Christmas Party Fun

We had a great time at the Christmas Party for MOPS, hosted by Jenn Duke. Thanks Jenn for opening your home to all of us. Congrats to Tanya for winning the door prize from Bliss & Co, of a mani, pedi, shampoo and blow dry. Thanks to Bliss & Co for their generous donation. See you in the new year!

Christmas Party: UPDATED

MONDAY NIGHT (21ST)
6.30PM
JENN's HOME
BRING GOODIES TO SHARE AND 5 LITTLE GIFTS (IF YOU ARE PLAYING WHITE ELEPHANT)

MOMS Supporting MOMS: Alnesha Wilson with Discovery Toys

Do you buy toys, games or books for your own kids or gift giving at least twice a year?

Well you now have your very own personal "Toy Lady"! I am a Educational Consultant with Discovery Toys.

Discovery Toys has been providing educational games, toys and books for 30 years and has never had a mandatory recall. Each product encourages physical, emotional and intellectual growth but most important to your children, they are fun!!!
We offer a quality promise to parents, as well as a lifetime guarantee and replacement parts.

With the holidays approaching, it would be a great time to get these great products in your home to teach, play and inspire your child's life.
We have great gift sets available!

Do you know of anyone who wants to work from home and play for a living? Ask me how!
Please visit my site and click contact me to join my mailing list for all the great specials and upcoming sales/events.

To place orders, requests a catalog or questions/comments:
learn2discover at yahoo dot com

Visit my website:
www.discoverytoyslink.com/alnesha

Follow me on Twitter:
www.twitter.com/learn2discover

12-15 Meeting Wrap-Up

What an fun and exciting meeting we had. Cindy spoke on "The Love that is Out of this World". She took us thru several verses in the bible that showed us how God sees us. It is amazing that His Word says that He adores us. And in Titus that mankind was a gift from God to Jesus before it was even created. So we were created as Jesus gift and yet He died for us and in turn gave us an incredible gift of live in Heaven. How amazing.

Cindy in her creative nature even created a song for MOPS using the 12 days of Christmas Theme. Here it is:
On the first day of Christmas my MOPS group gave to me:
a break from the daily insanity
On the second day of Christmas my MOPS group gave to me:
2 friendly greeters
On the 3rd day of Christmas my MOPS group gave to me:
3 on time door prizes
On the 4th day of Christmas my MOPS group gave to me:
4 Christy Crafts
On the 5th day of Christmas my MOPS group gave to me:
5 quick, cheap and delicious recipes
On the 6th day of Christmas my MOPS group gave to me:
Wise mentor Moms
On the 7th day of Christmas my MOPS group gave to me:
7 pesky pages
On the 8th day of Christmas my MOPS group gave to me:
8 inspiring speakers (especially the last one)
On the 9th day of Christmas my MOPS group gave to me:
9 embarrassing ice breakers
On the 10th day of Christmas my MOPS group gave to me:
10 breakfast casseroles
On the 11th day of Christmas my MOPS group gave to me:
11 BOGO coupons
On the 12th day of Christmas my MOPS group gave to me:
12+ life long friends.

I hope to see everyone at the Moms Night out at Jenn's house Friday.

December 15th Meeting

Please join us for our last meeting of 2009. We will be having our Christmas Celebration. Everyone is bringing food, so it will indeed be a celebration. Mentor Mom, Cindy will be speaking for a short time on "Love that is Out of this World". See you Tuesday!

Tickle Our Taste Buds Winner-12/1

Congrats to Hana Lynch for winner the "Tickle Our Taste Buds" at our Dec 1st meeting. Her winning dish was a delicious cake. It was so light and airy. And the taste was to die for. Below is the recipe so we can make it for our families. Enjoy!

Oatmeal Apple Sauce Cake w/ Cream Cheese Frosting

1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 ½ cups oatmeal (uncooked)
½ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
¾ tsp ground cloves
1 tsp baking powder
¾ cup butter, softened
1 ½ cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup apple sauce
¾ cup milk
1 ½ cup raisins (optional)

Cream Cheese Frosting
½ cup butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 pounds confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.

In a bowl, mix together flour, oatmeal, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and baking powder.

In a large bowl, cream butter with sugar. Add eggs, apple sauce, and milk; beat until well blended. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in raisins (if desired). Pour into the prepared pans.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let sit for 5 min, then remove from the pans and cool on wire racks.

To prepare the frosting, place butter and cream cheese in a mixing bowl and beat until smooth. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar, beating until smooth. Add vanilla and blend well.

