Recap of the March 22nd Meeting

Hi all!  Friday was another very successful meeting.  Many thanks to the Green table for the awesome breakfast spread!

Shelli LeBret reminded us that we are providing the meal for the April 18th Young Lives meeting. She says we are doing a soup and salad theme.  Many of us signed up to bring food at the beginning of the year, but if you would like to help, please contact Shelli.  Shelli is also organizing a gently used book drive for Young Lives.  If you have any outgrown books for children ages 6 and under, please bring them to the next meeting.

Kathie Kelly is asking for your best MOPS recipes!  Please email the recipes to the dishes you have brought for our MOPS breakfasts to kathiekelly@hotmail.com.  She will compile all the recipes and make copies for everyone.

Kelly Otero announced that the outing with the police department will be Wednesday, March 27th at 9am at CUMC.  We will meet in our MOPS room where the officers will fingerprint the kiddos and make ID cards.  After they are done, they will take the kids outside to let them see the squad car.  Plan on heading out for an early lunch after they are done.  The April social with kids will be at Froberg Farms for strawberry picking and will be on a TBA Tuesday or Thursday.

Also on Wednesday, March 17th, we will have "Game Night" at 7pm at Constance's house (8106 Summer Wind Ct., Sugar Land, TX 77479).   Please bring an appetizer or dessert and your favorite game!

Keep in mind that our final meeting of the year is a swap, so if you are starting to clean our your closets, don't donate those items just yet!  Store them just a little longer so that you can bring them to the last meeting!

Lauran Helms told us about a wonderful devotional opportunity with Merry Ministries. 

Merry Ministries is an interdenominational group of women who meet each Tuesday evening at 6:30 pm or Wednesday morning at 9:30 am to worship, study the Bible, pray and fellowship together.  Mary has 20 plus years experience of 25 plus hours a week of preparation for our studies.  Her knowledge and wisdom is amazing.  There is no written homework and no charge.  Small groups are offered, and childcare is available! http://www.merryministries.com/

Lauran also reminded us about Vacation Bible School this summer at CUMC.  This year's theme is

"Kingdom Rock: Where Kids Stand Strong for God". VBS will take place June 24th - 28 from 9:15am-2:15pm.  Registration is $25.  We need volunteers!  Childcare is available for those volunteers with children too young to participate in Pre-VBS or VBS.  For more info, visit:
http://www.cumcsl.org/ministries/childrens-ministries/vbs/

On June 15th, the Houston West Emmaus Community will hold a "Grace Explosion" at CUMC featuring a Josh Wilson Concert.  If you are interested in the Walk to Emmaus that we have discussed at previous meetings, this is a great opportunity to learn more.  See Constance Ritter, Melissa Gisler, or Lauran Helmsfor more info.

CUMC will host a Daddy/Daughter dance on April 13th.  The cost is $27 for the dad and $10 for the

daughter.  Cost includes dinner, corsage, photograph and dancing.  To reserve your space, contact Kim Ripley (kimr@cumcsl.org)

The rest of the meeting was devoted to discussing our "favorite things."  We had a lot of really great ideas from beauty products, crafts, kitchen items, workout gear, clothing, etc, etc.  What a great time!

Our next meeting is April 5th.  We will be doing a healthy version of the Taste of MOPS so please be on the lookout for sign up sheets from your DGLs.

Happy Easter to you and your families! :-)

 

March 8th Meeting Recap

Hi Moms!

The first Taste of MOPS was a hit for the meeting.  We indulged in many family favorites from appetizers to main courses and last but not least wonderful desserts!!  This meal was the "unhealthy favorites" which will be followed by "healthy favorites" at an upcoming date.

The meeting started off with a recap of the auction night that was held at Shelli's house.  $1,197 was collected at the auction which was enough to send two young mommies from YL to camp!!  Way to go!!!  We were even able to add $129.50 to the total with 3 remaining items that were auctioned off at the end of meeting bringing the new grand total to $1,326.50.

Announcements followed with Melissa up first telling everyone how amazing her Emmaus Walk was.  She mentioned the next date is May 5th if you would like to participate.  Please contact Melissa for more details.

Leah was up next and introduced baby Reese whose mommy is Meredith Bowman.  Meredith looked great and so did her two week old bundle of joy!!  Leah thanked the moms who signed up to bring food over for Meredith and her family.

Erin was next letting everyone know that volunteers for childcare are definitely needed for MOPS meetings.  People are asked to volunteer first, but some salary would be paid if requested.  Please contact Kim Ripley (kimr@cumcsl.org) with questions.

Kim Ripley was the speaker at today's meeting.  She has been at Christ United Methodist Church for 20 years and she is the Assistant Director of Children's Ministries and the Director of Nursery.   Kim attended massage therapy school after her children had grown up and graduated and went on to learn more about infant massage.

Kim gave us a demonstration of a massage that you could do on your children maybe before bedtime for relaxation.  There are several techniques that can be used while massaging your child including kneading, thumb massaging, rubbing shoulders and muscles, etc.  Kim mentioned that you should always ask if they would like a massage before beginning.  If they say no, do not proceed.
Kim also read off several stories regarding how important touch is for an infant and child.  Children and infants have a strong need for physical touch.  She mentioned to carry your child/infant with you as much as possible and to not use strollers unless absolutely needed.  Kim also went through a nice massage technique that we were able to practice on with friends from the table.  She handed out notes from her meeting with techniques and fun stories to incorporate into your massages.

Cintia was up next with prayers and praises and then closed us out with an awesome prayer!!  Have a safe and wonderful Spring Break and we will see everyone in a couple of weeks!