Relationships and Refreshing!

It's time for a blog post other than just recapping our meeting.  We ladies here on steering had 2 really great meetings this week and covered a LOT on how we can better serve all of you, how we can grow as Christians through our motherhood journeys, and talked about informational things as well. 

To get the info out of the way:

Later this week, I will be posting in the new events section about 2 opportunities we have:  BETH MORE and the MOM CONNECTION BOOK.  Please look for these later

*Allergy info!!!!-  So far this year, there has only been 1 mom come out to tell us that their child has an allergy.  PLEASE if there are more children, you need to let us know.  The confusion about the milk allergy from last week is being sorted out currently.  If your child has an allergy steering team members will be around with allergy stickers and they will will also be on the table in Kid's cove. These need to be ON your child.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I personally am loving MOPS so far, and we've only met once as a group!  Even though we all chose numbers out of a box to pick our tables, let's not forget about the sovereignty of the Lord in how the tables are laid out.  I truly believe that He placed what table leaders He wanted to be at certain tables with certain ladies.  Let's remember that we are here to form new and lasting relationships. 

Ecclesiates 4:9-12 pretty much sums up MOPS this year:  

 Two are better than one,
    because they have a good return for their labor
¹⁰ If either of them falls down,
    one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
    and has no one to help them up.
¹¹ Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
    But how can one keep warm alone?
¹² Though one may be overpowered,
    two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AWESOME FIRST MEETING!

What an AWESOME first meeting!  It was so refreshing, was it not??  A BIG BIG Thank you to everyone involved on our steering team and to our new leader Rachel W.!    I think she spoke with extra grace today. First time meetings are bound to have their quirks, but I really do think our meeting was blessed today.  I think the Lord is really going to bring us all together this year.  

The Sister tables were a BIG success and it's exciting meeting so many more faces than just the few we have at our set tables.  I'm excited to see our relationships blossom into what God will have them grow into.  MOPS is all about lifting each other up... a place where we can come to laugh, to cry, to chat, to learn, most of all, to form new and lasting relationships!

A few preliminary notes from today's meeting:

CHILDCARE:  If you child has a food allergy of any kind, at the next meeting please pick up a bright yellow allergy sticker for them to wear.
-Brochures about Moppetts are available at the front desk of kids cove 
-ages 3, 4, and 5's will be doing a little lesson and will have outside play time during MOPS.  Please bring weather appropriate wear for your child.
- PLEASE LABEL ALL ITEMS!  Diaper bags and sippy cups in particular.
-MOPS is a great place to come and chat.  We dismiss at precisely at 11:30.  PLEASE Pick up your children FIRST before finishing conversations.  Let's be fair to our child care workers and let them go home on time as well
-PLEASE follow the same rules with MOPS as you do with schools and day cares.  If they are sick, please don't share that with other kids or moms.  Please do everyone a favor and stay home. We will miss you, but we will see you at the next meeting

Can you just imagine new comers, coming to this blog seeing this picture?  HA haah... it's funny thinking about what they would think of MOPS.  We participated in a fun ice breaker today and THIS was the main prize for each table and I was the lucky winner at our table!  I feel very priviledged ladies.  For anyone just visiting, the theme this year is Plunge! 

  

Come one Come all!

It's that time ladies!  MOPS time! 

Feeling a little like THIS?------>

Who's excited for some much needed refreshment?  ME!  

This Wednesday, September 5th at 9:30 am is our very first meeting and we are all so excited to see some old and new faces and make a whole circle of new friends. 

We have all met together and have new ideas and brainstorms about what will be best for our group for this new MOPS year and it's exciting to see just what will come out of it.

Please look for us all on Wednesday, we will be wearing special name tags and will be there to HELP you with anything.  We all look forward to serving, and also to serve WITH you as a group as we support and encourage each other. We mommy's need that don't we?

I wanted to provide you with a list of our new steering team! 

Look for these names:

Avita- Moppet Curriculum and Administration
Becky - discussion group leader
Carol  - moppets Director
Dana - special Events leader
Lauren - Publicity
Mendy - Hospitality
Michelle- finance and registration
Rachel O. - Mommy Blogger
Rachel W. - Coordinator
Shawna - Supportive staff


If you haven't registered at the MOPS table yet at the church, please don't worry.... just come prepared to pay with your checkbook or cash and we will have a sign up table there on Wednesday.  I know there has been a lot of general confusion about registration, but I do believe that all of the quirks have been worked out and we are ready to go.  
As a refresher, the MOPS international fee is $23.95 and added to that is $50 per semester.  So, you only pay $23.95 one time for the whole year, that being this time.
Your payment for this semester will be $73.95 total and then again in the winter semester, it will be $50.

