FBC Charlottesville Mothers of Preschoolers: Meeting Recap

It's Craft Day at MOPS! Today we made not one but two fabulous crafts; one for Thanksgiving and one for your Christmas tree. But first lets have a few announcements.

If you are able to donate non-perishable food or grocery gift cards to a local family in need please bring them to our next MOPS meeting. Questions? See Mere C.
We have a ministry opportunity to serve the young moms over at Young Lives. They will be having their Christmas Party in early December (12/10 or 12/19) and we will be providing the food. Watch your email for more details.
Many thanks to those who helped pack shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child on Wednesday! We will be packing again Friday (11/16) from 4-7pm, Sunday (11/18) from 1-5 pm, and Monday (11/19) from 9am - noon. Please come out to Covenant Church on Rio Road if you can help; feel free to bring your little ones!
The "Wednesdays in the Word" ladies Bible study group is hosting a "Christmas Coffee" on Wednesday, December 5th from 9:15 - 11:30 am at Trinity Presbyterian Church. The featured guest speaker will be Kristin Smoot of Elim Christian Center in Poland. There will also be a couple of our own MOPS sharing as well! Childcare is provided, and there will be crafts. Come out for this wonderful time of food, fellowship, and music!
The next Sisters Bible Study will begin January 8th. This will be a non-video study entitled "Seeking Him". Childcare is provided for free but registration is necessary. Click here for more information and to register. (Link will be updated in December.)
The Charlottesville Waldorf School is hosting a Holiday Bazaar on December 1st from 10-5. There will be games, food, crafts, and a raffle! Click here for more information.

For our "Get to Know You" game we learned that Laura P. has sung at the Nashville Palace. Cara B. loves college football, especially the Florida Seminoles! Beate T. lived in England for five years and while she was there learned English. And Katie S. is related to a former U.S. president, James K. Polk.

Our "On Time Save Time" door prize winner was Kathryn M. Enjoy Bonefish Grill Kathryn!

Amy Thornton shares her "Sunshine Sentiments"

Today we had the pleasure of hearing from Amy Thornton of the Moms Next Table. Amy writes a blog called Sunshine Sentiments, that is full of encouragement and inspiration. Amy shared a blog post entitled, "How Laundry Says I Love You". Please click here to read Amy's blog post. Thanks so much for sharing Amy!

Next up our Craft Coordinator, Laurie Burke, showed us how to make a floral arrangement that uses a pumpkin instead of a traditional vase. The pumpkin is cut open, you scoop out its "guts", and place some green floral foam inside of a plastic bag which is then placed in the pumpkin. After watering the foam, flowers are poked into it to create a beautiful Thanksgiving centerpiece.

Our second craft was a Christmas ornament made from a clear glass ball ornament, paper, and ribbon. We cut our paper (scrapbook, wedding invites, baby announcements, etc.) into thin strips. The strips were then coiled up and placed into the glass ball. The metal top was put on and a holiday ribbon was tied around it. What a beautiful and easy craft. Many thanks to Laurie for all of her hard work!