Introducing...

Jennifer Rizer, our Finance Leader. (This means hers is the cheerful face that greets you each morning when you sign in for our MOPS meetings. She is the money-keeper, budgeter extraordinaire and registration queen. She is also in charge of keeping our facebook page up to date. Remember to check it out & Like it if you want to receive our updates & reminders.)

Jennifer and her husband, Kevin, have lived in Sheridan for 6 years. They have a spicy, spunky 3-year-old daughter, Katelynn.

Jennifer has a big heart for MOPS and all you fellow moms. She loves the space MOPS provides where we naturally meet new mom-friends and find ways to encourage one another. She is looking forward to sharing this “season of life” with you through all our activities and communications this coming year.

Time for the favorites! Jennifer’s favorite time of day is the morning because “it is the time of day when Katelynn is most snuggly.” Her favorite dessert is Marshmallow Peeps. (And, I happen to know her extra-favorite dessert is somewhat stale Marshmallow Peeps. Does anyone else join us in this strange-but-wonderful love!?) Her favorite Bible verse is Philippians 4:16, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. She says this is her favorite because, “It is the verse that gets me through the most difficult times, knowing that God will give me the strength to overcome any hurdles that come my way.”

When asked if she likes to be messy she responded, “Not at all!”

The part of mommy-ing that Jennifer finds the most beautiful is watching Katelynn grow up. She says, “It is bittersweet.” The biggest reward comes when evidence emerges that the Godly principles she is sowing are taking root.

Thank you, Jennifer, for all the hours of diligent, detailed work you’ve already put into MOPS this year. Organization is a tedious and often overlooked task – and you’ve served us with grace and persistence. The heart you share with us as friends and soon-to-be-friends is giant, warm and inviting. Thank you for offering yourself, your passion and your love to our group! We look forward to more encounters with you, especially the light of your smile and the contagious effects of your laughter.

More Messy Moments

A couple of weeks ago we had “one of those days.” You know, the ones where you wonder if it is possible to send everyone back to bed and just have a do-over? It started with 2 glasses of spilled milk. 2. Really. Milk is my least favorite food item to clean up because it is 1. stickier than you ever really think it should be, 2. requires several rags, and 3. stinks to high heaven if you don’t stick all those rags into the washing machine immediately. (And I dislike laundry more than any other Mommy-task on the planet!) Anyway, by lunchtime we had added 2 glasses of spilled juice to the list. And – here comes the messiest part – I headed downstairs around 3 PM to check on the laundry only to discover a leak. Juice drips falling from the ceiling in 3 places. Seriously. Out of the vents. Apparently, my son had spilled his juice DOWN THE HEAT VENT in the kitchen and I hadn’t noticed. Later, we ended the night with another glass of spilled milk. Truly. We have since gone back to sippy cups for everyone. – Bethany Tippin


My messiest moment was Halloween 8 years ago.  I had dressed my 4 and 2 year-old daughters up in these cute cat and mouse costumes that my cousin had made and sent to us as hand-me-downs.  Our baby was dressed up like a piece of cheese (think “Farmer in the Dell” song).  Megan, my oldest, had said she wasn’t feeling well, but I decided to pack them up and take them trick-or-treating at my sister’s house since she lived here at the time.  No sooner had I gotten Megan and Annie out of the car, but Megan threw up on the front lawn.  We made it into the house, and she threw up in the garbage can.  My sister’s single, beautiful, fashion-diva college roommate looked on in horror.  We exited as quickly as we could and got home in time for each of my two oldest girls to throw up too many times to count that night.  I slept on the floor of their room because someone was throwing up about every half hour.  The next day we had a movie marathon as I tried to get the girls to keep even a teaspoon of liquid down at a time.  Now I tell people that the Hoffmann Halloween of 2007 will go down in history! - Robin Hoffmann

Introducing...

our Fearless Leader: Robin Hoffmann

Robin is our MOPS Coordinator this year. (That means, she organizes all those who are on the steering committee and heads up all our meetings and extra activities. She shows wonderfully gentle and loving administrative skills while keeping the rest of us on track and organized. Our meetings would not happen without all the love and preparation she’s provided.)

Here are a few things about Robin, to help us get to know one another.

