Reminder:

This Thursday is our Christmas Party. Remember your treats to share and we are asking that since was are sharing them with the Moppets workers that they do not require refrigeration and are easy to plate.

Thanks and see you Thursday!

MNO... with Evening Group

The Evening MOPS Watertown Group has invited us to a cookie exchange on Friday night at 7pm.

It will be held at Cornerstone Church in the Fireside Room. Bring your cookies to exchange.

MOPS updates

• Congratulations to Melanie, Kristen, Sarah and Marcy on their new arrivals.

• December 17th is our Christmas party, remember your Christmas treats to share.

• Needs some Christmas ideas, check out these blogs:

1. Home-Ec 101- many many recipes and household ideas
2. Tip Junkie- gift ideas to buy and make
3. MomAdvice- gift ideas, recipes and freebies
4. One Pretty Thing- make it gift giving ideas
5. sewmamasew- daily themed make it, sew it, buy it topics
6. The Crafty Crow- Children's Crafts

There are many many more out there and if you find some great ones please post them in the comments.

• In January we will be visited by Lisa from the Watertown Resource Center(WRC) and then take a tour of the WRC. They are in need of some everyday living items. If you would like to donate any item from the list please bring them to out January 21 meeting when we will be touring the center.

Items Needed:

toilet paper, laundry soap, dishwasher soap, dryer sheets, new/used alarm clocks, pillows, ziploc bags (gallon size), diapers(size 4&5), phone cards, large garbage bags, batteries(9V,C,D), new/used vacuum cleaners, silverware, skillets & kettles, postage stamps, used furniture, used cell phones, socks(all sizes), underwear(all sizes) and canned food items

• We are in need of Moppets workers. If you know of any one please pass that info on to Sherry. This is either volunteer or paid.

• Erin is willing to put together a recipe book of our brunch recipes. Please either bring your recipes to a meeting or e-mail it to here.

November 5th Meeting

Please remember you Operation Christmas Child Boxes. I will be bringing them over to Corner Stone Church right after our meeting. If you forget you can always bring it over to Corner Stone before November 19th.

Also remember your gently used/new donations for our silent auction. This can include donations from your favorite store, unneeded/used house hold things, baked goodies, frozen goodies, canned goodies and well the list could go on.

Mom's Night Out

We are having a MNO on September 28 at 7:30. Please stop by Past Times for coffee (or other drink) and dessert.

Liquid Laundry Soap

Recipe from: www.duggerfamily.com/recipes

4 cups hot tap water

1 Fels-Naptha bar

1 cup Washing Soda

1/2 cup Borax

- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)

-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.

-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.

-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)

-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)

Unavailable...

With the new year starting I hope to pick this back up again, but as of right now I am unavailable. Family life is taking front row and right now is all I can handle. I hope to start posting at least once a week, but we will have to see the out come from this week.

Uptown Girls Night Out

This Thursday, August 20th, Uptown Watertown will be having Girls' Night Out. Our theme this year is Bingo. You need to pick up a BINGO card at Classroom Connection anytime after 4pm. Then between 4 & 8 you need to visit the 10 stores that your BINGO card sends you to and have the card stamped. Then turn in your BINGO card by 8:05pm at County Fair Banquet Hall for your chance at many great prizes. You must be present to win. Every store has treats for your enjoyment so you can visit more than just the 10 businesses on your card. Also, if make a purchase for $10 or more, you will recieve a ticket for a special drawing in which we are giving away a Jewel Pop necklace from Makepeace Jewelers. This a great night to get away, spend some time with a friend or two and do some shopping. If you have younger daughters that would like to come, they may also do a BINGO card and we are having a couple if special drawings for those 18 & under.

Summery for July 16th Steering Meeting

We had proposals as follows:

1) Approved- Dues will raise to $25 per whole semester plus int. fees (fees reduced if you start later in semester, after October 1 or March 1) or $50 for the whole year plus int. fees. There are two ways of reducing your dues; help out in Moppets for a meeting/steering meeting or apply for a scholarship.

