Missions Update:

We collected and donated over $800.00 worth of maternity clothing to AGAPE of RR in October.

We made and sold bookmarks at the St. Richard's Episcopal Church / Fall Festival on 10/18/08 to help raise money for Chris McLain / SwazilandProject.

We collected 31 bags ($113.50 worth) of Halloween candy to help withTrunk or Treat - Jr. High Youth Group at FUMC-RR.

UPCOMING: Potluck/Secret Sister reveal

This weeks meeting is a potluck and our Secret Sister reveal. Don't forget to bring a yummy treat for everyone to share and a gift for your Secret Sister.
Thursday night is our MOMs Christmas party at Mindy Cancila's house. Please see the Evite for more details on the ornament exchange & etc. I hope to see everyone there.

December Birthdays! Happy Birthday Ladies!

Kim Heath-Dec. 3rd
Misty Distel-Dec. 8th
Dominique Peace-Dec.24

Race for the Cure

We had a great morning in downtown Austin at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. Our team, the Ministry of Motherhood and Friends, raised over $1200 for this worthy cause! Thanks to all the ladies who got up early to walk. It was a lot of fun!

Upcoming: Book Study #1

This week we'll begin our book study of Karol Ladd's The Power of a Positive Mom. Unfortunately, as of this post, our group order of the books have not arrived, but we will continue with our viewing of the DVD and our group discussion. This session will cover the Introduction, The Portrait of a Positive Mom, and Principle #1: The Power of Encouragement.

Support Miranda!

Miranda Bradley, member of MOM Thursday group is a published author and the featured speaker at an upcoming UMW luncheon--My Cup Runneth Over...NOW HOW DO I CLEAN UP THE MESS?

On November 9, join the United Methodist Women at their November luncheon -- you do not need to be a member of UMW to attend! We will gather for a catered lunch at 12:30 pm in the Family Life Center and listen to First Church member and author of Blessed are the Jesus Chicks, Miranda Bradley. Find out more and sign up for tickets by visiting the church website at http://www.fumc-rr.org/

Race for a Cure

On November 2, 2008 MOM's & Friends will be participating in the 11th Annual Komen Austin Race for the Cure®, and we hope that you will join us. Please consider registering as part of our team or by supporting our efforts with a donation. The money raised through the Race will fund vital education, screening and treatment programs for underserved women in Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis and Williamson counties and support the national search for the cures.

To join the team Ministry of Motherhood & Friends, visit:

http://www.komenaustin.org/site/TR/Race/General?team_id=37852&pg=team&fr_id=1090&et=fruZk7tkVol5jHeOYuCMRw..&s_tafId=13711

Or please contact Sandy Perez at cpperez@sbcglobal.net with any questions.

Twin Oaks Cafe'

The Twin Oaks Cafe' located in Payne Cottage on the First United Methodist Church grounds is open every Sunday to provide coffee and breakfast to the congregation. The cafe' is stocked and staffed by a different ministry group every month so that the different groups might raise money to fund their mission work.

The Ministry of Motherhood will be running the Twin Oaks Cafe' every Sunday morning in November. Please mark your calendar for November 9th, November 16th, November 23rd and November 30th. We will need everyone's participation to make this a successful venture! There are a variety of ways in which you can help. Kristi Rape' will have sign-up sheets for us at this week's meetings.

1-2-3 Magic!

A huge thank you to former MOM member Kristi Baumbach for instructing us in two great sessions of the 1-2-3 Magic discipline technique. I heard so many great comments and positive feedback from both groups. Please look for Kristi's notes via email soon so that we may reference them whenever we need a refresher course!

A Day on the Farm

We had a wonderful turnout for our field trip to Crowe's Nest Farms last Friday! It was a gorgeous day and the kids and moms alike seemed to have a great time exploring the farm. Here are a few highlights from our tour...

