January 27 Meeting - Game Day

Last week we had a fun social day where we played board games (Sentenced and Apples to Apples, specifically). It was a great way to spend a few hours with friends.

Things we learned:

1. Some of us are pretty competitive. I won't mention names, but you know who you are!

2. Some of us are pretty good at making disjointed sentences seem plausible...others are not. :)

3. We will miss our friend Katie S., as she is moving back to England. However, she is returning home and is looking forward to it, so cheerio, Katie! Best of luck. It was terrific having you at MOPS.

January 13th Meeting - Financially Responsible Kids

Our 2011 spring semester is off and running! At our January 13th meeting we had the privilege of having a financial planner - a member of New Life and a father of two girls - speak to us about raising financially responsible children. He emphasized that, as Christians, we have the great responsibility to teach our children how to approach money management in accordance with God's word, not just the latest financial trends.

Key Take-Aways:

1. Raising financial responsible children starts with responsible parents. Get your own finances in order to set the best example for your children.

2. The power of the compounding dollar. In a nutshell, putting a little money aside early on will net you greater savings in the long run that saving more money for more years later on. There is a financial formula that can give you specifics, but teaching your older children about this is very important.

3. Give your children opportunities to earn, manage and grow money early in their life. Geared for their specific age(s), teaching them about money - and allowing them to fail, which they certainly will - prepares them to handle larger amounts of money as young adults. Our speaker's daughters have savings and investment accounts and even have the opportunity to borrow on credit from their dad (at a high interest rate, no less). They are only in late elementary school. Think of how prepared they'll be when they go off to college or start their first job!

5. If you have to choose between funding your own retirement, or your child's college fund, choose your retirement. There are many options when it comes to paying for college, but there is only one way to fund your retirement: save money now. See #2 above.

It's Been a Long Time....

Yikes! I haven't posted a single thing since I've been the Coordinator. Tsk. Tsk. :)

With this in mind, I'll start by providing an update on what's been happening this year:

Our fall semester is always a short one due to the holidays, but we made good use of our time together with interesting speakers (Spiritual Gifts, Once-A-Month Cooking, Secrets to a Stress-Free Life/Nutrition) and a new format. We brought back our devotional and spend quality time each week discussing our spiritual lives with each other. I've really enjoyed getting to know fellow MOPS moms in a more personal way, not to mention all the practical advice I've collected, as a result.

In addition to our regular speakers, we had our first Day of Service where we gave a little back to our community. This year we chose to support KidsLink Downrange, a MOPS sponsored charity that provides holiday card packages to military children with parent(s) stationed overseas. We had a fun time creating cards and preparing the packages.

Next semester will be here before we know it, so please put our meeting dates in your calendar. They will be posted soon on the right.

As usual, if you have any questions, suggestions or comments, please email us at mopslakeview@hotmail.com. I've made a goal to post more frequently, so visit us again soon!

MOPS is out for Summer

Hey everyone,
I know I haven't posted in a while..life has been busy. MOPS Lakeview is on break for the summer! We'll join back in September for our regular meetings.
In the mean time, we'll have a playdate the last Thursday of each month June-August. Be on the lookout for details!
Thanks & God bless!

Children & Nutrition - 2/11

Good day, ladies!

I hope everyone was prepared for all the snow we recieved last night. I must admit it's nice to look out my window and see a pretty, white world.

Just wanted to let you know that we have MOPS this Thursday! We have a guest speaker joining us from Swedish Covenant Hospital. One of their professional dieticians will be coming to speak with us about Children & Nutrition - and I'm sure several key items about nutrition for us moms as well.

I'm looking forward to hearing what she has to say on the topic.

That's it for now. We'll see everyone Thursday morning. God bless and have a great day!

Welcome to the New Year!

Welcome to 2010 and a new semester at MOPS!

We begin our regular meetings this Thursday, Jan. 14th. Same place, same time. (New Life Lakeview @ 9:30am)

This week we have Justin (one of our fabulous mommas) speaking to us on organizing all the paper clutter we have around our homes. I definately need to hear this topic.

I hope everyone had a fantastic holidays. We've missed seeing everyone. (I can't believe it's been over a month since our last MOPS meeting!)

Stay warm, stay healthy, and God bless you!

MOPS Christmas Party

Hello Ladies!

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving!

I just wanted to let everyone know what's going on with our Christmas Party next Thursday, the 10th.

We will be having a Christmas Gift Exchange. Bring a gift valued between $5-$10 (no gag gifts, please). We will draw numbers and have a "stealing limit" on the gifts...so don't become too attached to what you get ;o)

We will also have a Cookie Exchange! This is optional, but if you don't bring cookies, you probably won't get any to take home :o) We ask that anyone wanting to participate bring 3 dozen cookies. **Please don't wrap or package cookies as we will be dividing them up onto trays to send home with you. If you aren't a baker or just don't have time in the end...store bought cookies are welcomed in the exchange.

Other than the Gift & Cookie Exchange, plan on enjoying some time chatting and snacking with the other mommas. Feel free to invite friends along for the fun!

Look forward to seeing everyone next week! God bless and have a great rest of your week!