Saturday moms: A Chocolate Boutique, May 1!

Join us for a Chocolate Boutique! Taste, see, learn and enjoy all the wonderful aspects and qualities of world-wide chocolates, their benefits, and their origins. With Renae Shah (a renowned chocaholic)! Immerse yourself in this rich experience!

Quality chocolate will be provided for the tasting! Yum! Come out, connect with other moms, and enjoy some delectable chocolates while your children are playing games and doing crafts at the free, fun childcare that is provided!

This Saturday, May 1, from 9-11 am. We are looking forward to seeing you there!

A Weekend to Remember: Apr 30-May 2

Hey moms! Are you looking to get away from the distractions of everyday life with your spouse, and build a deeper connection within your marriage?

Love like you mean it.

FamilyLife presents: A Weekend to Remember, a marriage conference taking place this weekend, April 30-May 2, at the Santa Clara Marriott. Not only that, but the Campbell Church has secured a group rate of just $89 per person, saving each couple $80!

You can learn more about the Weekend to Remember conference here, or you can use this link to register and receive the discounted group rate!

UFO night: April 29!

Do you have any UFOs 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, April 29 in the Oak Room of the Campbell Church. Email campbellMOPS@gmail.com for more information!

Speaker Recap: Gini Bortz on "Quick & Easy Dinners"!

Wowee! Mentor mom and personal chef Gini Bortz prepared tasty treats for us at this month's MOPS meeting, complete with timesaving tips and tons of resources! If you couldn't make it to this month's meeting, or if you haven't had a chance to look through your information packets yet, here are some of the highlights.

Timesaving tips!
* Keep your wastebasket within arm's reach when you're cooking, so you don't have to continually cross your kitchen.
* Freeze meals ahead of time to use during busy weeknights.
* Gini had many positive things to say about pressure-cooking, and how it has transformed her cooking into a shorter, easier process (and who would have thought you could make cheesecake in a pressure cooker?)
* Lining your pan with parchment paper saves on clean-up time!
* Meet up with a friend and have a "cooking play date"--let your kids play together while you prepare a few meals together to freeze.

Involve your child in the cooking process!
* Your child can help grease cake pans with butter.
* Try letting your child dredge chicken nuggets in the cornflake mixture.
* Your child might enjoy washing vegetables or ripping lettuce.
* Make meals interesting! Can your child make a picture out of salad ingredients on a tray? Make a face with veggies on an English muffin pizza? Fun, tasty, and healthy.

Yum, yum!
During her talk, we got to see Gini prepare Lemon Cheesecake, Rotini with Meat Sauce, Wacky Chocolate Cake (it was even a vegan recipe!) and Baked Chicken Nuggets. Four recipes, from start to finish, in about an hour and a half? Wahoo! And then we got to eat them, too--delicious!

Links to Gini's recipes!
Lemon Cheesecake
Pasta with Meat Sauce
Multi-Bean Soup
Vegetarian Pizza, Chicken Fajitas, Gini's Vegetable Beef Soup, Shrimp in Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce with Angel Hair Pasta
Pizza Caterpillar

Links to learn more!
Here are some links and some recipes (thanks, Gini!) to help us busy moms save time while still providing healthy meals for our families.
10 Great Reasons to Cook with Kids
5 Tips for Healthy Cooking with Kids
10 Things to Have in your Freezer

Links to recipe websites!
recipezaar.com
allrecipes.com
foodnetwork.com
childrensrecipes.com

Parents' Time Out: Free childcare April 30!

Moms and dads who are with their kids all day need an occasional “time out” to recharge. Time to be alone, run errands, or meet a friend without the kids! 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 April 28!
Please leave a message with your child(ren)’s name, age(s) and your contact information. This is a great opportunity for you and a friend to drop your children off together and go get a coffee and catch up!

Space is limited! Call today!

Get to know... Mary Ruby, Mentor Mom

The Wednesday MOPS groups welcomes a new Mentor Mom – or really, Mentor Grandma! Mary Ruby, 85, asked to be a part of this group simply because she loves to help and be around young moms.

When you ask her about her life, Mary Ruby beams: “I feel like I’ve had a wonderful life! I have felt like God has watched over me all my life.”

Born in Pueblo, Colorado, Mary feels fortunate to have had a father who was always happy, and a mother who, during the Great Depression, made “milk and bread for lunch taste good.” When Mary was three years old her family moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, where they raised rabbits for food. On Sunday mornings, Mary and her sister, Clydene, would catch the trolley to go to church; then, for fun “we would buy an all-day ticket and ride the trolley all over town. One bus driver was even a ventriloquist!

Mary started nurse’s training at the University of Utah, but when her father died, she left school and went to work for a radio-tube plant as a part of the war effort of World War II. Later she worked for United Airlines in food service, then in the dispatch office, checking weather and schedules for pilots.

When a group of Pepperdine College (now Pepperdine University) students visited her area, Mary met Lowry (her future husband) “in a cherry tree!” She found he had all the qualifications for the husband she envisioned: he was a Christian, had blue eyes, and did not drink or smoke (he was only missing the dark hair…). Lowry returned to California, and he and Mary wrote to each other for 4 months. He came to visit her in December, and he proposed. They were married in the church where Mary had grown up. She was 21. .

Mary and Lowry lived all along the coast of California. They had three children; the youngest, Don, is married to CCS’ beloved PE Teacher, Cheryl Ruby.

