Hiland Park MOPS

Oct 22 Recap

noreply@blogger.com (Hiland Park MOPS) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 03:47:00 +0000

Alien Adventure: Growing with Extended Family!

Greetings Earthling Mothers – thank you for taking time out of your very busy schedule for yourself. We had a great morning with two new mothers visiting us, Donna and Barbara. We hope to see you back at our next meeting. A huge welcome to Robin Bennett who joined us for the first time at the Shooting Starlets table – we’re glad you’ve joined us on this journey.

Thank you to the ever beautiful Galaxy Girls to the Rescue table for a scrumpdelilicious and plentiful brunch. Jenn Adams’ glory-winning recipe for Hummingbird Cake is included below. But I also heard rave reviews on many of the other dishes too! The Luscious Lunas are our hostesses with the mostess next meeting and we look forward to their brunch offering.

At the end of brunch, Marin delivered her annual “Coupon Queen” address. The presentation and notes are included in this email. Another email with websites and other tips will be forwarded at a later time. We had such great conversation and idea sharing that we totally missed our “formal” icebreaker – the conversation really was good and flowing. Thanks to all you other smart mommas out there for sharing your ideas – let’s keep the chatter alive.

How timely was our DVD lesson in Growing with Extended Family – right before the holidays and all? Do you ever feel like that? Did your conversation enable you as a daughter/daughter-in-law, mom, wife and sister/sister-in-law to see that there may be somebody out there with a similar experience? This Planet Mom experience is starting to look a little more do-able when you have a buddy to walk along with you, isn’t it?

A huge thank you from the Steering Team for all the moms who stayed behind to help tidy up the Fellowship Hall – your help was a true blessing!

I am attaching an e-copy of the Newsletter for you to read at your leisure – enjoy! Let’s continue the fun on Tuesday at our Pumpkin Painting, Playground and Picnic Playdate at the Lynn Haven Community Center. In the remaining parts of this email I want to share some great books with you, some great crafts for Fall, concluding with a MOPS poem and a bunch of fun stuff in between – I hope you enjoy!

The journey continues at our next meeting, Thursday, November 12, 2009 entitled, Your Atmosphere: Protecting What is Important to You. We all have things we consider precious but how about those memories preserved on paper? Remember childcare opens at 8:45am and our meeting starts promptly at 9am.

At this meeting, we invite you to participate in several table-based competitions/discussions:
1) Bring in your Operation Christmas Child boxes – who will be the table to beat here? Don’t forget to include a check for the shipping charges or pay online.
2) Bring in your donations to our Annual Canned Food Drive – again this will be a table vs table competition! Good Luck Ladies!
3) Bring in your favorite picture (for discussion purposes only – this will not be used in a craft).

Let us know how you enjoyed the meeting and any ways we can meet your needs. We can always be reached at hilandparkmops@gmail.com.

May God bless you and your family as you continue on your journey!

Laugh. Love. Live.
Jenn Shaw

October 8th Meeting Recap

noreply@blogger.com (Hiland Park MOPS) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 04:24:00 +0000

WOW! What an energy-filled morning!!! Could you guys feel all the energy – even with this oppressive heat – I guess this is global warming – summer high temperatures in October. We beat the heat and had a grand time! Aren’t you glad you came to MOPS this morning?

Welcome to our new moms Candace and Amy and to their beautiful additions to our MOPPETS program. We are so thrilled you are here! We will welcome a new mom to the Shooting Starlets next meeting….stay tuned!

Thank you to the ever beautiful Total Eclipse of the Heart table for a wonderful brunch. Tonia’s recipe for Les Treches is included below. But I also heard rave reviews on many of the other dishes too! The Galaxy Girls to the Rescue have a high bar to beat next meeting but I think they are up to the challenge! One word – YUMMY! Did you enjoy eating and catching up with your tablemates?

At the end of brunch, Marin kicked off our Operation Christmas Child program. This program enables our group to reach into the global community and bless children less fortunate than ours with gifts they otherwise would not have. We will be collecting the OCC shoeboxes at our November 12th meeting so you have about a month to bargain shop for your boxes. I’m curious if anyone can fill a shoebox for below the Marin-average of $6.25? If you would like more information, please visit http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/index/.

