MOPS Meeting January 25th

We had a great meeting this past week at MOPS.  The Red Team treated us to a delicious breakfast to kick off the meeting.  Remember there is a drawing for all members who arrive by 9:30 AM.  This week the prize was a Starbucks gift card!

We had two fun crafts this week.  The first was a Meal Planner to help us manage our busy weeks and hungry families expectations, and a Chore Chart to help our children meet OUR expectations... or at least some light responsibility.  There are some very creative Moms in our group for us with less skills to copy!  Thanks to Cori Atkins for coordinating the activity.

Missions:   Shelly LeBret updated us on the Young Lives Meeting last Thursday.  Thank you to all who donated diapers, wipes, food or additional items for the young mothers this organization strives to assist.  The pocket change that you donate in our meetings was most recently used to purchase bottles and sippy cups.  The young mothers really need and appreciate the items they receive, so fill that "Change For Change" bucket up when it comes by your table!

Fellowship:  A fun night was had by all who attended our latest "Mom's Night Out" at the Glazery last week.  There were some fun stories going around.  I'm sorry I missed that one!  Kelly Otero was traveling and will update update us on future events at our next meeting.

Reminders:

• Black MOPS shirts are available for $10
• Sign up for the Facebook page if you have not already done so to keep up with happenings.
• The Orange Table is scheduled to provide breakfast at our next meeting 

Upcoming Meetings:
Feb. 8th - Valentine's Day Event.  Wear your wedding dress, veil or shoes - or all of the above for a fun walk down memory lane.  You can send any funny/memorable wedding moments to Lauran Helms at Lauranhelms@gmail.com, and any funny photos to Kim Garnett khgarnett@gmail.com.  Feel free to bring your Wedding Album to share!

Kim Garnett is preparing for our upcoming "Favorite Things" meeting and needs all of us to select an item that we love and would like to share with the group. This is one of the favorite meetings of the year!

Optional Bible Study:  The next 6 week Bible Study will be on Joy and will be held on non-MOPS Fridays.  If you would like to join, please contact Kathleen Randall by Monday. 

http://store.grouppublishing.com/OA_HTML/ibeCCtpItmDspRte.jsp?item=2773185

 

Devotion:  Cintia Listenbee filled in for Lauran Helms who was out sick.  She provided a uplifting message about PEACE and provided us with three (3) tools to achieve it - Relaxation, Prayer and Meditation.  Jesus taught the Apostles of peace when he slept with no concern on a boat during a horrible storm. In John 14:27 he said "I am leaving you with a gift - peace of mind and heart. And the peace that I give isn't like the peace the world gives. So don't be troubled or afraid."  Take time to enjoy the PEACE he has given to each of us.

January 11th Meeting

Welcome back MOPPERS! It was so great to see everyone on Friday! Many thanks to our always marvelous Mentor Moms for the fabulous breakfast. You guys take the best care of us!

Please join us in the warmest of welcome to our new members:

Aleini Lacombe (Red Table)
Ashley Lynn (Orange Table)
Pamela Robinson (Orange Table)
Chasity Henderson (Yellow Table)
Chrisanna Mooney (Blue Table)
And...returning member Alison Makhlouf (Blue Table)

Also, help me to welcome our newest Mentor Mom, Jennifer Wells!

Thank you to Kelly Otero for organizing the Chuck E. Cheese playdate on the 14th and the 15th. Our mommy social this month is on Thursday, January 24th at The Glazery on Dulles and Cartwright. We will meet at 7pm. If you plan to attend, please contact Kelly (theoteros@mac.com). There is no need to pay in advance; you will simply pay for whatever piece you choose to paint. Feel free to bring an appetizer or sweet to share! (www.theglazery.com)

Our next meeting on the 25th will feature another fun craft that will involve a few items from home. Keep an eye out for an email from Cori Atkins with further instructions.

Many thanks to all who participated in the diaper drive during the meeting. Thanks to Shelli LeBret and Meredith Canny for overseeing the delivery of the diapers to the next Young Lives meeting on the 24th.

Lauran Helms reminded us that it is time to start gearing up for VBS! Mark your calendars for June 24th - June 28th. The website should be up and running by the next meeting so volunteers can sign up. If you and your children have never participated in VBS at CUMC, trust me, you are not going to want to miss out on all the fun!!!

Kim Garnett reminded us that our MOPS Favorite Things meeting is coming up on March 22nd. Start thinking of some of your "favorite things" to share with the group. Your favorite thing can be anything (food, apps, workouts, underwear, mommy gadgets, household items, etc). Be on the lookout for more info from Kim.

Get out your wedding dresses!  For our Valentine’s meeting on February 8^th, everyone is encouraged to wear your wedding dress, a favorite/awful bridesmaid dress, your veil, etc.  If your dress doesn’t fit exactly as it did on the day, who cares???  We’re all among friends and it’s all in the name of good fun!  Email your wedding stories to Lauran Helms (lauranhelms@gmail.com).  Email your funniest wedding pic to Kim Garnett (khgarnett@gmail.com).  Bring your wedding albums to that meeting and we will all swap and reminisce!

Remember to bring any unwanted/outgrown baby/kid/mommy items to meetings and put them on the piano.  Anything not claimed will go to Young Lives.

Black MOPS t-shirts are still for sale for $10.

If you have a home-based business, remember that we have a table set up for you to use during meetings to let our members know about your business.

The rest of the meeting was spent getting to know one another with ice breakers.

Lauran Helms closed us out with an awesome devotional on resolutions.  She read to us from Psalm 90 on how we cannot keep our sins a secret from God.  She also read to us from James 4: 13-15 which cautions us about boasting about the future.  Finally, she encouraged us to make Philippians 3:3-10, which encourages us to deepen our relationship with Christ, our motto for the year!

Next meeting is January 25^th.  Red Table is up for breakfast.  Prayers for everyone getting healthy and staying healthy with everything going around. See you then!