Mary has always lived a life based on service. She has taught kids with learning disabilities, as well as working as a psychiatric technician until the age of 65. At the Campbell Church, Mary taught 4^th/5^th grade Bible class for 40 years! She helps lead the 2^nd/3^rd grade girls’ club, Tuesday morning Women’s Bible Study, and works in the CCS Resource Room every Thursday morning. In addition (and all this “in retirement”) Mary is a leader in the Seniors’ group, visits friends and is in the process of learning to use a computer.

Mary is a firm believer in living life to its fullest. At the age of 69, with her sister Clydene (age 70) Mary Ruby went…(wait for it)…bungee jumping! Shortly after losing Lowry, her husband of almost 60 years, Mary traveled to Nairobi, Kenya with a missionary group from the Campbell Church, helping the students and leaders at Made In the Streets.

Mary says about herself: “I am happy, I have things to do, I have friends. The church has always been my family. I’ve never felt I didn’t have a place to go because I’ve always felt I had it in the church. No matter where I went, it was home. I’ve always felt they were my people.”

When asked what parenting advice she would give a young mother, Mary replied: “All you can do is show the way, and they make their choices. They don’t always make the choices you want, but my mother told me you keep on teaching them. You leave them in God’s hands, and be a good example.”

Wendy's Bread Pudding Recipe

At this month's meeting, the Saturday moms were treated to a yummy bread pudding, baked by Wendy. She was kind enough to share the recipe with us! For those who missed it, or those who want a new delicious recipe to try, here it is.

Bread Pudding (joyofbaking.com)

Thanks to Wendy for passing it along!

For dads: Men's Fraternity has two groups to choose from!

It's our goal here at the MOPS blog to help get the word out about anything that might be of interest. MOPS is a great place for us to connect with each other and find encouragement in our journeys as women and mothers.

...but dads need connection and encouragement, too! Men’s Fraternity has two groups to choose from where men college-age and up are on The Quest for Authentic Manhood, discussing topics from fatherhood to integrity in the workplace. For more information call (408) 378-4900 or e-mail campbellMOPS@gmail.com.

Mom's Night Out - April 16

Support MOPS Mom Nicole Jensen and get some great information,

try a new pilates class, and a $10 massage!

You are invited to a Wellness Reception at the Misha Patel Studio!

Offering Pilates and TRX Classes, Massage, Speaker Presentations, and Appetizers

Friday, April 16th, 5:30-8:30 PM
RSVP is required! Cost is $10 for massage, or for classes.

750 Miller Street, Suite 905 San Jose, CA 95110

phone: 408.300.3907 http://www.mishapatelstudio.com/

Call Julie or Michelle at 408-300-3907 or email studio@mishapatelstudio.com.

Please book appointments by Thursday, April 15th.

Speaker Presentations (FREE!)
5:30 PM- Core Balance Coaching by Nicole Jensen (Professional Life Coach, Physical Therapist, Studio Instructor)
6:30 PM- Slowing Down Father Time With Nutrition by Sandy Burton (Registered Dietitian)
7:30 PM- Meditation As A Business Practice by Sufani Garza (Certified Massage Therapist and Meditation Specialist)

Class Instruction ($10)
Pilates Reformer*6:30 PM, 8:00 PM
Pilates with Jumpboard*7:15 PM
Pilates Mat 8:00 PM
TRX Classes* 5:30 PM, 6:00 PM, 6:30 PM, 7:15 PM

Massage Appointments (15 min) 5:30-8:30 in 20 minute increments ($10)

Special Offer! 20% off a package of Life Coaching, Dietitian Consultations, and/or Massage Therapy when purchased at the Wellness Reception

Parking and Entering the studio:
Street parking is abundant, but please do not park in the front lot. At the front door, you will see a call box on your left. Push 227 and the CALL button (please do not use # or * ) Alternatively, you can scroll with the large circular Z to find M Patel Studio and push CALL. After being buzzed in, come to the 9th floor. Make a left out of the elevator and signs will direct you to the studio.

Women's Retreat April 17! Register now!

MOPS moms! We want to make sure you've heard about the upcoming Women's Retreat!

The Campbell Church Women's Ministry hosts a spring retreat every year - usually over a weekend and every year I find it harder and harder to work it into our family's busy schedule and my other responsibilities. Not to mention, at a price tag of almost $200, it was getting harder and harder to afford.

I was THRILLED to see that this year's retreat is - get this - totally affordable and totally manageable from a time standpoint.

On April 17, our own former MOPS speaker Cheri Gregory (remember Unraveling the Personality Puzzle of Your Preschooler?) will be speaking from 8:30-4:30 at the Campbell Church. This one-day event is designed to encourage and uplift you!

"De-LIGHT-ful Living in a Weighty World"

I know, I know - a whole day? Just for you?
But there are soccer games to go to, errands to run, groceries to be bought, laundry to wash, laundry to fold, more laundry to wash...

Yup, I know. And it'll all be there next weekend, too. And the weekend after that, and the weekend after that.

But Cheri Gregory won't be.

Now's your chance to take 8 hours and recharge your batteries, and it's only $20 (they even have scholarships available).

You need this retreat. This day will be SO worth it! Don't miss this!

Please register soon, and take the chance to recharge, some time for yourself, and really connect with other women.

All are welcome. To inquire more, call (408) 378-4900 or e-mail campbellMOPS@gmail.com.