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!

Great Gifts Galore at Greatwood

How's that for alliteration?! Love it!

Tis the season for Fall Craft Shows. Dickinson Elementary School in Greatwood is hoasting the Great Gifts Galore on Saturday, October 29th from 9am to 3pm.

I went to this show last year and it's really great. The admission is free, strollers are welcome and they're offering breakfast and lunch items so you won't have to drop after you shop!

Some of the items available include baby and kids items, home and yard decor, jewerly, Women's clothing, bags and accessories, and food and kitchen items.

Hope to see everyone there!

Recap of the October 7th Meeting

The meeting started off with everyone watching the "Operation Christmas Child" video while eating breakfast. "Operation Christmas Child" is our biggest Missions project this year. The program involves filling shoe boxes with small toys, school supplies, hygiene items, etc. for needy children all around the world. Shelli LeBret has the boxes for each family to pick up if they are interested in participating. Shelli also has brochures that include helpful instructions on what to pack in the boxes, labels for whether the box is for a girl or boy, and an envelope for shipping donations. Every participant is asked to donate $7 per shoebox to cover shipping expenses. The filled shoe boxes will be collected at the November 18th meeting. For more information, go to www.samaritanspurse.org/occ.

Sonya Dias announced that the Care Team is in need of meals for the Papageorgiou family starting on November 7th. Congrats to Jenny on her new addition!

Kelly Otero spoke about our upcoming trip to Dewberry Farms on Tuesday, October 18th. The deadline to pay for your tickets is October 11th. The cost is $6 per person (ages 2 and up). Children younger than 2 are admitted for free. There will be a group that will meet at CUMC at 9am to caravan to Dewberry Farms together. If you would rather not meet for the caravan, plan to be there by 10am since you will need to get your wristband from Kelly before going in. We are scheduled to have a picnic lunch at 12pm. For more information, go to http://www.dewberryfarm.com. Hope to see you there!

Missy reminded us that the Thirty-One product fundraiser is still going on throughout the month of October. MOPS will receive 10% of the revenue for the items placed during this time. MOPS will also receive $15 for anyone who commits to hosting a Thirty-One party of their own. Additionally, MOPS will receive the hostess benefit, which will be used toward purchasing birthday gifts for the year. There is an ongoing special: if you spend $31, you can purchase an organizer tote for $7. All items will be in well before the Christmas holiday. Happy shopping!

Erin Reed is collecting Christmas cards to send to soldiers currently serving overseas. Many of us had an opportunity to fill out a card at the meeting. Please show your support for our wonderful soldiers!

Kim Garnett reminded everyone about the St. Catherine's Pumpkin Patch that will run from now until the end of October. The pumpkin patch will be open daily from 10am-7pm. St. Catherine of Sienna is located at 4747 Sienna Parkway. The pumpkin patch is a lot of fun for the kiddos and a GREAT place to take fall photos! The proceeds will support St. Catherine of Sienna Episcopal School. For more information, go to https://sites.google.com/site/stcatherineofsiennaschool.

Lauren Merkel reminded all new MOPS to pick up their initial mug if they haven't already done so!

Congratulations to Constance Ritter who won the drawing for the day and scored a copy of God's Devotional Book for Women.

Lauren Helms led a very thought-provoking prayer that started with a scripture reading from Mt 11:28-30. She made us ponder how there is no logic to the mystery of goodness and encouraged us to remember to laugh at ourselves from time to time.

We held the costume exchange at the meeting. Several moms were able to recycle their children's old costumes and some were able to pick up new ones. Missy donated all of the leftover costumes to the East Fort Bend Human Needs Ministry.

Finally, we concluded the meeting with Liz Brown leading us in a craft. We decorated backpacks and loaded them with socks, books, and a water bottle koozie for hospitalized older kids and tweens. Half of the backpacks will be donated to Texas Children's Hospital and the other half to the Fort Bend Rainbow Room. What a fun and creative way to brighten a child's day!

Our next meeting is on October 21st --see you all there!

PJ Party Perfection!

