Now that the holidays have begun, you are probably already receiving gifts and inevitably wondering what the heck you are going to do with that not-so-lovely gift you got from Aunt Martha.  Well, MOPS has a solution for you! At our meeting this Thursday (Dec 12th), we're having our yearly White Elephant Gift Swap.  You can relieve yourself of an unwanted, unneeded gift, although you'll be leaving with another one, and hopefully the one you get will be wanted/needed. Here is what you do: Find a re-gift gift in your house OR buy a gift for $10 bucks or under.  Wrap the gift, and bring it with you.

(The elephant exchange is totally optional, and of course, you are welcome to come without doing the swap.)

During Thursday's meeting, we will also be doing a fun holiday craft, and these never disappoint due to some crafty minds in our crew.  Oh, and as with all MOPS events, food will be present, so feel free to bring a yummies to share.

Lastly, Thursday night, we will be holding our annual cookie swap at Julie's house.  Since we are a pretty low maintenance group, store bought or slice-and-bake cookies are totally acceptable and never judged. Bring a couple dozen cookies of your choice and join us for more laughs, beverages, and fun.  For more details, email Julie (juliebrts@yahoo.com). 

We hope you join us for these fellowship opportunities as we encourage and uplift each other during this Christmas season.

Merry Christmas!

P.S. If you and your kiddos are looking for some FREE holiday entertainment tonight, the Bearden Public Library is having a "special holiday story time and craft" at 6pm.  Also, the jolly ole elf is making his rounds to the area libraries to take FREE picts with your kids.  Lines aren't usually long, so grab your camera and check here  to see when the fat guy will be at a library near you.

P.P.S. Other holiday events in our area: knoxville-this-holiday-season

Tis the season, of too much CANDY!

Does your house have too much pesky candy that beckons to you during nap time or late night hours?  Why not donate some of the sweets to Operation Christmas Child* and thus give it to needy children around the globe?  (BTW, only non-meltable candy can be donated. Hard candy, suckers, mints are great.) While you're at it, why not go through some toy drawers and clean out some small toys or stuffed animals that can also be donated.

Even if you've eaten all your child's Halloween candy already (I don't judge you- I'm eating my son's candy as I type this!) or don't have any toy clutter to clean out (really?!), please come help us wrap and pack shoe boxes that will be sent around the world.  You don't need any experience with OCC or with MOPS, and I guarantee you will be blessed by the experience.

We will meet in the Fellowship Hall at Erin Presbyterian at 9:30am this Thursday, November 14th.  Free childcare will be available, and feel free to bring coffee/snacks for yourself or to share.

If you want to contribute something more than your time, the following items are always needed to fill the OCC boxes: new socks, washcloths, note pads, coloring books, small toys (cars, balls, stuffed animals), and oh, we can always use shoe boxes and wrapping paper.

(Monetary donations are welcome too. It cost $7 to ship each box to a needy child.)

Oh, and it was so great to meet some of you our fire safety day! Hope to see you Thursday or later at a more traditional MOPS meeting.  :)

Happy Veteran's Day!

*to find out more about OCC and what is acceptable to be included in the boxes, visit here

Young or old, big or small, who doesn't love a real-life fire truck to climb on and explore?!  Erin MOPS is fortunate to have Captain Paul Trumpore from the Knox Fire Department this Thursday, October 24th from 9:30-11:30am.  While we climb on and through the fire truck, he'll show us firefighter tools and gear and explain new fire safety procedures. Additionally, his team will also be bringing the TWO-STORY FIRE SAFETY HOUSE to provide a hands on educational experience and practice escape procedures! All are welcome and encouraged to join us for this FREE and fun event.  Oh, and rumor has it that there will be all sorts of badge stickers and fire safety souvenirs for kiddos, so bring also neighbors, family, and friends....and your camera!  You won't want to miss this!

Fall is here and your kids are on fall break! Come on out to the Fruit and Berry Patch with us this Thursday (Knox County Fall Break) at 10am for pumpkins, hayrides, cider, and the patch's famous fried pies.  There might even be a small corn maze and goat feeding opportunities.  Bring all the kiddos, some neighbors, and maybe a grandparent or two.  Hope to see you there!

www.thefruitandberrypatch.com

MOPS Thurs, October 10th at 9:30am

Hello Everybodeeeee! (Yes, way too much Grover in my life this days.  I need more adult interaction!)

Whether you are starving to discuss new fall reality T.V. or just looking forward to the yummy food and coffee, please join us for MOPS this Thursday, October 10th.  We will be doing a craft, which I'm sure will be something much cooler than the straw flowers pictured above.  In addition to a craft, we'll have discussion questions that help us to get to know each other more and talk about our "beautifully messy" lives.

As always, all children and visitors are welcome and encouraged to attend...and all visitor with children are especially welcome.

If you would like to contribute to our Operation Christmas Child (OCC) collection efforts, please start saving shoe boxes and bring soap, toothbrushes, and toothpaste. We'll also continue collecting school supplies.

Special thanks to last meeting's wonderful speaker, Heather Cockrum! Thanks to her presentation and suggestions, we can get free and almost free stuff for OCC or our own families! Oh, and in addition to her slides and sample meal plans that she provided, she thought this link might be helpful:
http://www.southernsavers.com/2013/10/publix-gas-gift-card-scenario-idea-get-52-for-14/

See you Thursday! Happy Fall Y'all!

Oh, and don't forget to mark your calendars:
October 17th: MOPS outing to Oakes Farm for all things fall: pick your own pumpkin, hayride, corn maze.  http://www.oakesfarm.com/
October 24th: Captain Paul will be bringing a fire truck and the 2-story fire safety building to our MOPS meeting.  Kids will especially LOVE this...and he'll have fire safety stickers and color books.

