Speaker: Janice Jacobson

Just in time for New Years resolutions (okay, I'm just saying this because I'm so horribly late in writing this blog post, but just go with me on this), let's think back to Janice Jacobson's talk in November. If you recall, Janice is a co-op preschool teacher who spoke to us about the importance of play, fun things to do inside and outside, and some of the impacts of screen time.

I wanted to make sure you all have access to the documents that we passed out at the meetings in case you misplaced them or weren't there to hear the talk, so they're attached to this post!

Janice also recommended this website that helps families plan for a technology "diet".

I know that my table had some great discussions about technology and our kids after her talk, so I hope you found it helpful as well!

Resources from her talk:

Early Literacy Websites

Get Children Ready To Read

Ideas for Open Ended Play

Milestones for 1-2 Year Olds

Mind in the Making - Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs

Recommended Websites

What Children Learn Through Play

Thanks for sharing so much of your wisdom with us, Janice.

Speaker: Amy Steingard

Wasn't the talk this past week fantastic?

Amy Steingard (a former MOPS member!) spoke to us about owning and living into our stories and the importance of vulnerability and owning our stories instead of allowing them to own us.

If you want to read more of her writing, Amy writes at her blog "Tiny Uprisings". On her blog she introduces herself, "I'm Amy.  A southern girl transplanted to the Pacific Northwest...mom to three amazing, spirited tiny humans, seeking to reclaim my own place in my own life.  It's easy to get lost in there, but I'm rising up and digging out! I'm a purpose-seeking, authenticity-loving, relationship-needing, beauty-creating, faith-hugging regular Jane, trying to make the most out of this one life here on earth and encourage other women to do the same.  It might be a bumpy ride, but hopefully you'll join me."

Thanks for sharing your story with us, Amy!

Stardust

by Kay Lambert

My two older boys are what you might call “obsessed” with all things space and aviation.  As a result, I’ve been gifted the opportunity to re-learn or learn for the first time many a fascinating fact about space travel, space exploration, and our great big universe.  In learning about stars, one of the visually striking topics that often comes up is that of nebulae.  Some nebulae are basically star nurseries.

“Stars are born when clouds of gas collapse down under the pull of gravity. In this photograph, new stars still within the dark cloud are beginning to glow at the tips of fingers of gas.  As the stars get brighter, their radiation will blow away the nearby gas, and they will eventually shine out as newborn stars.” - (the Eagle Nebula from The Ultimate Interactive Guide to the Universe)

When we think of our own stories, it’s easy to feel like it’s a great big fuzzy expanse of brightness, darkness, ice, heat and dust that somehow all happened in the life of little ol’ “me.”  But as time goes by, all of those things start to come together to tell a story, to form, if you will, a really bright star.  

Some of you may be familiar with the work of social scientist and storyteller extraordinaire, Brene Brown.  In her book, Rising Strong, she talks about the importance of owning our stories.  The chapter opens with the following quote:

“A map does not just chart, it unlocks and formulates meaning; it forms bridges between here and there, between disparate ideas that we did not know were previously connected.”

- Reif Larsen

When you look up at the stars and can pick out some of the constellations that we’ve all learned about, you can’t help but see these bright stars in relation to one another.  Whatever path you’ve been on, and whatever path you feel like you’re walking, running, hiking, or crawling on right now, I can’t help but marvel at the fact that, basically, all our stars have aligned, and here we are, together at MOPS.  

So I just want to send out this encouragement as we get the chance to share our own stories, and hear the stories of the other moms at each of our tables.  Our stories will be as unique, diverse, beautiful and numerous as the stars in the sky.  Who were some of the other stars in your story?  How did something that seemed like a big hot mess turn into a major pull of how you became who you are today?  How did you get from there to here?  

Looking forward to building these star maps of our lives together with you ladies.  Shine on, bright stars!

Paying it Forward (with a meal for a new mom)

I was so excited to recently hear back from a girl named Adrienne, the first lady I ever took a meal to in MOPS.  Or, ever, to be honest.  (I didn't even know that was a thing in my pre-mommy days.  Isn't that weird and sad?  It's hard to empathize with people in a stage of life you haven't arrived at yet, and I always find myself wishing I could turn back the hands of time in order to be more caring and sympathetic to all my friends/family who had babies long before I did.  It's really true that you just don't know what you don't know.  I digress....)  

My situation was that I had a baby myself, maybe ten months old.  A marriage on the rocks, all my own problems, worries, insecurities, no peripheral time for this sort of thing....BUT Mops asked that we do this.  And I was a member of MOPS, and didn't want to be the one not doing my part.  But in the spirit of honesty, I did NOT want to.  I didn't know any other women at MOPS, least of all this person I was bringing dinner to.  Would my son cooperate with this meal drop-off, or have a total meltdown since it WAS the dreaded "witching hour"?  I just had no idea.  

But I put on my my big girl pants, but not really my servant's heart, and drove some food over to Adrienne.  Adrienne was totally gracious, and welcoming, and brought me into her house to visit for a little while.  She had another daughter, and tons of toys to entertain my kiddo for a bit, and we just introduced ourselves, shared a bit of our mommying state of affairs, and had a pleasant little visit.  She was very appreciative of my trip & gift of food, and I could just sense that even in the midst of my own crises, she needed the help more than I did.  Because that's what having a newborn is like.  There is very little that that tops how difficult and time-consuming and overwhelming that is!  In that moment, I was so thankful that I had put my selfishness aside and just done it.  Not even because MOPS asked me to, but ultimately because I knew because God had asked me to.  It was the right thing to do, and I felt honored to be the one to help her out that particular day.