Frost the cake when it is completely cool. Store in the refrigerator. Makes 8-10 servings.

MOPS Service Project for Christmas

Last Night 8 of us MOPS Ladies delivered our Christmas gifts to the 5 mothers at The Room at the Inn of The Triad. "This is a unique, comprehensive program helping homeless, single, pregnant women, not only during their pregnancies but also after the birth of their babies. By providing shelter, food, clothing, case management, in-house daycare, transportation, life skills education, and counseling in a structured environment. They help these families have new lives of healthy, hope-filled self sufficiency."
This was MOPS, 3rd consecutive year being involved with this shelter at Christmas time.

It was just wonderful to sit and talk to these soon to be moms and share stories and of course the hope of Christ. The Room at the Inn of The Triad is a christian based organization. They have 2 devotionals every day, where they can either share from the bible or talk about goals. They do not force the love of Christ on anyone, but it is felt all around. We got to share our faith with them and have a sweet time of prayer with 4 of them. We pray that our gifts will help show how much we do love them, not because anything they did or anything we did, but because Christ first loved us, we love them. A big thanks to Rikki, Michela, Joanna, Flemania, Anne, Leslie, and Anna for joining me in representing our MOPS groups during this service project. I pray that it was a blessing to each of you.

12-1 Meeting Wrap Up

Wow what an incredible meeting. Sr. Pastor Jake Thornhill, Jr., honored our MOPS group again, by speaking to our ladies. His topic: A Mother is the Heart of the Home just as Christ is the Center of the Universe. Is was an exciting and emotional meeting. There is no doubt that his words reached our ladies. We were also honored to have one of our "Wiser Women" attend the meeting Brenda Lancaster, mother-in-law to last year coordinator, Leigh Lancaster. After Pastor Jake spoke, she felt called to speak from her heart and her words were exactly what we needed and a great follow-up to Pastor Jake. I had prayed about this meeting since Sept and boy was I amazed at the outcome. We also had an awesome craft, which was an outreach project for The Room at the Inn of the Triad. We will be delivering the baby blankets on Thursday 12/10. We hope you will be able to make the next meeting on Dec 15th. See you there.

Christ: The Center of the Universe

Only 2 more MOPS meetings left in 2009.






I am very excited about the meeting on Tuesday Dec 1st, as Life Community Church's Sr. Pastor is coming to speak to us on Christ: The Center of the Universe, staying with our theme "Together on Planet MOM". Pastor Jake has spoken at MOPS before, so having him back is a BIG treat.

We are also doing our service project for December, for The Room at the Inn of the Triad. We will be making baby blankets for the soon to be moms and signing cards. Don't forget your donations. Remember even if you are running late, its never to late to join us. See you Tuesday!

Moms Supporting Moms: Jenn Duke with "Dukes Darling Designs"

If you know anything about Jenn Duke, you know that she is crafty. One of the ways she shows her craftiness is by designing these made to order trays and totes. Everything is hand drawn and painted to perfection. The trays are perfect for kids to use at home for snacks, homework, etc. They even fit right over their laps in the carseats. The totes can be used to carry their treasures. These make great gifts and with Christmas just around the corner don't miss out ordering one today. She has given us a discount on the prices listed on her website: The trays are $15 each and the totes are $8. Please visit her website for some examples of her one of a kind designs by clicking here. If you are interested in ordering one contact Jenn at chrisjennjax@aol.com.

Tickle Our Taste Buds Winner-11/17

Congrats to Jenn Duke for winning the "Tickle Our Taste Buds" this week. Her winning dish was a hearty "Sausage Roll". Here's how to make it for your family.



2 cans Crescent Rolls
2 lbs Sausage
1 block Cream Cheese
approx. 1/2 cup shredded cheese (although I don't measure)
I also use low fat everything....

Brown sausage and drain, put back in pan and melt cream cheese together
Lay one crescent rolls in the bottom of a casserole dish.
Spread sausage and cream cheese mixture over crescent roll
Sprinkle with shredded cheese
Lay 2nd crescent roll on top and press down around edges
Bake on 350 for approx. 20 minutes (depending on oven!)

Nov 17th Meeting Wrap-Up

A big thanks to Lara Williams for speaking at our meeting on the topic Houston We have a Problem: Conflict in Marriage. Boy was she amazing. In case you missed the meeting, Lara's 3 main points were:
1. Bind yourself to the Lord.
2. Love this messy man-unconditional.
3. Remember your real enemy.

