

1 1/2 C granulated sugar

1 C solid packed pumpkin

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze:
2 C sifted powdered sugar

3 Tablespoons milk

1 Tablespoon melted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.Combine the first 6 ingredients. Cream the butter and sugar in mixer, then add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla. Beat until light and creamy. Mix in dry ingredients until well-blended. Place small mounds of dough on greased cookie sheet and bake 15-20 min.  Makes 5 doz. small cookies.

 

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Italian Christmas Cookies

Sharon M.

1 cup butter (no substitutes), softened

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 carton (15 oz.) ricotta cheese

2 t. vanilla

4 cups flour

1 t. salt

1 t. baking soda

Frosting:

1/4 cup butter (no substitutes), softened

4 cups confectioners sugar

1/2 t. vanilla

4 T. milk

Sprinkles

Cream butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Beat in ricotta and vanilla. Combine flour, salt and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. For frosting, cream butter, sugar, and vanilla. Add enough milk until frosting reaches spreading consistency (I sometimes need a little more than 4 T.). Frost cooled cookies and immediately decorate with sprinkles. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 6 1/2 to 8 1/2 dozen.

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Cake Cookies

 Julia S.

1 box cake mix (amazing w/ lemon cake)

1 tub cool whip

1 egg

powdered sugar

Combine first three ingredients. Drop small balls in powdered sugar and roll till coated. Place on sprayed cookie sheet. Bake 350 deg. for 8-12 min until crackly.

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White Chocolate Oatmeal Peppermint Cookies

Adrienne R.

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla

3 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups uncooked regular oats

2 cups (12oz) white chocolate chips

1/2 - 3/4 cup crushed candy canes (about 6)

Beat butter at medium speed with electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugars, beating well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until yellow disappears after each addition. Stir in vanilla.

Combine flour, baking soda, & salt,. Gradually add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Stir in oats, chocolate chips and peppermint. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheets.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 3 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Yield: about 5 dozen (varies by size of cookie)

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Big Batch Ginger Snap Cookies

Laura W.

2 c. sugar

1 1/2 c. margarine, softened

1/2 c. molasses

2 eggs

4 1/2 c. flour

3 tsp. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

2 t. cinnamon

1 t. cloves

1 t. ginger

1/2 t. nutmeg

Sugar

In a large bowl, beat sugar, margarine, molasses and eggs until light and fluffy. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. Stir in flour, baking soda, salt and 4 spices. Mix well. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll in sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-12 minutes, until set. (Cookies will puff up and flatten during baking.) Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet. Store tightly covered at room temperature or up to 6 months in freezer. Makes about 10 dozen cookies.

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Oatmeal Butterscotch Bars

Deb Z.

1 1/4 cups unsifted flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups Old-Fashioned Quaker oats

1 (11 ounce) package Nestle Toll House butterscotch-flavored morsels (about 2 cups)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a small bowl; set aside.  Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract in a large bowl.  Gradually beat in flour mixture.  Stir in oats and morsels.  Drop by rounded Tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet.  Bake 7 to 8 minutes for chewy cookies, 9 to 10 minutes for crisp cookies.  Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes, remove to wire racks to cool completely.  Pan Cookie Variation: Grease 15x10-inch jelly-roll pan.  Prepare dough as above. Spread in prepared pan.Bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

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Spritz Pressed Cookies

Carrie S.

2 1/4 Cups of Flour

3/4 Cups of Sugar

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/4 teaspoon of Baking Powder

1 cup of butter

1 Large egg

1 teaspoon of Vanilla

Turn Oven to 375 degrees. Mix all ingredients together (add food color if you want to make Christmas trees or hearts for Valentines day etc.)  Fill press and press out all kinds of fun cookies  Cook for 10-12 mins depending on how your oven runs. Can also roll into small balls and press Hershey Kiss into the middle.

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Holiday Gingersnaps

Carrie S.