2) Approved- D-groups will be in charge of supplying family with a life change with one meal. This will be lead by the Table Leader. D-group Coordinator. is in charge of summer.

3) Approved- When a mom brings a child that is not theirs and receives compensation for it, that mother will be asked to consider a donation to the group for the amount they would receive during that time the child is in our Moppets.

Our Ice Cream Social will be Aug. 11Th at 6:30pm. This will be held at McKinley Park in the shelter. We will not be doing registration at that time, will just use it as a social event.

Registration will be at first meeting.

Our next Steering meeting will be held on Aug. 27Th at 9am. We will talk about the first meeting, craft/topics for the first few months of meetings and the budget for the year.

Our first meeting is September 3rd at 9:15am.

MOPS in the Park

Reminder: MOPS in the Park is going to be held at Pemela's Tomorrow.

-11am-1pm

-There will be a climber, pony rides, trampoline

-We are asking for a non-parishable food item per child that comes out

-Bring your own lunch

-There will be baord games for the school age children

If you need directions please e-mail me and I will get them to you.

Thanks and hope you are having a wonderful summer!

Being Authentic

The word for July (idea taken from MOPS leaders website) is Authenticity.

Authenticity refers to the truthfulness of origins, attributions, commitments, sincerity, devotion, and intentions.

From Wikipedia

I struggle with this one a lot. I want people to think that I have it all together and that I do not need help. In reality I need a lot of help and most often just some one to vent to. I have been working on being truthful to my self on how I am feeling about things. I have leaned that in order to be truthful to others, you must first be able to be truthful to yourself. This can be a hard one. You could be feeling one way, talk yourself into having it all together, then you loose it and don't know why. I have had theses days and when I go back to the beginning and think about what all lead up to it.

I think the best example of that is when some one ask you, " How are you today" (your friends, relative, and others that would care). Do you tend to just say, "good". I know I do it. My sister will ask me how my night went or my day is going and it just seams to roll off my tongue. This is not always the case. I think people are less likely to open up to you if you make them feel you are perfect and never have anything go wrong. Something I have been working on changing and really trying to be more authentic.

How about you? Are there areas in your life and need more truth in them?

Where in the bible does it talk about truth and authenticity?

Last MOPS in the Park...

Our last MOPS in the Park will be this Thursday, July 2. It will be at McKinley Park off of Kemp from 11-1. Remember to bring your lunch and join us for an afternoon at the park.

Relationships

This was posted on the MOPS E-mail that was sent out. Sometimes I need help remembering this.

The most important thing in any relationship is not what you get but

what you give. (Eleanor Roosevelt )

I think she was right on with that statement.

REMEMBER!!!!

Tomorrow, June 18th, MOPS in the park.

-11-1 at McKinley Park (south side of Kemp)

-bring your own lunch

Make Your Mark Count!

I was reading through some of the old newsletters today and found this, Chinese Proverb, in the corner of one of the pages.

A child's life is like a piece of paper on which every person leaves a mark.

Chinese Proverb

MOPS Reminders

On Thursday June 4, 2009 we have a few things going on...
1)MOPS in the Park
-At McKinley Park off of Kemp
-From 11ish to 1
-Meet in the grass if shelter is being used
-Bring your own lunch

2)Steering Retreat
-At Marcy's
-From 6-9
-Bring a bag with a few things describing yourself and a family photo.

Last meeting of the year... Thrusday, May 21, 2009

Our last meet we introdused the new theme for next year, took a survey of the spring half of the year and introduced our two graduates. Our craft was a beaded bracelet that went along with the poem (under the picture).