I walked away from this meeting with some wonderful applications.

You can visit Lara's blog for more insights on her journey with God at My Adventure with God, Unrehearsed , or you can email her at WilliamsL@triad.rr.com. Thanks again Lara and you are welcome back anytime.

Houston, We Have a Problem

Lara Williams will be sharing her story on Tuesday. You may know her sister, Leslie Phillips! Lara's topic is Conflict in Marriage...even though I know we all have the perfect marriage. I am looking forward to our time together.

Tickle Our Taste Buds Winner-11/3

Congrats to Christy Secraw for being our Tickle Our Taste Buds Winner with her Cinnamon Cream Cheese Breakfast Bake. It was a delicious breakfast dessert. I can't wait to make it.


Cinnamon Cream Cheese Breakfast Bake
Ingredients
2 tubes crescent rolls
2 – 8 oz. cream cheese
1 C. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Topping:
¾ C. sugar
1 T. cinnamon
1 stick butter

Directions:
Soften cream cheese & add sugar & vanilla. Beat until smooth. Unroll 1 package crescent rolls and lay in a 9x13 baking pan, pressing seams together to seal. Spread cream cheese mixture on top. Lay 2nd package of crescents on top of cream cheese mixture. Pour melted butter over & top with remaining sugar/cinnamon. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes.

White Chicken Chili, the recipe

1 tbsp olive oil

1 med onion

1 can (4 oz) green chilies, drained

3 tbsp all purpose flour

2 tsp ground cumin

2 cans (15.8 oz) Northern or Navy beans

1 can (14.5) chicken broth

1 1/2 cups finely chopped cooked chicken

Shredded Monterey Jack cheese (optional)

Sour Cream (optional)

Salsa (optional)

In a large skillet, cook onion in oil for 4 minutes or until transparent. Add chilies, flour and cumin; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add beans and chicken broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 10 minutes or until thickened. Add chicken; cook until hot. Garnish with cheese, sour cream and salsa if desired.

As the World Turns: Daily home and family management

The weekend is here and I hope your families are excited about your weekend activites. Don't forget to FALL BACK ONE HOUR!! I am looking forward to our time together on Tuesday morning as we discuss methods for money-saving. We will be touching on topics such as coupons, food storage, meal planning, and general habits for effective savings. There will be plenty of time for discussion, so please take some time to think about what problems you are having or where you can improve on your budget.

Children's Costume Parade-slide show

MOMS Night Out-at Panera Bread

We had a great time at Panera just chatting and getting to know each other better. It was nice to leave the kids and husbands behind and have girl time, which is important to stay sane as a mom. Hopefully next time we will have more be able to join us. (Left to right: Jenn, Leslie, Christy, Janet S., Janet K., Morgan, Daniah, Hana, Julia, and Laura.)

MOMS Night Out: Panera Bread

Monday, October 26th

6:30pm

Eastchester...

Enjoy conversation at cozy Panera...

Tickle Our Taste Buds Winner-10/20

Congrats to Joanna Tyler for winning our Tickle Our Taste Buds with her Chess Casserole. It was very hearty and yummy. Below is the recipe.



CHESS Casserole
(Cheese, Hashbrowns, Egg, & Sausage Supreme!)

2 large cans Crescent Rolls
1 lb. ground sausage
½ large onion, diced
1 (8 oz) block cream cheese
4 eggs
2 tbsp milk
2 cups shredded cheese (I use sharp cheddar)
1 (20 oz) bag Simply Potatoes shredded hash browns
Olive oil
Seasoned salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Line bottom of 9 x 13 baking dish with one can of the crescents, pressing the seams together.

Brown the sausage in a skillet with the onions; drain off any fat and return to skillet. Melt block of cream cheese into the sausage and spread mixture over the crescent rolls in the baking dish.

Beat the eggs together with the milk and salt and pepper to taste. Scramble the eggs and spread over the sausage mixture. Sprinkle one cup of the shredded cheese over the eggs.

Prepare the hash browns according to package instructions with the olive oil and seasoned salt. Spread over the cheese in dish. Sprinkle the remaining cup of shredded cheese over the hash browns. Unroll the second can of crescents and place on top of casserole.

Bake for 30 – 35 mins until crescents are golden brown.

New Bible Study: 2nd Peter

Don’t be like a wave tossed to and fro,
A fruitless branch with nothing to show,
Unaware of the tricks of your foe,
Peter tells us to
KNOW AND GROW!

