You are warmly invited to An Evening in December: A Star is Born (for women).
In the midst of the craziness, pause for a moment, set aside your to-do list, invite a friend and escape to an unforgettable night of celebration, music & inspiration.
Music by: Grammy Award Winning Artist Kathy Troccoli
Message by: "Focus on the Family" Top 10 speaker and noted author Ellie Lofaro
December 6 and 7, 2009 (same program both nights - all new message for 2009!) 7:30 – 10:00 pm at Open Door Presbyterian Church in Herndon
Tickets are $10 in advance and can be purchased online at http://odpcec.org/454303.ihtml
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
November MOPS Meeting
Join us for our November meeting for a fun packed meeting!
We have a wonderful speaker, Michelle Rawbone, who will be speaking on "Captivating your Preschooler with Movement and Music!" Michelle leads the very popular mainly music at McLean Bible Church. She is from New Zealand and the mother of 3 young children. She is able to relate easily with mothers of young children. Just her voice alone is captivating!
We will also be preparing our Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes so be sure to bring any empty shoeboxes you may have as well as supplies to pack into the boxes. Suggested gifts are small toys (include batteries), school supplies, hygiene items, candy, socks, etc. Do not include used items, war-related toys, food, chocolate, liquids, lotions, medications, vitamins, breakable items or aerosol cans.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Title: A Lesson from the Planet Mom Garden
A voice says, "Cry out."
And I said, "What shall I cry?"
"All men are like grass, and all their glory
is like the flowers of the field.”
– Isaiah 40:6
By Christmastime last year, I was sure my 10 month old son was well on his way to being an early walker. No one who saw him could ignore his enormous size – his body seemingly chiseled out of pure muscle.
But as his birthday neared, and the other children his age began toddling around on two legs, my son began to “walk” in his own way … on his knees. He was lightning fast, but his odd behavior was painfully awkward to watch and impossible for friends, family, and even strangers to ignore.
Deep, deep inside, I knew that if I was patient, one day this powerhouse would not just walk, but run, and perhaps one day become the consummate athlete. But day to day, the nagging doubts attacked my belief in my son’s abilities. The constant pressure and endless comparisons chipped away at my resolve.
So there were blood tests and doctor’s visits, neurological referrals and endless amateur home occupational therapy sessions. The entire “village” turned out to pray and teach my son to walk. And then, one day – deep in the summer months – he did it. All on his own. My half-crippled son walked on his feet. And not just walked, but ran.
In God’s perfect timing, the beauty of my son’s athleticism finally and joyously blossomed (and with the help of more than a few gardeners along the way!). And so it is with all of our children – their glory is like the flowers of the field.
For each generation, God has prepared an entire garden of flowers. Some, like tiny crocuses, tulips, and hyacinths, bloom early in their lives. Their soft beauty, strong resilience, and beautiful fragrance give us a reminder of hope and resurrection – then sweetly melt away.
Other children burst forth with wild, exuberant colors in their elementary and teen years. Some will blossom and bear fruit later, in the middle of their lives. Other cut flowers fill our homes with color and fragrance and life until they are suddenly gone.
There are loud, attractive summer sun flowers like echinacea, Russian sage, daisies, and black-eyed Susans. There are thorny briers that burst into rose blooms, and quieter shade plants like hosta and hydrenga who bring beauty and peace to the darkness.
And last of all, there are the plants that have been patiently and steadily growing all along, looking like nothing much. Entire seasons of life can pass before these flowers find their voice. But when they do, the asters and sedums, chrysanthemums and hollies remind us of the beauty that was, and is to come.
Who can say which has more beauty or value – the crocus or the rose? Each, when lovingly tended, is unique in its own strength, and has no need to be compared. So whether your daughter walks at 9 months or 19 months, or whether your wild son behaves as early as Pre-school or not until after College, be encouraged every child – “gifted”, “disabled”, or “normal” – will bloom with great beauty in the Gardeners’ time.
-By Katherine Craddock
And I said, "What shall I cry?"
"All men are like grass, and all their glory
is like the flowers of the field.”
– Isaiah 40:6
By Christmastime last year, I was sure my 10 month old son was well on his way to being an early walker. No one who saw him could ignore his enormous size – his body seemingly chiseled out of pure muscle.
But as his birthday neared, and the other children his age began toddling around on two legs, my son began to “walk” in his own way … on his knees. He was lightning fast, but his odd behavior was painfully awkward to watch and impossible for friends, family, and even strangers to ignore.
Deep, deep inside, I knew that if I was patient, one day this powerhouse would not just walk, but run, and perhaps one day become the consummate athlete. But day to day, the nagging doubts attacked my belief in my son’s abilities. The constant pressure and endless comparisons chipped away at my resolve.
So there were blood tests and doctor’s visits, neurological referrals and endless amateur home occupational therapy sessions. The entire “village” turned out to pray and teach my son to walk. And then, one day – deep in the summer months – he did it. All on his own. My half-crippled son walked on his feet. And not just walked, but ran.