Thurs, Sept 26th & Donuts

One week from today, we have our next MOPS meeting and our first speaker of the year!  Heather Cockrum has taught money saving strategies and Dave Ramsey budgeting on UT campus and at churches. She'll be talking about how to start meal planning and couponing without it taking a ton of time or becoming a part time job.  With easy to implement strategies, Heather will show us how to make our dollar go further so that we can splurge when we want.

Speaking of splurging, TODAY (Sept 19th) is Pirate Day at all Krispy Kreme locations.  Any buccaneer who enters KK and tells them to "Walk the Plank" (or any other pirate talk) will get a FREE hot, glazed donut.  If you dare, dress up in full pirate attire (or dress your kid up), and you will be rewarded with a FREE DOZEN.  Since MOPS and donuts are forever married, I thought this was necessary on our blog. :)

Hope to see you and your kiddos September 26th! (And feel free to bring snacks and friends.)

Childcare is provided, so please arrive around 9:15am to get the littles settled and be in our meeting by 9:30am.

Psst...friendly reminder about MOPS dues.

1st Meeting: Thur, Sept 12th at 9:30

New or returning moms, we hope you will join us for our first meeting THIS THURSDAY at 9:30am. We meet at Erin Presbyterian Church near Bearden Hill, and you can park on the side of the building next to the playground.  Even if you were not able to come to the Open House in August, you are welcome and invited to come to MOPS.

At this meeting, we will be welcomed by Reverend Stuart, the pastor at Erin Presbyterian.  We will also be making collage nametags and food is always a part of any MOPS event! (Feel free to bring any snack to share and coffee will be provided.)

We will also begin collecting items for Operation Christmas Child (OCC), our main charity.  This week, we will be collecting any and all school supplies that will be used to fill the OCC boxes.  These items include but are not limited to: pencils, small pads of paper, pens, stickers, rulers, crayons, pencil bags, etc. For more information and details on OCC, please check out their website below. 

 ***We will pack and wrap OCC boxes at our MOPS meeting on November 14th

*** If you can, please try to bring your MOPS dues to this meeting ($30 w/out childcare, $35 w/ childcare)

www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/

Thanks for Coming to Open House!

Thanks to all of you who came to the Open House on Thursday!!! (And a special thanks to all of our new and veteran childcare workers!)  It was great to see some new faces and to reconnect with some MOPS moms and kiddos from previous years.  We hope that you will be a part of MOPS this year and join our community of fellowship, support, and encouragement.  

Let's celebrate the "Beautiful Mess" that is motherhood!

First meeting**: September 12th at Erin Presbyterian from 9:30-11:30 (please arrive early if you are putting a kid in childcare)

Hope to see you September 12th even if you couldn't be at Open House!

**We meet the 2nd and 4th Thursday of every month during the school year.

OPEN HOUSE!!!

If you are a mom with a child (or children) age birth to 5 years, please join us for the MOPS OPEN HOUSE ! We will be talking about what MOPS is and generally what we do, and as always, there will be food.  Bring your children, too!  There will be all sorts of kid crafts and activities, and childcare is provided for free.  (However, you are also welcome to keep your little ones by your side.) We have a great year planned with speakers, crafts, Mom Night Outs, and a couple ways to give back to our community.  Hope to see you (and your kids) there! And bring along any other Mamas that you know!

WHO: Any mom with children age birth- 5 years old
WHAT: MOPS Open House
WHEN: Thursday, August 22nd at 10:30 am
WHY: Fun, encouragement, support, laughs, fellowship
WHERE: Erin Presbyterian Church (200 Locket Road, Knoxville 37919)
Park near the playground on the side of the church.

Bubbles, Chalk, and Snacks...Oh My!  Let's have a little last minute play date to enjoy the summer sun and let the kiddos run free in open space.

Who: YOU, your kids, neighbors, grandparents, friends

What: Fun at the Park

When: Monday, August 5th, 10am ish

Where: West Hills Park near the big (main) play structure

I might even whip up a game/craft situation for the munchkins to enjoy...AND rumor has it that there might be sand pudding.  YUM! Hope to see you there!

P.S. If raining, we'll meet in the gazebo at West Hills Park and do crafts or just let the kids play in the warm, summer rain. :)

 
 

That is the theme for MOPS this year!!  Personally I am in love with this theme.  How aptly it describes my own life!  I hope everyone is getting ready for a great year with our group!  

 And don't forget to check the blog or Facebook for updates on summer activities!

If you're new to us, please contact Kelly via email kellyskaplan (at) gmail (dot) com to learn more about how you can join us! 
 

Summer Activities!!!

Here's a current list of our summer schedule!  Please fee free to join us anytime!!!

-Monday, June 10th at 9:30am 

Knoxville Zoo (3700 Knoxville Zoo Drive 37914)

**Zoo is less likely to have groups on Mondays, and it is always less crowded when they first open**

http://www.knoxville-zoo.org/

-Monday, June 24th at 11am

Storytime with Ms. Helen at Smart Toys and Books (9700 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37922)

http://smarttoysandbooks.com/

In addition to the ones listed above, there is a standing playdate at Erin Presbyterian playground on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month.  

If you are new, please be sure to contact Kelly via email at kellyskaplan (at) gmail (dot) com or phone (865-898-8636).  This way we can be sure to be looking for you and let you know in case there are any changes the day of an activity.  

Welcome!!

Welcome to the blog for Erin Presbyterian MOPS!  Here you will find important information about our events, as well as, be able to email someone with any questions you might have.  You can go to the church's webpage for more background information about MOPS International and our local group!  We hope you join us soon!  You can also email Kelly at kellyskaplan (at) gmail (dot) com for more information.  Or find us on Facebook and message us!