12.02.2013

December Meetings and Announcements!

On Thursday, December 5th we will be talking about the "Embrace Your Story" aspect of our Beautiful Mess theme for the year, and God's plan for us.  I'm going to be speaking about what MOPS means to me.  We may also be having another one of our mentor moms speak to us. 

The Dust Bunnies group is on for bringing brunch this week!  The Messy Minivan Mamas group should bring a box of crackers or other snack for Moppets.  Please remember to check labels, as Moppets snacks need to be peanut-free. Some suggestions are Welch's Fruit Snacks, Ritz Crackers, Honey Maid Teddy Grahams, and Honey Maid Grahams 

Our next meeting will be our Christmas party on December 19th.  We will be having a devotional, playing some games, and make a craft.

Each group will need to bring the following to share:
Dust Bunnies - sweet treats
Frayed and Fabulous - salty or savory items
Messy Minivan Mamas - "healthy" treats or snacks
(We also make up goodie trays to give to our childcare workers with what is brought.)

Our next Steering Meeting is January 9th!  Please welcome Nathalie Wilson as she takes over for me as Publicity coordinator.  Thanks all, I will miss you!

11.05.2013

November Meetings and Announcements

November Meetings:


This Thursday at 9am, our own MOPS member Amber Richter will be talking with us about Photography and Photo storage.  We also plan to make a craft related to photography.  The Frayed and Fabulous group (Bridget's) is scheduled to bring brunch.  

This Friday, November 8th we'll be having our first Mom's Night Out for the year at Clifford's in Watertown.  Meet us there at 7pm for a kid-free night; you are welcome to just join us as you can and have coffee or dessert. 

On Thursday, November 21st  is our next meeting.  Jan Schull, our newest mentor mom, will be speaking and we will show a DVD about “Avoiding Mothering Comparisons”.  The Messy Minivan Mamas will be on for bringing brunch.
Our next Steering Meeting is Thursday, November 14th – to finalize December and January mtgs. and possibly plan Swim Meet fundraiser.

Announcements:

*This week please bring your favorite quick dinner or slower cookie recipes.  These will be put together in a small cookbook to be given out at our November 21st meeting.  You can also email your recipes to Erin at erinjohnson326@gmail.com

*Also, please remember if you are filling a shoe-box for Operation Christmas Child to please bring it to our meeting this week, or drop it off to Cornerstone Church or New Life E Free church by Nov. 17th!  For more information about this, please check out:  http://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/


*As you may or may not have heard, I will be moving out of state shortly before Christmas.  This means that we will need a replacement Publicity person to serve on the steering team.  If you feel this is something you are interested in, or could help out with, please speak with me at the meeting on Thursday or give me a call/email anytime. 


9.29.2013

OCTOBER Meetings and Announcements

We will have two meetings in October.  On October 3rd, we have Shannon Arnold scheduled to speak with us.  Her husband passed away after he donated a kidney to his brother.  We will be sitting in our Discussion groups for this meeting.  If you are in April's group, you are scheduled to bring brunch.  If you are in Bridget's group, please bring a box of crackers or other snack for Moppets.  (Please see post below for more info.)


All groups should be thinking about what they want their group name to be, and remember to bring a couple of items to fill our center pieces!  (Something that relates to the "Beautiful Mess" theme and that represents you and your home, that will fit in the vase such as: legos, broken crayons, hair ties, an army guy, a pacifier, a comb, etc.)


Our second meeting this month will be on October 17th.  More info. about this meeting to come!  If you are in Melanie's group you will be bringing brunch for this meeting.

9.16.2013

Announcements

Just a few announcements:

Our steering team still has two positions open, Moppets and Creative Activities.  If you are able and willing to help out with either of these, please contact Erin or Marcy.

 Beginning with our first meeting in October:
*Due to limited space at the church we will be asking one D-group at a time to send a box of crackers for MOPPETS snacks.*We are going to try to keep MOPPETS peanut-free.  Do not send snacks which contain peanuts, traces of peanuts or are made in a factory with peanuts.  Some suggestions are Welch's Fruit Snacks, Ritz Crackers, Honey Maid Teddy Grahams, Honey Maid Grahams.*If your child has another food allergy or intolerance, we are asking you to send a box of crackers specifically for your child with his/her name on it which we will keep on hand for him/her.  If this is the case for your child, you do not have to send crackers for the rest of the group.*If you have any further questions about MOPPETS snacks, please feel free to contact Kristin (Hospitality) or Marcy (Co-Coordinator). 