Tonight was the MOPS annual PJ Party and much fun was had by all! Everyone showed up in their comfiest pajamas and we chatted over an incredible spread of food. We then did an ice breaker and got to know a few of our fellow MOPS a little better. Throughout the evening, we browsed selections from Thirty-One Gifts and Scentsy. You can place an order with Thirty-One Gifts throughout the month of October and the inventory will be in well before Christmas. We ended the evening with a rousing game of Bunco. It was a great evening with a great group of ladies!

And...how cute are we in our pjs???

September 30th MOPS Meeting Review

Today we had our 2nd MOPS meeting, and what a nice way to spend a Friday morning. Where else do we get to socialize with other moms, drink coffee and stuff our faces with yummy brunch goodies - all while not having to chase our little darlings around? Who would pass up this opportunity? ...And I must not forget the wonderful opportunity we had today to get to know a lot of other MOPS moms during the 3 min speed dating experience. Wow, what a whirlwind. It was a fantastic way to begin this new year of MOPS by getting to know each other a little better, and a fun way to make some new friends as well.

Also today Lauran Helms led a great devotional about the different personalities of Martha and Mary and how each of us can identify with one of them in how we respond to Jesus' calling.

Some of today's announcements included:

- Slumber Party tomorrow night (Sat, Oct 1) at the church

- Oct 18th (Tues) outing to Dewberry Farms ($6 each for everyone over 3); sign up at the next MOPS meeting (Oct 7th) if you haven't already

- Chess table brings food for the Oct 7th meeting

Have a great weekend.

Steering Interview, Vol 5

Our next Steering Member to interview is Lauran Helms.

Cori:What are your kids and husband's names?
Lauran: Dwight Helms (aka Hotty Helms), Hadleigh and McKinley

Cori: What's your steering position this year? How long have you been in MOPS?
Lauran: Prayer Coordinator. This will be my 4th year in MOPS. My parting gift will hopefully be a retirement plan.

Cori: What about your favorite book? Movie? Song?
Lauran: My favorite book is Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. I have so many favorite movies--probably Grosse Pointe Blanke with John Cusack, Minnie Driver and Dan Aykroyd. It's a pretty twisted movie, but it takes me back to my much younger years. I LOVE music, so it's hard to say what my favorite song is. Right now, I'm replaying "Move" by MercyMe. "Where the Streets Have No Name" by U2 is a classic. And anything by Casting Crowns is fabulous!


Cori: What's your favorite thing to do when you have three hours to yourself?
Lauran:If I have 3 hours to myself, I will probably throw in a load of laundry and load or unload the dishwasher (I know--sad.). But, then I'll read a book and scripture or Bible study, catch up on an episode of "Pretty Little Liars" from ABC Family, call my mom, and catch up on email.

Cori:Favorite thing to do with your kids?
Lauran: We love to hang out in the pool, have races and dive for plastic animals, and listen and pool dance to music (our neighbors are mortified, I'm sure.).

Steering Interview, Vol 4.

Our next new member of the steering committee is Kelly Otero

Cori: Tell us your name, husband's name, kids' names?
Kelly: Husband Patrick, Daughters Alexis (5) and Anna (2)


Cori: What's your steering position this year? How long have you been in MOPS?
Kelly: My steering position is Fellowship. I am in charge of fun activities for Mops members and their kiddos! Also, celebrating birthdays and new births. Last year was my first year in MOPS and this year is my first year on steering.

Cori: What about your favorite book? Movie? Song?
Kelly: My all time favorite books are Lord of The Rings and Pride and Prejudice. I've read both multiple times! (odd combo I know, but I am always reading and read all different genres!) Currently I am rereading Harry Potter, in the middle of Smokin Seventeen/ Stephanie Plum and starting World Without End by Ken Follett.


Cori: What's your favorite thing to do when you have three hours to yourself?
Kelly:My favorite thing to do when I have three hours to myself. (which never, EVER happens!) would be to relax on a beach somewhere! I mean really, it's never going to happen so I might as well dream big!

Cori:Favorite thing to do with your kids?
Kelly:My favorite thing to do with my kids is just about anything! We spend part of our day every day dancing. I love reading with them. We like to swim, go feed the ducks, watch movies and I love when they put on dress up clothes and do shows for me. (we are VERY girly in our house!)