Christmas Meeting Recap

This morning was filled with beautifully dressed tables, wonderful food, and lots and lots of fellowship.

Rev. Scott Rawlings from St. Peter's United Methodist Church in Katy gave us a wonderful talk on not getting caught up in the "shadows" of the season, but remaining true to the message of Christmas and revisiting our childlike sense of wonder regarding the magic of the season.

As we left the meeting, we were hit with the absolutely devastating news out of Newtown, Ct.  Please take a moment to pray for those who are going through the most inexplicable and unimaginable pain tonight.  And take a moment to cherish those you hold near and dear.  I am so grateful for all of you.

Hold all of these beautiful kiddos a little closer tonight.

http://www.slideshare.net/kathkell220/mops-christmas-slideshow-2012

Recap of November 30th Meeting

Friday's meeting started with a wonderful blessing and an awesome breakfast provided by the Purple Table.

Everyone arrived with their questions ready for the panel of doctors that blessed us with their time and their expertise.  The panel consisted of Laurie D. Molina, M.D., P.A. from Physicians at Sweetwater; Scott Kelly, DC, ACP from Airrosti Rehab Centers; Dr. Anastasia Gentles from Night Light Pediatric Urgent Care; and Isabel Vahedi, DDS from Apollonia Dental.
Questions lasted for the allotted one hour time period before the doctors left to tend to their patients, but not before leaving goodies for all of us to have.  The doctors were all patient and answered each question thoroughly.  It was a very informative hour.



 

For more information on the doctors, visit the following links:

 

Dr. Isabel Vahedi www.apollonia-dental.com

Dr. Scott Kelly www.airrosti.com

Dr. Laurie Molina www.physiciansatsweetwater.com

Dr. Anastasia Gentles www.nightlightpediatrics.com



 

Announcements followed with Constance beginning by letting everyone know there was a table full of baby items that were available to anyone if they wanted them.  Stasi McAteer brought several outfits that were available for taking.

Beginning at the next meeting on December 14th, there will be a table available for those moms who have businesses or side jobs to bring along a product, a description of their service, or a business card for us MOPS moms to have a look at.

Cori Atkins reminded us that if we did not pick up our spa bag from the previous meeting that they were still available to take home.

Kathie Kelly reminded all of us to send her a picture of our families or at least to send her a picture of your kids.  Please email them to kathiekelly@hotmail.com by Friday, December 7th.

Melissa Treadway passed around a list of people who had only paid for the first semester of MOPS and reminded everyone to pay their dues online for the next semester of MOPS beginning in January.  Please include any changes in childcare needs.  An email reminder also went out Sunday night.

Shelli LeBret let us know that she needs more people for the meal we will be providing for Young Lives in April.  Please see Shelli if you would like to help out.

Kelley Otero reminded us that there was a group of us going to see Renata Smith's play on Friday night and that the show was sold out!!  We will ask for a recap at the next meeting for those of us who could not attend.  Kelley also reminded us of the trip to Holiday Acres in Manvel next Friday from 11:30 to 1:30 pm.  Holiday Acres is a Christmas Tree farm where kids have the chance to decorate a tree, drink hot chocolate, sip on apple cider and enjoy other Christmas activities.

Kim Garnet is collecting formula and other baby items for mommies in need.  She will collect items at the next meeting so please bring formula if you can.

Lauran Helms closed out the meeting with prayers and praises.  She read from Luke 2 and a devotional from Proverbs 31 (www.proverbs31.org) which were great reminders of what we are really celebrating at Christmas!  She also read childhood Christmas memories from Renata, Cintia, Melissa, and Liz.  They were all heart warming stories with a rather funny story from Liz!

The next meeting is on December 14th with a breakfast from the Steering Committee.

Recap of November 16th Meeting

Hi all!

We had an action-packed meeting today!  Many thanks to the Blue table for the awesome breakfast!

Last night was the Thanksgiving dinner for Young Lives.  Many thanks to all who came out to help!  It was a very touching evening for all involved.