Thank-you!

9.01.2013

September 2013 OPEN HOUSE Kickoff Event and meetings!

We are very excited about our Open House and MOPS Kickoff Event on Thursday, September 5th from 9:00 to 11:00am at First Baptist Church!  We will be having light refreshments and fun activities for the children, as well as introducing this year's theme.  You may stop by at any time during our Open House and register for the 2013-14 MOPS year.  We hope that you all can join us, and please feel free to invite your friends!

Our first "official" meeting of the year will be on September 19th, from 9:00-11:00am.  We'll be talking more about this year's theme, and making our name-tags and meeting calendars for the year.  You'll be assigned to your D-groups so that you have a chance to get to know some moms better, and have you'll have your picture taken for our directory.  We also have a few other fun activities planned, so we hope that you all can join us!

8.26.2013

Why Join MOPS?

Benefits of joining MOPS:
• All the great things you get from MOPS International
• 2 meetings a month with a focus on growing as a mother, wife, and Christian.
• Creative activities
• Wonderful food and fellowship at each meeting!
• Awesome and inspiring guest speakers
• A mentor mom at each table gives us a wonderful perspective and insight into all stages of motherhood  (From someone who has "been there"!)
• The opportunity to develop life-long relationships for you and your little one
• On-site child care
• A feeling of connection and the satisfaction with knowing that you are not alone! 

8.23.2013

A Beautiful Mess


Mom’s live in messes! The toys, crumbs, and spit up are their natural surroundings. Moms often feel like a mess! They are exhausted, under-showered, and hormonal. Their past and present circumstances and decisions can leave them feeling inadequate for God’s love and purposes. 

This years theme, A Beautiful Mess, reminds moms that beauty can come out of their difficult spots. The grime of mothering young children brings the beauty of motherhood. The bruises of life can bring God’s redemption. Embrace Your Story — reminds moms that their past, present and future can be used for good. God knows where each of us has been, where we are today and has set in motion where we are headed.


It’s true we are a mess. And this scripture reminds us that we are indeed beautiful!


Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)
“For we are God’s masterpiece. He 
had created us anew in Christ Jesus, 
so we can do the good things he, 
planned for us long ago.”


8.06.2013

MOPS 2013-2014

Your steering team is busy planning for our upcoming year! We are currently in need of a Moppets Coordinator, and a Creative Activities Steering member on our team. If you feel called to help out with this, please contact one of us or leave a comment below.


Our Open House/Registration will be held on Thursday, September 5th from 9:00 to 11:00am. We would love for you all to join us and invite any other moms you may know to come. More info on this event to come! We are excited about our coming year, and our new theme "A Beautiful Mess, Embrace your Story".

6.02.2013

MOPS at the Park!

I hope you are enjoying your summer so far! We will be having our informal MOPS gatherings at the park over the next couple of months, on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays from 11:00am to 1:00pm.

Pack a lunch - or stop and pick one up on your way - for yourself and your kiddos and join us. Moms who are not members of MOPS are welcome to join us at the park this summer as well, so please feel free to bring a friend or two along. The dates are as follows:

June 6th
June 20th
July 18th
August 1st


Please mark your calendars! I hope to see you all there!

4.27.2013

May Meetings and Summer Info.

On Thursday, May 2nd we'll be taking a field trip to the Codington County Heritage Museum! Be at First Baptist Church by 9:15am sharp and you'll be entered into a drawing to win a gift card! We need to be there by 9:30am. If you're later than that, feel free to drop your kids off and then meet us at the Museum. Make sure you eat breakfast at home before you come since brunch will not be served.

For our May 16th meeting, we'll be meeting at the McKinley/Riverside Park near the playground and picnic tables for a MOPS picnic! Food will be served, but you may bring your own drink if you wish.

This summer we'll continue to meet informally at the McKinley/Riverside Park from 11am to about 1pm. Please pack a lunch and join us with your children for some fun play and chat time! Moms who are not MOPS members are welcome to join us at the park this summer, so please feel free to invite a friend or two!