Please join us for an in-depth study of 2nd Peter beginning on Thursday, oct 29th at 9:30am.

We will meet for 1 hour weekly (and yes…it’s ONE hour only for all you busy ladies) for 7 weeks (with a break for Thanksgiving).
There is no cost…just bring your Bible.

Childcare provided: please request.

If you are seriously interested in attending this Bible Study or have questions, please reply to Cindy at daybreakalto@aol.com. If there is not enough interest the class will be postponed until Spring.

Moms Supporting Moms: Ashley Parrish with Homemade Gourmet

=Dinnertime dilemmas sound familiar? As a mom of three under the age of four, I know how hard it is to plan meals and get it on the table before everyone is starving. Puleeze!!! After months of staring in the fridge with everyone asking, “What’s for dinner?” I have finally found the answer! HOMEMADE GOURMET – 4 MEALS IN 4 MINUTES.

Homemade Gourmet will save you hundreds of dollars on those crazy grocery bills or last minute runs to the local restaurant, and renew your hope that there is a solution to the mealtime madness. I can help you get a delicious, healthy and affordable meal on the table so that you can use the important time to enjoy your family.

Also, with Christmas fast approaching, I can show you great and inexpensive gifts that anyone would love to receive.

Today, we can have your mealtime menu planned and Christmas gifts bought and out of the way. You can receive a 20% discount by becoming my “Preferred Customer,” or eat for free by sharing Homemade Gourmet with your family and friends.

If you would like to taste before you buy, why not come to my Taste & Tell Fall Party, Saturday, October 24th @ 2:00pm. There will be lots of food, demos, and door prizes. Bring a friend. Remember 20% of all purchases made that day will go to our MOPS group.

Contact me: Ashley Parrish – 617-7008
– maparrishclan at triad dot rr dot com
You can also check out my website – http://www.quickndeliciousdinners.com/

October 20th-MOPS Meeting: “The Black Hole: Depression”

I hope you are all enjoying the beautiful fall weather. I am excited about our MOPS meeting on Tuesday. We are having two of our own ladies talk about their experience with Depression. This is a meeting you would not want to miss. Even if you are running behind, still come and you will not be disappointed. We will also have some group time of discussion and a yummy craft. I hope to see you all there.

Pumpkin Patch

Which pumpkin did you choose?

Storytime before our hayride(s)!

"Clop, Clop went the boots"

Hey there Mamas!

Where is the next playdate?

Playdate: Pumpkin Patch

WE ARE STILL GOING TO THE PUMPKIN PATCH...
Enjoy a Hayride and stories then pick your favorite pumpkin! Total cost: $2.00 per child
Tuesday, October 13th

10:30 am

Jamestown United Methodist Church

Need more information contact Nancy: oliviaann10 at excite dot com

or Julia: saguier at msn dot com

Don't forget your camera!

Tickle Our Taste Buds Winner-10/6

At Tuesday's meeting, Shannon Smith won the "Tickle Our Taste Buds" prize. Below is her recipe so you can make it at home. Congrats Shannon on your winning dish.

Pumpkin Spice Muffins
1 box of spice cake mix
1 can pumpkin
4-5 tablespoons of water.

Mix on low with mixer for a couple of minutes. Bake in the oven on 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Tuesdays Meeting Recap

We had a great meeting on Tuesday. We had 3 awesome speakers in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We had 2 breast cancer survivors, share their stories and it was hard not shred tears for everything they went through. But to hear how God walked with them and help them overcome their cancer and be declared "cancer-free" shows that, God is alive and working miracles.

I wanted to mentioned Tricia's business again that helps women that are diagnosed with breast cancer. You never know when you might be able to refer this business to a women in need, and directing them to a woman who has been through what they are going through will giving them an everlasting hope.

Tricia's Pink Bowtique
1707-H North Main Street
High Point, NC 27262
ph: 336-886-8464

"Mastectomy Products With a Survivors Insight"

To learn more about breast cancer please visit the American Cancer Society.

Gravity: The Things that Pulls Us

I hope each of you are looking forward to our time together Tuesday morning. We will be hearing from three very special ladies in our community. The theme is Gravity: The Things that Pulls Us. As moms we are pulled in many ways and by many things. Come, relax, sip on coffee and enjoy the company of other moms and our speakers. Hopefully by the end of our time you will be refreshed and will be better able to handle the ways in which gravity can pull you!

