Our Spring Fundraiser and Outreach...

We have an incredible group of ladies in Marvin MOPS!  Your love and support for our Spring Fundraiser and Outreach left us speechless!  The donations for our Spring "Garage Sale" continued to grow and grow...absolutely AMAZING!   There were lots of ladies who cleaned out many closets to support our fundraiser.  We had clothing, baby gear, dishes, home decor, furniture, and even a dryer!  When we opened Judy's garage to begin several of us were a little overwhelmed where to start... but we had the best time together preparing the piles for our big sale!  This event would not have been possible without our fundraising leadership this year.  Thank you Suzanne for all of your organization of our fundraiser and Stephanie, our "Garage Sale Queen" who led us through sorting and pricing! 

We had a blast Friday evening - sorting, pricing and even shopping by some! 

Judy graciously volunteered to host our MOPS Fundraiser.  This was her "first" time to ever host a garage sale.  I know this must have been overwhelming as she looked inside her garage.  Thank you, Judy and Bruce for opening your home and circle drive for our fundraiser!  You had the perfect location in Tyler for our sale. 

The cars began arriving at 6:20 a.m. to shop our sale before we took the first table down the driveway.  At 7 a.m. they "politely" asked if they could start shopping and from there the crowds continued to come all morning!  We had such a successful fundraiser as well as outreach for St. Paul Children's Foundation.  We took carload(s) of children, adult clothing and baby gear to re-stock St. Paul's clothing closet after the sale. 

THANK YOU to each one of our Mavin MOPS moms!  Your support for our MOPS fundraiser through donations and volunteering has blessed our group as well as St. Paul Children's Foundation. 

Taking Time to be Still...

Our meeting began with a wonderful devotional shared by Sunny Farley, one of our MOPS moms. Her message this morning focused on our busy schedules and taking that time to be still, being FULLY (not only in body but emotionally and spiritually) present in life's moments with family, friends, and most importantly, our time with God. Her first question to us... "How often do you feel like you run place to place? Dinner to make, laundry to dry for the 5th time, getting kids ready for school, etc." It struck close to home for me as I find myself each day going through my daily "to do" checklist. How many times do we miss out on those precious moments with family, friends and even God because we are not fully present?

Psalm 46:10 - "Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth"

A beautiful verse to remember - take that time to be still and acknowledge His presence in all of life's moments - no matter how busy we feel we are... Wherever we are... BE ALL THERE! God is always PRESENT in our lives!

Our speaker this morning was Valerie Smith, a pediatrician at St. Paul Children's Foundation. She is a mom of 3 children and understands the busy schedules with young children. St. Paul UMC began a ministry 17 years ago when a child asked a church member if they could attend St. Paul's United Methodist Church. The child thought because he was a different ethnicity he and his family could not attend the church. The congregation realized very quickly the community surrounding the church had changed and there were urgent needs right outside the church doors. An afterschool program was started for children on Wednesdays with Bible stories, activities, etc. They expected 10-15 and over 60 children arrived. Today they have 120 who attend each Wednesday for their afterschool program. From there they began a food pantry and clothes closet for the local community... today they have added a medical and dental clinic serving those with no or very little insurance coverage. Valerie realized very quickly from her patient population (40-60% are overweight and obese) prevention for chronic health problems relating to obesity were very needed. A passion grew to help children and families learn some simple ways to help ensure a healthier weight and prevent chronic health issues. Here are the simple daily goals she shares with her patients. Great ideas that benefit all children and us as parents....

5 - servings of fruits/vegetables

have children help in selecting at the store (or growing in a garden) vegetables/fruits - they will be more interested in eating them they are involved in the process

if they refuse to eat veges/fruits - try cutting in diferent shapes or serving at different temperatures

it can take 10-15 times for a child to like a vege/fruit - continue to keep serving

try placing the vege/fruit on a plate with 2-3 other things the child does like... may try it because they see other things on their plate that they like

2 - hours or less of TV & video

on average a child will see 52 messages (commercials) on tv - unhealthy food messages

by the age of 3, children are influenced by tv commerials

when we are watching tv, we often eat when we are not hungry... sometimes eating more than we should in a sitting

1 - hour or more of physical activity

the more you can get outside, the better you are able to get your children to be active

inside activity idea - turn on the radio and dance with your kids

best way parents can show the importance of physical activity is their role model for being active

0 - sugary drinks

limiting servings of fruit juice to only 4-6 oz.

by the age of 3, 1/3 of kids drink sugary drinks which can affect attention span

and Breastfeeding - a recommendation if it is possible for those moms expecting bundles of joy.

