May 10th Meeting - Year End Wrap up!

We are so sad this is our last meeting of the year, but don't worry! We will be back starting in September! 

In the meantime, feel free to join us for our summer playdate series! This is a great opportunity for returning moms to stay connected with their friends over the summer, and for new moms to come check us out! Even if you have never been to a MOPS meeting we hope you will join us this summer to see what MOPS is all about, plus your little ones can burn off some energy!

We wrapped up our MOPS year by having a few of our very own mom's share their testimony about how they embraced the Fierce Flourishing theme this year. Jamie Branham was able to celebrate lavishly even with all of the tough times she faced this year. Sarah Burton embraced rest and learned to say no after stress and over-commitment negatively impacted her family. And Hannah Murasko focused on noticing goodness even when faced with unexpected circumstances, including sickness and forced moves.

We hope you also embraced this year's theme and were able to flourish with us this year! 

Kristen Beaver had tons of LuLaRoe leggings available for browsing at the meeting! If you are interested in shopping her inventory you can join her facebook group for easy shopping!

Our last craft of the year was handmade earrings or rings! We hope you enjoyed getting crafty with us this year!

Get Excited! Next year's MOPS theme is "We are the Starry Eyed"! Starry Eyed means looking for the light even when darkness is enveloping. It is an opportunity to hope recklessly and to witness God's presence guiding all things seen and unseen, comfortable or not.

When we reflect back over our lives, this year is going to stand out! It will be the year that we decided to live fully in both sunlight and moonlight. Because audacity is rising in the deepest and wildest parts of our souls, and the best part is we will experience it all together!

April 26th Meeting - Let's get Organized!

Professional Organizer Allison Flinn from Reclaim NC spoke with us about how to organize our homes, even with small children around! Did you know that according to Newsweek we waste 55 minutes a day (12 days a year) looking for things we can't find? Plus, 80% of items we keep are never even used!

Below is her top 10 tips for staying organized!

1. Resist the urge to keep things you think you "might" need.
2. When everything has a place, it is easier to stay organized.
3. Horizontal is hidden and vertical is visible. File paperwork upright in a confined space.
4. Prioritize your tasks into categories by time: today, this week, and someday.
5. If it takes two minutes or less to complete the task, just do it now!
6. If you need to remember something, write it down or enter it into an app. (Wunderlist is a great app for this)
7. Use a calendar; either paper, wall, or digital, to keep track of appointments and events. (Cozi is a great app for this to sync with your spouse)
8. Tidy up every night before going to bed to tackle clutter that has accumulated throughout the day.
9. Make appointments with yourself to set aside time each day to get things done. This can be used with your kids as well!
10. Purge: At the beginning of each season review whats in your home room by room.

Edible Arrangements provided a beautiful fruit basket for our raffle this morning and Blown Away, a blow dry bar in North Hills also sponsored a free hair blowout! 

A big thank you to our wonderful sponsors!

We have released our Playdate Calendar for this summer! See the list below and feel free to RSVP to our facebook events or just show up and join us!! It's a great way to stay connected to your MOPS friends this summer, and a great opportunity to invite a friend who may be interested in joining us in the fall!

Planning on joining us again for MOPS next year? Preregister now to save a couple dollars on the MOPS International fee and for every 10 moms registered by June 30th we get a scholarship to help a mom in need! You can preregister at the next meeting,

or 

online at http://crossroads.org/MOPS by clicking "Register" and entering in 22.95 for the MOPS International fee and 0 for Crossroads dues, which can be paid once MOPS starts up next year.

Sarah's group will be responsible for bringing brunch. Please sign up HERE to specify what items you will be bringing!

Kristen Beaver with LuLaRoe will be our sponsor, so make sure to stop by her table at the meeting to checkout her collection!

We will be discussing our Fierce Flourishing theme for this past year and of course, celebrating lavishly! Please join us for this final meeting of the year to celebrate all of the new friendships and connections that we have made together! After the meeting please join us at Millbrook Exchange Park so we can keep on celebrating together with the kids too!

April 12th Meeting - MOPS Swap!

This week we had our annual MOPS Swap! 

Everyone took part in a little spring cleaning at home and brought their unwanted items to the meeting for others to shop! This was one of our largest and most successful MOPS swaps in years past so we hope everyone found lots of treasures! 

All unclaimed items were donated to the Crossroads Missions Thrift Store, where all proceeds benefit the Deaf Opportunity Outreach.

If you or your small group is interested in volunteering at the thrift store you can contact Lizzy Munter at volunteer@missionsthriftnc.com.