How fantastic was our guest speaker Pamela Trumpeter – what a fighter and an inspiration! Her breast cancer battle mantra “You have to have humor” is also so easily applied to mothering, isn’t it? Please remember Pamela in your prayers and all the other victims of this vicious disease. An interesting paradox though when she said she was thankful for this disease as it led her to the discovery of the sweetness with God and Jesus.

We then started our wellness stations. Okay – other than Madeline – who else figured out they were wearing the wrong size bra? Enlightening wasn’t it? How about those massages --- thank you Back Connection (www.thebackconnection.com) for a wonderful massage surprise! Kathy and Laurie were also surprised by a free massage from The Back Connection. Also many thanks to Alicia and Pamela for sharing their words of wisdom and statistics with us and for Julie Barrentine for sharing the wonderful holistic secrets of Arbonne and the great $50 gift certificate won by Kris! Thanks again to Madeline for sharing the nutrition experience with us too!

Okay, the highlight of my morning honestly was those baskets! How wonderfully generous, creative and crafty are all of you?! All the baskets were collected by Alicia for the Strides against Breast Cancer Walk’s Silent Auction on Friday, September 16th. You are all absolutely amazing and your generosity is endless. Thank you for stepping up for such a wonderful cause! BRAVO! Please feel free to join our team, the Hiland Park MOPS Walkin’ Mommas and walk that 5k with some great women! Let’s not let Madeline walk alone!

A huge thank you from the Steering Team for all the moms who stayed behind to help tidy up the Fellowship Hall – your help was a true blessing!

I am attaching an e-copy of the Newsletter for you to read at your leisure – enjoy! Let’s continue the fun on Tuesday at our Mom’s Night Out --- Bunco for Breast Cancer hosted by Jennie and Jenn at Jenn's house. In the remaining parts of this email I want to share some great books with you, some great crafts for Fall, concluding with a MOPS poem and a bunch of fun stuff in between – I hope you enjoy!

The journey continues at our next meeting, Thursday, October 22, 2009 entitled, Alien Adventure: Growing with Extended Family. Who doesn’t have aliens in their closet? Remember childcare opens at 8:45am and our meeting starts promptly at 9am. This will be the last meeting you can buy your very own MOPS t-shirt!

Let us know how you enjoyed the meeting and any ways we can meet your needs. We can always be reached at hilandparkmops at gmail.com.

May God bless you and your family as you continue on your journey!

Galaxy Girls to the Rescue!

Luscious Lunas with their donated Abrakadoodle Basket! Thanks Erinn!

MOPS Convention Wrap-Up

noreply@blogger.com (Hiland Park MOPS) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 17:49:00 +0000

WOW!
We are so excited to share the blessings we shared these past three days we are literally writing this email in the car back to Panama City! So with much love, Team Convention 2009 including Madeline, Marin, Jenn and Jen want to share our story, our Wows, our Next Time I would and Random thoughts with you. Many of you lifted us up in prayer for safe journey and open hearts to receive the message we were intended to receive and we are all thankful for those prayers. Please continue to lift us up that we are able to share our excitement and our stories with you so you may be touched as we were.

Our Story
Bright and very early on Thursday morning four of your mommas loaded up their personal suitcases without diapers, bottles or fruit snacks and set off on a grand voyage. We arrived in Nashville mid-afternoon on Thursday, got our registrations squared away and visited the MOPS Resource Fair full of 80 moms-related exhibitors. WOW --- there is a serious market for moms and products to meet our needs. We enjoyed sharing stories over meals together, praying for open hearts to receive His message and even got in a little shopping at a REAL mall! We’re on our way home now and we can’t wait to hug our families and share the news with you. We encourage you to ask any of us about what we learned and about anything that is weighing on your hearts about Convention topics.

The following are some of each of our individual thoughts on the things that WOWed us, the Next Time I Would and Random Thoughts.

