MOPS Recap of April 5th

A HAPPY AND HEALTHY START TO SPRING FOR MOPS!

We had a fabulous meeting focused on the health or ourselves and our families.  Thank you for all who contributed to the feast of healthy items that we enjoyed for breakfast!  There were some really great dishes that remind us how easy it really is to enjoy food that taste great as well as being good for us.

We began the meeting with an energetic workout that truly got our hearts pumping!   Thank you to Allison Thummel for getting us off our chairs and putting us through our paces.  I for one had trouble sitting down for two days because my legs were so sore!  It was a lot of fun.  Allison teaches a 1 hr boot camp at CUMC on Mondays at 9:45.  There is a $5 charge and childcare is provided for free.  Allison also does personal training and can be reached at allie@momandtotfitness.com, or 281-217-8440.  Allison also provided us with an  informative presentation about how our food choices affect our bodies and the benefits of  probiotics.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Family Social Event - There will be a family picnic at Oyster Creek park on Sunday April 21st from 4:30-6:30.  Bring some games, a blanket and dinner for you crew. 

Strawberry Picking, Thursday April 25th at 10:00  -  Bring your little ones to enjoy a day on the farm picking strawberries at Froberg Farm, Alvin Texas.  The fee is $5 per child and includes a bucket and coloring book.  Please pay Kelly Otero no later than April 20th should you wish to attend.  Bring a picnic lunch and enjoy the spring weather.  http://frobergsfarm.com

Vacation Bible School - June 24-28, 2013  9:15-12:15
Children who will be 4 by September 1, 2013, and who have not yet started 6^th grade are eligible to attend. Younger children of volunteers are eligible for either the nursery or mini-VBS program.  Cost is $25/child. All registration will close June 1st.
http://www.cumc.com/vbs

Kathie Kelly is still in need of recipes to share with the group.  Please send them by email to: kathiekelly@hotmail.com

If you have a outstanding payment due for auction items, please get with Meredith Canny at our next neeting.

Young Lives -  Volunteers are still needed to help with the meeting on April 18th.  MOPS is the sponsor for the food and will be serving soup and salad.  Drivers are also needed for the meeting.  Please contact Shellie Lebret if you can help out!

Lauran Helms closed us out with an awesome devotional.

Our next meeting is April 19th and the Blue Table will be bringing breakfast.  See you then!

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!

Recap of the February 22nd Meeting

Hello all!

We came together once again on Friday and enjoyed a lovely breakfast courtesy of the yellow table.  It was all wonderful!

Kim Ripley started the meeting by giving us a brief description of what will happen at our next meeting on March 8th.  Kim is an expert in infant massage, but her techniques can be used on all members of the family.  She will be showing how to use touch to relieve stress and develop a healthy attitude of physical touch with our children.  You won't want to miss it!

Shelli LeBret gave us a recap of the Young Lives meeting on Thursday in which the MOPS provided childcare.  Next month we will be offering our driving services and in April we will provide the dinner for their meeting.  If you haven't had a chance to volunteer with this worthy cause, it is really worth your time and effort.  We are all spread so thin, but our help really goes a long, long way.

On Wednesday, February 27th, we will have a "Moroccan Bazaar" benefitting Young Lives.  We are attempting to raise funds to help send one girl to camp (about $600).  Young Lives does make the girls work for this money through volunteer hours. Many of us brought items to donate and we will have a silent auction for those items.  This event is graciously hosted by Shelli LeBret at her home: 6427 Crystal Point, Missouri City, TX 77459.  Attire is casual chic.  The event starts at 7pm, feel free to bring a friend!

Congrats to Meredith Bowman and her husband Chris as they welcomed Reese Hunt Bowman to the world on Wednesday.  This was slightly earlier than expected, but everyone is doing well.  Be on the lookout for a Care Team sign up to deliver meals to the Bowmans soon.

Kelly Otero gave us the heads up on two upcoming social events at the end of March.  For the kids, we will visit a police station where they will provide finger-printing kits and a tour of a police car.  We will all go to lunch afterwards.  Also at the end of March we will have our "Mommy Social" at Constance's house in the form of a game night.  More details to come on both of these great events!

Melissa Gisler provided an outreach update.  We recently donated a $250 Walmart gift card to help ease the financial burdens of a mother whose son is in the hospital and has missed so much work that they have begun to dock her pay.  We also donated $500 to a family who recently lost their husband and father to a tragic heart attack. 

Please get your "favorite things" to Kim Garnett ASAP (khgarnett@gmail.com).  Favorite things can be ANYTHING that has impacted your life in any way.  We want to hear about it!

Meredith Canny announced that we have raised $59 with our change jar.  All proceeds will benefit Young Lives.  Meredith also proposed changing our by-laws regarding funds raised from the 60 (outreach) / 40 (MOPS) split to all proceeds going to our MOPS fund and we will distribute funds and/or fund raise for particular causes as we see fit.  This motion was seconded and passed overwhelmingly. 

The remainder of our meeting was spent gleaning wisdom from our wonderful "Mentor Moms Panel."  They were extraordinarily helpful on a wide variety of topics relating to motherhood and parenting.

Lauran Helms closed us out with reading of Romans 12:10 and a devotion from Proverbs 31 regarding "The Good Wife".  http://www.proverbs31.org/devotions/good-wife-2013-02/

Our next meeting is March 8th and will feature "The Taste of MOPS" in which each table will bring a few extra-special recipes to share!  Looking forward to it, see you then!

February 8th MOPS Meeting

Wedding bells were ringing Friday at our meeting!  Well....at least in our heads!

 

Friday was all about remembering our weddings and sharing the memories with friends.  The meeting opened up with a blessing and a wonderful breakfast provided by the orange table.

Announcements followed with Cori reminding everyone this is the last day to get the coconut scrub or bath salt.

Melissa reminded everyone the black t-shirts are still for sale for $10 for those interested.

Leah was next letting everyone know of members who are currently pregnant and reminding everyone to please sign up to deliver meals to the new mommies and their family.  An e-mail reminder will go out    when the time arrives!

Lauran let us know that Christ United Methodist Church is having their Vacation Bible School from June 24th - 28th, so sign your kiddos up and don't forget to volunteer!  You can check out Facebook to sign up.
Kelly was next with the next social event for the kids.  It will be a skating event held at the Dairy Ashford Roller Rink this coming Friday, February 15th from 10am til noon. www.skatedairyashford.com

This summer we are hoping to send one young mom to camp from Young Lives.  Please search your house for gently used "cute" items that you would be willing to part with to be auctioned off Friday, February 27th at 7pm at Shelli LeBret's house.  Please have your auction items in by the February 22nd meeting.  Feel free to invite your friends to the event who might want to purchase awesome auction items.  Kelly brought examples from her house:  a gently used purse, a pancake maker that had never been used, Shellie brought up a pair of shoes that have never been worn that were still in the box.

After the announcements we looked through everyones wedding photo albums and listened to their wonderful memories.

After looking through the albums, Lauran went through all of the e-mails that she had received from our loving husbands.  All e-mails were anonymous, so we all listened in wondering which reponse our husbands had sent. The meeting closed with prayers and praises from Lauran.

Our next meeting will be Friday, February 22nd with a breakfast from the yellow table.

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!