Robin and her family have lived in Sheridan for 10 years. She is married to Sam and has 4 girls ages 10, 9, 7 and 4. Her favorite time of day is the evening.

Robin’s favorite things about MOPS are watching growth in the women around her and learning new “mom” things. The aspect of MOPS she is most excited about this year is our upcoming speakers!

Robin’s favorite Bible verse is Psalm 103:8 – “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.” She says it reminds her that God is not up in heaven, removed from us here on earth, just waiting to punish us when we screw up. Quite the contrary, He is here, cheering us on in this journey of life and wanting to shower His love upon us and our children. The closer we walk with Him, the better able we are to receive that love. It also reminds her of how she can imitate Him to her children – by being slow to anger and abounding in love.

Robin’s favorite dessert is chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. (Good to know, right!?)

When asked if she likes to be messy, she answered, “NO!”

And lastly, when asked what part of mommy-ing is the most beautiful to her, she replied, “Seeing how God teaches me about Himself and His love as I strive to show my kids my love and how to live life.”

Thank you, Robin, for all you do and have done already for this 2013-1014 MOPS year!!! We love you.

Organizing Our Mess

We just had an amazing first meeting! Thank you to all who attended and made our time joyous.

For those of you who missed us, here's a quick recap of the morning: we mingled & got to know each other through a fun game involving lots of pink yarn J, we found out our table assignments for the year, enjoyed a lovely hot breakfast and caught up with one another (it’s been a long summer!).

One of the elements of our meeting this year will be something we’re calling “Messy Moments.” These are short stories we can share with one another regarding the literal messiness of our lives as mothers. Today, our steering committee members shared quick “Messy Moments.” Here are a couple put down in writing:

About a month ago, I was preparing a meal for some of our friends as they were coming over.  I had the baby with me, and my 3 boys were in the backyard playing.  They are ages 6, 3, and 1.  our youngest boy Lincoln had decided to pull his diaper off on the back deck and actually had diarrhea and pooped on the back deck, down the steps, and into the rocks!  I was so frazzled because I was trying to cook dinner, and now I had to give him a bath while the baby was already crabby.  So after I finally got him all bathed and was ready to go outside to clean up the poop, I found my oldest son being a really "good" helper.  He had decided to help me, by taking the hose and spraying off the poop....so I'm not exactly sure where all the poop went, but it's probably somewhere in the rocks haha! – Heather Erickson

I wrote this as I was tending to sick kiddos and trying to manage all of the extra work involved with that. It reminded me of a very literal “messy moment” in my parental career that involved my oldest who was then 4 ½ years old and my then 3 year old.  My youngest slept through the whole thing, he was the lucky one. 

My oldest, Luke had never experienced throwing up before and one evening as I was tucking he and his sister in bed (they share a room), he complained about his tummy hurting.  I blew it off as a stall tactic and told him he would feel better after he got some rest.  About 15 mins later as I was finishing up the last few chores I hadn’t gotten to earlier I heard a really horrible noise coming from their room.  I say horrible because I knew exactly what it was and how NOT GOOD this was going to be.  I ran into their room and froze, should I grab a trash can or should I just drag him down from the top bunk and get him to the bathroom where he can finish there??  My indecision cost me precious time and probably more cleanup (I should have grabbed a trash can), but alas it was done. 

His sister, who was on the bottom bunk was soundly asleep, oblivious to the fact that less than 6 inches from her head was something very unpleasant dripping down.  The enormity of this “mess” was beginning to hit me and I just didn’t know where to begin!  Daddy was working late, so I had to start somewhere on my own. 

First thing: get sick kid into bathtub, stripped down, hosed off and jammies quarantined.  I stuck him on the couch in the living room and turned on a movie for him after instructing him on the use of a trash can. Next, got sister out of bed and transferred to my bed, safely out of the way of anymore icky stuff.  Next, I assessed the room.  Quite a lot of damage had ensued!  I decided to start at the top bunk and work my way down when suddenly I heard my son having issues again!  I ran out to check on him and he had gotten it in the trash can!  That was good news because about 2 mins later I heard my daughter crying from my room and when I went back there she was complaining about her tummy hurting.  Great.