Fast forward a while, and I'm so happy to share this email with you:

* * * *

 I am writing you all the way from Luxembourg in Europe!  We moved here a year and a half ago from Seattle when my husband took a job at the Amazon EU office here in Luxembourg.  Since I have been here, I have begun a meal provision service for families with newborns at our church here in Luxembourg just like what you ladies do through MOPS because it meant SO much to me when I had a newborn in Seattle and hardly knew a soul.  My church has never done anything like that before, and the concept was a new one to many people here mostly because the congregation is a very diverse, multinational demographic, but the response has been overwhelmingly positive.  I just wanted you to know that the meals I received from MOPS leaders (I think we received 4 or 5), were such a blessing to our family and were such a tremendous help to me, and now other families abroad are being blessed in the same way, indirectly because of you ladies!  

Personally, one of MY favorite things about the meals from the MOPS group was that they didn't just provide a main course.  Most of them went above and beyond--sending side dishes and snacks for the kids and even dessert and drinks sometimes.  I think this is a wonderful example of God's love for us, how He doesn't just give us enough but blesses us abundantly more than we can ask or imagine.

-Adrienne Gross

* * * *

Fun fact: Adrienne is about to have her third baby now  :)  If you happened to know her and want to send a prayer up for her, I'm sure she'd appreciate it!

Thanks for sticking with me this week, you guys.  I hope we are all blessed by this ministry, whether we receive, or give to one another.  I'm so thankful to be a part of this group of women!

[ Kara White - MOPS Hospitality]

Welcoming a baby and receiving meals from MOPS moms

This may come as no surprise to you, but moms who have recently welcomed a baby into their family at MOPS love and appreciate when other members bring her and her family food! Throughout the year you will be getting emails asking you to sign-up to bring a new mom a meal, and we hope you participate and are able to bless a growing family by providing a meal.

Here is what some moms on the receiving end of these meals have to say:

+ "When I got meals delivered, my twins had just come home from the hospital and we had a very busy 2 year old.  Life was super chaotic and not having to make dinner was a huge help!  In fact, I had 4 women bring over meals with a main dish, a dessert, and some form of veggies!  It was amazing!  They all came in to meet the twins and hold a baby for a few minutes of baby free time for me!  I felt very loved and supported and like I was part of a larger community of mamas!  In a life with medically fragile twins, I felt very isolated and alone and this was a reconnection with people who loved us and supported us!  Thanks to the wonderful women who brought food and showered love on our family!" - Jennifer Burgess

+ "I can't even explain how meaningful the meals for new moms program has been for our family! My 2 month old son needed some last minute, unexpected surgery. When the two of us finally returned home from the hospital I was met by an attention deprived toddler and my house was in a state of disaster.  I was so exhausted and hardly ready to whip up a family dinner. Sarah from MOPS showed up at my door with a hot meal. I had never met her before, but I nearly broke down and cried because I was so thankful for her act of kindness. The meal that she brought ended up feeding us for several days. You never know how much you will bless a family when you prepare a meal for them. Thank you Sarah!" - Annie Doornink

+ "I had a rough start with motherhood--breastfeeding was a challenge and consuming all my time and energy.  I wasn't the best meal planner before my son arrived, which made the thought of planning and making dinner during those difficult months incredibly overwhelming.  My husband was very helpful, but I would still find myself feeling guilty when I didn't cook.  Days I knew I had a meal coming from another supportive mother, I felt instantly less anxious.  It may have seemed like a small thing, but during that emotional and transitional time, it felt like it was lifting a huge burden from my shoulders." - Stacy Anderson

+ "When I joined MOPS 2 weeks after my oldest daughter (now almost 6) was born, my table leader asked if I wanted meals.  I was brand new and didn't know it was the norm, so I declined.  Over the next couple years, I had the privilege of bringing meals to new moms, and so when I was pregnant with my second daughter, I was really excited for my turn to receive the MOPS meals.  It was everything I had hoped for :).  Three years later, I still remember exactly who brought what, and those meals were so wonderful.   The store-bought meals were just as thoughtful and appreciated as the homemade.  I was later blessed with more meals for my third child, and again, I remember each and every meal and each and every smiling face who brought them.  Those meals are almost worth having another baby! :)" - Nikki Ahrenholz

+ "My son was a few months old when I joined MOPS and I was encouraged that it wasn't "too late" for me to get in on some meal help. I signed up in a heartbeat! I was truly touched to see moms I'd never met arrive on my doorstep, often with a toddler on their hip, to deliver a beautiful meal to me. I remember a delicious chowder, a wonderful chicken pot pie, and a time somewhere in my son's early months when someone slipped in a bag of a dozen chocolate chip cookies that made my whole WEEK better. One of the times when a meal was delivered, my son was very fussy and I was distressed about it. I mentioned it to the mom and she stopped and talked to me for a few minutes about it. I felt less alone. I have been SO blessed by meals from MOPS moms. I honestly think it's what has made me so much more willing to help out new moms in my community. I used to never feel I had the time. Now I'm honestly excited to do it when I can because I knew how it feels to receive it!" - Elise Stephens

+ "As for me, the meals that were the most meaningful were the ones that came from total strangers. I absolutely could not believe that in the world of such busyness, a mom who didn't even know me would take the time and love to cook a meal and deliver it to my home, giving me such a gift of being able to just enjoy my little one and this precious transitional time. It truly felt like receiving the love of Jesus." - Melissa Roe

Please keep your eyes open for opportunities to bring meals to new moms throughout this year!