 

 

We have two upcoming social events:

On Friday, November, 30th we are going as a group to see Sylvia at Company OnStage at Westbury Square.  Our very own Renata Smith will be featured in this play!  The show starts at 8pm and the cost is $13 per person if we can get 10+ to commit (otherwise the price is $18).  Spouses are welcome.  Kelly Otero sent around a sign up today and she needs all money by November 21st.  Contact Kelly if you would like to go: theoteros@mac.com.  For more info on the play, visit www.companyonstage.org.

On Friday, December 7th, we will be going to Holiday Acres in Manvel.  Holiday acres offers tons of kid-related activities such as a hayride, complimentary hot chocolate and mulled cider, dress a farmer (scarecrow), decorate a live tree, farm animals, etc.  We will go from 11:30am-1:30pm to accomodate those in the Bible study on non-MOPS Fridays.  A caravan will leave from CUMC that morning. Cost is $5 per person (3 and up, under 3 is free).  Contact Kelly Otero if you are interested in going (theoteros@mac.com).  For more info on Holiday Acres, visit www.theholidayacres.com.

Please send Kathie Kelly a photo of your family or of your children for a special project she is working on for the Christmas meeting.  You too, Mentor Moms!!! kathiekelly@hotmail.com

Stasi McAteer told us about a clothing drive at Corrective Chiropractic for the victims of hurricane Sandy.  The owners of Corrective Chiropractic are from New Jersey, so donations will be going to people they know personally who are in need.  They are in need of clothing for men, women, and children as well as toiletries, and shoes.  Gift cards are also welcome.  Corrective Chiropractic is located in the shopping center across from the Riverstone entrance by Kohl's, near Gymboree Play & Music (5201 Highway 6 South, Suite 6).  Stasi also said she would gather items at the next meeting to take there. Contact Stasi for more info stasigrace@gmail.com.

Congrats to Breanne Ward and Melissa Treadway who won our dollar auction today!  That was our last dollar auction for the semester, next semester we will have one dollar auction benefiting MOPS and one additional fundraiser benefitting Young Lives.

Lauran Helms gave us a very apropos devotional from Mt 6: 25-34, which implores us remain focused on the true reason of the holidays and not to get anxious and swept up in all the hype.

The rest of the meeting was spent making our fabulous spa goodies.  Thanks to Cori Atkins for organizing and procuring all the materials!  Everyone made a lotion, salt scrub, and bath salts for themselves and one to share in the Young Lives beauty bags.

 

Next meeting is Friday, November 30th.  Purple table is up for breakfast.

 

Have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving!!!!

 



Recap of November 9th Meeting

Hi all!

A huge thanks to my fellow green tablers for the wonderful breakfast!  I'm still stuffed!

A warm welcome to Claudia Stephens' new baby girl, Kleo Michelle!  She was born on Monday weighing in a 6.9 lbs, 19 1/4 inches.  Claudia's meals start this week, so if you can help, please sign up below:

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F054FA5AC2FA75-claudia

Our kid socials this month are next Monday and Tuesday (November 12th and 13th) at Castle Park located at Commonwealth Blvd and Trent.  On Monday, Caitlin McNamee will be out there starting at 10am.  On Tuesday, Liz Brown will be there from 9:30am.  Grab the kids and some snacks and come out and play!

Our mom social for the month is to see a local production of Sylvia by A.R. Gurney featuring our very own Renata Smith!!!  We are planning on going as a group on Friday, November 30th at 8pm.  The play is at Company Onstage located at 536 Westbury Square, Houston, TX 77035 (Renata says GPS directions are unreliable, so she will get us directions).  Tickets are $18 and Kelly Otero will send around a sign up sheet at the next meeting.  Let's support Renata!!!! For more info, visit: www.companyonstage.org.

Black MOPS shirts are still available for $10.  See Melissa Gisler for details.

Liz Brown and Cori Atkins have set up a Dreams Dinner get together on Wednesday, December 12th at 7pm.  Cost is $75 for 18 "servings" (some meals are 3 servings, some 6).  For more info or to see the menu, visit www.dreamdinners.com. If you are interested in participating, you will need to call Dream Dinners to reserve your space (281) 499-1800.