Thank you so very much to everyone who participated in the Spa Bag service project! Our group provided about 65 spa gift bags that will be handed out to new clients after their first emotional appointment at the First Choice Pregnancy center. They were SO thrilled as they were down to only 3 bags left!

Be praying for the women who will receive them and that they will make the choice to parent or to place their children for adoption.

If you still want to donate bags, First Choice's new clinic is only 1.5 miles from Crossroads, right near David's Bridal/Aldi.

Crossroads Fellowship would like to invite you to be a part of an exciting event, the 2016 Family Dynamics Workshop series! The next workshop will be Monday, April 25 from 7:00-8:30pm at the Millbrook Campus – North Lobby Area.

Dr. Mike Garrett’s workshop, How to Fight Fair/Turning Conflict into Connection will be in room 753.  Mike has been a counselor and a pastor for 30+ years.  He is a trusted expert when it comes to couple’s communication.  Mike holds doctorates in counseling and biblical counseling and has authored several marriage and parenting training programs.

Nanette Kirsch's workshop, Parenting the Prodigal (or Even a Typical Teen) will be in room 751. Nanette is a Christian wife and mother of four children spanning middle school to college. She is passionate about writing, especially when it involves distilling simple truths from complex ideas and concepts, whether for business communication, encouraging friends and family or sharing life’s journey.

All are welcome and the cost is FREE, and there is even free childcare!  You will have the option to choose between two topics, and you can be married or single, with children or not.  If the topic looks relevant to you, please join! 

You can register at http://www.crossroads.org/family-dynamics. (Be sure to register soon since the last workshops filled up fast!)

Hannah and Jackie's small groups will be responsible for bringing brunch. Please sign up HERE to specify what items you will be bringing!

Professional Organizer, Allison Flynn, from Reclaim NC will be giving us some tips next week on how to clear the clutter that is holding us back and get organized! We hope you can join us!

March 22nd Meeting - Gardening with Children

Have you been thinking about growing a family garden but just aren't sure where to start? This was the meeting for you!

This week we heard from Wake County Master Gardeners Leah Dail and Robin about how to start gardening with our children. Gardening encourages children to eat healthy food, gets them physically active, and teaches a variety of different subjects like math and science! Below are some tips mentioned during the meeting and the spreadsheets they provided on when to plant certain items.

• Try planning a themed garden like pizza, salsa, or colors to get your child excited about gardening! Marbles Kids Museum has a few ideas, as well as the following website.

• When finding your garden location, sunlight is important! Aim for a location that receives at least 6 hours of direct sunlight a day. 8-10 hours is ideal. Southern exposure is recommended if possible.

• If you have a heavy clay soil add compost to balance the PH levels. You can make your own compost by bagging up your leaves in the fall and then using them in the spring on your garden!

• If you have a sandy soil add lime!

• Radishes are a great first food to plant since it only takes 29 days to fully mature! Instant gratification for the kids will get them excited!

• Wake county has free soil testing from April 1st to November 30th. You just need to pick up a box, add a sample of your soil, and send it in and they will get back with you by email. This report will include the type of fertilizer recommended for your space.

• Once your garden is planted you will need to make sure it receives at least 1 inch of water a week. Container gardens will need to be watered every day. Use a soaker hose to water at the root of the plant. Spraying all of the plant will lead to diseases and will cause more weeds to grow.

• Mulch will keep down the growth of weeds. Herbicides are not recommended. However, neem oil can be used for fungus and it is all organic.

• For fall/spring planting try carrots, kale, spinach, peas, collards, and lettuce.

• For summer planting try pole beans, cucumbers, corn, squash, tomatoes, peppers, and egg plant.

• Checkout the Home Vegetable Gardening Bulletin at http://content.ces.ncsu.edu/home-vegetable-gardening for more information!

You can contact Wake County Master gardeners by phone or email with any questions you may have! They will research the answer and get back with you as soon as possible.

This week our sponsor was Amenie Schweizer from DoTERRA!

Amenie's passion is healing work and supporting others on a journey of health and wellness. She is an AADP certified holistic health practitioner, BBC certified life coach, certified healing touch practitioner, and Reiki Master teacher. The use of essential oils was a perfect compliment to each of these healing modalities and she considers doTERRA as the best.

Checkout her website for more information!

 Our MOPS Whole Group playdate scheduled for next Tuesday, March 29th, at 10am at Abbott's Creek Park. You can RSVP to the facebook event HERE

 If you are interested in joining our MOPS leadership team next year, please join us at our monthly leadership meeting on April 5th from 9:30 - 11:30am at Crossroads. Childcare is provided.