Crowes Nest Farm Field Trip

We will take a field trip to Crowes Nest Farms in Manor this Friday, October 10th. The address is 10300 Taylor Lane Manor, TX 78653 and the phone number to the farm is 512-272-4418 If you'd like to carpool, meet at the church at 9:30 a.m. You're welcome to meet us there of course too if that would be more convenient.
We will leave the church promptly at 9:45
Arrive at Crowe's Nest Farm about 10:15ish
Lunch will be from 10:30-11:30 at their picnic tables
We take the tour from 11:30-1:00
Head out shortly after 1:00

Fees: $5 per person ages 3 and up. Cash or check only! No credit cards!

Please contact Ginger with any questions gincal87@yahoo.com or 417-7893 (cell#)

Collection for Operation Christmas Child

One of our annual missions we perform as a group is participating in Operation Christmas Child. Operation Christmas Child brings joy and hope to children in desperate situations around the world through gift-filled shoe boxes. We made 70 gift boxes for OCC in 2007 and have a goal of 100 boxes in 2008!
We need help collecting the following items:

• small toys (i.e. Happy Meal toys or the like)
• school supplies
• hygiene items
• other items such as hard candy, socks, hair clips, jewelry, watches, etc.

We will designate an entire meeting in November to filling plastic shoeboxes with these items, wrapping them and preparing them for shipment. This is a major undertaking! Please start planning now to help us reach our goal!

Upcoming: 1-2-3 Magic

The October 16 and 17 meeting will feature speaker Kristi Baumbach presenting the discipline technique, 123 Magic! Those members who are familiar with this practice rave about its effectiveness. So it should prove to be a very interesting and useful day!

Candy, Candy, Candy!

We're assisting the Youth of FUMC put on the annual Trunk-or-Treat event on Halloween night by donating bags of Halloween candy. When you purchase your candy this year, please buy one extra bag and bring it to the October 23 or 24 MOM meeting for collection.

Please submit questions for Q&A

During the October 30 & 31 meetings, Roger Harmon, a family counselor will be conducting a Q&A on family issues focusing primarily on relationships with in-laws. He's requested that we submit questions to him ahead of time so that he might prepare thorough answers. Please send any questions you might have to Jessica at jessica_schock@hotmail.com Or, if you'd like to submit your question anonymously, you may drop it in the Confidence Box.

Join us as we Race for a Cure

On November 2, 2008 MOM's & Friends will be participating in the 11th Annual Komen Austin Race for the Cure®, and we hope that you will join us. Please consider registering as part of our team or by supporting our efforts with a donation. The money raised through the Race will fund vital education, screening and treatment programs for underserved women in Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis and Williamson counties and support the national search for the cures.
Sandy Perez is in charge of organizing this event. If you have not received the link to register online, please let Sandy know at cpperez@sbcglobal.net

A Much Needed Blessing!

The pastor and staff at FUMC-RR have blessed us with the gift of a fourth childcare room for both Thursday and Friday! We are thankful for this and for the growth of our group that precipitated such a need. However, with this gift comes responsibility. It is important to know which children to expect on meeting days. If you foresee that you will be unable to attend a meeting, please contact Sandy Perez at cpperez@sbcglobal.net and let her know you won't be needing your child's spot that week. We know unforeseen conflicts arise, but if you will notify Sandy whenever possible, it will allow us to better manage all the children's placement in childcare.

This fourth room allows us to continue to grow as a ministry! So, please help spread the word that childcare space is no longer a restriction for our group. We want every mom to be able to find a place among us. As Jessica and I thanked Rev. Adkins this morning for approving the fourth room, his comment was, "You're welcome! Fill it up!" What a blessing to know that our ministry is so valued and supported by our church!

Upcoming: Kids' Nutrition

This week's meetings will focus on the topic of Kids' Nutrition with an overview by a nutritionist, followed by a taste-test of healthy menu options. Please bring a prepared healthy dish that your children enjoy and following our discussion, we'll bring in the older children from childcare for a little picnic. Please bring a picnic blanket if you have one, your child's sippy cup and one copy of the recipe for your dish. We'll see what the children will really eat and then later receive a compilation of the recipes to try on our families at home.