Our WOWs:
1. Jen had amazing bonding time with the other amazing MOPS mommas that embarked on the journey
2. Jen learned so many great things that can help me become a better mom and wife.
3. Jen thought Praising God for His blessing with 4,000+ other moms is amazing!
4. Jen was totally digging The Free Stuff!
5. Ken Davis Rocked the house --- Marin, Maddie and Jenn agree – I laughed until I cried!
6. Maddie, Jenn, and Marin agree the Music and Worship provided by Matthew West, Matt Redman and Christy Nockles was amazing and completely uplifiting.
7. Maddie received a much needed dose of time spent closer to God and being around others who had the same values
8. Maddie RAVED about the Speaking My Man’s Language workshop
9. Marin thought MOPS President Emeritus, Elisa Morgan, was a great and inspirational speaker
10. Marin enjoyed the Coach Mom Workshop – practical insights and tools for implementation
11. Jenn really enjoyed the Nurturing Emotional Safety in Kids and hopes to bring it to fruition in her own life

The Next Time I Would:
1. Jen wants to bring more Moms
2. Maddie and Marin agree to do more research on speakers and workshops
3. Marin and Jenn would research things to do outside the conference – like shows at the Grand Ole Opry (right around the corner)

Random Thoughts:
1. Jen thought the workshop choices appeal to everyone. I learned how to laugh more with my family, how to hear God’s voice, how to Parent with Grace and the Five Languages of Apology.
2. Jenn thought Tim and the kids really enjoyed some good quality time with each other but she sure did miss them!

If you at all feel called to share in the adventure any MOPS mom can – you DO NOT have to be a member of the Steering Team to share in this joyous occasion! We all want you to seriously consider joining us at Convention next year. Convention 2010 will be held August 5-7th at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, TN.

Live, Laugh, Love,

Jen, Madeline, Marin and Jenn (as pictured below)

The girls (minus Jenn acting as photographer) on the first day at the MOPS Resource Fair

Maddie gave birth to quadruplets at the Resource Fair --- she didn't even look pregnant!

Walkin' Mommas

noreply@blogger.com (Hiland Park MOPS) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 20:48:00 +0000

This year Madeline has signed up to walk in the American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer and is hoping you’ll walk with her. There are a lot of breast cancer events out there, but Making Strides speaks to me because funds raised enable the American Cancer Society to help people stay well and get well from breast cancer, find cures, and empower people to fight back today. With your help, we can save lives.

A note from Madeline....

If you’d like to join me at Making Strides, please visit Madeline's personal page. If you won’t be in town, I hope you’ll still support my efforts by making a donation of any amount you can spare.

Click here to visit Madeline Fulton's personal page.

Click here to view the team page for Walkin' Mommas

Click here to view the company page for Hiland Park MOPS

Meeting this Thursday Sep 24th!

noreply@blogger.com (Hiland Park MOPS) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 18:57:00 +0000

The planets will align when you
Meet Us at MOPS
On Thursday, September 24 for
Bridging the Continental Divide: Bridging Planet Me and Planet Mom
The meetings starts at 9 am,
With childcare opening at 8:45 am.

Get ready for another great meeting with yummy food and icebreakers. We will kick off our DVD curriculum with our DVD lesson in Bridging Planet Me and Planet Mom with time to discuss it with our tablemates as we all get to know each other better!

Please remember...
• The Caliente Comets will be providing brunch this week.
• To bring your ideas for your tables Breast Cancer Walk charity basket we will be making on October 8th. Table leaders will need to tell Leah so we make sure we have enough craft material.
• To bring your extra baskets for the October 8th craft and give them to Kellie this morning.

If you can't attend the meeting or need anything, please contact your table leader...

Our First Meeting

noreply@blogger.com (Hiland Park MOPS) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 22:20:00 +0000

Today was a lot of fun and what a blessing it was to have so many wonderful women in the same place at the same time with the same heart. As mothers it is hard to take time for ourselves and we are so glad you took the time to spend it with us.

We had a busy morning from eating some wonderful space food to chatting with our new tablemates to learning about each others favorite things and deciding on our tablenames to showing our crafty side by decorating our table boxes!

We're off to a great start -- here are a few pictures to remind you how fun and beautiful you all are! Have a blessed weekend and we'll see you at the playdate on Tuesday or at our next meeting on the 24th!

Our Curriculum

noreply@blogger.com (Hiland Park MOPS) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 02:49:00 +0000

During this upcoming MOPS year, we will explore how to thrive in relationships Together on Planet Mom. 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.