A MOM'S COLORFUL WORLD
Does Mothering really matter? Does anyone really care?
The PURPLE bead means I'm significant A Godly mother is rare. It's easy to lose my idenity. Sometimes I'm not sure who I am.
The PEARL reminds me that I'm unique In the eyes of the Son of Man.
GREEN speaks that I'm growing Developing patience every day As circumstances confront me And I see the need to pray. When sometimes those around me Don't seem to understand
The RED reminds me "I need the Lord" To stay close and hold my hand.
The color ORANGE represents "caution" When I'm not sure where to go I need to move ahead slowly The Lord will lead me I know.
The YELLOW is a warning For me to stop or slow down To accept some help from time to time Friends offering assistance abound. There are also time when I need a break
The PINK stands for having fun So get away and try to relax And play 'til the day is done. As the days and weeks turn into months It's easy to lose perspective
The CLEAR bead reminds me to think clearly And ask the Lord how to live.
The color BLUE stands for the vastness of life There's a race I need to run I will leave each day for Jesus 'Til I hear the words, "Well Done!" -Author unknown

>We will be meeting at McKinley Park the 1st and 3rd Thursday of June from 11ish-1. Please join us and bring your own lunch.

two events and a summary

Announcements:

*Event 1: Antiquities Fundraiser (photography) for eve. Cornerstone MOPS group. Weekend of June 4-6th. $10 per ticket. Free sitting and 2-10x13 pics. Option to buy more pics, but not required.

*Event 2: Share your little ones with the residents of Benet Place Sr. Apts. Monday, May 18th at 3:00PM. The residents would like to see your children as a late Mother's Day celebration. To get to Benet Place, go south of town on Hwy 81. Turn left at the top of the first hill. Go all the way down to the end of the road. Go right at the fork in the road. Go all the way around to the back of the property. (The white building is Mother of God Monastery- wrong place.)

*Books recommended by moms at the MOPS field trip to the library:

FOR KIDS
Just In Case You Ever wonder by Max Lucado
Love You Forever by Robert Munsch
Pigeon books by Willems
anything by Sandry Boyton

SUGGESTED AUTHORS FOR MOMS
Karen Kingsbury
Lorraine Snelling
Francine Rivers
Lori Wick
Ted Dekker
Dee Henderson
Jan Karons (Mitford series)

Apr. 23 steering minutes

members present: Marilyn, Jennifer O, Jen O, Angela, Sherry, Marcy, Juliane, Jenny C., Jenny R.

devotion: theme was remembering to praise God and give thanks during stressful times; followed by time of prayer

business:
*vendor fair: $226 bake sale profits, $760 table fees, $986 profit before expenses, approx. $900 after expenses; attendance between 90-100 people; discussed possibilities of other locations for next year: Wtn. Christian School gym, Co. Fair Banquet Hall (high rental fee), Great Plains Gym, Hy-Vee upper room; lots of competition with other vendor fairs
*MOPPET worker brunch: 17 invites sent out; violet pots will be centerpieces and gifts for women; Jenny R. is going to have Jenny C. forward an e-mail with more detailed info on this event, she'd like an RSVP to see how many moms are coming; help needed Wed. night to set up at church; booklets will be compiled as gifts for regular workers and moms will sign thank-you notes
*May 7th: library field trip; tour, talk by children's librarian, snacks served in community room; Linda hasn't been contacted yet. If this doesn't work for her, a tour of the Goss might be substituted (not of the Tut exhibit). Sherry may also have us do a book exchange
*you may register early at either May meeting for next fall and receive a discounted price; Sherry distributed a reg. form today;
*May 21: craft, introducing next years "Together on Planet Mom" theme, survey/evaluation, possible bracelet craft
*We will have our summer meetings the 1st and 3rd Thurs. of June. Time will be 11-1 at McKinley Park. We will not have a park meeting in August. This one is not well attended and this will also give us more dates to work with for the ice cream social. Time for ice cream social TBA. Sherry will make refrig. magnets again this year with summer dates.
*Steering for next year: Marcy and Jenny will coordinate, Angela- crafts, Jennifer O- hospitality, Jen O- d-groups, Juliane- fundraisers, Sherry- MOPPETS, Marilyn and Teresa- mentors. Finance and Publicity are open. Existing steering was asked if they want to switch jobs or stay the same. Barb B from WOW panel is interested in mentoring.
*suggestion made to reduce number of fundraisers
*suggestion made to cover the cost of mentor mom registration fees; we don't think it's fair to ask them to pay to volunteer
*Roxanne, Renee, Amber and Carla mentioned as possible MOPS graduates; graduates will be recognized at last MOPS meeting in May
*Marilyn is attending Summit in Sioux Falls and will be speaking.
*suggestion made to have four mentors: 1 for ea. d-group
*suggestion made to have a "head mentor"
*suggestion made for next year to have stickers affixed to children in nursery with mom's name and allergy info.
*we will have a summer steering retreat, most likely the first week in June before summer activities start and people start going on vacation
*charter fees have increased due to more materials being distributed; we are short in the gen. fund to cover this expense, so money may be taken from the surplus in the craft fund