Book Orders Due October 3rd

One of our members, Kim Heath, has generously volunteered to place a group order for our book study book, The Power of a Positive Mom by Karol Ladd. By ordering in bulk, we can avoid shipping costs. The cost is $9.17 per book ordered this way, compared to upwards of $15 in local stores. If you would like to order a copy you MUST contact Kim by this coming Friday, October 3rd. Kim's email address is elfkim@sbcglobal.net Please make your check payable to FUMC-RR and note "MOM book study book" on the memo line. Thursday members may give their checks to Amy Myhand and Friday members may give them directly to Kim.

Please remember that purchasing the book is entirely optional. The book study will be conducted through DVD viewing and group discussion, so reading the actual book would supplement the study, but is not required.

Our Favorite Things

We had a great time this week sharing (and stealing) each other's favorite things in a gift exchange. With items ranging from lip gloss to barbeque sauce, we learned a lot about one another and went home with some new "favorites" of our own. Here are some pictures from the action...

Confidence Box

A new addition this year is a Confidence Box that will be in our meeting room each week. The purpose of the box is to provide a method of expressing needs that our members may not feel comfortable voicing in person. If you need a resource or information about a particular issue you or your family are dealing with, please place it in the box and you will be contacted with further assistance. Also, if you wish to submit an anonymous prayer request, please place it in the box. The only two people who will have access to its contents are the co-leaders. In addition, we will also use the box to collect anonymous questions you wish to pose to guest speakers.

My Favorite Things

This week's meeting topic will be "My Favorite Things" We'll continue to get to know each other better by revealing what our favorite things under $10 are. Simply purchase one of your "favorite things" and gift wrap it. Then bring it to the meeting for a gift exchange. It's completely up to you what you choose to bring or how you wish to wrap it, but please do limit yourself to something unexpensive, no more that $10.

This is always a fun-filled day as we get better acquainted and discover a few new future "faves" of our own!

We're off to a great start!

Wow! What a room FULL of moms we had for our first week of meetings. The Thursday and Friday groups had a combined total of over 50 ladies attend this week! That's just incredible! We had some wonderul food and it seemed like everyone had a great time getting to know each other better. We hope if you were with us this week you felt at home and like you have a place within this ministry. In a group this large, it sometimes takes a while to really feel like you are connected, so please join us again this week and for upcoming events.

Speaking of upcoming events--a couple of reminders:

• Lunch Buddies will be Monday, September 22 at 11:00 a.m. Chick-Fil-A on Louis Henna in Round Rock
• Ladies' Night Out will be Monday, September 22 at 7 p.m. at Gino's Italian Restaurant in Round Rock

Hope to see you this week!

Welcome to MOM!

"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up."

--1 Thessalonians 5:11

The 2008 Welcome Tea was a huge success. Thank you to all the ladies who planned and worked for months to make it such a special event. The narthex of the sanctuary was a beautiful venue to come together again officially as a group. It was wonderful to see familiar faces of old friends and also to meet so many new mothers interested in joining our ministry this year. We hope everyone felt truly welcomed and will consider joining us for the semester.

A special thank you to past leader, Amy Stoker, who traveled from Ft. Worth to be with us and bless us with her beautiful song. Amy's selection, Legacy, is playing as the background music of this blog. May we always remember what Amy reminded us--that we are doing God's most important work by raising our children to know and love Him.

Monthly Mission Challenge Continues!

Our Missions Coordinator, Kristi Rape' has provided the following opportunity for service on an ongoing monthly basis:

My challenge to each of you is to add $2.00 or more to your grocery bill each month and bring the items to the church for me to pick-up and take to the Round Rock Service Center. If all of us just do this small task once a month, I believe it will go a long way and serve our community GREATLY! By pulling together as a group we will do GODS work in strength and may the Lord bless our gifts each month.

Some items that are needed by the center are…
Canned vegetables (corn, peas, carrots)
Canned soupCanned beans (green, black, ranch, refried, pork’n beans, baked)
Canned tuna, meats, stews
Breakfast cereal
Pasta (spaghetti, macaroni, lasagna, hamburger helper meals)
Peanut Butter & Jelly
Toilet paper
Toiletry items such as shampoo, soap & toothpaste

You may bring your donation items to the weekly Thursday or Friday meeting of M.O.M. in Building 5, Room 127. Or, you may still drop your items at any time into the large blue plastic bin in the Family Life Center foyer at FUMC. It has “MOMs Missions” on the front of it. Please drop off your bag of items in our bin with your name and how much you spent on the bag (example = Kristi Rape / $2.00).

