This is the Day that the Lord has made... for Mollie!

Today is Mollie's Birthday. Happy 30th Birthday. Oh, should I not have told that? :) Okay, then Happy "29th" Birthday. For those of you who do not know Mollie, she is our original Charter MOPS member. God placed her at Harbor and then placed MOPS on her heart. She was our first year Coordinator and still serves on the Steering Team.
We are a great Charter of MOPS moms, who would have never met if Mollie had not followed God's plan that he laid on her heart. So, since Mollie was turning the big 30, we decided a surprise party was in order. Kelly hosted us, our children and husbands (thanks Kelly). We arrived about 20 minutes before her, and hid in the hallway. When Kelly answered the door, we all jumped out and yelled "Surprise". She saw a few of our cars on the street, but she still seemed genuinely surprised. Everyone had a wonderful time! Mollie, we would not be here together if it was not for you! Happy Birthday, We all love you.

"This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

50's Diner

Tonight was so much fun!! We planned a dinner around the 1950's, with scarves around our necks or ponytails, jean cuffs rolled up, 50's music and "45" records decorating the table. We served hamburgers, hot dogs, and cheese fries and for dessert, root beer or coke floats.
Eleven moms and 10 children arrived early to cook and set up. Once again, Mrs. Debbie did another fantastic job with our decor! Many of the church members said they had a wonderful time and really enjoyed the ambiance and energy! I'm looking forward to the next one!

March 18th Meeting

Today we each got coupon organizers and then cut out coupons from store flyers, newspapers and printouts from websites. After a time of chatting and organizing, we moved onto an icebreaker. We had to write down 2 facts and 1 fictional statment about ourselves. Leslie read them and we had to guess which one was false. We definitely learned a lot more about each other! :)

Valentine's Meeting

Even though we started out a little snowy, most of the MOPS moms made it to our meeting. There was some delicious treats to eat, followed by a magnificent devotion! Our mentor Debbie and her husband Gregg shared the Love scriptures (1 Corinthians 13) in a very interesting way. He read each verse and she gave an example of what we as wives tend to do that don't fulfill those scriptures. It definitely hit home with all of us!
Next, we heard from Harbor's own pastor, Donald Shields. He shared the R's of relationships: Be Realistic, Be Righteous, Be Romantic, and Be Respectful. His beautiful wife came along and gave us the advice to keep making each other laugh. She has to have a sense of humor to have been married to Pastor Donald for 26 years!! What the pastor had to say was very relevant to us as wives and mothers, although, it would have been better if our husbands had been there with us.

Eleventh Meeting

We had a late start today, due to the school system's 2-hour delay. After a short time of chatting and eating, we had announcements, then moved into our speaker room for Leslie's devotion. Leslie showed the first video in the NOOMA series, called Rain. It's a powerful message about trusting God the Father through the storms in our life.
She introduced Dr. Ott, from the Children's Clinic. He spoke of his education and home life, then opened up the forum for questions. We covered topics like eczema, medicines, sun screens, ant bites, allergies vs. colds, and broken bones. He did a great job of answering our questions and putting some minds at ease.

Tenth Meeting - New Beginnings

Today was our first meeting of the new year. It was nice to be back and see everyone after the holidays.
We have a new coordinator, Lori, who did an outstanding job! After announcements, we set out on a spiritual journey. Each mom visited one of 4 rooms, labeled Mountaintops, Valleys, Doubts and Deserts. There were candles illuminating each room and soft music playing. We journaled a thank you letter to God, prayed, chose a scripture bookmark and chose a clay pot to remember that God is the potter and we are the clay. Afterwards, there was a nice time to chat and eat.
Next week is a Mom's Night Out. The girls are going bowling!!

Christmas Brunch

Our last meeting of the year was a brunch with lots of food and fun! Everyone brought a dish to share and there was lots of good food to eat! Casseroles, cheesecakes, chips, crackers and chocolate...YUM! Lori and Mrs. Sue did a marvelous job of decorating the tables. Mrs. Sue played the piano while we ate, and the Harbor staff joined us.
The Secret Sisters revealed themselves with some great presents. A few had their suspicions about who their secret sister had been all along and some were surprised.
We all pulled a number out of a basket and played "Dirty Santa" with $1 Christmas ornaments. There were a few that were hot items and passed through a few hands until they were retired.
Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a very terrific new year!