2 1/3 cups of Flour

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 salt

2 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/3 cup molasses

Cinnamon Sugar:

1/2 cup sugar mixed with 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease 2 baking sheets  Combine flour, spices, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. In a large bowl, beat butter with sugar and egg at medium speed 2 minutes, until fluffy. Add molasses; beat 1 minute. Slowly add flour mixture; beat to combine.  Using a rounded teaspoon for each cookie (make sure it just covers the teaspoon, to much batter will cause all the cookies to run into themselves), roll dough into balls, then roll each in cinnamon sugar and place on baking sheets.  Bake 10 minutes, or until cookies are golden and crisp. Cool 1 minute, then transfer to wire racks to finish cooling.  Yield 5 doz.

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Rocky Road Candy Cups

Mindy E.

1 2/3 cups peanut butter and milk Chocolate chips (11 oz pkg)

2 tablespoons peanut butter

1 cup crispy rice cereal

1 cup miniature marshmallow

¾ cup chopped unsalted dry roasted peanuts

Microwave: pb and chocolate chips in a large glass bowl at 30 second intervals until melted.  Stir in 2 tbsp pb until well blended.  Stir in rice cereal, marshmallows and chipped peanuts.  Spoon mixture evenly into miniature paper candy cups.  Chill 1 hour until firm.

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Peg H.'s Shortbread Cookies

made by Marg F.

1 c. sugar

1 c. powdered sugar
1 c. butter

1 c. oil

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. soda

5 1/2 c. flour

Cream sugars and butter. Add eggs; stir in oil and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients and blend. Chill. Form into balls. Flatten with bottom of water glass dipped in sugar. Bake at 350 degrees approximately 10 minutes.

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Fast and Easy Peppermint Bark

Lisa F.

Chocolate: Crush 3 reg. size candy canes (I used a hand chopper) and put aside. I used 12 oz. of semi sweet choc. chips, melt in a bowl for 90 sec, stir and do every 30 sec. until melted. Add 1/2 tsp. peppermint flavoring. Pour out onto a cookie sheet covered w/ wax paper. Sprinkle candy canes on and press down w/ hands lightly. Put in freezer 5 min. Break apart and store in refrigerator - makes 30 - 36 pieces or so.

White choc. - Do same way but use white choc chips or white coating chocolate. I increased to 1 tsp. peppermint flavoring. Swirl in some red or green food coloring when putting it on the cookie sheet if desired.

**Note - I made some w/ red and green sprinkles and jimmies instead of the crushed candy canes on top. Going to gives as gifts and thought would be more colorful. Fast, pretty and taste good too - kids liked them and liked crushing the candy canes/adding sprinkles.  Can add almonds or cranberries as well.

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Chocolate Mint Sandwich Cookies

Sarah K.

1 1/4 cups butter (no substitutes) softened

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup baking cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

32 round thin chocolate covered mint patties (like York peppermint patties, the small ones)

Frosting:

1 bag mint choc chips

1 Tbsp. corn syrup (optional)

1 Tbsp. butter

1 Tbsp. water (if too thick, can add more)

In a mixing bowl cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture, beating until well combined. Drop by teaspoonfuls two inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 8-9 minutes or until puffy and tops are cracked (don't overbake). Invert half of the cookies onto wire racks. Immediately place a mint pattie on each, then top with remaining cookie. Press lightly to seal. Cool completely and then frost.  Yield - 32 sandwich cookies.

Recommended Books for Your Children...

Following is the children's book review that Lisa L. wrote for our March newsletter:

In my second year of college, I had to take a Children’s Literature class. I can remember going to the college book store feeling slightly silly picking up my course materials that included James and The Giant Peach, Make Way for Ducklings, and Charlotte’s Web. It turned out that that class was one of the most influential, and probably one of my favorite classes that I took. It’s was during that class that I realized the importance of reading aloud to your children, and my love for children’s literature grew.

The “text” book that we used for that class was Jim Trelease’s, The Read Aloud Handbook. This book isn’t just beneficial to teachers, but to parents as well. It’s full of do’s and don’ts of reading aloud, and has compelling information on the importance of reading to your children. Also, Jim Trelease has a wonderful web-site that includes a “Treasury of Read Alouds”.

