New year, new Website!

 We're switching things over to a new website! 
Check us out at https://crossroadsmops.wixsite.com/mops!

MOPS is returning on September 8th!!

 It's official! MOPS will be returning this September! However, just like the rest of the world, this year it will just look a little different than in year's past.

Our meetings will be shifting to 7-9pm on the 2nd & 4th Tuesdays of each month, but we will still have optional playdates on the 1st & 3rd Tuesday mornings if you feel comfortable attending. Unfortunately there will be no childcare during our evening meetings, but nursing babies are welcome to attend. We will also have a virtual option for you to attend the evening meetings from the comfort of your own home if needed.

One piece of good news--there will be NO local dues for the fall semester, so you only have to pay the $31.95 MOPS International fee!

You can go to our website to register and read all about our pandemic policies and procedures: https://crossroadsraleighmops.blogspot.com/p/covid-19-information.html

You can also register for the upcoming year at: https://crossroadsraleighmops.blogspot.com/p/registration.html

Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns--just shoot us an email at crossroadsraleighmops@gmail.com.

A message from our Crossroads MOPS Finance Coordinator.... As you may have seen from our registration form, our MOPS dues have increased for this upcoming MOPS year starting Fall 2020. We wanted to share a quick explanation and budget overview with you so you can understand the reason for this increase. Click the image below to watch the video. We are also accepting requests for childcare refunds for the 4 meetings we missed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. If you are in need of a refund please fill out the our refund request form by May 31st, otherwise we will use this money to gift our childcare workers who lost their expected income.

A message from our Crossroads MOPS finance coordinator about refunds and dues.

Don't forget to take our end of year survey to close out the 2019/2020 year! We are always looking for feedback on ways to improve our group and we want to hear from you!

Take our End of Year Survey

Join us on May 12th for our last MOPS meeting of the 2019/2020 year before we break for summer! We are switching things up a bit and coming at you with a live speaker during nap time! We really hope you can tune in on Facebook to watch the live event, but it will also be available later at your convenience as well. Author Candice DeLeeuw will be speaking to us about "Finding Truth Amidst the Lies." We will discuss the top 5 lies we struggle with and how we can hear God in the middle of the doubt/chaos/darkness/right now. Access the online event here.

Virtual Meeting - April 14th

This week at MOPS.... This week we tried something different and had our very first virtual MOPS meeting on Facebook! We hope you were able to join and chat with your friends, and gained some fun and encouragement along the way!

Let us know on Facebook or email us at CrossroadsRaleighMOPS@gmail.com if you are interested in joining our PenPal program starting now and running through the end of May (or as long as you want 😉)! We will pair you up with another MOPS family so you and the kids can send letters, gifts, or just chat virtually! Your kids will love sending and receiving snail mail with their PenPal, and maybe you can even setup a video chat! Moms can reach out and encourage each through this time at home, and/or send small gifts to bring some happiness into your day. We hope this will be another activity to keep you and the kids busy and connect you with other MOPS moms going through the same thing as you! We're all in this together!

It's a whole group MOPS Mom's Night In game night! We will all gather together virtually to play a variety of fun, easy to play party games! The specific games we play will depend on the number of people who join, but we may ask you to draw weird doodles, write the best inside joke, or answer trivia questions. Either way it will be lots of fun and should give us lots of laughs! All you need to play is a phone or other web-enabled device to use as your game controller. Stay tuned for all the details on how to join and play with us next week!  We will have our next Virtual Meeting On Tuesday, April 28th. We're playing around with different formats so it may look different than our last Facebook event. Email us at crossroadsRaleighMOPS@gmail.com if you have any comments or suggestions for virtual ways to connect! Stay tuned for updates!