If you know you plan to come to MOPS next year, you can register now - by May 31st - and you'll save some money! Please speak with Sara G. for more info.

Speaking of next year, our Hospitality Position is now filled leaving our MOPPETS Coordinator Position open so if you've thought about serving on Steering in the fall please speak with a current Steering Team member for more info.

3.28.2013

April Meetings and Worker Appreciation Brunch

In April, we'll have our two regular meetings and a MOPPETS Worker Appreciation Brunch, to thank all the wonderful people who watch our children for us during the meetings as well as Pastor Bob and the church secretary Sue Howlett from First Baptist.

On April 4th, we'll be having Jamie Mechels who's husband has passed, coming to speak to us about grief and loss. If you have any gift basket items, please bring them and give them to Marcy as she'll be presenting our speaker with them at the end of our meeting. The Ducky Diva's group is on for bringing brunch.

On April 18th, Sue Howlett will be speaking to us about what to watch for signs of drug use. The Marvelous Mermaid's group is on for bringing brunch.


On April 25th, we'll be having our annual Worker Appreciation Brunch. Please join us with your children to give thanks to our childcare workers and First Baptist. Each group will bring a different type of brunch/snack item. Your D-group leader will contact you at a later date with more info.

After the brunch, at approx. 10:30am we'll be having a short Steering Meeting. We are thinking ahead to next year! The Hospitality Position is open. If you are thinking about serving on steering next year, please join us even if the position that you are interested in appears to be filled. Some of our current steering members may be happy to give up, or change their positions if a replacement can be found. Some positions may be taking on an assistant also. If you're wondering what exactly does the Hospitality position entail, here is a description:

The Hospitality person arrives at meetings early to unlock door; helps serve and clean up after brunch; purchases decorations and decorates fellowship hall for meetings; helps set up chairs and tables if necessary; maintains supply of paper products; serves MOPPETS snack and monitors snack supply; recognizes new babies and MOPS graduates on behalf of the group; attends steering meetings.

3.03.2013

March and April Meetings + more

March Meetings:
March 7th: We'll be having speakers talking to us about routine car and home maintenance.
March 21st: TBA (Possibly Pastor Bob will be giving an Easter message.)

April Meetings:
April 4th: Grief and Loss (rescheduled from Feb.)
April 18th: TBA
April 25th: Worker Appreciation Brunch @ 9AM. More details to come.


Reminders:

Spring dues are due! Please speak with Sara Goche at our meeting if you aren't sure if you need to pay dues again.

Please label all bags, bottles, sippy cups, etc. for your infants and children before dropping them off in the child care rooms! This will help our workers to know what belongs to your child.

If you haven't yet brought a box of crackers for our Moppets kids, please do so asap. Remember all snacks for the children should be peanut free. Thank you!

2.02.2013

February Happenings!

Hi All!

On Thursday, February 7th we'll be having a Slumber Party at our meeting! Come dressed in your jammies/robe or sweats/lounge wear! We'll be having lots of fun! You'll have a chance to make a body scrub, paint your nails, make a coupon booklet for Valentine's Day, play a game, and best of all just relax and talk with other moms. The Beach Ball Beauties group brings brunch.

Then on Feb. 21st we'll be having a meeting with a speaker about feelings, grief, and loss. Please sit with your discussion groups. The Ducky Divas will be bringing brunch.

Reminders:
Spring dues are due! Please speak with Sara Goche at our meeting if you aren't sure if you need to pay dues again.

Please label all bags, bottles, sippy cups, etc. for your infants and children before dropping them off in the child care rooms! This will help our workers to know what belongs to your child.

If you haven't yet brought a box of crackers for our Moppets kids, please do so asap. Remember all snacks for the children should be peanut free. Thank you!

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Our next steering meeting will be held on Feb. 28th.

1.16.2013

January 17th Meeting and Fundraiser

This Thursday (tomorrow) at MOPS we'll be having a Dad/Husband Panel, and the Marvelous Mermaids group is on for bringing brunch.

Remember this weekend, January 19th and 20th, we'll be having our big fundraiser! There will be a sign-up sheet passed around at our meeting tomorrow. We need as many people as we can to help, so please sign up if you are able. Thanks everyone!