December meeting

Our last Habersham MOPS meeting of 2012 will be next Friday, December 14th, 9:30-11:30am, at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Clarkesville.  Breakfast will be a "waffle bar," provided by the Steering Team.  Remember that childcare is provided for your kiddos, and Table 1 will be bringing snacks for them.

This will be a special Christmas-themed meeting, with guest speaker Hannah Wood (her husband, Hobie, was on our Men's Panel) and holiday music from Meredith Williams (April Akridge's sister).  We'll also have a fun gift exchange so bring a wrapped present of your "favorite thing"- food, candy, gift card, magazine, beauty product, etc. up to $5.

Also, if you pay your spring dues at next week's meeting, they are only $30!  After December 14th, spring dues will go up to $40.  Our first meeting for 2013 will be January 11th- stay tuned for more information.

 

Finally, there is an opportunity for us to hear from author, blogger, and Christian mom, Jen Hatmaker.  She will be speaking at First Baptist Church of Gainesville the evening of Friday, January 25th.  Once we have more details, we hope to get a MOPS group together to go see her, with dinner beforehand in Gainesville.  So, book your husbands or babysitters now and join us for a fun Girls' Night Out!

 

Take a break from the stress of Christmas and join us next Friday morning for fun, fellowship, and celebration of the season (oh, and waffles!).  We look forward to seeing you there!

November 30th Meeting

Our next Habersham MOPS meeting will be Friday, November 30th, 9:30-11:30am at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Clarkesville.  Childcare and breakfast are both provided, with Table 5 bringing us a delicious meal and Table 2 bringing snacks for our Moppets.

We will focus on our service project, stuffing backpacks of food for local families in need.  Please see the list below for the items that each table needs to provide- hopefully you can catch some great after-Thanksgiving sales!  In addition, we'll be hearing from guest speaker Heather Cody, writing thank you notes to our Moppets workers, and discussing Chapter 3 of our book, Give Them Grace.

Finally, our December 14th meeting will include a gift exchange!  If you'd like to plan ahead, we will be asking everyone to bring a wrapped "favorite thing" to swap with another mother.  The price limit is $5 and it could be any favorite item that you'd like to share with others- a Starbucks, Wendy's, or Chik-Fil-A giftcard, your favorite body lotion, soap, or cosmetic, a magazine, candy, or junk food that is your guilty pleasure, etc.

We look forward to seeing you on Friday, and, as always, please feel free to invite any local moms who you feel would enjoy a couple hours of child-free fellowship with other mommies :)

Table 1- snack foods Table 2- breakfast foods (bars, oatmeal, etc.) Table 3- canned fruit Table 4- canned vegetables Table 5- dry goods (pasta, beans, soup, etc.) *Canned meals (ravioli, tuna, chicken, spaghetti o's, etc)- provided by everyone who is able

Just what you've been waiting for...

... a captive group of men to answer all the questions you've ever had about what they think, what they do, and why they do it!  That's right, we'll have our second annual Men's Panel at this week's Habersham MOPS meeting on Friday, November 16th, 9:30-11:30am, at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Clarkesville.  We hope you'll join us to learn more about the men in our lives and work towards stronger relationships and families.

Table 4 will be providing breakfast- please remember that we are also feeding the 5-6 men attending the meeting, so think meat and big portions :)  Table 3 will bring snacks for the Moppets.

There will be no book discussion at this meeting, but we'll resume with Chapter 3 at the November 30th meeting. 

Please share this meeting information with any local moms who would benefit from fellowship time with other moms, plus free breakfast and childcare :)  We look forward to seeing you Friday morning!

Meeting- October 26th

Our next Habersham MOPS meeting will be this Friday, October 26th, from 9:30-11:30am at Bethelhem Baptist Church.  We will have a devotion from a steering team member, decorate pumpkins for the fall, plus discuss Chapter 2 of our book, "Give Them Grace."  Table 3 is providing breakfast for us and Table 4 will bring snacks for the Moppets.