In God’s perfect timing, the beauty of my son’s athleticism finally and joyously blossomed (and with the help of more than a few gardeners along the way!). And so it is with all of our children – their glory is like the flowers of the field.
For each generation, God has prepared an entire garden of flowers. Some, like tiny crocuses, tulips, and hyacinths, bloom early in their lives. Their soft beauty, strong resilience, and beautiful fragrance give us a reminder of hope and resurrection – then sweetly melt away.
Other children burst forth with wild, exuberant colors in their elementary and teen years. Some will blossom and bear fruit later, in the middle of their lives. Other cut flowers fill our homes with color and fragrance and life until they are suddenly gone.
There are loud, attractive summer sun flowers like echinacea, Russian sage, daisies, and black-eyed Susans. There are thorny briers that burst into rose blooms, and quieter shade plants like hosta and hydrenga who bring beauty and peace to the darkness.
And last of all, there are the plants that have been patiently and steadily growing all along, looking like nothing much. Entire seasons of life can pass before these flowers find their voice. But when they do, the asters and sedums, chrysanthemums and hollies remind us of the beauty that was, and is to come.
Who can say which has more beauty or value – the crocus or the rose? Each, when lovingly tended, is unique in its own strength, and has no need to be compared. So whether your daughter walks at 9 months or 19 months, or whether your wild son behaves as early as Pre-school or not until after College, be encouraged every child – “gifted”, “disabled”, or “normal” – will bloom with great beauty in the Gardeners’ time.
-By Katherine Craddock
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
First meeting of the year!
TKC MOPS will have our first meeting on Friday, September 18th from 9:30 - 11:30 a.m.
"Welcome to Planet Mom" is our theme this year!
See you on the 18th! Look for the evite!
"Welcome to Planet Mom" is our theme this year!
See you on the 18th! Look for the evite!
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
10 Ways to make it throughthe day with a toddler
While I try to champion the wonderful qualities of toddlers, I'll be the first to admit that your average two year old can sometimes be exhausting, exasperating and extremely hard to entertain. For those days when your little one has you in a heap on the floor and there are still 10 hours till bedtime, I offer the following distractions.
1. Find a field. If weather is remotely agreeable, I highly recommend taking your little person to the biggest, widest open space you can find and then just sitting in the middle of it. Your toddler can run, dig, chase balls, you name it, and you can mostly sit. Any type of large area will work, so those who are far from fields or snowed under can improvise.
2. Dig out the kiddie pool. Yes, even if there are 12 feet of snow outside. Bring it into the kitchen, put a sheet underneath it and your toddler inside it and then put some buckets of strange things in there. Some ideas are dried beans, rice, dragon tears, polished rocks, packing peanuts and sand. Be sure to include scoops and empty bowls to mix up concoctions. You can bury little toys inside some of the containers for an added treat. Just be sure to watch toddler nonstop, so the goodies don't end up in her mouth, nose or ears.
3. Make a mess on the carpet. This idea comes from Magical Mama Barb and is utterly brilliant:
"My youngest two especially like to take things and dump them out on the carpet. Well, I got the idea to 'freshen' up my carpet the other day, and knew the kids would enjoy helping me, as it ALLOWED them to make a mess on the carpet. I put about a cup of baking soda mixed with some lavender essential oil in a powdered sugar shaker, and let them go shake it all over the carpet. Woo-hoo, running wild and free shaking white stuff all over the carpet! I took the shaker and had them lay their hands on the floor with their fingers spread out as wide as possible. Then I shook the powder all over their hands, leaving nice 'shadows' of their handprints on the carpet. The kids loved it!"
When done, the kids can even help vacuum and make it disappear.
4. Make an obstacle course. Toddlers love it when they get to tear up the room and climb on the furniture! Use couch cushions, blankets, bean bags, etc. to make the living room into a giant play land. This is guaranteed to buy you enough time to do at least one chore and at least one thing to make yourself feel pampered. It's remarkably easy to clean up afterwards and is good exercise for the kiddos too!
5. Find some cardboard boxes. They're still the best toys on earth. Get a big box and help toddler draw on car doors or rocket ship panels, make a puppet show stage, cut out a door and windows for houses, you name it. If you have several you can make a whole town. You can haul out dolls and stuffed animals to get in on the fun too. If you're not up to the artistic part just let your little one loose with even one cardboard box and watch how much fun it generates. When you're done you can flatten them and recycle them or stow them under the bed.