Healthy snacks ideas... try to include things with whole grain, fruit/veges, protein... (there is a list of snack ideas she shared if you would like a copy).

We ended our morning with Q&A from Dr. Smith... questions included vitamins, probiotics, daily milk amount needs, and vaccines. It was a very informative morning and great to have new ideas to try with my "picky" vegetable eaters.

Our MOPS Garage Sale will be next Saturday, March 31st from 7 a.m - 1 p.m. We still need items to "sell" at the garage sale. If you have items to donate, you may drop them off at Judy's home on Friday, March 30th from 6-8 pm or let me/Sherry know and we'll be happy to stop by to pick them up next week. Please call my cell for any pick-up needs. If you would like to help at Judy's on Friday, we'll organize items from 6-8 p.m. and then the sale is from 7-1 on Saturday. There is no pressue to help with the sale, it is only if you'd like to and have time.

Our next MOPS meeting will be Thursday, April 12th

This will be our first annual "MOPSwap"! The idea was shared from several other MOPS group who loved this meeting. Everyone brings up to 3 things that you think another mom might enjoy from your house. You will go home with 3 new items! These things might include a favorite soap/candle or a "mom" item (ex. cleaning product - Mr. Clean Magic Eraser), home decor item you no longer have displayed that another mom might enjoy, your child's gently used toy they no longer play with, etc. You can be as creative as you want to be! Please don't go out and spend any money... the idea is to find things around the house, something nicer than maybe you want to donate to Goodwill or throw away... We'll have 3 rounds - we will draw numbers for each round and go one by one "shopping" in the MOPSwap room... It should be lots of FUN! Jennifer will also have a great craft activity for us this morning! The YELLOW table will provide a delicious brunch!

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

MOPS Play Date at Jackie's Home on Monday, April 16th at 10 a.m.

Our MOMS Night Out will be Thursday, April 19th at 7 p.m.

Hope you all have a wonderful Easter with your families! Looking forward to seeing each of you in April!

Blessings!

Sarah

It's Marvin MOPS Week (3/22/12)!

Hello Ladies,

Hope you all had a wonderful Spring Break with your families! This is a friendly reminder, we have a MOPS meeting this Thursday, March 22nd at 10 a.m. in room 246 (second floor, Faith classroom).

We have a fantastic meeting planned with Dr. Valerie Smith, a pediatrician at St. Paul Children's Foundation. She will share with us the different programs/services the foundation provides in our community, childhood obesity challenges - something she sees quite often in the medical clinic, and also take time to answer any of those "mom" questions you may have for a pediatrician.

THURSDAY MEETING REMINDERS:

- Please pay any outstanding Spring dues. If needed, payment plans or scholarships can be coordinated with Heather Parker (Financial Coordinator).We do NOT want any financial cost to hinder a mom from joining our group. $25 MOPS International and/or Spring Semester ($50 with childcare and $30 without childcare) by cash or check (made payable to “Marvin MOPS”).

-Please DO NOT bring your child(ren) if he/she shows ANY signs of illness. Drop off time is 9:50-10:00 a.m. Please pick up your children promptly by 12 noon.

-Food will be provided by the TURQUOISE table

- Please bring any donations for the MOPS Spring Garage Sale. You are welcome to leave them in your car and after the meeting we will load them into Sherry/Sarah's cars for you.

UPCOMING MOPS Events:

MOPS SPRING FUNDRAISER ~ GARAGE SALE:

           

             - March 30 (FRIDAY) - Drop off donations/furniture to Judy's Garage from 6-8 p.m.

             We will also sort and organize items for the sale on Saturday morning.

-March 31 (SATURDAY)- MOPS Spring Garage Sale, 7 a.m. - 1 p.m.

With the support of each mom, this will be such a successful fundraiser for our MOPS program. The profits from this sale will be used to cover the additional MOPS program costs that we have throughout the year. Our MOPPETS program has been incredible this year - this fundraiser will help support MOPPETS staffing costs, activities, etc.

This is such a busy time of year and in no way do we want this fundraiser to sacrifice family time or other commitments. There are several different ways to help support this fundraiser. Most importantly, we need "items" to sell at the MOPS Garage Sale. Maybe you have a few minutes during naptime to clean out a closet or gather gently "used" things around the house that you would be willing to contribute to the sale. You may bring those items on Thursday to the meeting, Friday evening to Judy's or let Sherry/Sarah know... we'll come pick them up off your doorstep. Maybe you have a little time next weekend to spend with the ladies... drop by Judy's to help organize on Friday evening or come Saturday to help for a short time during the sale. We truly appreciate your support in this fundraiser!

