Be You, Bravely!

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.  Isaiah 43:18-19   (NIV)

"Be You, Bravely" is the MOPS theme for 2014-2015! At MOPS we believe that you were meant to live deeply and so we have created this year’s theme to inspire you to choose the extraordinary. Be you, Bravely is designed to help us focus on making the choices that could create the most good in our lives, help us to step into healthy risk and to do it in the context of community where we can cheer one another on.

We are so excited to journey alongside you this year as we ask one another what it means to “Be you, Bravely.”

MOPS 2013-2014 A Beautiful Mess

It is time for another year of East End MOPS to start! It going to be a fabulous year. I promise to do a better job keeping this blog up to date and posting more pictures of all the fun our Mops Moms and little Moppets are having. I know that I found East End MOPS via this blog, so my mission to keep it up is a personal one.

The theme for the year is A Beautiful Mess. Its a fabulous theme. In a world of social media, we are all given a snippet into others lives. It is the habit to post the pretty and posed. The clean and neat. I do it, we all do it. In this world it is so easy to believe that we are the only moms/wives/women that have messy houses, whiny children, and every take out restaurant on speed dial.

So, the first meeting of the new year is titled: A Beautiful Mess: Embrace Your Story. When you arrive, you will be given a table to sit at for the year and meet your table leader. We'll have breakfast provided by the Steering Team* for all the moms, and wonderful, trustworthy volunteers ready to take care of your MOPPETS. The first meeting is a beginning of the new year and meeting people. We'll talk, plan, and enjoy each other's company and getting to talk without getting "mom, mom, mom, mama, mommy, MOOOOMMM!!!!"

So, join us, September 11, at 9am in the Life Center at East Union Baptist Church. All are welcome. New faces are encouraged. We are all in this thing called motherhood together.

*Wondering what the steering team is? The steering team is the people that make MOPS a possibility. There are many facets of the steering team and they all come together to make it all happen. Any member of the steering team is available to help/answer questions/just BE there for you. Here is a list of the steering team members. In the future they can be found on the right side of the blog.

2013-14 Steering Team
Coordinator                          Lori Davis (749-6701 or ladaviso@yahoo.com)
Co-Coord/Finance               Michelle Mitchell (350-5032 or ammamitchell@yahoo.com)
                                            -in training-Amanda Thomas (425-9121 or monkeylily@aol.com)
Hospitality                           Sara Qualls (454-1277 or saraquallsrn@yahoo.com)
Newsletter                           Michelle McCon (952-7557 or msmccon@gmail.com)
Publicity                               Laura Begley (326-9725 or laurabegley@gmail.com)
Playdate planner                   Melissa Vogelpohl (454-2671 or meli_art@hotmail.com)

MOPPETS
MOPPET Volunteer Coordinator         Paula Dowler (425-9884 or pauladowler@aol.com)
MOPPET Curriculum Coordinator       Anna Tucker (690-1401 or charlieandannatucker@gmail.com)
MOPPETS Appreciation                     Amber Long (590-8997 or rsaglong@live.com)

Table Leaders                       Amanda Thomas (425-9121 or monkeylily@aol.com)
                                             Jodi Holifield (870-243-8298 or Jodi.Holifield@ymail.com)
                                             Sara Qualls (454-1277 or saraquallsrn@yahoo.com)
                                             Laura Begley (326-9725 or laurabegley@gmail.com)
                                             Lynda Garcia (658-3753 or garciafamily@hotmail.com)
                                             Katie Neel (479-790-5260 or katieep@gmail.com)

January MOPS meeting (and pics from December)

East End MOPS is having our January meeting tomorrow (January 9) at 11am in the Life Center. Come, drop the kids off with our awesome volunteers and enjoy two wonderful hours eating yummy breakfast, hot coffee, cold soda, and lots of uninterrupted chat. 

After breakfast, we are having a panel of women talk to us about their experiences with depression, followed by a talk from a local doctor. Depression affects every person, either personally or someone that you know and love. We are so lucky to have such strong women to talk to us.

Here are some pictures from our December Meeting. We had a fabulous breakfast, lovely chatter, a gift exchange and made ourselves bracelets. Can't beat that kind of time off from this thing called Motherhood!

The Surfing Senoritas table making bracelets and having fun

Picking out the perfect beads

The Santa Exchange. Some moms brought some very very interesting presents.

Not ready to part with your bitty baby? Bring he/she with you. Aly and Gwen had big fun with their mamas!

November meeting!!!!

What is East End Mops doing this Wednesday? We're High Diving!!!! Join us as we Plunge into this thing called Mommyhood. 9-11am in the Life Center at East Union Baptist Church

Joy Henard, former coordinator of East End MOPS, and fellow MOM to all, will be speaking on Building and Living in a Community of Moms: How to branch out and Support Each Other

Breakfast will be provided by the Surfing Senoritas table and should be yummy!  So come,  all. Come to East Union Baptist Church on Springlake Road and join us for food and fellowship. We are all different women with one common bond: mom. Drop your kids off in the preschool building to be taken care of by our wonderful volunteers and come to the Life Center for breakfast and the best chat you've had all week/month/year. 

