Cookie Swap!

Who doesn't love a good cookie? This Friday, Dec. 11 we will be having a cookie swap at our Mom2Mom meeting. Bring 3 dozen cookies along with the recipe. You will take home a plate with an assortment of other's culinary delights! Get your glass of milk ready!

Cookbook coming soon!

I am pleased to announce that our Mom2Mom group will soon be publishing a cookbook that will be sold with all profits going to support this local Mom2Mom group. Here's how you can help . . . turn in your favorite recipes! Now, I've been to enough M2M meetings to know that we have some great cooks in our midst, and since I'm the one writing this, I'm going to take the liberty to make specific requests for some of the entries that I want in this cookbook. What about that ham and cheese breakfast casserole, those yummy cinnamon roll-up thingys (Catherine I'm sure you have a more eloquent name for them), the cinnamon pumpkin muffins as a start? You can submit your recipes by placing them in baskets located in either lobby of the church, or you can email them directly to erikaebel@yahoo.com. Also, if you remember a dish from some of our meetings that you think should be included in the cookbook, leave it in the comment section below and we will forward the request to the correct cook! As you can see, you wouldn't even have to know the correct name of the dish to do so! I hope you will all participate in this -- church cookbooks are always filled with wonderful, practical recipes and this could end up being an easy fundraiser that will help our group tremendously!

Rainy Day Reminder

I have to admit. I am a bit weary of the rain. Mainly because I can't just sit at home, curled up on the couch and enjoy it. Mainly because when I'm out, I haven't learned the perfect technique to holding an umbrella, a baby, and various other things in my hand. Mainly because I can't quite get the knack of buckling my child in his car seat, while balancing an umbrella to keep my backside dry. However, I'm holding out hope. Tomorrow, September 18 is our scheduled playdate with the monkeys at the zoo. (You can interpret that however you would like!) Unless it is coming a monsoon tomorrow, we are meeting at the entrance to the zoo at 10:00. Several of the moms have passes that can let in a guest so some may be able to take advantage of that! Keep your fingers crossed for some dry time at the zoo!

All this rain makes me wonder. What are you doing inside to keep the kids (and yourself) busy during the days of rain? Comment below, and your suggestion just might be what another mom needs to keep from going stir crazy! I recently heard the suggestion to show your kids the water pouring from the downspout when it rains (you know, the eency weency spider). Yesterday, my son noticed the water pouring from the downspout and pointed at it. I did take a moment to show him, I'm sure he would have loved to play in it, but I was just too wet at that moment. Oh well, perhaps we'll take advantage of another teachable moment at a drier moment.

Hoping to see you tomorrow at the zoo!

Mark your calendars!

Every mom needs a little time to play, so mark these dates down for fun with your kids, and other moms:

Mom's Night Out -- leave the kids at home (not alone, let's be responsible first!) bring your favorite appetizer or dessert and come hang out with other moms at Michelle's house -- Tuesday, September 15 at 6:30 p.m. (or whenever you can pry your little one away from your leg!)

Playdate --- Fall is the perfect weather for a trip to the zoo. Grab the kiddos and come enjoy a day out at the Nashville Zoo, Friday, September 18 at 10:00.


Social connections are one of the best ways to save our sanity during this wonderful, yet sometimes harried stage of life. I challenge you to make it a point to get out of the house and join us at one or both of these events.

August 28 Meeting Recap

Well, if you were at our last meeting, you know I cannot give all details here, but a special thanks goes to Jennifer Walker for sharing her heart on ways that we can improve our marriages. Here are some resources should you want to do further reading:

Books:
For Women Only by Shaunti Feldhahn
Created to Be His Helpmeet by Debi Pearl

Websites:
http://www.4-womenonly.com/
http://www.focusonthefamily.com/
http://www.smellingcoffee.com/
http://www.addingzest.net/

May you be blessed as you seek to strengthen your relationship with your husbands. May you realize how important it is to the overall health of your family.

Do we dare go there?