October Outreach: Coats for Kids

Our Community Outreach Project this month is Coats for Kids.
Please bring gently used or new children's coats our October meetings. More details will follow during ANNOUNCEMENTS!

Donations: Elizabeth's Closet

Here is a list of items that are needed by Elizabeth's Closet.

Items listed in red are especially appreciated!

*New bottles with nipples
*Hooded towels
*Receiving blankets
*New or gently used infant clothing, especially preemie & newborn size clothing for girls
*Diapers, newborn or size 1
*New or gently used Boppy pillows (positioning aids often used for breastfeeding)
*Head-molding helmets
*Onesies, size newborn or 0-3 months
*New or like new baby furniture & equipment. Please make sure these items are clean and in good working condition.
*Scrapbooks or scrapbooking supplies
*Gas cards for families who must travel long distances to be with their babies in the NICU
*Grocery gift cards or vouchers
*Restaurant gift cards or coupons
*High back, reclining high chair (great for infants & toddlers with special needs)

Jenn will be collecting our donations at our Tuesday meeting

Yoplait donates to Susan G. Komen for the Cure

During Yoplaits annual drive, for every pink lid you send in by December 31, 2009 Yoplait® will donate 10 cents to Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, up to $1.5 million. They guarantee a donation of at least $500,000. So grab your friends, coworkers, MOPS group or neighbors and start getting involved today.
Many local grocery stores have boxes you can drop the lids in to save on postage!

MOPS Ladies in Action: Urban Ministries Food Drive

On Saturday some of our MOPS Ladies participated in a food drive for Urban Ministries. We had a great time and collected a lot of food. What a great way to serve unto the Lord and given back to our community.





















(Christy, Ashley, Sherri, Laura, Julia)

(Tanya, Christy, Laura, Julia)

(Janet, Sara, Leslie)

Giving Blood in honor of Matheson Barber Sept 22nd at LCC

In December of 2008, Matt and Holly Barber’s 5 month old son, Matheson, was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia known as Leukemia Cutis. Since that time, Matheson has undergone 5 rounds of chemotherapy at Duke University Children’s Hospital. At this point, he has completed treatment and is back at home adjusting to “normal” life with his family, which includes two older brothers. Matheson responded well to his treatments and we have seen so many prayers answered! We continue to pray that the battle is over for Matheson and that he has already been declared victorious!


Unfortunately, there are many children still fighting cancer. As is typical during chemotherapy treatments, Matheson received numerous blood product transfusions. We have been made acutely aware of the importance of blood drives and donations during our experiences these past months.

In honor of Matheson Barber, and other children facing this disease, Life Community Church and the American Red Cross will be hosting a blood drive on September 22nd from 1:30-7:00pm. If you are interested in scheduling an appointment, please contact Holly Barber at 880-5430 or hollybarber@triad.rr.com. If you are unable to donate blood for any reason, but would still like to help, we are also in need of several volunteers that day to make things run more smoothly. Volunteers would work in 2-3 hour shifts, assisting in several different areas. If you interesting in donating your time instead of blood, please contact Holly!

Playdate at Triad Park

Thursday is our scheduled September playdate. We will be meeting at TRIAD PARK around 10.30am. When you enter the park take a right (after you pass the welcome center)...follow the road until it ends at a playground! There will be several moms and tots that will pack a picnic lunch so please join us for lunch also!!

LCC MOPS Kick off New Year

We kicked off our MOPS year on Tuesday. We had a great meeting. We also had a lot of new faces. I think the final count was 41 ladies. WOW. That is awesome. We had a lot of chat time which allowed us to get to know everyone new and catch up with others. We had a great brunch provided by our Steering Team. Thanks Guys. We also had some fun ice breaker games, Thanks Julia.

Our Next Meeting in Sept 15th at 9am which is on "The World-Wide Web". Its not too late for you to join us. Come see what we are all about, I promise you wont be disappointed.

MOPS New Year

Tomorrow, Tuesday, September 1st is our FIRST meeting of the NEW mops YEAR!

Drop off your child(ren) at 9am

MEETING will begin at 9.15!

MOPS MOMS in Action!