respectfully submitted

MOPS Apr. 16th meeting

Announcements:
*Apr. 23rd: Steering committee meeting at 9AM. If you are interested in becoming a steering team member, you are invited to join us. Childcare is provided. Come even if you think the area that interests you appears to be filled.
*Apr. 30th: MOPPET worker appreciation brunch at 9:30AM. Bring a brunch item to share with our workers and bring your kids. This is a time to give back to our workers who give so much of their time to us.
*May 7th: 9:00AM library field trip; NO BRUNCH, eat breakfast first, please do not be late
*May 8th: Moms' Night Out Scrapbooking Evening at Cornerstone (in conjunction with the eve. MOPS group) at 7:30PM in atrium. Bring your own scrapbooking supplies and a snack to share. You should have received an electronic invite. If you did, please take two minutes to respond "Yes, No or Maybe." If not, please know that everyone is invited. Bring a friend.


Meeting:

*We had a presentation by the W.O.W. (Wiser Older Women) panel consisting of our mentor moms and two guests. A summary of this presentation will be in the May newsletter.
*We broke into discussion groups after the panel.
*Thanks to the moms who volunteered to babysit in the nursery.

MOPS Apr. 2nd meeting

Announcements:

*Please consider being a part of our steering team next year. Prospective members may come to the next steering meeting on Apr. 23rd at 9AM. Childcare provided. Some of our current steering members are not returning to their positions. Others are happy to give up or change their positions if a replacement can be found. Please come even if the position that you are interested in appears to be filled. You might be surprised. The following is a list of steering positions: coordinator, co-coordinator, discussion group coord., hospitality, publicity, finance, MOPPETS, creative activities and fundraising. MOPS Int. has also recently created a "service" position for reaching out to the community.
*Thanks to Juliane and all the other moms who gave of their time, talents and contributed financially to the vendor fair.
*Please bring a recipe card with your brunch creations to MOPS meetings. Give them to Jenny C. and she will publish them in the newsletter.
*MOPPET Worker Appreciation Brunch will be held Thurs., Apr. 30th from 9:30-?. Please bring a brunch item to share with our MOPPET workers. You may also bring your children. This is our oppotunity to give back to the workers an show them how much they mean to us.
*Apr. 16th is the Wiser Older Woman (WOW) panel rescheduled from January's cancelled meeting. Rollercoaster Gals have brunch.
*The May 7th MOPS meeting will involve a field trip to the library. Please eat breakfast before you come as no brunch will be served that day.

Featured speakers: Marcy K. and Marilyn P.

The topic was grief and the joy of Easter.

Summary:

Marcy spoke at her high school graduation. The verse she chose for her theme was Jeremiah 29.11, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." These words proved to be very applicable with upcoming challenges in her life. She attended college in Tenn. and struggled with changing her major and finishing school at Northern in Aberdeen. Her father told her if she was that concerned about the changes, making the changes must be the right thing to do. Two months after she moved to Aberdeen, her father passed away in a farming accident. Eleven days later, her best friend passed away in a car accident. Switching schools had enabled her to go home as much as needed, something that would have been difficult from Tenn.