As we strive to raise our kids in healthy, happy homes, we must not overlook the fact that one of the greatest contributors to this is a strong, healthy marriage relationship modeled by their parents. Such a relationship provides a sense of security for our children, no matter how old they get. And yet, in our roles as mothers, sometimes this all important relationship sometimes gets ignored. Sometimes we begin to focus on the negative. Sometimes we get too focused what we need instead of what we can give. Sometimes we just don't seem to have the energy that it may seem to take to nurture the relationship with our husbands. And often, it is a silent ailment. One that creeps in before you know it. A distance. A lack of communication. Selfishness. While it does take two to work on a relationship, what if it could start with us as wives? What if we took steps now to claim our marriages as priority in our lives? Our guest speaker, Jennifer Walker, has done just that. She is stepping out in faith to come talk to us about an incredible challenge that she and her husband took, and will share with us how her marriage is stronger for it! Come and join us this Friday, August 28. You never know when something you may hear may have life-changing consequences!

Friday's the day!

Our first meeting for this new year will be this Friday, August 14. We will start promptly at 9:30, with the food provided for this meeting by your steering commitee. Our sweet childcare workers will be ready to receive children by 9:15. Our special speaker for this meeting will be Dawn Crumpton who will present to us a session on digital scrapbooking. She will demonstrate the basics of digital scrapbooking, as well as show us examples of finished products. She will answer whatever questions you might have about this process. Personally, I am hoping that this will be the answer to all my stacks of pictures lying around, heaping on the guilt that they are not in wonderfully decorated scrapbooks!

We will form new small groups, catch up with one another, and spend a few hours together refueling before we head back to the greatest job on earth . . . being a mom! I look forward to seeing you all again! And remember, it's not too late to invite someone. You never know when a friend needs a lifeline thrown to them, and this just might be it!

If you are able to pay the $40 annual registration fee this time, that would be great. This fee is strictly for the Mom2Mom program and is used for supplies, childcare, speaker gifts, and many other things. Our $5 meeting fee then helps to support the ongoing costs throughout the year. Please do not let this fee stop you from coming. If you are unable to pay it, simply express that to our sweet treasurer, Lindy West, when you check in on Friday.

Share your favorites!

Our Mom2Mom steering team will be meeting Monday, July 27 to plan meeting topics for the year. Here's your chance! What kind of topics would you be interested in hearing about? Any speakers you would like to hear from? Share in comments as we brainstorm together! It's going to be a great year!

Mark your calendars!

Friday, August 14 is our first Mom2Mom meeting for this year. Plan now to come and enjoy a time of food and fellowship while your kids enjoy playing with other kids, cared for by wonderful childcare workers! Do you know a mom who could use some time with other moms? Plan now to invite her!

Summer survival

Well, the calendar has made it official. The heat from last week gave us merely a hint of what is to come. Summer can be a great time -- less schedules, longer evenings, great outside memories. But let's face it -- it's hot out there! What do you do to combat the heat? What great ideas do you have for entertaining the kids without melting? It is tempting to stay in the cool inside, plop the kids in front of the tv and watch the time go by --- but we can do better! Share your ideas here for making great summer memories!

Survival time . . .

In our last small group, we moaned with a member who would be taking an extremely long car trip with her kids this summer. Those long trips are the stuff memories are made of, good or bad! Here's a website that might trigger some new ideas for any of you traveling with your kiddos this summer. Resist the urge to veg them out in front of a DVD the entire time (although that does have it's place and oh, the silence can be so sweet!) Use a little creativity to create a memorable trip for the family. Here's the link . . . http://www.momsminivan.com/toddlers.html

P.S. After we moaned together for a few minutes, we all agreed that good things can come from a car trip with kids. Remember, memories are being made . . . make them good ones!

Moving forward . . .

We have enjoyed two great years as a MOPS group, but have decided that it's time to move forward and use the creative energy that we have within our local group (and save some bucks) and break away from MOPS. The group will stay the same. The meeting times will stay the same. All monies will stay with our local group. Only the name will change. Good things are ahead. Stay tuned . . .