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!