Visit us at C.O.P.

Amy Myhand and Jessica Schock will have an information and registration table set up near the Trinity Fountain outside of Council Oak Preschool on Thursday, September 4 and Friday, September 5. We will be there greeting moms of students at both drop-off and pick-up in hopes of reaching moms who would be interested in our ministry.

If you're a mom of a C.O.P. student, you can help in a couple of ways: First, stop by and visit with any interested moms and let them know how much you've benefitted from participating in M.O.M. Second, please encourage any moms you may know to stop and chat with us and pick up a flyer and invitation to the tea.

Looking forward to seeing you by the fountain!

Almost time for the Welcome Tea!

The Welcome Tea is fast approaching! Hopefully you've made plans to join us Thursday, September 11 at 9:30 a.m. in the foyer of the sanctuary of Round Rock United Methodist Church. If you did not receive the Evite for this event, please contact Ginger at gincal87@yahoo.com Responding to the evite is not necessary to attend, but it is helpful for us in planning.

However, if you require childcare for the tea, you must reserve your spot by September 8th at 5 p.m. Follow this link to reserve your children's spot online http://www.fumc-rr.org/nurture/adultministries/womens/mom/

Fall Calendar is Set!

September is quickly approaching and the council is proud to announce that we've finalized our calendar of meeting topics for the upcoming fall semester of M.O.M. In addition to the favorite meetings that everyone loves (My Favorite Things Day, Swap Day, Q&A with Rev. Adkins, and Operation Christmas Child assembly) you can also look forward to an array of timely guest speakers. Among them are a family counselor who will answer our questions on how to best deal with in-laws; an expert presenting a condensed course in the discipline technique 1-2-3 Magic; and a nutritionist who will present an overview of child nutrition and how to get our kids to eat healthy foods. We've got much more planned and we'll reveal more details as the semester unfolds.

We're excited to have you join us for what promises to be a wonderful semester in the life of the Ministry of Motherhood!

2008-2009 Book Study

We've chosen The Power of a Positive Mom by Karol Ladd to be our book study for the upcoming year. Here is an excerpt from the author's website:

If you are a mother, you may not look in the mirror everyday and see yourself as having a great influence on the world, but you do! No one has a greater impact on the home than a mother, and that impact can be defeatingly negative or powerfully positive. This book will help ensure that your impact is positive. In the pages of this insightful and inspiring book, you will learn seven, simple principles for shaping your family for good--principles that work for stay-at-home and working moms alike. As you read this captivating book, you will see how your attitude and actions can fill the lives of those you care about the most with love and encouragement. Become the mom you've always wanted to be. You might even surpass your own dreams.

Not a reader? Try to find "errands" to run on book study days? We've got you in mind! We've purchased the book's companion DVD that summarizes each priniciple into 20-25 minute segments. On our four book study days spread throughout the year, we'll watch the DVD, then follow each segment with a group discussion on the principles presented. So, if you'd prefer not to purchase the book, you can still participate in and gain insight from our book study days.

Kim Heath, bargain hunter extraordinaire, is searching for the best price on the book and we will probably make a bulk purchase for those interested in owning the book. More information on that to come...

Mission: School Supplies

The August/September mission is collecting school supplies to be delivered to deserving area students. Please take the time to buy a few extra items as you do your back-to-school shopping. You may contact Mission Coordiator, Kristi Rape’ at ksrape@austin. rr.com or 906-2776 and arrange a time to meet and hand off the items if you do not wish to store them until mid-September. Or you can bring your items to our first official meeting on Thursday, September 18, or Friday September 19 and Kristi will get them collected and delivered.