Today we collected our boxes for Operation Christmas Child!

 

 

Shelli LeBret (srlebret@gmail.com) will be taking them to Harvest UMC in Sienna on Monday, so if you would still like to participate contact her before then.  Harvest UMC will be collecting them all week if you would like to drop them off yourself.  Harvest UMC is located at 9029 Sienna Ranch Rd.  www.harvestumc.org

 

This Thursday, November 15th is the Young Lives Thanksgiving dinner.  If you would like to help, please contact Shelli LeBret (srlebret@gmail.com). 

 

Young Lives still needs drivers to get the girls to and from the meetings.  If you can possibly help with this important ministry, please contact Kathy Aldredge with Young Lives (kaldredge@hotmail.com).  There will especially be a need for drivers to and from the December 13th meeting.

 

Shelli will have a bag at every meeting for donations to Young Lives.  Please start bringing beauty items to donate for the "beauty bags" that we will make for the girls in December.

 

Shelli also reminded us that East Ft. Bend Human Needs Ministry collects birthday supplies for the "birthday packs" they supply to families in need.  If you have excess plates, napkins, cups, etc from your children's birthdays, please consider donating them to this worthy cause.  There is a bin across from the kitchen at CUMC that is designated for EFBHNM. 

 

Kathleen Randall invited everyone to a cookie exchange that will be held at CUMC on Sunday, December 16th at 5pm.  Everyone will bring 3 dozen cookies for sharing (wrapped by the dozen) and a container to take some cookies home. Some will be eaten, some will be shared, and some will be donated.  Donated cookies will benefit Holley Elementary, Family Promise Day Center, Fort Bend County Women's Center, and local fire/police stations.  For additional info, contact Kathleen (kltx@hotmail.com).

 

Erin Reed shared with us that her husband and his colleagues are all enjoying a newly acquired Keurig machine during their deployment in Kabul, Afghanistan.  We talked about gathering some of the Keurig pods in various flavors to donate to these wonderful soldiers.  If you would like to participate, please bring some pods to the next meeting.

 

Stasi McAteer absolutely rocked the devotional today!!!! She read us an incredibly moving selection from Ann Voskamp to which we could all relate.  For more information on Ann Voskamp, visit www.onethousandgifts.com or www.aholyexperience.com.  Well done, Stasi!!!!

 

The rest of the meeting was spent chatting over "popcorn" questions and assessing our personalities using the Meyer-Briggs assessment.  To analyze your results, visit http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/the-16-mbti-types.asp.

 

Fabulous meeting everyone.  Next meeting is November 16th and the Blue table is on tap for breakfast.

 

Finally, a very heart-felt thanks to our wonderful Mentor Moms who provided an amazing soup dinner for us on October 23rd.  Meet these lovely ladies now:

 

 

LaMona Weaver, Jennifer Wells, Benita Sebesta, Mona Henderson, Sunday Coffman, Kim Ripley, Nancy Burford, Sue Bridges, Ingred Lathrop (not pictured: Elaine Manz)



October 19th Meeting Recap

Constance was back this week to open with a prayer before we feasted on the delicious breakfast provided by the Yellow Table.  Fellowship with good friends and good food.....who could ask for more!!!

Announcements followed:

We are still collecting blankets and Good Night Moon books for Military Moms and newborn babies!  This is a great to support these mommies by bringing these items up to CUMC by November 8th.

The PJ Party at Kelly Otero's house was a hit!  PJ's, drinks, pizza, and a chocolate fountain sounds like a recipe for success!

"Thirty-one" brochures were looked at during the PJ party and were also passed around the meeting on Friday.  

If you are interested, you can contact Jaclyn Hanks at 832-539-1595 or log on to:

mythirtyone.com/55431

-my parties

-Mops shop now

-shop now

**Remember MOPS receives proceeds from these purchases!!

On November 2nd, CUMC will host a concert by Josh Wilson at 7:30 pm.  The concert is free so come on out and enjoy great music.

