Saturday moms: Find your Oasis on March 6!

Hey Saturday moms! Join us next Saturday, March 6 at 9am for a presentation by psychologist and MOPS mom Renee Fahs on Finding your Oasis.

Renee will tell us how to improve self-care, reduce stress, and maintain "sanity" while keeping up with the many responsibilities of being a mom.

Don't miss it!

Me, Myself & Lies: A Thought Closet Makeover - begins March 2!

Unloved. Rejected. Valuable?
Lies are always easier to believe.

Me, Myself & Lies: A Thought Closet Makeover

"Words are powerful. Especially the words women speak to themselves." Come to Women's Bible Study beginning Tuesday, March 2, from 9:30-11:30 am. Meet new friends where we'll learn together how to clean the junk out of our "thought closets" and replace the negative thoughts we have about ourselves with positive affirmations from God's word. Free childcare is available! Call (408) 378-4900 for more information. You can also click here to find out more about the study in author Jennifer Rothschild's own words.

Parents' Connection: new session starts Feb. 28!

How do you cope when life is hard?

Do you ever feel abandoned? Tested? Trapped? Many of us are facing job loss, family struggles, and illness. Joseph in the Old Testament was abandoned by his brothers, betrayed by his friends, falsely accused of a crime he didn't commit, and yet he managed to persevere through many years of struggle and even triumph in the end. Using Joseph's story we will discuss how to persevere and triumph in our own hard times.

Parents' Connection is a support group and Bible study for parents of preschool and elementary children. Meet more parents of young children, and enjoy the discussion and fellowship over a light breakfast snack. The new session on How do you cope when life is hard? begins Sunday, February 28, from 10:00-11:00 am. Call (408) 378-4900 for more information. Hope to see you there!

Do you have UFO's in your house?

You know, Unfinished Objects!
Crafts, crocheting, quilting - that scrapbook you started but never finished...

It's more fun when you're not alone!
Bring your UFO and join other (crafty) gals the last Thursday of the month from 6:30-10pm. Make new friends and make progress on your UFO!

But what if I'm not crafty?
Come anyway! Work on your baby book, organize your photos, write a letter to a friend! Bring a project you've been wanting to work on, but haven't had time to finish with the kids around. Come see what we're working on and get inspired!

Next meeting is Thursday, February 25 in the Oak Room of the Campbell Church. Email campbellMOPS@gmail.com for more information!

Do you need a Time Out??

Every parent needs a Time Out every once in a while! That's why the Campbell Church is offering FREE childcare on the last Friday of the month.

Time Out for Parents is fun, free childcare for infants through age 5, from 8:30am to 12 noon.

Drop off your kids between 8:30 and 9:30am.
Pick up anytime before noon.

Call 378-4900, x264 by February 24!
Please leave a message with your child(ren)’s
name, age(s) and your contact information.

Space is limited! Call today!

Ellen's Hashbrown Casserole

Those of you who came to Saturday MOPS know that Ellen brought the most AMAZING potato breakfast casserole - it was gone in 60 seconds it was so good!

For those that missed it (or those that want to try it themselves) here's the recipe.

Hash Brown Casserole

Thanks Ellen, for sharing!

Wednesday MOPS meets February 10

Hey moms!

Join us for breakfast, fun, connection with other moms and a lively discussion on Encouraging and Affirming Your Children, homemade Valentine's Day candies and valentines you can give your kids.

Don't miss it! 9:30-11:30am

MOPS Speaker Highlight: Teresa Drake on “Anger Management for Moms”

Many of you joined us for an enlightening and helpful discussion on managing Mommy Anger with Teresa Drake in December. For those of you who couldn't make it, here are the highlights of this extremely informative and helpful session! Thank you to Sandy Hoag for preparing this summary!

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What do toddlers, barking dogs, and teenagers have in common? A tendency to do the unexpected and to be hard to control. In my world, that leads to frustration and anger. So how do we deal with things or people we can't control?

Teresa Drake, our December MOPS speaker, says it begins with our expectations of the situation or the person. For example, if we have an expectation that our houses should always be clean and tidy, then during the chaos of the baby and toddler years, we may be frustrated and angry with our messy homes. But if we change our expectations about this season of life, we can become more relaxed and peaceful moms.

Or as another example, if we have an expectation that our husbands should do specific chores around the home because our fathers did, then we will be disappointed when those things don't get done or he doesn't “get it”. To deal with this expectation, we can openly talk with our husbands and discuss what needs to be done. Often they will be happy to help out if we will just ask kindly. But dealing with a problem in the moment of anger is probably not best. At those times, we need to take a step back and perhaps a “time out” to allow ourselves to regroup and think.

Teresa gave us a worksheet and suggested that we keep a journal to help us capture and think through those frustrating moments. She gave us many real examples from her own journey through anger management to help us see options for dealing with our anger. In addition, she gave us some guidelines on what to expect from our children at different stages of development. Those will help us have appropriate expectations of our kids and be more able to connect with them as they go through their own phases.

Anger is not just how we can react to situations; it's also an emotion we are modeling for our children. Anger in itself is not wrong. It's a God-given signal for us to think or act. But if we react inappropriately, it may harm the loved ones we were meant to nurture and connect with. So we need to analyze our own expectations and what may be triggering us to react more strongly than desired. Then we can become more competent and encouraging moms.

For more insights and help in dealing with anger and other bits of wisdom, see Teresa's web site at www.teresadrake.com. Thanks Teresa for being so vulnerable and helpful with this critical topic!

Valentine's Day is Coming!

Here are some fun, easy ways to express your love to your loved ones on Valentine's Day! Courtesy of Teresa Drake, one of our favorite speakers at Campbell MOPS! For more on Teresa, visit her website at http://www.teresadrake.com/

Giving Hearts of Love
A fun Valentines Day game that speaks love into the hearts of your children, your guy or other special people in your life.

Get a handful of paper hearts approximately 3" to 4" wide. You can cut them from construction paper, use heart-shaped paper doilies or even the foamie hearts: all of these supplies are readily available at your local crafts store. Whatever heart option you choose, just be sure it's a texture you can write on.For your children: On each heart write one special thing you love about your child and hide them throughout the house (maybe stick with just one room if your children are young). Then watch your little ones scurry about to find their special treasures. If you have more than one child, avoid confusion by using one color for each child. It's also helpful to remember how many hearts you've hidden.Once all the hearts are found get cuddly-cozy and read all their little love notes one by one.

For Your Guy: You can also hide some hearts of love for your special man to find throughout the days leading up to Valentine's Day. Hide them in his clothing pockets, his car, his wallet, taped to the bathroom mirror, in his closet.There are plenty of options for creating his love notes: you can write something you love about him on each heart, or you can spice it up a bit and write something about how you're going to love him when Valentine's Day finally arrives. If you choose this option, I wouldn't be surprised if he wants you to make good on your love note earlier, rather than later.

For Special Friends: Have a friend you'd like to encourage? Write a compliment, a favorite scripture or other words of wisdom, or a favorite quote - one on each heart. Then punch a single hole in each heart, at the top or on the side, and bind them together with a ribbon or key ring. You'll have a little gift booklet to brighten up the day for someone who's extra special to you.

February MOPS Meeting THIS Saturday!

Hey Saturday moms! Don't forget our monthly get-together is THIS Saturday, February 6 at 9am! We'll be discussing the importance of making meaningful relationships AND we'll be working on a super-fun (and super-easy) placecard craft project.

Hope to see you there!