Jump start summer!

Hello all MOPS friends!

With the start of summer, you are usually trying to find things for your children to do to keep busy.  Most activities have ended for the year and you find yourself trying to placate the "I'm bored" chanting with various things - treats, outdoor activities, television, etc. 

However, there is happy news!  Our MOPS group has activities planned for the summer.  I know that it is wonderful to keep the children busy.  Yet, we also know that it is just as important to get together as moms and just have fellowship together.

Here is what we have planned for June:

June 12th (Tuesday) at 9:30 am - Swim and picnic fun at Lake Hall in Maclay Gardens State Park

June 23rd (Saturday) at 4:00 pm - Moms Night Out - shopping and dinner in Havana

June 25th (Monday) - Park playdate at Winthrop Park and lunch at Chick-fil-a

There will be more details posted as we near each event, so please stay tuned to the blog.

Tomorrow there will be further information regarding our play date on Tuesday - cost, location, etc.  So, be sure to enter your email in the "follow by email" portion on the bottom right of your screen!  This will send you an email to let you know when a post has been made.  :)

I sincerely hope that you will join us as we jump start the summer with some fun activities.

See you soon!

2012-2013 Plunge Theme

Theme Verse:

1 Peter 4:8-11 (NIV)

Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless-cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God's words; if help, let it be God's hearty help. That way, God's bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he'll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything-encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!

November Meeting Re-Cap and Cookie Exchange!

Our November MOPS meeting topic was "Making MOMSENSE out of Advent-Keeping God Numero Uno in our Lives".  Dawson McQuaig, Associate Pastor at Bradfordville First Baptist Church spoke to us about family traditions for Advent, and preparing for Jesus' arrival with our families.  One of his great suggestions was "The Three Trees: Storybook Advent Singles", which is the perfect Easter or Christmas story.  Three Trees is inspired and adapted from a folktale. The Three Trees teaches us the wisdom of letting God determine our destiny and how what can at first appear to be a defeat can quickly become the ultimate achievement when God works through you. It's about the gifts we receive and how often we don't realize blessings in disguise. 

We will be having a MOPS Cookie Exchange on Friday, December 2nd at 7:00 p.m. at Bradfordville First Baptist Church (in the MacMillan Center where we have our MOPS meetings).  Everyone should bring enough cookies to share at the meeting, and exchange.  We will hopefully all go home with some cookies to share with our families!  Please eat dinner first, but save room for dessert so you can try lots of yummy cookies!

Pumpkin Patch!

This past Thursday, we had a MOPS play date at the Faith Presbyterian Pumpkin Patch for a "Pumpkin Patch Tour".  The kids got to get their faces painted (or their hands) with different Halloween patterns, such as a black cat and a pumpkin.  After that, we went to the back of the Pumpkin Patch, where there was a little space set up for story time.  A very nice lady read three stories, one of which required some "help" from the audience with different movements.  The children really seemed to enjoy the stories.  Then, we got to see a real pumpkin vine, where a pretty yellow flower was growing that will eventually grow into a pumpkin! Each child who was there received a Halloween coloring page; a small pumpkin; and a pumpkin sticker.  

Spaghetti Dinner-November 2nd

Just a reminder that we are having a Spaghetti Dinner in the MacMillan Center of Bradfordville First Baptist Church this Wednesday, November 2nd to benefit our MOPS group.  If you are serving and/or bringing food, please get there at 4:00.  Please bring your food in a disposable dish for easier clean up.

Baby Shower for A Women's Pregnancy Center and Fall Craft!

Gifts for the Center!

 Our latest meeting on Tuesday, October 25th was a baby shower to benefit A Women's Pregnancy Center, which is a non-profit organization that provides free and confidential services to women and men facing possible unplanned pregnancy.  The Director (Jamie Brown) and Director of Client Services (Diane Donahue) came to speak to us about the Center, and showed us a short video of how the Center impacted the life of a woman who now works for them.  They were extremely grateful for all of the baby shower gifts, and told us ways that we could help the Center by volunteering.

Stacie did a great job with the Fall Craft-photo wreaths!  She had a table set up with all of the supplies, and was a huge help to everyone making them.  Everyone had a lot of fun making them, and I think they will be a great Christmas gift!

Selecting materials for the photo wreaths

Directors from A Women's Pregnancy Center

A Completed Photo Wreath!

Baby Talk!

Presentation by Cindy Strickland (A Moment Captured) and Preview of October 25th Meeting!

At today's MOPS meeting, we had a great presentation about photography by local photographer, Cindy Strickland.  Cindy Strickland has been photographing families, babies, children, brides, etc. for thirteen years.  She has two boys, and she used to be in MOPS when her boys were young, so she is familiar with the MOPS ministry.

She did a fabulous session on photography, complete with a beautiful slide show, and taught us the twelve elements of a successful art piece or image, as she presented examples of all of the elements.  She also gave us another handout of some general photography tips that I have been reading over, and am finding extremely helpful!

If you would like to see more of her work, you can find A Moment Captured on Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/AMCbyCS

or her website at:
http://www.amomentcaptured.com/

At our next MOPS meeting on Tuesday, October 25th we will be having a Baby Shower to benefit A Woman's Pregnancy Center.  We will have food, games, and a craft as we collect items to help out local families in need of support and encouragement as they welcome new lives into the world.  A Woman's Pregnancy Center is a non-profit organization that provides free and confidential services to women and men facing possible unplanned pregnancy, right here in Tallahassee!  You can find out more about it online here:
http://www.awpc.cc/

Remember to check your invitation for the Layette Gift List.  Everything on the list must be new, but the Center also welcomes gently used maternity clothing, baby clothes, baby furniture, and items that are appropriate for babies up to six months. Donation receipts are available to claim a charity tax deduction.

For the craft that we will be doing at the October 25th meeting, Stacie asks that we each bring seven 4x6 pictures.

Please remember that we need to be brainstorming about Fundraising ideas for our MOPS group.  We have scheduled a Spaghetti Dinner at Bradfordville First Baptist Church on Wednesday, November 2nd from 4-6, and a sign-up sheet was passed out for people to volunteer to bring spaghetti, sauce, brownies, and/or help serve the food.  If you weren't at the meeting, but would like to sign up to help, please send an email to mopsbfbc@gmail.com  Also, if you have a fundraising idea, please send an email to the same address just mentioned.