MOPS International has released the theme for next year and in 2020 we will Decide to Rise! Registration is now open for the MOPS 2020/2021 year!  If you know that you will be joining us this fall, please register now in order to hold your spot! We are doing things a little differently this year and having you register directly with MOPS international and pay the $31.95 fee directly to them. This will also subscribe you to the new quarterly MOPS magazine that will be delivered directly to your door! Plus, for every 10 members that register in April or May we can earn a scholarship for those in need! Our Crossroads MOPS local dues have also changed this year and will be a flat $100 per semester for all MOPS members. We had to increase dues this year due to losing our subsidy with the church last year that covered most of our childcare bill. This only comes out to $6.25 per hour of childcare no matter how many kids you have, so it's still a fantastic deal! These local dues also cover all operating costs such as meeting materials, speaker gifts, MOPS kids craft supplies, plasticware, coffee, etc. For more information about dues please visit the membership tab. Scholarships are available for those in need. We can't wait to meet again with you in-person next year!

We hope you will join us for our next virtual meeting on April 28th! Social distancing can't stop us from connecting and encouraging one another!

Amy Paulston - "Your Inner Bully"

This week at MOPS....

This week we heard from Amy Paulston about quieting your inner bully and learning to love ourselves, so that we can love others as God tells us to! It was a great reminder to all of us that we are valuable and all moms are heroes!

Announcements

On 5th Tuesdays we have whole group playdates! For this playdate we will have a whole group Easter Egg Hunt at Williams Park on March 31st at 10:00 am (please note the location change).
We are accepting donations for items like candy, stickers, or toys to fill the Easter Eggs, so please bring them to the next two MOPS meetings before the egg hunt. There will be a box for donations near the coffee station.
Please sign up to bring a snack item to share with the whole group at the Egg Hunt.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f084fa9a822a3f94-easter

We are starting to recruit leaders for next year's MOPS leadership team! Please talk to your small group leader if you are interested in joining us in shaping and impacting Crossroads MOPS! We currently have openings for:

• small group leaders (lead a table in discussion, playdates, and MNO)
• outreach coordinator (work with leaders and the community to determine our meeting outline)
• publicity (recruit new members to our group, manage Facebook page and blog, send out newsletters)
• Audiovisual (create announcement slides for meetings and run sound and light during meetings)

In light of the current health situation in Wake County, please be reminded that if WCPSS cancels or delays school, we will need to cancel our MOPS meeting as well.

Please also be mindful of our sick policy when in MOPS kids. If your child has any of the following symptoms and/or illnesses, they should NOT attend their MOPS class:

• Fever, vomiting, diarrhea, or runny nose in the last 24 hours
• Has been receiving antibiotic medication for less than 48 hours
• A fresh cold with sneezing or requiring frequent nose blowing/wiping
• A questionable rash

A local Tinkergarten teacher has graciously offered to host a free trial class for our whole MOPS group! Tinkergarten is a unique opportunity to learn through guided play outdoors in nature. The teacher will facilitate a play scenario during class, and then all of us will collaborate and create together. If you struggle with open play with your child then this is the perfect experience to get your creative juices flowing!

If you plan to attend, please register online through the Tinkergarten event at https://tinkergarten.com/classes/123608

Next Time at MOPS....

At our next meeting we will have a panel of various married couples from Side By Side Ministry speak to us and answer questions. Lisa Goldberg, who spoke to us in December, founded this ministry with her husband after overcoming their marriage crisis.

Ayesha/Becky, Nicole, Sarah's groups are responsible for bringing brunch. Get more information and signup for items here.

Mentor Mom Panel

This week we heard from our mentor moms, who answered a variety of questions our group submitted over the past few weeks. A huge thank you to these moms that donate their time and energy to our MOPS group. We love having their wisdom and experience in our group!

We also had a great icebreaker that allowed us to get to know some of the moms from other small groups! Keep an eye out for more fun icebreaker opportunities!