Register for Childcare Online

If you haven't done so already, take a moment and register your child(ren) for childcare online. The electronic forms can be found by clicking on the following link http://www.fumc-rr.org/nurture/adultministries/womens/mom/

Please note that you must register for the Welcome Tea separatly from the fall semester.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Childcare Coordinator, Sandy Perez at 512.636.3084 or cpperez@sbcglobal.net

Ministry Fair

The 2008 Ministry Fair is coming up on August 10 and 17. This is our opportunity to showcase the varied and diverse ministry opportunities and groups that are available at First Church and encourage others to get involved. The Ministry of Motherhood will have a booth and Mendy Barnett and Sandy Perez have volunteered to head up this project. Please plan to stop by and encourage other moms to learn more about our group on these days. If you're available to help at the booth please let Mendy or Sandy know.

60 dozen cookies!

The Ministry of Motherhood was called upon to provide 60 dozen cookies for the Jr. High Youth's summer mission trip. Our moms came through filling a giant cooler with 240 labeled ziplock baggies filled with 3 cookies apiece. They will travel to Texas City, where the kids will be repairing the homes of senior citizens and serving the Lord in that community. Our MOM group is proud of these young members of our church and were happy to provide them with a sweet reward for all their service to the Lord.

2008-2009 M.O.M. Council

Front Row l-r: Ginger Caldwell, Special Events; Mendy Barnett, Past Leader; Elizabeth Clawson, Congregational Care

Back Row l-r: Kelly Pickel, Communications; Heather Leslie, Registrar; Jessica Schock, Friday Leader; Amy Myhand, Thursday Leader; Emily Ahlquist, Sunshine; Kristi Rape', Missions.

Not Pictured: Sandy Perez, Childcare Coordinator.

Monthly Mission Challenge

Our Missions Coordinator, Kristi Rape' has provided the following opportunity for service this summer:

My challenge to each of you is to add $2.00 or more to your grocery bill each month and bring the items to the church for me to pick-up and take to the Round Rock Service Center. If all of us just do this small task once a month, I believe it will go a long way and serve our community GREATLY! By pulling together as a group we will do GODS work in strength and may the Lord bless our gifts each month.

Some items that are needed by the center are…

Canned vegetables (corn, peas, carrots)
Canned soup
Canned beans (green, black, ranch, refried, pork’n beans, baked)
Canned tuna, meats, stews
Breakfast cereal
Pasta (spaghetti, macaroni, lasagna, hamburger helper meals)
Peanut Butter & Jelly
Toilet paper
Toiletry items such as shampoo, soap & toothpaste

During the summer months while we are not meeting regularly, I have placed a large blue plastic bin in the FLC foyer at FUMC. It has “MOMs Missions” on the front of it. Please drop off your bag of items in our bin with your name and how much you spent on the bag (example = Kristi Rape / $2.00). I will collect all the items that you donate and deliver the items every third week of each month. When we go back in September to our regular meetings at FUMC, I will ask that you bring your food donations to your Thursday or Friday class and leave it for me in our classroom or the blue plastic bin in the FLC foyer.

Welcome Tea Date Set!

Mark your calendars! The date for the 2008 Welcome Tea will be Thursday, September 11, 2008. It will be held from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. in the foyer of the sanctuary.

The Welcome Tea is our annual kick-off to the year of meetings and activities. Please plan to join us for a time of fun, food and fellowship with old and new friends!

For more information, please contact either Amy or Jessica at the numbers in the sidebar to the right.

Summer Break

The Ministry of Motherhood does not meet officially in the summer. However, we will periodically schedule park days and other play dates so that we can stay in touch and do fun things with our kids throughout the summer months.

If you are not currently a member of the group, but would like to attend these events, please contact either Jessica or Amy at the numbers in the sidebar to the right so that we can get you the details of what we have coming up.

HAVE A GREAT SUMMER!

2008-2009 Leadership Council

Thursday Leader: Amy Myhand
Friday Leader: Jessica Schock
Registrar: Heather Leslie
Special Events Coordinator: Ginger Caldwell
Childcare Coordinator: Sandy Perez
Sunshine Coordinator: Emily Ahlquist
Communications and Correspondence: Kelly Pickel
Missions: Kristi Rape'
Congregational Care: Elizabeth Clawson
Past Leaders: Mendy Barnett and Amy Stoker