We have some leftover crafting supplies and decorations from previous years that will be on sale prior to the meeting, so come a little early and bring a bit of cash with you- you may be able to tackle one of those Pinterest projects you pinned months ago!  You'll also want to be thinking about some questions to submit for the Men's Panel at our November 16th meeting.

As always, please share this meeting with any local moms  you know in the area who could use a couple kid-free hours of fun and fellowship.  We look forward to seeing you on Friday morning!

Photo sessions with Meredith Shaw

Mini Sessions with photographer Meredith Shaw are here!  Get beautiful images for your Christmas Cards and to give as gifts this year! A 

nnouncing Christmas Card Mini Sessions in three beautiful locations in the Habersham County area. 

The MOPS discount is $25 off the mini session price which makes it $50 for 15 mins of shooting and 5 digital images of your choice. You will have the option to purchase more digital images, prints and cards if you would like to. We have had several people offer some beautiful locations for these sessions so I am so excited!! All locations are local.

The times are:
October 19: 2-6:30
October 26: 2-6:30
October 27: 8-9:45 am 4-6:30 pm
November 8-11:00 4-6:30
November 9: 4-6:30
November 10: 9-11:00 4-6:30

For more information or to sign up your family, please email Meredith at mailmeri@gmail.com

Is there a doctor in the house?

We're excited for you to join us at our next meeting of Habersham MOPS this Friday, October 5th, 9:30-11:30am.  Local family doctor, Dr. Josh Garrett, will be our guest speaker and answer questions about your family's health.  We will also be spending time with our discussion groups going over the foreward and first chapter of our book, Give Them Grace, which you picked up at the last meeting.  If you did not get yours yet, we will have one for you this Friday :)

Table 2 will be provided a delicious breakfast for us, and Table 5 will be bringing snacks for the moppets- your table leaders will be coordinating this with you.

Please share this meeting informaiton with any local moms who you know could use fellowship and a morning out.  If you have any questions, please email us at habershammops@gmail.com.

Look forward to seeing you on Friday morning!

Meeting- September 21st

Please join us for our next Habersham MOPS Meeting this Friday, September 21st, 9:30-11:30am at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Clarkesville.

Our very own group founder and photographer extraordinaire, Meredith Shaw, will lead us through a Digital Photography Workshop to help you best capture your favorite moments with your favorite people and places.  She'll teach us three things you can do to improve your photography (probably stop using your iPhone camera, like me :), getting to know your camera, the basics of shooting in manual mode, and how to select the right professional photographer for you.  Be sure to bring the following with you to the meeting:
1)  Your best digital camera
2)  A photograph you have taken that didn't turn out the way you envisioned
3)  Your favorite photograph you have ever taken

You'll also be receiving your copy of our discussion group book for the year and learning more about that program.

The moms at Table 1 will be provided a delicious breakfast for the morning, and the Steering Team will make sure the MOPPETS have plenty of snacks.

Please share this meeting information with any moms you know in the area that could use some fellow mommy fellowship, and we look forward to seeing you on Friday!

When It's Time to Take that Plunge

Here's what I know.

Motherhood is scary.  Terrifying, actually.

I mean, they let us leave the hospital with seven pounds of tiny and four hours of sleep and expect us to be okay.  Yet, who really is?

Eight years ago this month I brought home one of those bundles all wrapped in pink and white and I thought I could handle her.  After all, she's just a baby.

Here's something else I know.

Babies aren't easy.

And when you're a new mom and you're hours from your mom and your best friends aren't even contemplating taking a plunge into these stinky waters, you feel really, really alone.

I didn't know, then.  I didn't know there was somewhere I could go and be welcomed and appreciated and pampered and indulged.

I didn't know that other moms were willing to get up early and stay up late and make fools of themselves and bare their souls so that I would know that motherhood is not a plunge we should ever take alone.