Marcy discussed the stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. People go through these stages at different paces. Marcy experienced some depression. She explained that grief doesn't go away, but as time goes on, it is not as painful as "fresh grief."

Marcy also lost a baby she was carrying last fall. Despite her losses, she feels blessed to have the husband and family God has given her.

Marcy followed up her talk by singing a beautiful solo.

Marilyn said God has given her the gift of being a good listener. She believes healing occurs through listening. She said that we all have a "loss line" with varying degrees of losses on it. These losses differ. Marilyn believed losing a school board election and seeing her son get married were types of losses. She also lost her mother. Losses impact other losses and little losses can help prepare you for big losses. God has a part in all these losses. People also need to keep in mind that the stages of grief are never "completed."

Marilyn also experienced depression after a loss and sought help. Help can come in the form of a counselor, friends or a family network. A recommended book is the Grief, Recovery, Loss Handbook available in the hospice library at the hospital. Sometimes people express concern over some family members during a loss but may overlook how other family members are handling the loss.

One passage Marilyn quotes is Matt. 5.4, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." We can be comforted in knowing that one day we will be reunited with those we have lost in heaven.

Marilyn distributed materials and a poem she wrote herself about grief. That poem will be published in the May edition of the MOPS newsletter.

A time of discussion re: grief followed the speakers.

May 26th Steering Meeting

*set up for vendor fair; got two extra tables in to accommodate more vendors (total of 20??? vendors)

Brief meeting:

*Sue will be at church from 9-2 tomorrow with no lunch break for anyone wanting to drop off baked goods
*will charge 50 cents for pop due to good deal at Hy-Vee
*worker appreciation still on for Apr. 30, Sherry will be gone and Marcy will help run the event
*no brunch at May 7th meeting due to library field trip
*we WILL have brunch at the last meeting of the year
*cost is $21.95 if you register for MOPS prior to May 29th; then the price is $23.95; you can pay Kristin now

Mar. 12th Steering Meeting

All members present.

*devotion on changing life seasons: seasons can change suddenly
*time of prayer
*24 moms attended Tun O' Fun; $339 spent; event went well
*positive feedback provided re: PJ Day, Tina B, Ramona A.
*e-vites have been switched to Zoji.com, your spam filter may catch these
*next steering meeting is Mar. 26th; will set up for vendor fair at this time; Teresa will bring two large boxes for us to tack signs on
*Juliane is sending out e-mail invites which can be forwarded on for the vendor fair in lieu of postcard invites
*11 confirmed vendors for fair, still waiting to hear from some, can have 18 vendors max.
*Jenny will sent out mass e-mail bake sale reminder; Juliane may include something about bake sale in her e-mail, too
*d-group leaders are to call their members and ask them to help with bake sale/vendor fair
*Jenny will do MOPS table at vendor fair
*Sherry will be in charge of children's activities for fair
*Angela will do a lunch run for the vendors
*Emily J. has volunteered to do a shift at MOPS table
*discussed provided water and a treat for vendors to thank them
*those sitting at MOPS table need to keep a count sheet of how many people attend
*Jenny will put up downtown area posters, Sherry will do churches, Juliane will do other areas
*Apr. 2 Marcy and Marilyn will discuss grief and losing loved ones
*Apr. 16 W.O.W. panel rescheduled
*Apr. 23rd steering
*Apr. 25th is summit in Sioux Falls, let Sherry know SOON if you want to go; eve. group members are going
*Apr. 30th (fifth Thurs.) will be MOPPET Worker Apprec. Brunch; discussed having children sing songs and compiling books for the workers
*All moms should bring items to brunch; d-group leaders can discuss what members should bring
*brunch time 9:30AM until finished
*May 7th field trip to library (tentative)
*Next year's MOPS theme is "Life on Planet Mom" (galactic theme)
*dicussed future fundraising ideas: selling raffle tickets and winner gets their house cleaned; selling CDs for $10 and MOPS gets $5 profit from ea. CD sold
*Male viewpoint needed for May newsletter article; Angela's brother may be a possibility
*Kristin said a training category will be a new part of our budget; $ to be allocated for convention expenses
*reviewed mid-year evaluations completed by MOPS moms; would be nice for moms to share recipes of items they bring to brunch
*thanks to Roxanne and Sarah for babysitting today