Please arrive a little early if you need to register still so that you can get your children settled in his/her new classrooms and still have time to register before the meeting starts.  

Upcoming Calendar and Registration Info!

1 Peter 4:7-8

Tells us to love extravagantly.  Love as if your LIFE depended on it.

THIS is our goal this year ladies and our theme!  I look forward to learning with you as we discover how we can better all our relationships whether it be friendships, mothering, marriage... ANY relationship that we have will grow if we apply what we learn this year in MOPS!

We now have an outline to look at for our meeting times so that you can mark your calendars.  The first semester of MOPS runs from September-December and the second semester runs from January-May

SEPTEMBER: 5th + 19th

OCTOBER: 3rd + 17th

NOVEMBER:  7th + 21st

DECEMBER:  5th+ 19th.  We will do a big Christmas celebration and this will be the end of the first semester

Second semester dates will be listed at a later time.

REGISTRATION INFO!:

        You need to do everything you can to get registered NOW.  Of course we are always taking new members, but the child care fills up quickly.  You have several options to pay. Next Sunday, Aug. 26th you can stop by New Life Providence outside of the Kids Cove  at Kempsville OR at Kids Creek at Deep creek.  You may also go to the MOPS website at http://www.mops.org/ .  The other option is just to come by the church during office hours during the week to pay.  CASH OR CHECK ONLY Please!  

For the FALL semester, there is a one time $23.95  MOPS fee that you will pay for the whole year.  Added onto this will be $50 MOPS fees.

MOPS FEES COVER:  childcare, craft supplies, gratuity gifts, and other random charges for things that always pop up. Anyone attending MOPS must pay for the whole fee even if they will not have their child in child care, as the fees cover a multitude of other things.

*If you need information on financial help, there IS help available for those who need it.  You may ask any one on steering.

First Meeting!

Greetings Ladies!

I hope you all are enjoying wrapping up your packed and fun-filled summers!  I know we have all had a LOT on our plates with full calendar pages, family time, vacations, summer activities, and just the hum drum of caring for our kiddos every day.  Need some refreshing?    I  DO!  Need some communication with adults during the week?   I DO !  Need to get out?  I DO!  Excited for a new semester of MOPS?  I AM!  

We have a date for our very first meeting:    Wednesday , September 5th

We will be meeting every other Wednesday, alternating until December 19th

Please come to MOPS with great expectations to get involved with new friends, have a new perspective on life, and to see what God has in store for us as we all work together to raise our kids.  
We will all be receiving information on the fees due, please come with an open heart, your checkbook, and I always find it helpful to bring a notepad to take notes from the meetings home with me.


We look forward to seeing you all at New Life Providence on the 5th!  Enjoy your last days of summer ladies!

Welcome, Intro, and Guidelines!

Welcome to the new blog for our New Life Providence Mops group!  I am excited to share with you, through this blog in our effort to PLUNGE into deeper relationships (new theme for the upcoming year!). This blog is meant to serve several purposes throughout the year 

My name is Rachel and I am going to be our New Life Providence Mommy blogger. I am excited about this new role and hope that it will be a real addition to our group!
If you are not currently following our MOPS facebook page, please join!:  
https://www.facebook.com/groups/159093869892/

1. I will be sharing event dates and details of  MOPS meetings including what we need to bring, the theme, the speaker etc.
2. I will recap meetings after they happen. Sadly, things come up and we can not make it to every meeting. I am often very sad when I have to miss out but hopefully this will help us when we do have to miss!
3. I am also the new craft coordinator! I will be posting detailed craft directions if you were gone that day, or if you want to refer back to do the crafts at a later date. We have materials available for you so you can do it on your own time
4. I will be occasionally blogging about mommy topics as the Lord lays them on my heart. If you ever have a topic that you would like to share, and wish to be a "guest blogger" please let me know and you can do a post or two....or three!
5. I will be posting pictures of events as they happen. If you do NOT wish to have you or your children's pictures on this blog, I need to have that in writing. Please email me at starlight11500@gmail.com. I will be sensitive to people who let me know that you would rather not have pictures put on the blog
6. RECIPES! One of the best things about our MOPS group is the amazing food that people bring! If you provide me with the recipe that you have brought to MOPS I will gladly share it
7. Child care Tips, Tricks of the mommy trade, and cleaning stuff!  I am NOT the expert here.  Are any of us?  But I can do research and mix that with some of my own tricks and together we can get a better grasp of being a great mommy!