Operation Christmas Child is underway.  You will need to pick a child (age & gender), purchase a container, and fill it with goodies for that special child.  These containers will be sent to 3rd world countries, so non-perishable items such as hair brushes, pens, beauty supplies, and crafts will work great.  These items need to be turned in by the next meeting.  For more info, go to:

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/occ/

Constance passed around "thank you" cards that MOPS had received for sending gift cards to  a mom of twins as well as a single mother who had adopted a child who is having medical issues.  Both mothers were extremely thankful and gracious for the gift cards.  The cards were very sweet and you could tell how much it really meant to them. 

The Mentor Moms supper will be held on Tuesday, October 23rd at 6:30 at Nancy Burford's home at 207 Laurel Springs Sugar Land, 77478.

Kathie Kelly attended a YL Meeting last Thursday night and told of what an awesome time she had.  She was a driver and the young mom she drove around went on and on about how much fun she had at the meeting.  Caitlin McNamee told of an 8th grade mom who had won a stroller and a huge bag of goodies which helped her out tremendously!!  She also told Caitlin how much fun she had at the meeting.

Leah Hammonds told us detrimental news of a 10 year old boy named James Evans who was killed in a tragic accident last weekend at a weekend outing.  His funeral was held at CUMC last Thursday, October 18th.  Meals are being coordinated to send to his family.  Please keep James' family and friends in your prayers.

Renata Smith let us know she will be participating in a fundraiser for the Brent Event Foundation which benefits young adult cancer patients.  Brent was a classmate of Renata's so she does a lot to support the foundation! The event was at Sugar Land Memorial Park on Saturday, Oct 20th and included a run, a BBQ lunch, and fun for kids.  Hopefully Renata will give us an update at our next meeting!  To find out more about the Brent Event Foundation go to www.brentevent.org

Don't forget about the pumpkin patch at St. Catherine's in Sienna.  The hours are 10 to 7 Monday thru Saturday and 10 to 6 on Sunday.  I took my kids and got some great pictures and an awesome pumpkin!  It's very cute!!

Melissa Treadway and Shelli LeBret were both unable to attend the meeting due to sick kiddos so we look forward to catching up with them at the next meeting.  We will keep them in our prayers for a quick recovery!

Lauran Helms went next with the "Prayers and Praises" of the group so that the event speaker Jeanne Hensley could have the open floor for her presentation.

Lauran was followed by Jeanne Hensley, who came out to speak from the Houston Center for Christian Counseling.  Her presentation was titled "Blessing Kids by Seeing Them as God Does."
Her presentation was very educating and enlightening and covered a variety of strengths and characteristics that your child can have and went over how you as the parent should work with them to optimize their potential in these areas.  She gave an example or a trait and then went on to say what this trait can influence a child to become.  For example....
An aggressive child can become persuasive.  This type of personality needs to encouraged to be kind and to be spoken to the truth in love.  Eph 4:15 was quoted scripture for reading for this trait.
Please see Lana Mistretta if you would like a full copy of her presentation.  I have a couple of extra copies.

Jeanne's presentation was filled with excellent questions and discussion from inquisitive moms.  We had about 20 minutes at the end to fellowship with friends before we all headed out at noon.  It was another wonderful time and successful meeting!!!

See you on Friday, November 9th for our next meeting.  Come hungry because I am sure the Green Table will bring a feast!!

Meeting Recap for October 5th

Liz Brown, did a fabulous job leading our meeting last week in Constance's absence.  We are happy to report that Constance is feeling better and loved the "Happy Birthday" video from the group.  Thank you to the Orange Team for a delicious breakfast.

We had a great time of fellowship as we decorated tee-shirts, onesies and socks for the children benefited by our selected charity of the year, Fort Bend YoungLives. There will be some very cute and creative options for the moms to choose from!  Thank you to everyone who signed up for aYoungLives volunteer opportunity. If you missed the sign up sheet, please see Shelli LeBret at our next meeting.