Announcements

Great news! We have acquired additional childcare workers so our wait-list is officially lifted! 🎉🎉 We are excited to welcome new moms to our group, so if you know anyone who is interested in joining then send them our way! We'd love to encourage them through this journey called motherhood! 👩‍👧‍👦

Spring Semester payments are due! You can bring cash or check to the next meeting or pay online here. Just fill out your name and select Spring dues to pay. You will be unable to utilize childcare at the next meeting

We are starting to recruit leaders for next year's MOPS leadership team! Please talk to your small group leader if you are interested in joining us in shaping and impacting Crossroads MOPS! We currently have openings for:

• small group leaders (lead a table in discussion, playdates, and MNO)
• outreach coordinator (work with leaders and the community to determine our meeting outline)
• publicity (recruit new members to our group, manage Facebook page and blog, send out newsletters)
• Audiovisual (create announcement slides for meetings and run sound and light during meetings)

On 5th Tuesdays we have whole group playdates! For this playdate we will have a whole group Easter Egg Hunt at Williams Park on March 31st at 10:00 am. 
We are accepting donations for items like candy, stickers, or toys to fill the Easter Eggs, so please bring them to the next two MOPS meetings before the egg hunt. There will be a box for donations near the coffee station.
Please sign up to bring a snack item to share with the whole group at the Egg Hunt.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f084fa9a822a3f94-easter

NEXT TIME AT MOPS!

Our next meeting we will hear from Amy Paulston about learning to love ourselves so we can love others as God tells us to. 
MomsNext, Autumn/Sasha, and Jen's groups are responsible for bringing brunch. Get more information and signup for items here.

MOPS Swap!

Today we had an amazing turn out for our annual MOPS Swap! Afterwards, we donated 3 large bins of stuff to the Missions Thrift Store! Thank you for cleaning out your closets, blessing your fellow MOPS moms, and giving back to the community all in one!

We heard from a fellow MOPS mom about her experience with her MOPS group blessing her after the loss of her husband, and another short video testimony from a former Crossroads MOPS mom who grew closer with Jesus during her time at MOPS and was just baptized this past weekend! We also watched a short video from MOPS international, that can be found here.

We have started a prayer box that can be found near the coffee. In it you can place any prayer request you may have, and also take a prayer request to pray over for the next two weeks. We want to encourage each of our fellow MOPS mom in person and in prayer.

Announcements

Great news! We have acquired additional childcare workers so our waitlist is officially lifted! 🎉🎉 We are excited to welcome new moms to our group, so if you know anyone who is interested in joining then send them our way! We'd love to encourage them through this journey called motherhood! 👩‍👧‍👦

We have GREAT NEWS! Crossroads childcare has made some changes and our small groups no longer need to volunteer during MOPS meetings! However, the new childcare coordinator has requested some assistance during drop off time from 9:15am-9:30am before our meetings begin. This is a great opportunity for our group to bless our childcare workers who bless us so much each MOPS meeting. Please sign up to assist for 15 minutes before MOPS begins on any day that works for you. All you need to do is be an extra set of hands to calm down children who are having a hard time leaving their mom. That way the class teacher can welcome new kids and discuss pertinent details with each mom who drops off.

Spring Semester payments are due! You can bring cash or check to the next meeting or pay online here. Just fill out your name and select Spring dues to pay. MOPS Dues must be paid by the February 25th meeting or you will be unable to utilize childcare.

We are starting to recruit leaders for next year's MOPS leadership team! Please talk to your small group leader if you are interested in joining us in shaping and impacting Crossroads MOPS!

NEXT TIME AT MOPS!

Our next meeting is our mentor mom panel. We will hear from our mentor moms as they discuss the questions that were previously submitted to them in our Facebook group.Sarah, Shara, and Torri's groups are responsible for bringing brunch. Get more information and signup for items here.

Libby Taylor - School Up Wake County

Today we heard from Libby Taylor who is a school selection consultant with SchoolUp Wake County. She gave us the low down on all of our extensive options here in Wake County!

SchoolUp provides families in Wake County with the knowledge, the research, and the clarity they need to make the best school choice for their children. Libby spoke to us about how to find our base school, how to apply to magnet and charter schools, and how they are different.
We included her presentation in our email out to MOPS members, so contact us if you didn't get the email!

