Next Meeting: Monday, January 4th

Our next meeting will be held Monday, January 4th at 6pm. Continuing on our health kick, we plan to discuss fitness for all skill levels and enjoy our favorite healthful treats.

******NO MEETING ON MONDAY DECEMBER 21ST*****

Merry Christmas, Mommies! May you and your families enjoy this holiday season and may 2010 bring only the best to our Planet Mom.

The Living Christmas Tree

The annual Living Christmas Tree Production at First Baptist will be held Dec 12-15. There is an afternoon presentation on the 12th, 1pm, as well as an evening presentation, 7pm. The 13-15 presentations are at 7pm. Presentations will last approximately 1 hour 30 minutes. There is also free childcare for infants up to 18 months. You can purchase tickets, $5/person, at the First Baptist office. Sarah Henderson is helping with the production, so if you have any questions, please contact her.

Next Meeting: Nutrition and Eating Right During the Holidays

With yummy, yet nutritious munchies at this meeting, we will be visited by a local dietician and pool our talents to make an easy Christmas Gift. See you there on December 7th at 6pm!

2nd Annual Shop Til You Drop

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Next Meeting November 2nd: $$$

Topic: Money, money, money
Speaker: Brad Beasley, a CPA offering tax tips
Craft: Money saving craft/gift
Hospitality: "Cheap" meals (Diahn, Renee, Nicole, Karin, and June)

We'll sign up for the Nov 7 fundraiser: set up, hospitality, childcare, and clean-up.

See you there!

Countdown to 2009-2010 MOPS Year....

Our first meeting is scheduled for Monday, October 5th from 6-8pm at Sierra Vista Community Church (514 N. Telshor Blvd). Please join us in helping eachother be the best moms that we can be! "Together on Planet Mom" is our theme this year; we will focus on the spiritual, the financial, the emotional, and the physical challenges of being a mother as well as celebrating together the sheer joys of being the mama. CHILD CARE IS PROVIDED. Please contact Candace or Sheila with any questions you have or to let us know that you are coming....

A Year of Transition....

This MOPS year will be a year of change for our little group; Cheryl Montoya will step down as our leader. While carefully guiding the handing over of the reigns and continuing to support the group with her unmatched hospitality and welcoming spirit, we will have to begin to adjust to MOPS life without Cheryl.

The birth of our MOPS group:
Cheryl started the evening MOPS group three years ago after much prayer and excuses to the Lord about how she was not a leader and someone else needed to start one. She originally started looking for a MOPS group to attend but since she worked full-time outside of the home, the daytime MOPS wouldn't work. She started thinking: "Hey, what about those moms?" She knew an evening MOPS group would be great. And since Moms would just be getting off work, the idea of eating together as well as feeding the kids in MOPPETS came about. For a while, Cheryl prayed that the Lord would burden someone (else) to start a group like this because she thought it would be a great thing for her and for her kids. "The Lord has such a sense of humor, doesn't he?"

Her passion for the moms who needed an evening MOPS option won out over her fear of being the leader and she decided to start the group. She saw a need for supporting the women who daily, tirelessly and humbly support the families and homes of our community. Bravely, she approached Sierra Vista Community Church seeking their support for the outreach ministry. Sierra Vista Community Church was supportive of this new outreach ministry and by year 2, they included childcare and other MOPS expenses (charter fees, memberships) in their budget.

"It has been a project where I was much more blessed than burdened by the leadership. I learned a lot about what my strengths are and what my challenges are," commented Cheryl. "Some of those challenges were not growing these women to become the leaders of tomorrow. There was much more of a come-and-relax-type atmosphere and because of that I had a hard time asking for help. But the most wonderful aspect of MOPS was seeing a mom rush into a meeting a little late with her child crying down the hall. Obviously she had had a rough day, but by the end of the meeting, there was a kind of peace in her face, a renewed energy to go home and do this "mommy thing" all over again. It was a tremendous reward to see moms walking out feeling better than when they had walked in for the meeting."

Outside of MOPS:
Chery and Joe were married in their late 30's. Her biological clock was ticking loudly so the pursuit to have a baby happened almost immediately. However, getting pregnant was not coming that easy. She prayed diligently that God would bless them with a family. They decided to cover all bases just in case she was unable to get pregnant. Cheryl and Joe had a home study done to see about adopting a child from Children, Youth and Family Dept (where she works as a management analyst). She had some fertility tests done as well as her husband. She knew that God had a plan but couldn't understand why He wasn't revealing it to her IMMEDIATELY. She was just about to start fertility drugs when she found out that she was pregnant. So Aiden was born when Cheryl was 40 and Madison when she was 41. They are 18 months apart. "What a joy they are!!!"

On being a mom:
"Being a mom is such a wonderful/scary experience. I hope I am teaching them the great life lessons they need to become kind, compassionate, and productive men/women in society. I pray about their future spouses and that Lord will be number one in their life. What an awesome responsibility. But I'm also reminded that we have to give our children (each day) back to the Lord for His guidance. The scary part isn't so scary anymore."

Looking Back...

MOPS 2008-2009