 

 

Crystal was thoughtful enough to put the design on upside-down...you know, so the baby could read it! :-)

Announcements from our Steering Members:
Fellowship:  Kelly Otero coordinated a fun trip to Dewberry Farms this week.  We had a great turnout and had the opportunity to spend time together and let the kids run until they dropped!

Our next social event will be a PJ Party at 7:00 this Saturday, October 13th.  We really do want you to come in your PJ's to lounge and have fun. We will have pizza, salad, a chocolate fountain and appetizers. Please bring a drink to share, maybe your favorite wine or cocktail recipe.  You are welcome to contribute an appetizer or dessert to the party. Kelly will host the party at her home located at 15 Leigh Ct., Sugar Land, 77479
There is an upcoming Soup Dinner sponsored by our Mentor Moms at 6:30 on Tuesday, October 23rd. It will be held at Nancy Burford's home at 207 Laurel Springs, Sugar Land, 77478.
Hospitality Coordinator:  Kim Garnett reminded us that the Pumpkin Patch at St. Catherine of Sienna is now open and runs through October 31st from 10:00AM - 7:00 PM (6:00PM on Sunday). Kim can assist you if you would like to schedule a group visit with storytelling and games. Located at 4747 Sienna Parkway in Sienna Plantation.
Membership:  Melissa Treadway welcomed our new members Jenny, Jessica, Jennifer and Lindsey to our MOPS group.
Missions:  Shelli Lebret passed around a sign up sheet for volunteers. Remember to bring your donation items to our meetings through the year and they will be delivered to Parkway United Methodist Church, host of the YoungLives meetings. Please remember to collect items for the "I Feel Pretty"bags that we will put together in November for a December delivery.  Lotion, perfume and pretty hair items are good ideas.  There will be a Chili Night on October 18th and volunteers are needed to help.  See Shelli for more information.

Reminder: Leah Hammond and Kathleen Randall are hosting a Bible Study at CUMC on our non-MOPS weeks.

Donation Opportunity:
CUMC is supporting Military Mom's and Newborns and are requesting donations of new baby blankets, bibs and "Goodnight Moon" books.  These can be brought to our meetings as well.

Next Meeting:
October 19th, Breakfast will be provided by the Yellow team

Lauren Helms closed the meeting with prayers and praises and a message about the Living Water that God has blessed us with from the book of John 4. Here, Jesus had the longest recorded conversation in history with a nameless Samaritan woman who was at the well drawing water. We never have to thirst as we are blessed with a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

Meet your fabulous Discussion Group Leaders (DGLs)!!!

Crystal Yates, Kathleen Randall, Meg Wilson-Ruffing, Heather Lovell, Julia Joiner, Cintia Listenbee

Recap of September 21st Meeting

We had another great meeting on Friday!  Constance Ritter started us out with an opening prayer.  A huge shout out to the Red table for such an awesome breakfast spread!

Kim Ripley will be offering an infant massage class starting in November.  If you don't know Kim, she is in charge of our childcare while we are upstairs at MOPS and she is just wonderful.  The classes will be held November 1st, 8th and 15th at 9:45am.  These classes are ideal for children 3 months - 12 months.  The classes last for one hour and are free of charge.  Contact Kim at kimr@cumcsl.org for more info!

Christ Church School has several openings! 

MW Toddler II class (must be 18 months by September 1st of this year)
MWF 2-year-old class (must be 2 by September 1st of this year)
TTH 3-year-old class (must be 3 by September 1st of this year)
TTH 4-year-old class (must be 4 by September 1st of this year)
M-TH Bridge (must be 5 by September 1st of this year)

There are many MOPS who have or have had their children enrolled at Christ Church School, so if you have any questions just ask around! Contact ccs@cumcsl.org for more info!

Next week will have a dollar auction to raise money for our group.  Tickets will be $1/ticket, 7 tickets for $5, or 15 tickets for $10.  All proceeds from the dollar auctions benefit our general MOPS budget.  The coin bucket that is passed around every meeting will benefit our Missions project, Young Lives.

Caitlin McNamee had our rapt attention as she told us the incredible story about Ryan's birth at home!  Huge praises for his safe delivery!!!