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 moms. The more we draw together in community, the better we are able to thrive as women and moms

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

Let the countdown begin…..

Planet Mom Fun Days

noreply@blogger.com (Hiland Park MOPS) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:31:00 +0000

This year on Planet Mom we have many fun activities to encounter. Building and sustaining relationships with various people in your life is what this year is all about so, let's make it happen! We hope to see you at all or many of the Fun Days listed below. Any questions, please email us at hilandparkmops@gmail.com

Mom's Night Out

September 29th - Dinner at Mori's @ 6:30
1818 W 23rd Street, Panama City, Florida 215-7300

October 13th - Progressive Dinner starting @ 6pm
All 3 locations in Lynn Haven TBA

November 17th - LBD (little black dress) Party

The Boatyard @ 7pm
Benefit for the fight against Breast Cancer

December 8th - Cookie Exchange at Pam's House @ 6:30

January 19th - Game Night/ Fondue Party at Tonia's House @ 6:30

February 22nd - Dinner at Olive Garden @ 6:30
2397 Highway 77

March 16th - Progessive Dinner starting @ 6pm
All 3 locations TBA

April 12th - Pottery Painting and Potluck at The Pottery Bar @ 6:30
521 Beckrich Rd, Panama City Beach 249-3800

May 6th - Dinner and Movie Night at Pier Park @ 6pm
Location and Movie TBD

Playdates

September 22nd - Pump it Up 10-11:30 am
239 W 15th Street 522-5867

$6 per bouncing child - bring socks

October 27th - Pumpkin Painting Lynn Haven Recreational Center @ 10am
off Hwy 390 at end of Hilltop Lane

November 16th - Playdate at Amy'sHouse @ 10am

December 1st - Table get Together
details to be decided by individual table

January 12th - Toddle Bowling at Rock-It-Lanes @10am
513 Beckrich Rd, Panama City Beach 249-2695

Feburary 4th - Playdate at the Fire Station in the Cove @ 9:30

March 17th - Table get Together
details to be decided by individual table

April 6th - Strawberry Picking at Sweatmore Ranch in Youngstown @ 9:30
11712 Veal Rd 722-4819

May 19th- Lunch n Play at Chick-Fil-A on 23rd Street @ 10:30

This is a tentative schedule. If there are any missing details, they will be determined at a later date. Some dates, times or events may change. All details will be confirmed in MOPS meetings and e-mails.

You are encouraged have Table gatherings outside of these group gatherings.

09-10 Meeting Dates

noreply@blogger.com (Hiland Park MOPS) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:45:00 +0000

We meet at Hiland Park Baptist Church, at 2611 Hwy 231, in Panama City, FL.

Our MOPS meetings for this year will be from 9-11:30am on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month. Our 09-10 meeting dates are listed below -- our discussion topics will be added to the calendar in a few weeks. Mark your calendars - we'll see you there!

September 10th ~ 3-2-1 Blast Off!: Welcome to MOPS!

September 24th ~ Bridging the Continental Divide: Bridging Planet Me & Planet Mom

October 8th ~ Beam Me Up Scotty: Take Care of You!

October 22nd ~ Alien Adventure: Growing with Extended Family

November 12th ~ Your Atmosphere: Protecting what is Important to You

December 10th ~ Whole World in His Hands: Make & Take Christmas Crafts

January 14th ~ Network of Stars: Building a Community of Friends

January 28th ~ In a Galaxy Far, Far Away: Traveling Tips and Mom Panel

February 11th ~ Yo Globa-Mama: Loving and Giving in Service

February 25th ~ Searching for Life on Other Planets: Reaching into Our Community

March 11th ~ Houston, We have a Problem: Navigating Unsafe Relationships

March 25th ~ We’re NOT Aliens: The Special Role of a Mom

April 22nd ~ Green Planet: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

May 13th ~ To Infinity and Beyond: Living Together with God

May 27th ~ Over the Moon: A Landing Celebration!

Coupon Trading

noreply@blogger.com (Hiland Park MOPS) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 03:43:00 +0000

Are you getting formula checks you can't use? Have Pampers coupons but prefer Huggies? Bring your unwanted, unused coupons to MOPS and donate them to our coupon trading box. In return, browse through other people's donations to see if there are coupons you can use. You can find the coupon box on the hospitality table. All coupons are welcome: grocery, baby, household, health & beauty, dining, etc. Now start saving some money!