Today some of our MOPS MOMS participated in a service project at the Ronald McDonald House(RMH), in Chapel Hill, NC.
One of our moms (Joanna) has been so blessed by the services that they have provided her during her stay at the RMH when her daughter was in the hospital, that she organized this project thru our charter church Life Community's Sunday school class "Married Life"as a way to give back. We met at the church at 7am to commute together to Chapel Hill.
We prepared and cooked brunch for the residents staying at the RMH. It was fun and a blessing to be able to feed these families when they are there to be close to there sick children. Even though this was not a MOPS event, I wanted to post to show how active our MOPS MOMS are in the community. Thanks again Joanna for organizing this wonderful project.
(Back row: Emma (Joanna's mom), Joanna (DG Team Leader), Janet(Coordinator), Tracey (Mentor MOM). Front row: Shana (future MOPS mom), Tanya (Asst. Creative Activities Leader)

Spontaneous Play date at Triad park

Well today we had a very spontaneous play date at Triad Park. It was a lot of fun. We had 4 moms and 8 kids, totally out numbered. It was kinda neat how the boys played and the girls played. It got hot very quickly so we ended up cooling off under the shelter. So the next time you are planning to go to the park, send an email out and just maybe you can have some other moms join you just as we did today. Thanks Laura for mentioning it at the MOMS Night Out, that you were going today, or I know I would have never gone and what a blessing it turned out to be.


(Front back to front: Zack, Alana, Hayden, Ella, Halle, Daniel and Sydney)








(Liz with daughter Alana)
















(left to right: Ashley, Halle and Ella)
(left to right: Daniel, Zach and Hayden)

MOMS Night out at Elizabeth's Pizza

We had a great time tonight at our MOMS Night Out at Elizabeth's Pizza.

We had 12 ladies that were able to join us, which included 1 new mom Sara and 1 new soon to be mom Enjonae. It was great introducing them to the other MOPS ladies even before the new MOPS year begins (Sept. 1st). Some of us helped close the place we talked too much, but that is what it is all about. I sure hope you can join us next time.



(Starting from Front Left: Jessica, Hana, Rikki, Janet, Enjonae, Morgan, Liz, Julia, Sara, Katherine, Laura, and Flemania.)

MOPS International Theme for 2009-10

Together on Planet Mom

The MOPS Experience equips women for the joys and challenges of their lives as moms. One key factor in the MOPS Experience is the relationships built within a group. Time and time again, MOPS moms share that the friends they make in MOPS are significant for this season of their life and on into their future. God created us for relationship! It’s one of the defining parts of being human.

However, when you become a mom, all your relationships change. It’s like you have landed on a different planet—Planet Mom—and the relationships on Planet Mom don’t look like the ones on your previous planet. Your relationship with yourself is different—you are a mom! Your relationship with your husband, girlfriends, extended family, community and God have all changed. Many of these changes are positive, some are not. Even positive change requires adjustments on your part.

During the 2009-10 MOPS year, we will explore how to thrive in relationships Together on Planet Mom.

The theme book for 2009-10 is Life on Planet Mom: A Down to Earth Guide to Your Changing Relationships by Lisa T. Bergren. The book is part of the MOPS International Membership benefit. All the moms and Mentors in your group will want to be equipped with this resource as together they learn to navigate the relationships on Planet Mom.

The foundation of being Together on Planet Mom is that God is with us and we are created for relationship with him and each other. We are created to “do life” together. This is definitely true for us as both moms and leaders. The more we draw together in community, the better we are able to thrive as women and moms. And in MOPS leadership, we are better together than individually, which is why the emphasis in MOPS leadership is working together on a team. This life together is underlined in our theme verse for the year, where Jesus promises: “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20)

Steering Team Retreat

We had an awesome time of Fun, Fellowship and Planning, Friday night thru Sat morning at the MOPS Steering Team Retreat. We had 8 ladies that were able to attend. We had our retreat at the beautiful Proximity Hotel-which is the greenest hotel in the world.












They were wonderful to work with MOPS to allow us to have three rooms(2 king size and 1 queen size)to use for our planning and relaxation. As you can see the room decor was just stunning and spacious. Thanks Morgan for working your magic.













We were able to get all of our meetings for the year planned out and God lead us to some exciting meeting ideas and topics.















We had a great devotional on Matthew 18:1-35. We learned more about forgiveness and humility. We also focused on MOPS key verse for the year:
Matthew 18:20
"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."














We had a great time, gained a better understand of who we are and deepened friendships. I am excited about this year "Together on Planet Mom". Please come join us starting September 1st at 9am to see all of our hard work pay off.


















Thanks to all of the ladies that were able to attend. I hope you are as excited as I am for the year to begin. (from bottom to top: Flemania, Jessica, Morgan, Joanna, Julia, Christy, and Janet) Ann not pictured.