So all this to say that reading has become one of my favorite things to do with my children. Reading to them, reading along side of them, and having them “read” to me. Here are some of our favorite and most loved books:

As mentioned above, Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey is one of our favorites. In the book, you follow Mr. and Mrs. Mallard, as they search for the perfect place to raise their ducklings. Through beautiful art work, rich text, and a charming story, children are drawn into the book and will be asking you to read it again and again.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, by Laura Joffe Numeroff is another one of our favorites. This is a light and silly book that teaches children about cause and effect. Because if you do give a mouse a cookie, he’s going to need a glass of milk, and that’s just the beginning of a long line of needs for this little mouse.

Another oldie, but a goodie is Mr. Gumpy’s Outing by John Burningham. Join Mr. Gumpy as he welcomes many animals aboard his little boat, as long as they follow his instructions. Before long, the animals do what they are not suppose to, causing a great mishap! Your children will quickly learn the lines to this book, and will easily be able to “read” along.




We also love the Jesus Storybook Bible, Every Story Whispers His Name, by Sally Lloyd-Jones. Through bright and colorful language and artwork, Bible stories are presented in a way that puts Jesus at the center of it all. Redemption and God’s endless love are seen through every story, making this one of our favorite night-time reads. How sweet it is to spend the end of our day teaching our children the Greatest Story of all.

We also love following the characters/authors in the following series/sets, Hermie and Friends, by Max Lucado; Curious George by H. A. Rey; ,Dr. Seuss Books , and Sandra Boynton books.

Books Kids Love!

Following are the book reviews from Diana M's kids that were in the February newsletter:

Our family loves to read and the best thing about it for me is rediscovering so many of the books that I loved when I was young. It is so great to see that my kids also love them. We also love books that are a series, Froggy, Berenstein Bears, Curious George. It is fun to try to read them all and the kids love the familiarity of the characters.

Aidan is five and loves to read. His perfect day would be picking every book at the library and spending the rest of the day reading.

His latest favorite is when Dinosaurs came with everything by Elise Broach. A little boy runs errands with his mom and discovers that instead of a lollipop at the barber, a sticker at the doctor, you get a DINOSAUR! Very silly fun for little kids who love dinosaurs. Aidan’s comments: This book is really funny and I like to read it over and over again. Lots of great pictures. My comments: I would recommend this book for ages four and up. I thought it was original and funny for adults too. I like the mom’s solution at the end! I could actually enjoy it after reading it four or five times, which is important in a children’s book.

Aidan also wanted to recommend The Berenstain Bears and the Golden Rule by Stan and Jan Berenstain with Mike Berenstain. This book is part of the Living Lights books and was just published in 2008. Other titles include Say Their Prayers, Go to Sunday School and God Loves You! Sister Bear learns an important lesson about being kind when a new girl arrives at school. Aidan’s comments: I love this book, but little kids might not like part with the name calling. I think Sister Bear makes a good choice. My comments: This book follows all other Berenstain Books in which there is a conflict with the cubs and Mama and Papa help to resolve it. I love these new books in that they incorporate a biblical theme within the story. They are easy for kids to understand, especially if they like the Berenstain Bears. It also includes some questions at the end. They are long books, so you may have to make sure your child has the attention span to enjoy it.

Lauren is three and a half. She also loves to read, but it took her longer to develop a love of reading. She wanted to eat books instead of read them as a baby. So, don’t give up on reading to your children if they don’t like it immediately!

Lauren recommends The Day It Rained Hearts by Felicia Bond. A cute Valentine’s Day book, it rains hearts and a little girl makes valentines for her friends. Lauren’s comments: I like the pictures in this book and think the little animals are cute. My comments: I like Felicia Bond’s books for their cute pictures and simple storylines. I think it is a good book for ages 2 to 4 and particularly girls.

Lauren also loves Tumble Bumble, which is also by Felicia Bond. A bunch of animals meet up on a walk. Lauren’s comments: My favorite part is when the animals all eat. It is a cute book that I like to read all the time. My comments: This book’s illustrations are also very cute and by the fifth time you read it, you will have it memorized. My kids enjoy the cute rhyming verse and it is a good bedtime book. I would recommend it for birth and up.

Hints On Child Training

About a year ago, I read a book called 'Hints on Child Training' written by H. Clay Trumbull, a Christian author from the late 1800's. Trumbull wrote the book after his children were grown, and his purpose was just to share a glimpse into the life of his family when his children were young and being trained at home.