Mar. 5th MOPS meeting

Announcements:
*Thanks to Kristin J. for organizing the Tun O' Fun event. Well done!
*We have had many directory revisions and additions in recent months. Some of the e-mails and phone numbers listed in the directory may no longer be correct. There are also some new moms. I am reluctant to publish the info. on here for security reasons. Please check your Jan. and Mar. newsletters to see what these latest changes are.
*There will be TWO steering meetings this month: Mar. 12th (due to cancelled Jan. meeting) and Mar. 26th. Anyone interested in steering involvement next year is invited to attend the next meeting. Childcare is provided. Steering is a great way to meet new people as it involves a much smaller group and more time is spent together. :)
*Kindergarten screening will be held at Garfield school Apr. 29-30 and May 1st. (Wed-Fri) Your newsletter did not list the Wed. date. Contact Garfield to make an appt.
*Mom's Night Out to be held at Marilyn P's house on Friday, Mar. 13th at 7:00PM. If you didn't receive an e-vite, please contact Jenny C. (number on back of newsletter). Come for games, food and socialization.
*Thank you, Sherry, for babysitting in 2-3 class today.

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT:
*MOPS Vendor Fair/Bake Sale (fundraiser for MOPS) to be held at First Baptist on Sat., Mar. 28th from 10-3.
*If you want to rent a table to market your home-based business wares (i.e. Tupperware), cost is $40. Contact Juliane (number on back of newsletter).
*If you know of someone who'd like to rent a table, contact Juliane.
*ALL moms needed to help out by:
-attending vendor fair
-inviting others to attend vendor fair
-bringing baked goods (see below)
-working a shift at the bake sale
-working a shift at the MOPS publicity table
-Watertown has a very budget-friendly MOPS program. We are about the most inexpensive group in the state. In order to keep our dues low and also to cover childcare costs, we need all moms to pitch in and help out with this fundraiser. This is our biggest fundraiser of the year.

BAKE SALE DETAILS:
-We're looking for a variety of goods, so use your creativity (pies, bars, cookies, breads).
-Wrap items at home and label. Wrap a variety of sizes (i.e. single items, pairs, half dozen).
-Drop off baked goods at: 1. First Baptist Church on Fri. from 9-noon or 1-3. 2. First Baptist Church at 9AM the day of the vendor fair 3. At the home of Jennifer O. (phone number in newsletter and MOPS directory)

QUESTIONS?:
-contact Juliane (fundraiser coord.) for vendor fair info.
-contact Jennifer O. (hospitality) for baked sale info.
-contact Jenny C. (publicity) if you'd like to work a shift at the publicity/welcome table

Mar. 5th Speaker Summary (thank you, Jen. O. for taking notes)

*Ramona A. (4-5 MOPPET worker) was the featured speaker. She illustrated her personal testimony by decorating a cake as she spoke.
*talk based on Isaiah 64.8
*The cake being decorated represents us. We are molded by God.
*Ramona lost her mother at a young age and became a Christian after her death.
*Before we become Christians, we mold ourselves. Afterwards, God molds us. He molds us to fit His plan for our lives.
*God builds our lives under pressure and trials. Ramona had a break down but never gave up hope.
*God chooses what we go through, but we choose how we go through it.
*When Ramona's sixth child was 4 yrs. old, her husband left her. She thought God dropped the cake on the floor. She pulled herself up and called on God. God is molding her to this day.
*God doesn't mold us for a few weeks or months, but for a lifetime.
*Give everything to God, humble yourself and be open to His plan for you.

