I LOVE MOPS!!!

PrairieMom wrote: All you ladies that said it would be fun were right. I loved every minute of it. After one night, I already know that I will be doing it again next year.
I left feeling relaxed, and inspired, and I made a craft, so thats always a good time...
I can't wait until next month.

Our Lil' Family replied: YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so happy you liked it Tara! Tell me about the meeting...was it theme related like I mentioned? PM me if you'd rather.

PrairieMom replied:
We have the house theme, they had a bunch of tables set up each named for a different room in the house. I was a Kitchen Kutie, and my friend was a Master bed room Mama.

This time was basically a introduction time, they told us how our dues were split, and who is in charge of bringing treats, and who the leaders are and that type stuff.

Then our guest speaker got sick at the last minute, so one of our mentor mom's got up and told us stories about her 5 children. It was hilarious.

we broke off into our groups and did a little introduction/ Q and A type thing, and worked on our crafts which were name tags and canvas bags to put our MOPS stuff in.

The time went really fast. Ben had a good time in Moppetts too, but he says he doesn't want to go back.

holley79 replied: What is MOPS?

PrairieMom replied:
It stands for "mothers of Preschoolers" its basically a Christian based support group for moms.

Insanemomof3 replied: So glad you had fun!!!!

AlexsPajamaMama replied: That sounds like a great time Tara, Im glad to hear you enjoyed it!!

holley79 replied:
Oh that's awesome.

lovemy2 replied: Awesome Tara - so glad to hear you enjoyed it and keep taking Ben back - he will enjoy it too - they are starting a MOPS group at my church too but I don't really have a MOPPET right now so don't know if I should go or not - they said Dylan would be considered a MOPPET but I kinda don't think he has much to contribute right now other than his drool and ability to mow toys over

Maddie&EthansMom replied: I'm so glad you had a good time!!! Naomi has been trying to talk me into joining. But, you know...she's the type of person who gets along fine in any situation. I'm more of a social anxiety type person and it makes me nervous to walk into situations like that. So I took her 'suggestion' with a grain of salt (sorry Na Na!) BUT, since you enjoyed it so much I think I might try it. The thing is, I don't have friends to go with. I'd be going alone. I guess I could step out of my comfort zone and meet people, huh?

Maddie&EthansMom replied: Okay, I registered for the Friday MOPS (we have 2...weds and fri). Ethan is in school on Fridays so I don't register him for Moppetts I suppose??

Our dues are $75!!!

Boo&BugsMom replied: That's awesome Tara. Our's meets on Tuesday mornings 3 times a month. We are doing a study on the Song of Solomon series...it's about marriage, dating, courtship, etc.

Interesting about the dues, we don't have any...just have to pay a "donation" of $5 for the series binder we recieve for the study. We have breakfast provided, sing songs, and do a study, then have small group meetings for prayer and fellowship.

We also are combined with the Titus Woman, who are the older moms of schoolagers and teenagers.

Boo&BugsMom replied: Aimee, you will meet many people. Just be yourself! I am sure you will make friends in no time!

PrairieMom replied:
that is sooooo me. I knew My friend Alicia going in, but they divide you up into small groups when you get there anyway, so it didn't really matter. It was really fun. You should try it.

PrairieMom replied:
I think ours were 70-ish, that sounds about right, but I think its so worth it. Only if you only go once a month, like me, thats still only $10 a time, and they provided us with snacks, and craft stuff, and a candle to take home. I think it will definitely be worth it.

Our Lil' Family replied:
Yay!!!!!!! I'm doing the happy Omi dance here! Is it $75 for the whole year? Ours is $5/meeting and we have 12 that we pay for...so $60 for the meetings and then the $20 MOPS International Registration fee...so that's about right Aimee.
ETA: That price includes our childcare (Moppets). You shouldn't need to register E for that since he'll be at school.

Jennie-your group sounds pretty different from ours, more like a bible study...is it a MOPS International group?

Calimama replied: I'm so glad you liked it!!

luvmykids replied:
One of the MOPS groups around here does a mini Bible study at the meetings. It's on the light side though, not hours of it, more like a tidbit

Tara, I'm glad you had such a good time! I think after another time or two Ben will like it better, once he remembers the other kids.

CantWait replied: I'm so glad you had a good time Tara.

Boo&BugsMom replied:
I don't think so. I think our church just runs it how they want and we aren't affiliated with any national org. If we are, I am unaware. It's a MOPS group though, but structured a bit different from what it seems. Like Monica mentioned, it's not an intense study either. Its about a half hour study on a subject...this year is marriage and dating. The other time is spent doing other things, like singing and other activities.

ETA: we also have volunteers that take the little ones. Also, we meet 3 times a month, not just once a month. I like that it meets frequently.

luvmykids replied:
Do you guys have moms night out and stuff too? Like I've said, I haven't made it to any of the get togethers but the group closest to me meets twice a month and also has the moms night out, group outings for moms and kids, etc...they do the mini-Bible study then have a speaker for a little bit, then do some kind of activity. This session (August through May) I don't remember what the series is but Corrie Ten Boom is speaking at one of them. I really want to make it, I used to love The Hiding Place

Forgot to add, the dues are $75 here too. It is a MOPS International but I'm also thinking of checking out something at a different church that isn't affiliated but very similar.

Our Lil' Family replied: I think ours is more like Monica and Tara are talking about. We meet 2 times a month and have other outings like Moms Night Out. We're working on doing a MOPS and POPS this year, I think that'll be fun. We do have a devotional and take prayer requests but MOPS Int'l discourages us from making it too "churchy" because we are considered an outreach ministry and want everyone to feel welcome and at ease. I was just telling Aimee that our church also has bible studies that I'd like to join but that would put Thomas in our nursery too often for my liking, so it's nice that yours is combined like that.

Boo&BugsMom replied:
We don't nec. have it "called" moms night out, but we do have get together outside of the MOPS meetings. We have luncheons, night outs, little parties, etc.

This is what our study is about this year. It's actually quite humerous ad entertaining as well.
http://www.campuscrusade.com/Family_Life/song_of_solomon.htm