Three girls and one sweet baby boy later, I've found it.

It's my prayer that if you're a new mom or a seasoned mom, a mom of one or a mom of many, a mom who crafts and a mom who cooks, or a mom who believes in storebought and takeout, you are welcome here.

You are wanted here.

You are blessed here.

Habersham MOPS
9:30 a.m.
Fridays Twice a Month
Bethlehem Baptist Church
Hwy 197, Clarkesville, GA

We promise with the grace of Jesus, to show you love.

Lindsey Brackett
Coordinator, 2012-2013

1st meeting- Friday, September 7th

Please join us for our first Habersham MOPS meeting of the 2012-2013 season on Friday, September 7th, 9:30am at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Clarkesville.  A yummy breakfast will be provided by the Steering Team and childcare will be available for your MOPPETS.  This is a great time to meet and reconnect with other moms, "count your blessings," and learn about our program this year, Taking the Plunge.  All local moms are welcome and we look forward to seeing you Friday morning!

MOPS 2012-2013

Fall is in the air, kids go back to school this week, and the 2012-2013 MOPS program is rapidly approaching!  After a very successful and fun retreat last weekend, the Habersham MOPS Steering Team is working on putting together a great year for you.  Keep an eye on this blog and like us on Facebook for more updates...

Mark your calendar for Friday, August 24th, 10:30am, which will be our Kickoff event.  Bring the kiddos for a fun morning at BBC with bouncey houses and popsicles, plus registration for the first semester of MOPS.  There will be no Moppets workers this date-  it will be a big "playdate!"

Our first regular meeting will be September 7th, 9:30-11:30am, with breakfast provided by the Steering Team.  Be sure to get there early to register yourself and your kids and have a chance at the "early bird" prize!  The remaining fall meeting dates are listed to the left.

We look forward to taking the plunge with you this fall!!

The Husband Project: Tips and Tricks

It's officially February so we have total and complete permission to decorate with lots of pink and red, come off the January diet for chocolate, and show our husbands some unabashed love.  This morning, I was flipping through my copy of The Husband Project (thanks so much to Merideth and Mary Lynn for bringing it to us) and thinking about how today was the perfect day to get started.

Especially because 21 days from now is MY birthday, so if he's feeling pretty loved by then, that can only turn out to my advantage, right?

The book has some great ideas for simple ways we can bless the men in our lives, some of whom bring home the family income, some of whom are the kings of the kitchen (or the grill!), and some of whom tolerate meltdowns from pregnant wives on a regular basis.

So today I encourage to take a minute and open your book if you haven't yet and think about getting started.  To inspire you, here's a line-up of fun ideas and a few freebies that I've seen recently.

Some of you knew Julia back when she was hanging out in the Sham supporting Raider football on Friday nights.  Her blog is funny, fresh, and filled with links to other great places.  This post will take you over to one of her favorite people at Friday Night Dates.

You all know I'm a sucker for a great deal and right now you can get cards for FREE at so many places.  This morning I accomplished Project #3 (I'm doing them out of order I know) and can't wait for him to get the card I chose in the mail.  Check out Southern Savers for the promotional code and them head over to Cardstore and make one for your guy.  You can even upload a picture to personalize it.  I did it this morning and it was COMPLETELY FREE including the stamp!

Or what about that project that suggests you get him a treat that's just FOR HIM.  I got no problem with that this week, ladies.  Fruity and Cocoa Pebbles are on sale at Ingles, I've got coupons, and the child in him loves them. And hates to share with his girls.  (But he does anyway!)  What treat does your husband love?

And to end....How about Pinterest?  You know you love it.

Could easily become "I love my husband because..."

Source: tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com via Lindsey on Pinterest

My husband loves cards.  Someday I AM going to do this.

Source: craftster.org via Lindsey on Pinterest

 Men have no problem eating a pink cake.  It's cake, right?

Source: thegalleygourmet.net via Lindsey on Pinterest