Have a great weekend!

Feb. 19th MOPS meeting

Announcements:
*Purchase Herberger coupon books from Juliane. Unsold books should be returned to MOPS by the 26th.
*MOPS Vendor Fair fundraiser:
-First Baptist Fellowship Hall
-Mar. 28th
-10AM-3PM
-If you have a home-based business (i.e. Tupperware) or make crafts, you may rent a table for this event. Contact Juliane.
-If you know of someone else who may want to rent a table, contact Juliane.
-Table rental cost is $40.
-ALL moms are asked to bring pre-wrapped baked goods for a bake sale to be held in conjunction with the vendor fair. More details on bake sale to come. Last year this was a good fundraiser for us.
*Steering committee meets next week @ church @ 9AM.

Misc.:
*Drawing held for Applebee's gift card, with Malissa V. winning. Congratulations!
*Speaker was Tina Buri, coord. of Women's Ministry at Cornerstone, wife, mother to four children. Topic was marriage.
*Broke into d-groups for discussion time following speaker.

Speaker notes:
*Romance is tough with preschoolers in the house.
*Eve was created to be Adam's helper. She was formed from his rib.
*Some women may have husbands who aren't fulfilling their roles in the way God intended. We still need to fulfill our role as wives. Suggestion made to pray and seek counseling in these situations.
*We filled out a private survey re: our relationship with our husbands.
*Satan is battling us for our husbands' affections. To combat this, we must show a tremendous amount of affection to our husbands.
*Spend time apart from the kids for better intimacy.
*There are four factors which kill romance:
1. Sin and not forgiving ea. other.
2. Age and the toll it takes on our bodies.
3. Forgetfulness: Try to forget the negative things your spouse does.
4. Laziness
*Don't speak negatively of your spouse in public.
*Women's role as translated from original Hebrew and Greek found in the Bible (Gen. 2.18-25):
-"ezer" from root "azar": means "surrounding, girding, defending," Just as God is our helper and shield, we are to be an ally in war to our husbands
-"tsela" from root "tsala": means "limp, become lame, incline to one side", God gave Adam the need to have a need for a helper
_"basar" means "of the body of humans" from root "ba sar" meaning "to be joyful/cheerful", a joyous face makes you beautiful, a woman is a beautiful message of joy
FROM ALL THIS, WE KNOW THAT WE ARE A BEAUTIFUL ALLY TO OUR HUSBANDS.
*Ephesians ch. 5 describes the role of women: submit to husbands as to God; respect husband
-"hupotasso" is Greek for "submit"
-God knew the fall into sin was coming and Adam would need a helper
-today we experience battles inside and outside the home
-mens' roles are to be head of their wives and to love their wives; God is in charge of us through men.
*When on a date, if you can't come up with other topics of conversation, it's OK to talk about your kids. That's what you have in common and talking about them may lead to other topics of conversation.
*Don't go through life with the thought that your spouse may not have been the soulmate intended for you. Accept him.

Feb. 5th MOPS meeting

Today was pajama day. Two rounds of Bunco were played. Angela did a Foot Hand Scrub creative activity. Recipe for the foot hand scrub is as follows:

1 c light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 Tbsp. olive oil

Mix and keep unused portions in fridge.

If you wish to have the recipes for the appetizers from our Dec. 20th meeting, two of the appetizers can be found in the January newsletter from today's meeting. If you missed today, January newsletters will be available at the next meeting, as well. The other two recipes will be published in the March newsletter. I had copy machine issues at the church- long story- and that is the reason the recipes are split up. Thanks for your patience in this matter.

MOPS Vendor Fair fundraiser is Mar. 28th at First Baptist from 10:00AM-3:00PM. If you run a home-based business or sell craft items, you may rent a full or half table to sell your wares. We will also be having a bake sale. Contact Juliane with questions re: table rental or if you know of someone who would like to rent a table. More details on bake sale in March newsletter or in e-mails to come.

