We Are Still Our Parents' Children

Ladies,

We hope all of you are well and not getting too overwhelmed with the mounting “busy-ness” that typically happens in the spring.  We missed each of you and hope you know you were all thought of as we took group attendance.

I continue to be amazed at how Judy can speak to issues and situations that are directly impacting me at the time!    I know many of you agree, and understand why her part of our fellowship is so important and vital to our spiritual health.   Today’s message in one sentence could go as follows;  “We Are Still Our Parents’ Children.”  Not only are we our parents’ children, we are also our “parents -in laws’ children.”  So what does this mean to us in our daily lives and in terms of being a mother?  Quite a lot actually.  God has directed us as one of the Ten Commandments, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right.”  The promise is that we will be blessed with a long life if we honor our mother and father.  To extrapolate further, when we are married, “two shall become one,” we also get another set of parents and we are to honor our husbands’ mother and father as our own.  We must respect and honor our parents as we have been commanded, not suggested to do so.  In cases where there maybe issues that preclude a harmonious co-existence, Judy recommended that we try and help the situation to improve and move forward.  Pray for an improved understanding, and a softening of heart.   Try to remember this when we find ourselves in a heated or uncomfortable situation with our parents or in laws, as our children will and do watch how we treat them, and they will mirror the behavior they witness and treat us in the same manner. 

In the spirit of “spring cleaning” and our recent garage sale, we spent the later half of today’s meeting “swapping” out our donated items for new merchandise!  

Our next MOPS meeting will be Thursday, April 26th and we will be hosting Game Day!  Our originally scheduled speaker, Katie Butts (fellow MOPS mom) will be speaking on “Raising Sensitive Kids” at our May 3^rd meeting.   So as we roll the dice, answer trivia questions, or create words from random letters, talk with your table mates, learn more about one another, share your latest parenting saga or just enjoy the company of a great group of women.  The BLUE table will provide a delicious brunch!

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

·         MOPS Play Date at Jackie Lowe's Home on Monday, April 16th at 10 a.m.  Jackie’s home address is 8418 Castleton Way, Tyler, 75703

·         Our MOMS Night Out will be Thursday, April 19th at 7 p.m. at Mario’s Restaurant (check your email for your EVITE)

Our MOPS year is winding down and I hope to see you all at our last few meetings!

Have a wonderful weekend and a blessed week,

Debra Bochow

Discussion Group Coordinator

Our First MOPS Swap

This was our very first MOPS Swap!  Each mom brought up to 3 items from home another mom might enjoy!  We drew numbers for the order we would get to go "shop" and had a great time of "swapping" home decor, children's clothing, toys, purses, and more...

Kimberly drew #1!!!!  She took home a new toy for her girls...

Melissa was #2 and quickly grabbed the adorable Spring purse Debra had brought... 

Baby items from one mom for another... 

Shopping for cute shoes.. 

So much to choose from... 

Our wonderful mentors... 

While we waited our turn to shop... Jennifer led us in a craft to help us be more organized!  Thanks Jennifer for the cute and creative envelopes we each took home. 



It's Marvin MOPS Week (4/12/12)!

Happy Monday Ladies!

What a fabulous weekend!  Hope you all enjoyed Easter with your precious families and thank you again to all of the ladies who joined us last Thursday at our night out at Jakes;  fun times, and more to come!  Also, another BIG thank you to all of our moms who donated items and/or provided their time to help with our spring garage sale;   what a huge success!  After what seems like a long break, we are gearing up for our next MOPS meeting this Thursday, April 12^th at 10 a.m. in room 246 (Faith Classroom).   

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 to do while we wait for the other tables to shop. 

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.

- The YELLOW Table will be providing food.

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

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

·         Our MOMS Night Out will be Thursday, April 19th

 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.netor 903-363-7447.

I hope to see you all on Thursday!

Have a wonderful week,

Debra Bochow
Discussion Group Coordinator

MOPS Spring Fling Downtown!

What a way to celebrate friendship and fellowship with the backdrop of a peaceful downtown Tyler during sunset.  Who would have thought that dining al fresco on top of a building would be so relaxing and fun?  Well, it was the perfect place to relax and visit with our friends as we all prepare for Easter, and the many activities associated with the end of the year. 

It is hard to imagine we are nearing the end of our MOPS year!  Its been a fabulous time of meeting new friends, hearing great speakers, and receiving support from one another.   The friendships we have all made in MOPS are so special as we journey through the early motherhood years.  Cheers to all of our sweet MOPS friends who support, understand and make us laugh through all of our daily dilemmas!  Don't forget....our next Mom's Nite Out is Thursday, April 19th at 6:30 p.m.! 

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