Merry & Bright: What to Expect at our Christmas Meeting!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at MOPS!  Our next meeting is a BIG one, so let's jump right in!

Thank Yous for Moppettes Workers

We'd love to encourage everyone to bring a little thank you rememberance for your child's Moppettes teachers.  It doesn't have to be big!  Just a note would be appreciated.  To make it a little easier, we've got a list of our Moppettes workers names by room:

• Dolphins: Tammi and Eli
• Kangaroos: Rebecca, Zach and Charlie
• Lady Bugs: Danielle, Rosalie, Dana
• Caterpillars: Joanna, Ellen
• Turtles: Dorianne, Alejandra, Loni
• Bunnies: Holly, DeAnna, Anna

Gingerbread House Competition

Our annual gingerbread house competition is this meeting! Steering will provide the gingerbread house kits, but you need to bring all the extra candy, frosting, and decorations you'll need to make your house the most amazing!

Watch for an email from your DGL to coordinate what you should bring. FCC staff members will be our "celebrity" judges—and, oh yes! There will be prizes!

What to Expect:

It's going to be a BUSY meeting!  We'll be doing a fun craft, the mommy and kiddo book exchange (see below!) and the gingerbread house competition! Some moms like to bring gifts for everyone at their table, but it's certainly not required.  Be sure to check out the Don't Forget list below to make sure you're ready for the FUN!

Don't Forget:

• Bring one grown-up book and one kid book (gently used is fine!) for our book exchange.
• Bring your supplies for the gingerbread house.
• Bring a little thank you note for your Moppetts workers.
• Food tables for this week are White, Blue, and Green.

Photo Credit: Wendy Copley via Compfight cc

Successful Operation!

Ladies, I can't tell you how much it warmed my heart to see all those Operation Christmas Child boxes lined up after our meeting today!  I'm sure Kendra will have an official count, but I counted 23 boxes after our meeting.

That's 23 little souls who will know someone loves them this Christmas.  (I am getting all verklempt just thinking about it!)

And, not to brag or anything, but SEVEN of those boxes came from the amazing ladies at the orange table! We just had too much love to contain in two boxes.  ;)  

ALSO!  You can click here to download the amazing resources from Jennifer, our amazing Frugal Family Fun speaker today! Leave me a comment if you have any troubles downloading.

Have a happy Thanksgiving!  And we'll see you in December.

Frugal Family Fun at our Nov. 12 Meeting!

I don't know about you, but I am ALWAYS looking for fun, inexpensive things to do with my family—especially with the holidays coming up and expecting extended family in town!

At our next meeting, our speaker will be giving us tons of ideas for frugal family fun in and around Arvada—and I hear she brings handouts with the full list! :)

What to Expect:

In addition to our speaker, we'll be putting together our Operation Christmas Child boxes—look for an email from your DGL this week about what to bring!  We'll also be talking about our super fun Christmas party meeting, with a gingerbread house competition and a book exchange! You don't want to miss it.

Don't Forget:

• Session dues are due this week, so bring your checkbook.
• Bring your contributions for your table's Operation Christmas Child box.
• Our food tables this week are pink, yellow, and purple.

 Photo Credit: kenteegardin via Compfight cc

White Table Playdate

Brooke took some cutie-pie photos of the white table's play date yesterday!

If you take photos of a playdate, meeting, or event and want to share them, please send them to mopsatfoothills@gmail.com!

What a Blast!

We've been having a BLAST this month at MOPS!

Big thanks to our fundraising maven, Emily, who pulled off a HUGE October Blast! We earned more than $400!

We had a great time helping decorate and package all the AMAZING treats our moms donated. Emily was pretty brave to have all that frosting and all those kids in her house at once!

And thanks to all the cuties who showed up to Trunk or Treat!

From my little monster to yours, Happy Halloween!!

Inspired Family Health at our Oct. 22 Meeting

Whew! Does anyone else feel like you're playing catch-up ALL THE TIME this time of year?? (Could be why this blog is almost a week late—better late than never, right?!?)

At our next meeting, Kristi Raisch of Inspired Family Health will be sharing some of her best family health strategies with us. Kristi is a Holistic Health Coach and works with women and families to find the food and lifestyle choices that best suit them. You can visit Kristi's website and like her on Facebook for more information!

