Welcome to a new year of MOPS & MOMSnext! We are excited to have you join us on this journey to becoming starry eyed.
This year’s kick-off meeting featured a fabulous brunch spread provided by our leadership team, a mom-edition of “Would You Rather…?” (Being trapped in a room with 30 crying kids or 1 hungry alligator?? Seriously, there is no right answer!), a video message from MOPS President & CEO, and a fun craft that we can use throughout the year.
The video message we heard from Mandy Arioto challenged us to find hope in both light and darkness. So often we may feel that we have to choose one or the other, but the truth is we are a swirly mix of both. The theme will focus on opening our eyes to wonder, choosing hope over fear, and creating significant acts of kindness that send ripples of light into the world.
To document our journey this year, we put together Starry Eyed journals, where we can reflect on the messages we hear and the thing laid on our hearts. We will continue to have the journal materials available at our meetings, so anyone who did not get a chance to make one or wants to add any more decorations will be able to do so!
We hope you’ll continue to join us in the coming weeks. If you would like to pay your dues,
you can do so here by clicking on Register. You do not need to fill out the whole first page again, just include your name at the top.
Here are a few other announcements from our first meeting.
- You will be assigned a small group based on your location. Your small group leader should be in contact soon.
- Like our public Facebook page & join our private group. We'll post announcements & have some good conversation between meetings.
- You can support our MOPS group through our Fit&Fresh fundraiser. If you are looking to buy a new lunch box or food storage, 40% of all purchases come back to our group. Use the code CFMOPS.
Also, some quick corrections from the handout you received on Tuesday:
- MOPPETS leader, Lauren Pippen's number is 440-413-5054. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have questions or concerns about our MOPPETS program.
- Our December meeting will be on Dec 13. Here's the full list of dates.
A big thank you to Kate Kiec &
The Spanish Corner for sponsoring our first meeting and providing some great prizes to our raffle winners! The Spanish Corner is a total-immersion language learning program for kids and their caregivers. The Spanish Corner’s mission is to teach families the Spanish language tools with which they can communicate outside of our classes. They teach high-frequency vocabulary that is easy to incorporate into daily activities. Participants will come away well-equipped to engage in conversational basics from which they can continue to expand.
Next week you'll have the opportunity to meet up with your small group for a playdate. Your small group leader will coordinate with you on when & where your group will plan to meet.
Our next group meeting is September 27. Each week, a different small group with provide brunch for the group. Annette & Becky's groups are scheduled for the first meeting.
Here's the page for signing up for what to bring. See you then!
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This week we watched a video by Jen Hatmaker about Becoming... Friends! Sometimes it takes someone to risk honesty and be vulnerable to effect a friendship for good. It's also OK to only have one or two real friends that you can totally be yourself with. Your friendships will go through times of tension, but having those hard discussions to talk it out will preserve those friendships, plus teach our children how to have healthy relationships! Our hope for you is that instead of waiting for a friendship to drop into your lap you will go out and make a healthy friendship!
The Hospitality Team is looking for HELP! Can you come at 8:45/9:00am to set up and make the room beautiful & welcoming? Or can you stay 15 minutes at the end? It's a great way to meet new friends! Contact Sarah Burton on Facebook or at 919-928-1469.