I think he does a great job illustrating simple, everyday circumstances that come up regularly in a home with children and how to think about different situations from a Christian perspective. I also like the fact that Trumbull is not trying to push any certain methods or ideas, but rather allowing readers to see how one Christian family chose to live. It's also interesting to me that although the book was written over 100 years ago, I can understand and relate to almost everything he writes about in the book.

One of the specific chapters that I found helpful was entitled “Training Children to Sabbath Observance”. The main point of this segment is to emphasize that Sunday is a different day and that it should also stand out as the best day of the week to the whole family, including the children. He writes that every Sunday is a like a Christian anniversary and so we should treat the day like we would any other birthday or anniversary celebration....best clothes, best food, etc.

Another Sabbath Day “best” that Trumbull suggested, which I thought was really interesting, was to have the best toys out for Sundays. He said that in their family they had a Sunday box with several of the most interesting and enjoyable toys for their children so that it would help them be extra excited for Sunday and to help the day stand out in their little minds. This obviously takes some time and work to rotate toys and have special things ready, but to quote Trumbull, “whether at home, or at Sunday school or any other church service, the children should be helped to realize that the day is a day of brightness and of cheer; that while differing in its occupations and enjoyments from all other days, it is the best of them all.”

*This book review is from our January 2009 meeting.*

A Gospel Primer

This past Wed, I had another book summary in our MOPS newsletter so here it is for anyone that isn't part of our MOPS group (and for those of you that are, this is word for word from the newsletter). The book of choice for this month was "A Gospel Primer" by Milton Vincent.

As we approach the Christmas season, with our topic this month for MOPS being “The View from Above”, I thought it would be fitting to give a little summary of a devotional supplement that I recently started using and have found helpful in my spiritual life. This book is comprised of three parts and each segment is meant to directly point to the message of the gospel – the good news of salvation for sinners through Jesus Christ. The first part consists of 31 reasons to rehearse the gospel daily, with scripture references included, to help specifically understand how Christ's death on the cross impacts your everyday actions. For example, one excerpt entitled 'Stimulated to Love Others' reads:

“When my mind is fixed on the gospel, I have ample stimulation to show God's love to other people. For I am always willing to show love to others when I am freshly mindful of the love that God has shown to me. Also, the gospel gives me the wherewithal to give forgiving grace to those who have wronged me, for it reminds me daily of the forgiving grace that God is showing me. Doing good and showing love to those who have wronged me is always the opposite of what my sinful flesh wants me to do. Nonetheless, when I remind myself of my sins against God and of His forgiving and generous grace toward me, I give the gospel an opportunity to reshape my perspective and to put me in a frame of mind wherein I actually desire to give this same grace to those who have wronged me.”

The second part of the book is a prose version of the gospel and the third part of the book is a poetic version, both which Vincent wrote as a way to help memorize gospel truths more easily, also with scripture references included. This book is an excellent source to help fix your mind on the cross and hold true to Colossians 1:23 which tells us to “continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel”.

*This is the book review from our December 2008 meeting.*

The Heart of Anger

Over the summer, one of my projects had been to read "The Heart of Anger" by Lou Priolo, and it was one of the best books I've ever read. The focus of the book is learning to biblically diagnose anger manifestations in your children and train them to work through their problems in a godly way, rather than allowing it to simmer in their hearts and come out as sin. I highly recommend the book to any parent, but I've also found it incredibly helpful for my relationship with my husband and really any relationship in general.

One of the main principles in the book is learning the "Gumnazo Principle", which bascially means to train your child (or yourself) to do the right thing over and over so that eventually it becomes a habit. This is based off of Heb. 5:13-14 which reads"For everyone who partakes only of milk in not accumstomed to the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained (gumnazo-ed) to discern good and evil."So basically whenever your child does something sinful, your responsibility as the parent is to teach them what they should have done and help them practice it so that next time they will at least know what they should do, whether they actually do it or not is another thing!

Priolo also suggests working with your child to answer different questions such as:
-What happened to provoke me to anger?
-What did I say in my heart when I became angry?
-What does the Bible say about what I said to myself when I became angry?
-What should I have said to myself when I became angry?
-What is it that I believe I can't be happy without?
-What do I delight in the most?
-What do I love more than God and my neighbor?