Libby is available for consulting services and other information. You can contact her on her website: https://www.schoolupwake.com/

Announcements

We have GREAT NEWS! Crossroads childcare has made some changes and our small groups no longer need to volunteer during MOPS meetings! However, the new childcare coordinator has requested some assistance during drop off time from 9:15am-9:30am before our meetings begin. This is a great opportunity for our group to bless our childcare workers who bless us so much each MOPS meeting. Please sign up to assist for 15 minutes before MOPS begins on any day that works for you. All you need to do is be an extra set of hands to calm down children who are having a hard time leaving their mom. That way the class teacher can welcome new kids and discuss pertinent details with each mom who drops off.

We will pass around the signup again at the next meeting. Everyone who signs up to help will be entered into a drawing for a prize each month! Congrats to Linda Upchurch who won this month!

Our annual MOPS Swap event will occur on February 11th during our meeting. Bring ANYTHING from your home that you no longer want and we will set it up in the great room so we can all shop and go home with some new treasures! Any leftover items will be donated to the Crossroads Missions Thrift Store, which just recently reopened after the fire that damaged the building.

Spring Semester payments are due! You can bring cash or check to the next meeting or pay online here. Just fill out your name and select Spring dues to pay. MOPS Dues must be paid by the February 25th meeting or you will be unable to utilize childcare.

NEXT TIME AT MOPS!

Our Next meeting is MOPS Swap, so to allow everyone to have plenty of time to shop we won't have a speaker. We will watch a short video from MOPS International and have lots of time for discussion and fellowship with our small groups! See you there!

Jen, Ayesha & Becky, Nicole's groups are responsible for bringing brunch. Get more information and signup for items here.

Navigating the Bumpy Road of Commitments – Teresa Glenn

It was great to be back with all of our mom friends for a new year and a new semester of MOPS! We heard from Teresa Glenn about "Navigating the bumpy road of commitments," which was extremely appropriate for all of us moms in the new year! She talked about how sometimes we tend to over commit for the wrong reasons, but we may also have the opposite problem and be scared of commitment and avoid it all costs. She encouraged us to spend time with the Lord in determining what commitments need to stay in our life and what need to be removed.

Teresa Glenn, is an author who encourages and mentors women to partner with God through the ordinary circumstances of life. She and her husband Terrell have been married 31 years and have 3 grown children.

Her book, "Becoming a Peaceful Mom" can be found on Amazon. Teresa writes at celebratethefamily.org and you can follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter at teresadglenn.



Announcements

We have GREAT NEWS! Crossroads childcare has made some changes and our small groups no longer need to volunteer during MOPS meetings! However, the new childcare coordinator has requested some assistance during drop off time from 9:15am-9:30am before our meetings begin. This is a great opportunity for our group to bless our childcare workers who bless us so much each MOPS meeting. Please sign up to assist for 15 minutes before MOPS begins on any day that works for you. All you need to do is be an extra set of hands to calm down children who are having a hard time leaving their mom. That way the class teacher can welcome new kids and discuss pertinent details with each mom who drops off.

We will pass around the signup again at the next meeting. Everyone who signs up to help will be entered into a drawing for a prize each month! Thank you for being willing to serve!

Our annual MOPS Swap event will occur on February 11th during our meeting. Bring ANYTHING from your home that you no longer want and we will set it up in the great room so we can all shop and go home with some new treasures! Any leftover items will be donated to the Crossroads Missions Thrift Store, which just recently reopened after the fire that damaged the building.

Spring Semester payments are due! You can bring cash or check to the next meeting or pay online here. Just fill out your name and select Spring dues to pay. MOPS Dues must be paid by the February 25th meeting or you will be unable to utilize childcare.

NEXT TIME AT MOPS!

Next time we will hear from Libby Taylor at SchoolUp Wake County to talk about all of the schooling options we have in Wake County. Our area is lucky to have robust school choice options for families. However, sometimes these options can be overwhelming and confusing. From magnet to charter schools, or even just selecting a calendar option in your neighborhood, these choices leave many families confused and exhausted.  SchoolUp provides families with the knowledge, the research and the clarity they need to make the best school choice for their children. 

Shara, Victoria, Autumn & Sasha's groups are responsible for bringing brunch. Sign up here.