What to Expect:

This week we'll be talking about family health with Kristi Raisch, raffling off some great prizes and planning for our Operation Christmas Child winter service project.

Don't Forget:

• Butter Braid collection forms are due at this meeting! Don't miss out on having a few of these tucked away in your freezer for easy entertaining.
• Blue, Green and Orange tables are bringing food for this meeting, and Yellow will be cleaning up.
• Don't forget: the FCC Trunk-or-Treat is Oct. 25, and MOPS will be having a bake sale! Emily Klopstein, our Fundraising Diva, will be having a decorating play date at her house on Thurs., Oct. 24 to get ready. Talk to Emily about donating baked goodies or coming to the play date!
• Our next all-MOPS play date is Nov. 4 at Little Monkey Bizness.
• Has your table had a play date this month? Talk to your DGL about getting one together!

See you on Tuesday!

Sign Up for Fall Photos at our Next MOPS Meeting!

Our Oct. 8, 2013 meeting is going to be CHOCK-A-BLOCK full of cool stuff you don't want to miss! Here's the rundown:

What to Expect:

It's our Fall Craft Day, and we'll be making something fabulously crafty from our Craft Maven, Erin! She'll also have the supplies to make diaper bag tags again if you didn't get to make one last time, or if you'd like to make one for a second kiddo.

We'll also be talking about that terrible "compare and despair" game we all play as moms—and how to overcome it!

Don't Forget:

• It's Fall Photo Signup day! Check out the gorgeous images from our photographer in the slideshow above. This year we will have two locations, so even if you've done fall photos before and were hoping for a different look, we've got you covered. Be sure to bring your calendar and your checkbook if you want to sign up—the slots go super fast! Fall photos cost $50, and fully half of that goes to support MOPS. It's an amazing deal all around.
• If you haven't paid your dues or turned in your paperwork, be sure to see Brooke at this meeting. She'll be at the welcome table before we start.
• Have you sold any Butter Braids yet? Orders will be due at our next meeting, Oct. 22.
• Our food tables for this week are Yellow, Purple, and Pink and our cleanup table is Blue!

See you there!

I'm a MESS, but God says I'm beautiful. So what does that make me?

This year's MOPS theme is "A Beautiful Mess" and local speaker Evie Webb is going to dive right into the mess with her talk, "I'm a MESS, but God says I'm beautiful. So what does that make me?"

Don't miss her at our Sept. 24th meeting!

What to Expect at our Sept. 24, 2013 Meeting

We'll be getting our table assignments for the year, which means finding out who you'll be sitting and sharing with this year! 

In addition to hearing from Evie, we'll be making decorations for our tables as a wonderful ice breaker craft.

Also, Emily, our Fundraising Coordinator, will be telling us all about our Butter Braids fundraiser! These sweet yeasted pastries are a little like a Danish in loaf form—totally nom-able! Plus, they come frozen, so you can stock up and have them ready to pull out at a moment's notice for unexpected guests or even Christmas morning!  Take a little sneak peak on their website. They'll be ready for pickup Nov. 12—in plenty of time for the holidays.

Don't Forget:

• Moppets drop-off starts at 9:15, so get there a little early if you can to be sure you're in the main meeting room by 9:30.
• If you didn't pay your dues last time, you'll want to be sure to bring your checkbook or credit card and get with our Finance Coordinator, Brooke to make sure you're all paid up.
• Fall Photo dates are set for Oct. 18, 19, and 20, so mark those dates on your calendar!  Fall photo signup will be at our Oct. 8th meeting.

Can't wait to see you at MOPS!

Embrace Your Beautiful Mess–Starting Sept. 10!

Our theme this year: A Beautiful Mess

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Verse: Ephesians 2:10 (New Living Translation)

Moms live in messes. The toys, crumbs, and spit-up are their natural surroundings. Moms often feel like a mess. They are exhausted, under-showered, and hormonal. Their past and present circumstances and decisions can leave them feeling inadequate for God’s love and purposes.

A Beautiful Mess reminds moms that beauty can come out of their difficult spots. The grime of mothering young children brings the beauty of motherhood. The bruises of life can bring God’s redemption.

Embrace Your Story reminds moms that their past, present and future can be used for good. God knows where each of us has been, where we are today and has set in motion where we are headed.