 Contribute to our First Choice Pregnancy Center client spa gift bags by bringing your items to the next MOPS meeting on April 12th. You can see a list of needed items and sign up with what you will be bringing HERE

Join us on April 12th for our next MOPS meeting! We will be having a lovely discussion time together and having our annual MOPS SWAP! Bring in any items from your home you would like to get rid of, including home goods, baby care items, or clothes. You will be able to "shop" the items brought in and you may find some treasures! All items left behind will be donated to the Crossroads Thrift Store. We may also have some time for each small group to visit the thrift store during the meeting.

Danielle's small group will be responsible for bringing brunch. Please sign up HERE to specify what items you will be bringing!

March 8th Meeting - Legal Planning

Our theme for MOPS this year is "A Fierce Flourishing", which has three parts: embracing rest, noticing goodness, and celebrating lavishly. One way to fully embrace rest is to be prepared and rest assured that everything would be taken care of in the unfortunate event something happens to you or your spouse. 

At our meeting this week we discussed legal and will planning with NC Planning, a legal service that specializes in estate planning for the future. We split into two teams, one who had a plan for the future and one who did not. On the way through our game of Life we learned about all of the different documents that are needed, which include the following:

• Last Will and Testament - distributes assets to your beneficiaries and states who will inherit these assets and when
• Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care - allows you to appoint a specific individual to make medical decisions for you if needed
• Living Will - gives you control over whether your life will be prolonged by certain procedures should you be unable to voice your decisions
• Health Care Consent for a child - allows you to appoint an individual to make medical decisions for your child if you are unable to do so
• Financial Power of Attorney - allpws you to appoint an individual to make your financial decisions and dictates those decisions
• Revocable Trust - separate legal entity created to own or receive property

Most parents out there know the importance of having a guardian decided for your children when they are young, but did you know you may also need to decide on a short term guardian if your decided guardian is from out of state? Choosing the perfect guardian for your child can be very difficult, so below are some important factors to consider:

• Does your child feel comfortable around this person?
• Where do they live?
• Would your child have to move schools?
• Would the guardian move to your child's location?
• Do you agree with their parenting style and lifestyle?
• How old are they and do they already have children?
• Do you agree with their religious beliefs?
• Do they have a secure financial situation?

If estate planning is not something you have considered in the past, now may be the time to do it! It certainly brought up quite a few questions and concerns for our moms at the meeting! NC planning is offering a complimentary consultation for Crossroads MOPS members and a 25% discount for a basic planning package. You can contact them at http://www.ncplanning.com/ to schedule an appointment.

Also at today's meeting, Christen from Pump It Up near Brier Creek let us know about their new offering for children ages 2 and 3! Toddler Time is a fun, parent involved, one hour session filled with activities to strengthen fine and gross motor skills. It includes circle time with a story, a related craft, and a snack - PLUS, unlimited play time after class!

Toddler time is on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 10am and is $8 per child OR you can purchase a 5 class pass for $25, which makes it only $5 a class! You can drop in but class is limited to 10 so they recommend registering in advance online.

Our MOPS group is planning a way to give back to our local community! First Choice Pregnancy Solutions is a local clinic that provides support for mothers with unplanned pregnancies. They offer consultations to provide up-to-date, accurate information so mothers can make well informed decisions about their pregnancies. We will be preparing small spa gift bags to be handed out to these mothers during their first intake appointment to help relieve some of the stress they may be feeling. The clinic hands out around 100 of these bags per month, so these will be a great benefit to them!

Please sign up at  http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d48aaad2ca13-first with the items you plan to bring based on the list provided below. We will use all items to create as many gift bags as possible. Please bring your items to the April 12th meeting, but if you are unable to attend you can drop them off at our next March meeting.

Although you can join at any time, the next cycle of Crossroads' GriefShare ministry is beginning this Thursday, March 10th.  It is a 13-week Biblically-based and Christ-centered support group program for anyone who has lost a loved one due to death.

Available support groups are:

• Miscarriage, Stillborn and loss of children under the age of 5

• Those who have lost a sibling, parent, grandchild or friend

• Widow's group

• Men's group

• Parent who has lost a child

• Survivor of suicide

• Multiple Loss group

• Post Abortion Care Group

• Bait of Satan (Anger, Hurt, & Forgiveness) - Cost is $25

• New Directions Bible Study(Widow/Widower seeking God's plan for their lives) - Cost is $20

For more info, visit http://crossroads.org/grief.  You can also email Kristen Cook at kristen.b.cook@gmail.com or call 919.981.0222 x418 for confidential voicemail.

 Mark your calendars for our group-wide play date on March 29th! Time and location will be announced soon!

