MOPS Helps with Meals

Our MOPS group has a Meals Coordinator!
Teresa Hodges is excited to take on this role and direct our group with the meals. Our hope is that when you have family emergencies (death, illness, hospitalization, etc) or family celebrations (adding a new little one to your family) that you will contact us and we can take care of some meals for the person/family in need. For those of us that have received the gift of meals in the past, it is truly a great thing to have that element cared for.

Our MOPS community wants to care for one another and this is a tangible way for us to do it!

Here is an example: Teresa will hear of Sally's need via phone call/email from Amanda. Teresa will contact Sally and get some basic information. Teresa will send an email to our MOPS at Real Life moms with the specific dates of meals that were requested by Sally. MOPS moms will reply to the email if they can help Sally and her family. Teresa will confirm via email which meals are taken care of and will let Sally know that help is on the way! You can contact mopsatreallife@yahoo(dot)com to receive some help with meals.

Orlando Science Center Museum Admission

FYI:  Smithsonian Museum Day is this Saturday! And the Orlando Science Center is on the list of participating museums.  The pass is only good for this Saturday, so go ahead and use it! 

Click here for complete details from Smithsonian Magazine.

Central Florida Kidfest & Family Expo

'Tis the season for Fall Festivals!  This one is in Clermont, at Celebration of Praise.

Central Floriday Kidfest & Family Expo

Saturday, September 27th from 9am-2pm.

Lots of exhibits and professionals to see and experience.  Have a blast!

Free admission with lots of fun events for the kids: animal petting area, inflatable games, and live shows.

Just another fun opportunity here in Clermont!

Child Safety Program

I know this is short notice but I wanted to share with all of you just incase you can make it!
Saturday September 20th 9:30-2:00pm at Ford of Clermont
Free Child Safety Program: Free Fingerprints, Free Digital Photo of your child, Free Child Safety Journal and Free DNA ID Kit.
The event sponsors keeps no record on file all info is given to the parent.
It is Endorsed by John Walsh
I hope you can make it!

Sept 16th Meeting Recap

Lots of things to celebrate as I look back on this meeting.  We had a wonderful group of 11 new moms attend for the first time this year.  It was really exciting to have so many new faces.  

I am also encouraged that a lot of you girls came back.  It is so refreshing to see your familiar faces and remember your names.  My heart just wells up with excitement for this year.  The relationships that are being established, the fun that we'll have together, and the heart-changing moments that will occur.  We are in for a ride... maybe a roller coaster, or maybe down a lazy river as we just relax and enjoy the meetings.

We made piggy banks to collect our change for our local Teen MOPS group at FUMC.  What a blessing that we will be able to support them around the holidays with a little something extra that the moms wouldn't normally do for themselves.

Today's meeting really set the stage for what we will be talking about over the next 8 months... looking into topics such as: identity, help, hope, growth, perspective.  It's going to be a great for us to look at each of these topics as they apply to ourselves as a mom, a woman, and in our other roles that we take on each day.

I look forward to seeing you at our next meeting, October 7.  Same time, same place!

Little Ears Expo

Here is another opportunity to get out of the house and attend an event designed for families with small children....it's the Z88.3 Little Ears Expo.

DATE: Saturday, September 20, 2008

TIME: 10am - 4pm

LOCATION: Faith Hall at First Baptist Church of Orlando

COST: Free!

A MOPS International booth will be at this event, so be sure to stop by and say hi to those ladies!

There are over 40 booths, so be sure to check it out!

Consignment Sales Ahead

Hey ladies!
I have been informed that there are two huge consignment sales coming up! Both of these events are open to the public, so if you are interested in some great deals on anything baby, this is the time to shop. I believe that both events are cash only.

1. www.TheSaleBoat.com : Saturday, September 27th from 7am-1pm at St. Vincent's Academy/Cathedral of the Incarnation. They are located in College Park, 1505 Edgewater Drive. You can shop, or if you are interested, you can consign. Visit the website for more info.
2. www.GOMOTT.org : Saturday, October 4th from 8am - noon at First Christian Church, 2565 East Kaley Avenue, Orlando, 32806. Admission is $1, and some proceeds with benefit the Ronald McDonald House.
   

A First

**UPDATED 9/9/08**
The weekend away in Las Vegas was great! The conference was incredible...I'm sure that I'll share some of what I learned as the months go on.

Being away was great for both of us. I came back to a little girl that was happy to see me. Even better, she's quite attached to her Daddy now. :) It's a great thing to be away, miss your family, and then be reunited with them.

We've enjoyed lots of silly moments since I returned on Sunday night. She greets Daddy with a little dance now, and asks for him with a huge grin while he's at work.

I'm so glad that I took a step towards something new, and it turned out so well. I know that God's hand was in it through each day, hour, minute that we were apart.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am sitting on pins and needles! My mom and I are leaving, this morning, for a 3 day/2 night trip, just us. Yes, that means that this Mommy will be leaving my precious little girl home with Daddy.

That may not be a big deal to some of you, but this is a first for me. I have not spent the night away from her - EVER. She is turning 20 months this weekend, so I know that we will both survive. My heart is still struggling to stay calm, knowing that we will be apart for 3 days.

This is the first of many adventures for this year for our family, and I'll keep you posted how this one turns out......

Meet the MOPPETS Care Team

MOPPETS Coordinator
Janna Bartoli

MOPPETS workers

Mrs. Vicky Rector
Mrs. AnneMarie Mydlo
Katie Wickham
Sarah Wickham
Simone Lunday
Becca Sparks
Hunter White
Easton White

Moppets at MOPS

I forgot something in my last post about the MOPS meeting. Another great thing about MOPS is the Moppet Leaders, these are the people who take great care of our children during the meetings. The child care is provided so all moms can come and join the fun without the kids. We really do need this time alone to be better moms and that is one reason why we have the Moppets child care.
All of the Moppet Leaders did an amazing job this week and I just wanted to thank you for all of your hard work (especially if you had my son Drake). Your love and patience's with our children will go a long ways, thanks again.

Amazing First Meeting

Our first MOPS Meeting of the year and it was great! We started with good food which is a must. We saw a lot of new face with tons of new stories to share. We made name tags and decorated our journal for the craft of the day. We had our discussion time which gave us a chance to get to know one another. It was great talking to the other moms and just knowing I am not alone on my adventure. I was given some advice on things I as a mom have struggled with and had the opportunity to give advice to other moms who where struggling. This meeting was a nice stepping stone for our future meetings. We are going to have an amazing year at MOPS, just wait and see!
If you didn't have a chance to join us, we hope to see at our next meeting, September 16th 9:30-11:30.