If you are UNABLE to attend this Thursday’s MOPS meeting, please notify your Table Leader. If your children are not coming, and are signed up for childcare, please also notify Stephanie Lamb (MOPPETS Coordinator).

I hope to see you all on Thursday!

Have a wonderful week,

Sarah Burkett

Marvin MOPS Co-Coordinator

Taking Inventory of Ourselves & Marriages

Ladies,

We missed all of you today and hope that you are all well (and kiddos) and/or have arrived to your destinations safely!  Today’s meeting had a “personal” flavor as the focus was on us as INDIVIDUALS (not just the tasks related to being a mother and/or wife).  Sometimes it is all too easy to overlook how things relate to us as people rather than what it is that we do on a day to day basis. 

Judy’s devotional focused on “marriage” and its numerous references in the Bible indicate how important this should be to us and to God.  We were reminded that ALL marriages go through seasons of great joy and happiness all the way to the depths of frustration and doubt.   Using the metaphor of a grafted fruit tree, Judy further explained that like a tree limb that is grafted onto another tree that now is able to produce beautiful fruit, but without one another could not survive.   And in these low seasons of marriage we should remember that we are grafted together with our husbands and not to break that graft. 

Our wonderful speaker, Ms. Millie Tanner, spoke to us as women and how our thoughts affect our behavior.  I presumed this would be in reference to how we parent, but I was mistaken.  She focused on us as individuals and our personal thoughts and how they affect how we behave in all aspects of our lives (with our husbands, friends, children, etc).  She described how we have a “Public” and “Private” self, and how we all have healthy self talk and destructive self talk (insecurity, unhealthy comparisons, thoughts/experiences from our past, etc.)  We should all take inventory of our thought closet, throw away the “junk”- the unhealthy self talk, and replace the junk with God’s words. 

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Attached is a link to today’s newsletter.

Our next meeting is Thursday, March 22^nd.  We will have a Q&A session with Dr. Valerie Smith, pediatrician. 

Our next playdate is NEXT Tuesday, March 13^th at Caldwell Zoo.  More details to follow. 

Have a relaxing and fun spring break!

Debra Bochow

Discussion Group Coordinator

It's Marvin MOPS Week (3/8/12)!

Hello Moms,
Spring has apparently sprung (at least for this past weekend), and what a beautiful beginning it is! This is a reminder that we have a MOPS meeting this Thursday, March 8^th at 10 a.m. in room 246 (second floor, Faith classroom).

Our upcoming meeting is a very important one for all of us mothering our babies and small children.  Our guest speaker is Miss Millie Tanner, LPC, and she will be speaking to us about “How our Thoughts affect our Behavior.”   

THURSDAY MEETING REMINDERS:

-          ALL OUTSTANDING DUES will be collected.  If needed, payment plans or scholarships can be coordinated with Heather Parker (Financial Coordinator).   We do NOT want any financial cost to hinder a mom from joining our group.  $25 MOPS International and/or Spring Semester ($50 with childcare and $30 without childcare) by cash or check (made payable to “Marvin MOPS”).

-          Please DO NOT bring your child(ren) if he/she shows ANY signs of illness.  Drop off time is 9:50-10:00 a.m.  Please pick up your children promptly by 12 noon.

-          Save the date for your Table Night Out (if your table has not yet already done so)!

-          Food will be provided by the PURPLE Table

 UPCOMING MOPS Events:

-          March 13 (TUESDAY)- MOPS “Spring Break” Play Date at Caldwell Zoo.  Meet at the sandbox/play area by 10:15 a.m.

-          March 31 (SATURDAY)- MOPS Spring Garage Sale (details to follow)

-          RESCHEDULED Mom’s Night Out to THURSDAY, April 19^th (Time and Location TBA)

If you are UNABLE to attend this Thursday’s MOPS meeting, please notify your Table Leader.  If your children are not coming, and are signed up for childcare, please also notify Stephanie Lamb (MOPPETS Coordinator) at steph.lamb@sbcglobal.net or 903-363-7447.

I hope to see you all on Thursday!  

Have a wonderful week,

Debra Bochow

Discussion Group Coordinator

To The Rescue: Successful Kid Meals & First Aid Kits

Ladies,

We had a great meeting today filled with tasty food, great insight into kid friendly meals, recipe sharing, and the assembly of very handy first kits for your cars (Thanks Jennifer Davis !).   We will have copies of all of the shared recipes for all of you at our next meeting.