What to expect at our first meeting:

• Meet our amazing new Coordinator, Jessica Fitzgerald!
• Hear an inspiring message from "veteran" MOPS mom, Brittany Heckenberg.
• Learn more about your new steering committee and how MOPS works.
• Make some SUPER cute diaper bag tags with our craft coordinator, Erin Van Gieson.
• Meet all of the MOPS steering committee members as we rotate from table to table—ask us anything!
• Fill out registration paperwork (if there's time).

What to do now:

• If you already know you want to be a part of our amazing year at MOPS, head on over to the MOPS International website and register. (That's just one less piece of paper you'll have to fill out on Tuesday!)
• If you'd like to try us out, no worries! Bring you and your kiddo(s) on Sept. 10 and see what we're all about.
• Subscribe to our calendar. If you use a digital calendar (like Google calendar or iCal) that uses the iCal format, click this link to subscribe to our calendar.
• And if you haven't already, like us on Facebook, because you don't want to miss a thing!

Will we see you there? Leave us a comment below and say, "I'm IN!"

Volunteers needed for MOPPETS!

The Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) program at FCC will begin its Fall session in September!

MOPS gives young moms a chance to recharge and get connected to each other and to Jesus. One of the ways these moms recharge is to have some time to connect with other moms…without their kids. 

We’re looking for 7–10 people to serve with the MOPPETS program for the children of MOPS moms. There are several paid positions. We also appreciate volunteers!  

MOPS meets on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month from 9:00–11:30AM, on the church campus. Interested? Contact Lisa at mopsatfoothills@gmail.com.

Registration Open for next year

Registration for the 2013-2014 year is open! It is currently at a discounted rate ($21.95) through the end of May. You can register for the upcoming year at the MOPS.org site. If you do register, please send us an email at mopsatfoothills@gmail.com so we can be sure to add your membership to our specific MOPS group.

Summer Bucket List Ideas

Here is the list of ideas for our Summer Bucket List craft from the last meeting.

• Paint with colored ice cubes
• Go to the zoo
• Take a hike with the kids
• Get out all things bubbles
• Paint a picture
• Watch a favorite movie from when you were a kid
• Sprinkler fun
• Shaving cream painting
• Find a Pinterest project
• Have a dance party
• Grab some books and read outside on a blanket
• Picnic lunch in the backyard
• Plant a flower
• Make ice cream
• Get ice cream
• Freeze toys in ice
• Explore ice and water
• Put washable paint in squirt bottles and spray a picture outside
• Play "Red Light, Green Light"
• Make your own "Get Up and Move" Dice game (make a cube with activities on each side and have kids throw)
• Setup an obstacle course outside
• Make a sand castle
• Go on a scavenger hunt for nature items
• Catch a bug
• Feed the ducks
• Have your child make a story with pictures and then tell you what to write
• Read a book and find a matching craft
• Water balloon fight
• Play Bingo
• Star gaze
• Start a collection
• Setup HotWheels races in the driveway
• Have a game day/night
• Put-Put Golf
• Make your own pizzas
• "Minute to Win it" Games
• Pick berries
• Have kids create a "My Favorites" scrapbook page and frame it with pics from that day
• Make Playdough
• Plant a garden
• Camp in the backyard
• Make s'mores
• Jump on a trampoline
• Go to a farmers market
• Go fishing

For more ideas, Pinterest has a lot of inspiration! 

Activities for Lent / Easter

Today, Janna Widdifield will be speaking to our MOPS group about ideas that we can use with our kids to make Lent / Easter a big deal in a fun and relatable way.

Here are some of the resources shared:

• Palm Sunday Coloring Sheet
• He Is Risen Rolls Tutorial
• Robin's Egg Nest Tutorial 
• Hosanna Palm Tutorial  
• Hill of Calvary Tutorial
• Link to Janna's Easter Page (which contains more Easter and Lent ideas)

Arvada Preschool Fair

Looking for a preschool?

The Apex Parks and Recreation District is having a FREE Preschool Fair on Wednesday, February 6th.

Date: Wednesday, Feb 6th
Time: 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Location: Secrest Youth and Teen Center at 6820 W. 66th Ave (66th and Pierce)

According to the Apex website, "Staff from area preschools will be on hand to talk to you and provide information on their facilities and programs. Get all your questions answered in one place, talk to other parents and prepare for a successful preschool experience!"

For more information call 303-403-2555 or email lainad@apexprd.org.

Thanks you, Brooke, for the heads up on this.