Kelly Otero kept us up to date on our social events for the rest of September and October:

*The Couples Social is Friday, September 28th from 6:30-8:30pm (childcare from 6:15pm-8:15pm).  Friday was the last day to pay, but if you paid and have changed your mind, Wednesday is the absolute last day to let Kelly know so she can pull your payment (theoteros@mac.com).

*We're going to Dewberry Farms on October 10th!  The plan is to meet at Dewberry Farms at 10am.  Liz Brown and Kathie Kelly will lead a caravan from CUMC at 9am, or you can just meet us there at 10am.  Cost is $6/person (children two and under are free).  Kelly must have payment by October 5th (make checks payable to Kelly Otero).  If you have a black MOPS shirt, wear it so we can easily recognize each other.  If you would like to purchase a t-shirt, they are for sale for $10 through Melissa Gisler. You can either pack a lunch or purchase lunch at the on-site cafeteria. www.dewberryfarm.com

*Mark your calendars for the PJ Party on October 13th!  The party will be at Kelly Otero's house and pizza, a chocolate fountain, and other assorted junk food will be provided.  Bring a bottle of wine (or your drink of choice) to share!

Melissa Treadway reminded us that if you would like to purchase an initial mug like many of the MOPS have, they are available at Latte Tots (www.latte-tots.com).

At our October 5th meeting, we will have our annual costume swap!  Bring any costumes that your children have outgrown and you can swap them with other MOPS.  MOPS who bring costumes to swap will have first dibs, after that they will be open to everyone.  Costumes for adults are welcome too!

The pumpkins are coming!!!  St. Catherine of Sienna Pumpkin Patch will begin on October 8th and run through the 31st.  The pumpkin patch is open daily from 10am-7pm (6pm on Sundays).  This is a GREAT place to take pictures and get your Halloween pumpkins!  St. Catherine's is located at 4747 Sienna Parkway inside Sienna Plantation.  www.siennachurch.org

Our wonderful Mentor Moms will host a soup dinner for us on October 23rd.  More details to come, but mark your calendars!

Ali Kefalos gave us a stirring introduction to Young Lives, our Missions project for this year.  Young Lives caters to teenage mothers in a variety of ways from material to spiritual.  We are called to help in many different ways, so there is an opportunity for everyone!  Each month, MOPS will have one opportunity to help out with this group, and everyone is asked to pick one of the volunteer opportunities throughout the year and sign up.  The volunteer opportunities range from driving a member of Young Lives to their monthly meeting, providing childcare at their meetings, providing food for the meetings, and helping to deliver "goodies" to the moms on special occasions.  Young Lives typically holds their meetings on the third Thursday of the month from 6:30pm-8:30pm at Parkway United Methodist Church on New Territory Blvd.  As your children outgrow their baby items, please consider donating them to this worthy cause.  I think many of us had our hearts touched at this meeting and would really like to get involved.  For more information about additional volunteer opportunities contact Cheslee Escobedo (chesleek@yahoo.com).  If you are feeling called to be a mentor to one of the Young Lives moms, contact Ali Kefalos (alikefalos@gmail.com).  If you missed the meeting and did not get a chance to sign up, contact Shelli LeBret (srlebret@gmail.com).

One of our projects is that we will be making "I Feel Pretty" bags for the moms at Young Lives in November and delivering them to the moms in December.  Be on the lookout in the next couple months for deals on beauty items to donate for these bags.

We all signed the "Member Covenant" on Friday confirming our commitment to our group.  If you were unable to attend on Friday, please see Constance for a covenant.

Kim Garnett led us in some great ice-breaking activities.  It was great to get to know everyone!

Lauran Helms closed us out with prayers and praises at the end of the meeting.

Our next meeting is October 5th.  Orange table will provide breakfast.  See you then!

 

Welcome Back MOPS!!!!

It is so good to be back!  The lovely CUMC MOPS had their first meeting of the semester today, and as usual, laughter, chatter, prayer, and food were the order of the day!