Jan. 22 Steering Minutes

Members present: Sherry, Marcy, Marilyn, Angela, Juliane, Jennifer O, Jen O, Jenny C

*Roxanne watched our children in the nursery.
*took steering committee survey; Sherry will review results
*time of prayer
*input regarding recent MOPS meetings: flags in popcorn boxes with d-group names creative; better to hang up nametags than to lay them out on tables- will try new approach
*Feb. 5th meeting: Bunco, hand softener craft, wear pjs, bring a Bunco set if you have one
*d-group leaders are going to contact members to remind them of upcoming events, this is a good opportunity for d-group leaders to keep in touch with their group members
*Moms' Night Out is looking good, three eve. group members and one alumni (alumus?) are joining us so far, plus a few from our group
*Tun O' Fun is Jan. 29th from 9:30-1:00; pizza serving to be staggered
*Feb. 19th meeting: Marriage; speaker is Tina Buri from Cornerstone Women's Ministry; may also discuss "Date Night in a Minivan"
*Sherry is going to do an Applebee's gift card give away (late donation from Silent Auction).
*Mar. 5th meeting: Ramona A. gives her testimony (tentative); may do mini cake craft
*NO MOPS Mar. 19th due to spring break
*Apr. 2nd meeting: Dealing With Grief/Easter message
*Apr. 16th: WOW panel (rescheduled from Jan. 15th)
*Apr. 25th is MOPS leadership summit simulcast in Sioux Falls; consider whether or not you're going to attend
*May 7th meeting: Discussed field trip possibilities: 1. scavenger hunt 2. Women's Resource Center 3. Have Joyce Anderson (school psychologist at Garfield) speak on reading to preschoolers, go to library and listen to children's librarian talk and/or get a tour; most steering members preferred the third option
*Vendor Fair will be Mar. 28th pending church approval; discussed upping table rental to $20 per half table and $40 whole table, depending on our budget; time 10AM-3PM; want to have bake sale, coffee and walking tacos; committee to be set up to help with vendor fair; Sherry may do face painting for kids; may have coloring table for kids; Juliane will do postcards; Jenny will do posters and newspaper ad; some disagreement on whether or not to do walking tacos, committee to present options and steering will vote on this; will run newspaper ad Wed. the 25th
*Herberger's coupon books available for community day sale
*We will not do the Watertown Mall Community Day Fair: hard to get moms to sign up to sit at table, only five charitable organizations participated last year, mall doesn't advertise this event, we got no new moms from this last year, frees up another possible weekend for MOPPET worker apprecation brunch
*Sherry would like us to check out the Kids Link Card Kit on the MOPS (Leaders?) website; possibility of doing this for Moms' Night Out with evening group in a private home; Marilyn is considering hosting at her house

Respectfully submitted.

No MOPS and other announcements

***NO MOPS TOMORROW (JAN 15TH) DUE TO WTN. SCHOOL DISTRICT HAVING A LATE START***

Other announcements:
*Tun O' Fun is Jan. 29th from 9:30-1:00 for MOPS MOMS ONLY; pizza and admission covered by MOPS
*Moms' Night Out is Jan. 30th from 8:30-11:00 at Applebees; please reply to your e-vite if you have not done so; if you have NOT received an e-vite, please contact Jenny C.
*Herberger's Coupon books are for sale for $5 either at the registration table or by contacting Juliane; sale is Feb. 28th
*Next MOPS meeting is scheduled for Feb.5th. Wear your pjs and come to play Bunco.
*Worker for 2-3 class needed BADLY. Roger is out the rest of the year due to surgery. If we don't find a replacement, we will have to go back to our old system of drawing names and having moms do shifts. Contact Jenny R. if you know of someone who wants to volunteer or be paid.
*January newsletters will be available at the Feb. 5th meeting.