As always, we began our meeting with a very poignant devotion from Judy.  In the spirit of “Being Thankful” in 2012, Judy’s message today centered around how our thoughts affect our actions, and affect our ability to praise God by allowing ourselves to receive his blessings.  For example, our attitude sometimes can be affected by self-wants (and not needs).  When we don’t get want we want, we can sometimes have a sour attitude (an example that was used was repeatedly asking our loving husbands to do a certain task over and over with no avail and thus we become frustrated- bad attitude) and we are losing the relationship with God by our unthankful attitude.     We should REJOICE in our sufferings, as a THANKFUL attitude receives BLESSINGS.   An unthankful attitude leads to MISSING the opportunity to receive his blessings.  Even in our troubles, be thankful to God, and the blessings will flow.

IMPORTANT HIGHLIGHTS & REMINDERS:

-          SPRING Garage Sale is Saturday, March 31^st.  LOCATION HAS CHANGED to Judy Carter’s front yard on Copeland Road. 

-          Next MOPS Playdate is March 13^th at Caldwell Zoo (10:15 a.m. meet at play area near the front of zoo/gift shop)
-          SPRING DUES are due!  Deadline is February 24^th.  Please contact Heather Parker to make arrangements for payment.
-          Mark your calendars- MOM’s NIGHT OUT has been changed to Thursday, April 19th    

The next meeting is Thursday, March 8^th at 10 a.m.  The PURPLE table will be providing food.

I am also attaching today’s newsletter for other interesting and important information.

We missed all of you today and hope you and/or your children get well soon!  For those traveling, hope you are having a great time and we look forward to seeing you in a few weeks!

Have a wonderful weekend,

Debra Bochow

Discussion Group Coordinator

It's Marvin MOPS Week (2/23/12)!

Hello Ladies,

Hope you are all enjoying today’s bright sunny weather!  What a refreshing way to end the weekend.   This is a reminder that we have a MOPS meeting this Thursday, February 23^rd at 10 a.m. in room 246 (second floor, Faith classroom).

We have a fantastic meeting planned;   Jennifer Davis will be leading us in a craft creating first aid kits for our cars (because we LIVE in our cars!), AND we will address the universal, day to day mothering question that most of us ask one another regularly, “What do your kids eat?”   

Aren't we all searching for new recipes to try for our family?  Do you have a picky eater in your family?  Our wonderful Mentor “Chefs” will be sharing their successful kid eating strategies and menus for kid-friendly meals.  This will be an excellent time to share our experiences, recipes and ask questions about this pervasive topic.   

So that we are equipped and ready to employ this new knowledge,  please bring 1 - 3 "kid-friendly" recipes to share on Thursday... Just think if everyone will bring at least 1, we'll all go home with 50 new recipes to try with our families.... If we bring 2... 100 new fun recipes... Hope you will share with us your favorite recipes your kids enjoy!  Please remember to write on just one side of your paper or recipe card.  

THURSDAY MEETING REMINDERS:

-          This will be the last meeting that ALL OUTSTANDING DUES will be collected.  If needed, payment plans or scholarships can be coordinated with Heather Parker (Financial Coordinator).   We do NOT want any financial cost to hinder a mom from joining our group.  $25 MOPS International and/or Spring Semester ($50 with childcare and $30 without childcare) by cash or check (made payable to “Marvin MOPS”).

-          Please DO NOT bring your child(ren) if he/she shows ANY signs of illness.  Drop off time is 9:50-10:00 a.m.  Please pick up your children promptly by 12 noon.

-          Save the date for your Table Night Out (if your table has not yet already done so!

-          Food will be provided by the PINK Table

 UPCOMING MOPS Events:

-          March 13 (TUESDAY)- MOPS “Spring Break” Play Date at Caldwell Zoo.  Meet at the sandbox/play area by 10:15 a.m.

-          March 31 (SATURDAY)- MOPS Spring Garage Sale (details to follow)

 If you are UNABLE to attend this Thursday’s MOPS meeting, please notify your Table Leader.  If your children are not coming, and are signed up for childcare, please also notify Stephanie Lamb (MOPPETS Coordinator) at steph.lamb@sbcglobal.net or 903-363-7447.

I hope to see you all on Thursday!  

Have a wonderful week,

Debra Bochow
Discussion Group Coordinator