There have been times in reading this book that I have felt overwhelmed at the thought of how much time every day this kind of heart training could take...but as Priolo so aptly asks,"What else are you doing with your time that is more important than this?"

*This book review is from our November 2008 meeting.*

Don't Make Me Count to 3!

This blog is another book summary, "Don't Make Me Count to 3" by Ginger Plowman, that I wrote for our MOPS newsletter this past month. For those of you who have read “Shepherding a Child's Heart” by Tedd Tripp (another excellent read), this book is based off the same biblical principles and is very similar in content. In my opinion, however, I found Ginger's book a little more practical and “real life”, quite possibly because it was written by a mother who deals with children all day every day.

For those of you who have not read or heard of either of these books, the emphasis throughout both is training your children through heart-oriented discipline. For example, every mom knows that sharing is a major issue and can be very tricky to deal with especially in the moment. Ginger suggests rather than just asking “who had it first?”, to instead try to help both children involved understand what is going on inside their hearts (selfishness, anger, etc) by asking heart probing questions like “what was the nature of the temptation (what were you feeling) when you took the toy from your brother?”, “how did you respond to that temptation – in a Godly or sinful way?”, and “what other ways could you have responded that would have been better?”.

Another great resource from Ginger is a little chart called “Wise Words for Moms”. The chart was designed as a tool to help you teach, rebuke, correct and train your child in very specific situations. It looks almost like a calendar with a list common behavior problems going down the side (complaining, whining, tattling) along with heart probing questions, reproof scriptures (what to “put off”), encouraging scriptures (what to “put on”), and additional verses to look up about each behavior. It costs $4.00 new and you can find it along with her other books on her website (http://www.gingerplowman.com/products.html) if you are interested.

*This is the book review from our October 2008 meeting.*

Praise Her in the Gates

I am involved on the steering committee for our MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group at church and one of my "jobs" this year is to write book reviews for the newsletter. So since I already have a little summary written out, I figured I might as well post it here too in case anyone else is interested...

“Give her the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.” Proverbs 31:31

The book for this first month is “Praise Her in the Gates” by Nancy Wilson. Nancy is a very convicting writer that will stir your thoughts and challenge you in your walk as a mother. In this book, she pinpoints very specific areas of everyday motherhood and gives biblical suggestions how to handle those situations. Some of the chapters in the book include “Manners: Church Behavior, Friends, Family”, “Loving the Kids: Dinnertime, Bedtime, Holidays”, “When the Kids are Sick”, and “The Domestic Arts” to name a few.

One of the ideas in the book that stuck out to me was in the chapter called “Setting Standards: God's Rules and House Rules”. As any mom will readily admit, we are busy people and probably too quick to say no to our children, especially if we are in a hurry or in the middle of something. Nancy suggests finding ways to say yes to your children as often as possible so their little worlds aren't full of only no's all day long. She suggests having specific drawers in the kitchen that are “yes” drawers or finding time to get out play dough even if you really don't want to. She also mentions that it is important to be wise in what you command and to be careful not to overwhelm your children by expecting them to remember all the rules all the time. Find ways to cheerfully remind them and pour out lots of love, affection and encouragement so that bad behavior doesn't result from your children having a low love tank.

Another chapter that stuck out to me was “The Pleasant Home”, in which Nancy highlights different areas of your home and how you as a wife and mother can bring joy to those areas and will in turn help change the atmosphere in your family. Some of the questions she asks are “Is your home a lovely place to be?”, “Are there flowers in the windowsill?”, “What kind of artwork is on the walls?”, “Does it often smell of cookies or bread baking?”, “Is your home filled with good things?”. Our homes are to be havens of rest and beauty that our family and friends can come to to be refreshed and equipped to go out and serve others. A pleasant home should be spiritually and physically clean to have a complete picture of how God cleans us both inside and out. She finishes the chapter by with this challenging statement, “To say that how your house looks doesn't matter as long as everyone is happy is like saying the gospel doesn't affect the externals. And that is a sad mistake.”

*This book review is from our September 2008 meeting.*