Our fearless new coordinator, Constance Ritter, got us started by reminding us why we come to MOPS.  While having fun is a huge part of MOPS, we are an organization rooted in faith and we should always remember that the purpose of MOPS is to "encourage, equip and develop every Mother of a Preschooler to realize her potential as a woman, mother and leader in the name of Jesus Christ."

This year we will introduce a "Member Covenant" that each member will need to read and sign.  We are a vibrant group with a waiting list of mommies who would like to join, so attendance must be a priority for the group.  Obviously, absences due to illness (yours or your children), emergency, family crisis, etc are absolutely excusable.  However, in the event of an absence, communication with your table's Discussion Group Leader (DGL) is essential.  After two uncommunicated absences, we will be forced to give your spot to one of the mommies on our waiting list.

CUMCSL will offer a FREE workshop about introducing issues of sexual morality with your children.  The workshop will be on Sunday, September 16th from 4-6 in rooms 210/211.  Registration is required and childcare is limited so if you are interested, sign up soon!

http://www.cumcsl.org/details/AnnounceDetails.aspx?AnnounceId=3977

Announcements from Steering Members:

Melissa Gisler gave us a run down of how our outreach budget was used last year to benefit our community.

Leah Hammonds appealed to the group to sign up for a Care Team meal at least once a semester (more if you are able--we have LOTS of babies this year!)

Kathleen Randall and Leah Hammonds are heading up a bible study on off MOPS Fridays.  They will start on October 12th and the first one is on patience.  If you are interested, contact Kathleen (kltx@hotmail.com) to sign up.  They are able to offer limited childcare and if more people sign up than they can accomodate, a drawing will be done to keep things fair.  There is no limit on how many people they can have in the study, so if childcare is not an issue for you, feel free to sign up!

Kelly Otero announced the social outings for September:

Thursday, September 13th at 6:50pm: Mom's Night at the Movies!  We will see Hope Springs at the Star Cinema Grill on Hwy 6 in Missouri City.

Monday, September 17th from 9-11am: Playdate at the Sugar Creek Playscape.  Free admission!

Friday, September 28th from 6:30-8:30pm: MOPS Couples Night.  Bring your husband so we can all get to know each other! Dinner will be catered at CUMCSL and childcare will be provided.  $30 per couple.

Shelli LeBret introduced our new Missions project: Young Lives, a division of Young Life that services pregnant teenage mothers.  Stay tuned, we will have a speaker from Young Lives with us at our next meeting on September 21st.

Meredith Canny introduced our coin can that will be passed around at all meetings.  Proceeds from the coin can will be donated as a part our our outreach ministry.  She also introduced the 9:30am drawing that will be done at each meeting.  If you are present before 9:30am, you get to put your name in for a chance at some fabulous MOPS prizes!

Melissa Treadway explained how we can change any of our membership information at https://cumciahtx.infellowship.com

Committees were announced and committee members met briefly to discuss responsibilities for the year.

The rest of the meeting was spent getting reacquainted with old friends and meeting our fabulous new MOPS and Mentor Moms.  We really have a great group this year!

The rock star award goes to Breanne Ward who STILL CAME to the meeting today even though her baby is scheduled to arrive via C-section this evening!!!  Talk about commitment!  Breanne, you and your family are definitely in our prayers today and we can't wait to see your beautiful new addition!

Lauran Helms closed our meeting with a reflection on Matthew 9: 1-5 when Jesus forgives and heals a paralyzed man.  She gave us a poignant reminder that what we get out of MOPS is contingent upon the commitment that we put into it.  Great advice!

And finally, meet your Steering Committee!

Back Row: Melissa Treadway (Membership), Leah Hammonds (Care Team), Meredith Canny (Fundraising), Kathie Kelly (Publicity), Lauran Helms (Prayer), Melissa Gisler (Finance), Shelli LeBret (Missions), Cori Atkins (MOPS Crafts), Kim Garnett (Hospitality)
Front Row: Kelly Otero (Social), Liz Brown (Co-Coordinator), Erin Reed (MOPPETS Crafts), Constance Ritter (Coordinator)

It's going to be a great year!  See you September 21st!