What is MOPS?

noreply@blogger.com (Hiland Park MOPS) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 17:42:00 +0000

MOPS stands for Mothers of Preschoolers. MOPS exists to encourage, equip and develop every mother of preschooler (birth through kindergarten) to realize her potential as a woman, mother, and leader. These women come from different backgrounds and lifestyles; yet have similar needs and a shared desire to be the best mothers they can be! MOPS recognizes that the years from infancy through kindergarten are foundational in a mother-child relationship and are filled with unique needs.

What is MOPS about?

Celebrating motherhood
Meeting your needs
Making connections
Experiencing God’s love through trusted resources and relationships.

Who is it for?

Urban, suburban and rural moms
Stay-at-home and working moms
Teens, single and married moms

What does it do?

Offers support for those experiencing the same things
Provides a chance to meet new friends
Gives an opportunity to discover and cultivate leadership skills

MOPS is an international organization that began in 1973 with a group of 8 moms who had the desire to meet together for support and encouragement. Since that time, MOPS has grown, expanded, and developed into a ministry that reaches across the country and around the world. There are now nearly 4,000 MOPS groups worldwide! For more information about MOPS and MOPS International, please visit their website at http://www.mops.org/.

What is MOPPETS?

noreply@blogger.com (Hiland Park MOPS) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 17:23:00 +0000

MOPPETS is the childcare program for your children (ages newborn through kindergarten) to attend while you attend MOPS. Your children are precious to us at Hiland Park Baptist Church, and we count it a joy to care for them. They will enjoy a loving, clean, safe environment.

Children will be separated by ages in order to provide the safest environment, as well as one that best meets their needs. Hiland PArk provides childcare workers to oversee each of these classes. The ages may be adjusted, depending on the number of children registered in each class, in order to keep class sizes appropriate and manageable. The classes are:

Lambs, for our littlest ones (birth to ~8 mos)
Turtles, for our crawlers & cruisers (~8 mos to 1 1/2yrs)
Ducks, for our walkers (1 1/2-2 yrs)
Bunnies, for our new 2's (2 years)
Seahorses, for our 2-3 year olds
Dolphins, for our 3-4 year olds (must be potty trained)

Children in the Dolphins class must be completely potty-trained (no pull ups). There are no diaper changing facilities in this room.

Each class will have age appropriate activities. Activities may include: arts & crafts, indoor or outdoor playtime, snacks, Bible stories, music, videos and toys.

We encourage mothers to leave their children in MOPPETS, where they will be well cared for; however, if you feel more comfortable keeping your infant (0-6 mos) with you, you are welcome to do so. We appreciate your cooperation in making our meeting successful and fulfilling to the MOPS purpose.

We look forward to meeting your children and to the opportunity to care for them. We pray that they will be blessed by their time in MOPPETS.

Welcome to MOPS!

noreply@blogger.com (Hiland Park MOPS) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 17:21:00 +0000

We all know that mothering is HARD work. It is both challenging and rewarding, but it can also be very draining. Life is filled with seasons of change, & mothering is no different. At MOPS, you will find a lot of other women who are facing the same challenges that you face. Get ready to make lots of new friends, develop your talents, and expand your horizons. We’ve got a lot of exciting topics planned for discussion that will help each of us become better moms, & better leaders in our churches and communities.

We welcome any suggestions or ideas you might have to make this the best MOPS group possible. Our vision here at Hiland Park MOPS is to provide the encouragement, nurturing & support that you need as a mother to preschoolers. We have a terrific year planned, with out of this world meetings from September through May.

In this busy season of our lives, it’s so easy to feel insignificant, unrecognized & unimportant. As mothers of preschoolers, what we do each day sometimes seems so routine and mundane. We often question who we are as women & mothers, what our purpose is and if we really make a difference. We believe you will discover the answers to these questions and more as you become actively involved in MOPS. We hope that you’ll come to realize that each of us has been uniquely chosen to be the mother of our children, and what we are doing truly does make a difference.