Have you loved attending MOPS this year? Consider serving on our leadership team which includes everything it takes to keep our group running smoothly! More info will be coming soon about ways to get involved!

Join us on March 22nd for our next MOPS meeting!

Bethany's small group is responsible for bringing brunch, so make sure you signup with what you will be bringing HERE!

We will also be hearing from Leah Dail, Master Gardener, about gardening with kids! With Spring time arriving this should give you lots of ideas on how to get your kids outdoors and involved in planting some yummy treats or beautiful flowers! 

February 23rd Meeting - Healthy Snacks for Children

Zeina Hamra from Healthy Diets Inc. spoke this week about healthy lunch box and snack ideas for our little ones. Zeina is a Registered Dietitian who has been working in the field of nutrition for over six years. She works with clients of all ages to working with clients to form a healthy relationship with food, specializing in binge eating disorder, emotional eating and restrictive eating disorders.  




We were able to have an open question and answer session about any food concerns us moms have. Below are the handouts we received that contain lots of great tips for serving healthy meals at your home!

You can contact Zeina or book a consultation at her website.

H&A Automotive Inc. was our sponsor this week and graciously donated a free oil change that was given away in our raffle! Jamie Worrell, one of the co-owners, is a Crossroads Fellowship member. Make sure to stop by for any of your automotive needs!

At our meeting this week we made adorable glass pendant necklaces! Allison, Bethany, Danielle, and Jackie's group were able to make the craft this week and everyone else will be able to at our next meeting!

The Crossroads Missions Thrift store will now be open on Tuesday's so you can shop while you MOPS! New hours start March 8th and they will be open from 9am to 5pm.

The Good2Grow Consignment sale is coming up March 11-13th so don't forget to go use the coupon you got at today's meeting!

A big THANK YOU to everyone who paid their dues today! Email notifications will be going out this week to those who still have yet to do so. Thank you for helping us stay on budget this year!

Allison's small group will be responsible for bringing brunch. Please sign up HERE to specify what items you will be bringing!

Our speaker next time will be Ashlee Stowe with NC Planning. She will be sharing information about will and legal planning for families so you won't want to miss it!

February 9th Meeting - Intimacy within your Marriage!

We're so glad to be back at MOPS after our snow day last time! This week's focus was all about love and marriage, which was perfectly appropriate for the holiday coming up! Happy Valentine's Day!

We had a great time with Jeremiah and Brooke Powers this morning, who spoke on sex and intimacy within your marriage. They had the following list of tips to help rekindle the romance with your husband.

1. Read a sex and intimacy book together once a year. Check out some of their favorites at their website.
2. Get a babysitter co-op together so you can go on a date with your spouse. Try for twice a month!
3. Talk with your spouse about sex and schedule that time together
4. Take advantage of your children's nap time twice a week instead of waiting for bedtime.
5. Take showers together.
6. Greet each other at the door with a kiss and a hug
7. Couch time - sit together and have dedicated conversation together for a few minutes each day. Train the kids to expect that this is time to focus on mommy and daddy. They can sit with you but they are not the priority.
8. Reverse the door knob on your kids bedroom if needed.
9. Request a marriage mentor and get a "check up" once a year.

Brooke and Jeremiah are the founders of Center Peace Inc., an organization that offers marriage mentoring and classes to strengthen marriages and families. If you are interested in counseling or taking a class with your spouse check out their website at http://centerpeacefarms.org/

If you could use some more guidance within your marriage or family, Crossroads Fellowship has a free upcoming Family Dynamics workshop on February 22nd from 7-8:30pm. Childcare is provided for children under 10.

Topics include:

• Getting your kids to listen without nagging, yelling, or punishing
• Essential Communication and Constructive Conflict

You can get more information at http://crossroads.org/family-dynamics and see more workshops scheduled for later this year!

Our sponsor this week was Alison Draper with YogaHappy, a yoga studio for children! They use songs, games, crafts, stories, imaginative play, creative movement, and more to teach children yoga in a fun and interactive way! Classes are offered through the town of Wake Forest and the town of Rolesville. Private group classes are also available. Age groups include 2-5 year olds, 4-7 year olds, and 7-10 year olds.

A Free trial class is offered through the town of wake forest on February 29th at 4:30pm for 4-10 year olds and March 3rd at 10am for 2-5 year olds.

Sarah's group will be responsible for bringing brunch next time. Please sign up HERE to specify what items you will be bringing! Remember that each group is scheduled to bring brunch three times this year!

Zeina Hamra with Healthy Diets Inc. will be speaking next time and will give us some great nutrition information for feeding our kids the best food we can! She is a registered dietician who spoke with us last year and we will have an opportunity for questions at the end! Hope to see you there!