If you have never been to East End MOPS, join us now! This would be a great first meeting, the subject of our speaker will be perfect for a first time mom. I, personally, joined in December and was welcomed with open arms to a table that had already been together for 4 months. They tucked me in and involved me immediately as if I'd always been there. At the time, I NEEDED mommy friends, I NEEDED advice, and mostly I NEEDED OUT OF MY HOUSE!!!!! All of these needs were met with East End MOPS. 

Your steering team is here for you, contact information is at the right of the blog.

November Play Dates

November is a Table Play Date month. Because of Thanksgiving holidays, we are doing playdates during the first week of the month, rather than the third. Table play dates are a great way to connect with the moms at your table. Here is a list of table playdates. Have a question about a playdate? Email your table leader. Want to join East End Mops and get in on a November playdate? Contact our fearless coordinator, Lori at  ladaviso@yahoo.com.

Diving Divas

Nov 7th @ 10:30/11am at Lake Maumelle Park

TABLE LEADER: Jodi Holifield

(870-243-8298 or Jodi.Holifield@ymail.com)

Beach Babes

Nov 5th @ 9am at the Zoo

TABLE LEADER: Lynda Garcia

(658-3753 or garciafamily@hotmail.com)

Cruisin' Chicks

Nov 5th @ 10am at Lori's house (email Laura for address)

TABLE LEADER: Laura Begley

(326-9725 or laurabegley@gmail.com)

Surfing Señoritas

Nov 7th @ 9:45 East End Fire Department followed by lunch at East Union playground

(lunch at Sara's in case of rain)

TABLE LEADER: Sara Qualls

(454-1277 or saraquallsrn@yahoo.com)

Sailing Sisters

Oct 25th @ 10am at the Zoo.

TABLE LEADER: Katie Neel

(501-860-3195 or katieep@gmail.com)

If you are new to this website, welcome!!!! East End MOPS is a wonderful group of women of various backgrounds and family structures who have come together with two common goals: being good moms and not going crazy!!!!  For a full description of MOPS, look at the left side of the blog. To contact the coordinator of MOPS or any of the steering team, all of their emails are on the right side of the screen.  

October Playdate-The Pumpkin Patch

First off, just a reminder that Mugs 'n' Muffins is this Wednesday (October 24) at 10am at East Union Baptist Church in East End. This is a bible study for MOPS moms. And a chance to relax and have fellowship while sipping coffee and eating yummies. This year they are watching Malachi DVD and discussing what was watched (I linked it to a page about the dvd series and the author for information and a brief  excerpt from the video, you do not need to purchase video).  All while precious volunteers watch your beloved children so that mommy can have some fellowship time. If you missed last month, no worries. You can start any time. 

Now for the pictures of our October playdate.

East End Mops had a fabulous fall playdate at the Pumpkin Patch. It was our first playdate with the entire group and we had a great time. The kids got to play in a corn pit, go on hay rides, cow train rides, run through a hay maze and climb to the top of multiple haystacks. 

Be prepared for a ton of pictures. Thank you to our playdate organizer, Melissa for organizing such a fun playdate. So much fun for our kiddos, and lots of fun for mommies too.

Very serious Pumpkining

The older kiddos got to ride in the "bull train"

Nice job, Fiona! Teach those boys!

Rylan and Fiona become one with the corn

The little Moppets getting help from their mommies on the cow train

Lost in the hay maze

If you are a mother of a preschool age child, and you would like to be a part of MOPS, do not hesitate to contact us! MOPS is available for you! Meet other moms, get your children involved, and be a part of a great community. Do you see all those smiling faces? We could add yours! The steering teams information is on the right side of the blog. We are here for you. Let us know how we can help. 

**Mops does start and end its year the same as the school year, but you can join any time. I joined in December and was greeted with open arms and it has been one of the best decisions I've ever made.

MOPS 2012-2013 Take the Plunge!

Welcome to the East End Mops Blog!!!! Sorry it wasn't in time for the first meeting (or the second), but we are up and running now.

This is our theme for the 2012-2013 year of MOPS. Our tables are split up with 6-8 moms per table, and each table has a "Plunge" theme. We have a great group of ladies on the steering committee and a lot of fun meetings and playdates planned. You can find information about the steering committee and what MOPS is on the left and right columns of the blog.

October's playdate is October 17, at Tri-County Pumpkin Patch in Hensley from 9am-11am. Meet at the front at 9am, or caravan from East Union Church at 8:40. This pumpkin patch was really fun last year. They had a corn maze, farm animals to pet and feed, a cow train, hay rides, and a corn pit (with a slide!) for the kids to play in. The staff was so nice and helpful too. There is a concession stand and lots of tables to eat at if you want to bring your own lunch. Hope to see you all there.

**My name is Sara, and I am here for all your blogging needs. I have been a member of MOPS since January 2010. This year is my first year as a table leader. I love MOPS and gladly took on the blog as a way to get the word out about East End MOPS. I found East End MOPS via the blog and my life is better because of it. I encourage suggestions or questions for the blog and I also invite any of you to send stories of how MOPS has helped you. I'll post them for you!!!  I get tired of my own voice, lend me yours! You can reach me at saraquallsrn@yahoo.com.