Sure enough, soon after I got her set up on the other couch with a trash can, up it all comes.  After comforting and soothing both of them I got back to work stripping beds, checking on kids, cleaning and disinfecting bunk beds, checking on kids, whoops, cleaning trash cans out…  Will this ever end?!?  When, oh when was husband coming home?  I had called him by the way but got no answer, most frustrating thing ever!!

Okay I had to get back to work; the worst damage was the carpet.  Almost a five foot diameter faced me and I barely held it together…. All in all it took a good couple of hours cleaning all the while running and checking on kids who were getting sick every ½ an hour to hour intermittently.  Finally daddy comes home, after the worst is over of course, so I am not exactly thrilled. 

Was this a “messy moment”?  Oh yes, my worst thus far. But on the other side of it I see that we survived, just as I will survive this bout of sickness and it only took a professional carpet cleaner to get that horrible smelly reminder out of that room.  I love my family “messy” and all. - Brandy Patceg

On a less messy note, we had so much fun giving out our fabulous door prizes! Thank you again to all our generous donors!

It was, truly, fantastic to see all you lovely ladies today. We’re looking forward to an awesome year with some great events. Remember to invite your friends!

Getting Closer

Our first meeting is exactly ONE WEEK from today. Please join us on Wednesday, September 25th from 9:00 to 11:00 AM at First Baptist Church for an awesome morning of laughter, door prizes, fellowship and connection. Remember, bring a friend and earn an extra entry into our morning raffle. There are some great prizes - don't miss out!

September 25, 2013: "Organizing our Mess"

At this meeting we will get to know one another a bit, find out our table assignments (smaller groups of moms you will get to know really well), introduce this year's leadership, and dive into the MOPS theme of the year: "A Beautiful Mess."

Please consider a few things about this first meeting. 1. If you have not yet registered, please come a few minutes early to fill out paperwork regarding your child and his/her needs for our childcare workers. 2. If your children are not used to the FBC facility and/or take a little coaxing before they are comfortable being left in their classes, please arrive a few minutes early. 3. Remember, breakfast will be served - so come hungry! 4. Door prizes will begin promptly at 9:00 AM.

We really, truly, can't wait to see you there!

A Typical Meeting

“What is MOPS?”        “What do you do at MOPS?”  “What are MOPS meetings like?”

For all you curious, new moms to MOPS, here are a few more details regarding our meetings:

We begin promptly at 9 AM. This is important because we start with door prizes – and you don’t want to miss them! This year we have donations from dozens of local business and some of them are REALLY good. Such as: a $50 spa pedicure. Don’t we all want a little Momma-pampering time!? We’re giving that one away to a lucky mom at our first meeting. So, remember: 9 AM sharp!

After door prizes we might announce upcoming events or celebrate new babies or new pregnancy news. We also try to recognize mom birthdays (you know you want a little attention!), and whoop and cheer over anniversary celebrations. The anniversaries are especially fun because we have mentor moms (ladies who have been through this mommying-small-children thing & know just how to love and support us through our wearying days) who often have big-number anniversaries they are celebrating. It is simply joyful. J

Then (drum roll, please!), it is time for breakfast. Yes, HOT breakfast without children around, so YOU get to eat it! Plus, you get to enjoy it with other women around so we get to gab. Again, pure joy. The spread usually includes egg casseroles, yogurt & granola, fruit, muffins, sweet breads, coffee cake, juice and coffee. Every meeting the food is a bit different, however, because we take turns preparing and bringing the food. Anyway, COME HUNGRY.

After breakfast, each meeting is a little different. This year’s theme is “A Beautiful Mess: Embrace Your Story,” so we will have various activities, service projects and speakers that help us explore the idea  that Mom’s live in messes – but that our jobs and existence are BEAUTIFUL. Sometimes we do simple crafts. They are not particularly fancy, but you will have time to actually FINISH a project! Sometimes we listen to speakers and then have discussion afterward within small groups. Sometimes we just get to relax and talk with other gals who are going through just the same things we are right now. And doesn’t it feel good to know you are not alone and that someone else knows exactly what you’re talking about!?

Our time is scheduled. We do have activities and plans and speakers. But, we always keep you, MOM, in mind. Some gals come dressed up, some come relaxed, some just roll in right out of bed – it’s up to you. You are welcome into our group just the way you are and we can’t wait to get to know you!