6. Download some free toddler games from the internet. Do a google search for "freeware toddlers" and you'll find lots of pages of all kinds of free games for little ones. Our all-time favorite here is Tuxpaint, an absolutely free and absolutely wonderful drawing program for kids that has "stickers," magical effects, funny sounds and tons more. While it claims to be for children 3 and up, my two year old can easily do it and a one year old could with assistance. You can read about it and download it here: http://www.newbreedsoftware.com/tuxpaint/
7. Crumple up a bunch of paper. Yep, that's it! Use some scrap paper, newspapers or ads and just crumple each page into a ball. When you have a laundry basket full (at least!), wage a snowball fight inside, have your little one try to make baskets or even let her sit in them and pour them over her head. She can throw them up in the air, try to juggle, practice throwing and catching, stomp them and more. When you're all done, have her help you bag them all up and put them in the recycling. You can even count them as you collect them and make it educational. ;)
8. Make some squeeze art. Fill an empty glue or ketchup bottle with a paste of flour (or cornstarch), water and food coloring (if desired). Spread out some newspaper and give your toddler a cookie sheet to squeeze designs onto. When he's done with the designs he can use a plastic fork, finger or homemade pattern comb (a piece of cardboard with waves or spikes cut into one side to leave trails) to make further designs in the goop. When he's done with one creation, rinse it off in the sink and let him do another. Anybody who's ever had a toddler get into a bottle of glue knows how irresistible they find the simple act of squeezing a puddle of ooze.
9. Go for a walk. It'll do wonders to burn off your tot's energy and lift your mood, and put you both in a calmer frame of mind for the evening. If you have to, just walk together down every hall of your apartment building. It counts! When we're in a motel I often take the kids on evening runs through the halls. The only rules are that they have to tiptoe when they run, can't run if there are people in the hall, and must whisper. I even join in the tiptoe dashes sometimes!
10. Get out the art supplies. Any of the following will occupy your average two year old for enough time to give you a break: assorted pipe cleaners, safety scissors with a variety of things to cut (different kinds of paper, ribbon, grass or leaves, tin foil, etc.), play dough and stuff to roll and poke it with, Color Wonder markers and paints, chalk with a chalkboard and wet sponge, a pencil sharpener and crayons to sharpen, stickers (we buy page reinforcers or price stickers so we get tons for a dollar), modeling beeswax.... You get the idea!
Remember, this age really is a short one and all too soon your little darling will be running away from you and busy with other people. Take the time to actually experience this year. For all the stress and exasperation, it's also a year filled with firsts, with lasts (how many stages will soon be over forever?) and experiences that are uniquely for twos. Watch her while she sleeps. Notice his fat little toes. Record that goofy voice. Write down those funny sayings. Take pictures. Give hugs. Enjoy the cuddles and be proud of the obstinacy that means your little one is learning to be a big person. And as always, don't forget to take care of you!
Taken from: http://www.magicalchildhood.com/articles/10ways.htm
1. Find a field. If weather is remotely agreeable, I highly recommend taking your little person to the biggest, widest open space you can find and then just sitting in the middle of it. Your toddler can run, dig, chase balls, you name it, and you can mostly sit. Any type of large area will work, so those who are far from fields or snowed under can improvise.
2. Dig out the kiddie pool. Yes, even if there are 12 feet of snow outside. Bring it into the kitchen, put a sheet underneath it and your toddler inside it and then put some buckets of strange things in there. Some ideas are dried beans, rice, dragon tears, polished rocks, packing peanuts and sand. Be sure to include scoops and empty bowls to mix up concoctions. You can bury little toys inside some of the containers for an added treat. Just be sure to watch toddler nonstop, so the goodies don't end up in her mouth, nose or ears.
3. Make a mess on the carpet. This idea comes from Magical Mama Barb and is utterly brilliant:
"My youngest two especially like to take things and dump them out on the carpet. Well, I got the idea to 'freshen' up my carpet the other day, and knew the kids would enjoy helping me, as it ALLOWED them to make a mess on the carpet. I put about a cup of baking soda mixed with some lavender essential oil in a powdered sugar shaker, and let them go shake it all over the carpet. Woo-hoo, running wild and free shaking white stuff all over the carpet! I took the shaker and had them lay their hands on the floor with their fingers spread out as wide as possible. Then I shook the powder all over their hands, leaving nice 'shadows' of their handprints on the carpet. The kids loved it!"
When done, the kids can even help vacuum and make it disappear.
4. Make an obstacle course. Toddlers love it when they get to tear up the room and climb on the furniture! Use couch cushions, blankets, bean bags, etc. to make the living room into a giant play land. This is guaranteed to buy you enough time to do at least one chore and at least one thing to make yourself feel pampered. It's remarkably easy to clean up afterwards and is good exercise for the kiddos too!
5. Find some cardboard boxes. They're still the best toys on earth. Get a big box and help toddler draw on car doors or rocket ship panels, make a puppet show stage, cut out a door and windows for houses, you name it. If you have several you can make a whole town. You can haul out dolls and stuffed animals to get in on the fun too. If you're not up to the artistic part just let your little one loose with even one cardboard box and watch how much fun it generates. When you're done you can flatten them and recycle them or stow them under the bed.
6. Download some free toddler games from the internet. Do a google search for "freeware toddlers" and you'll find lots of pages of all kinds of free games for little ones. Our all-time favorite here is Tuxpaint, an absolutely free and absolutely wonderful drawing program for kids that has "stickers," magical effects, funny sounds and tons more. While it claims to be for children 3 and up, my two year old can easily do it and a one year old could with assistance. You can read about it and download it here: http://www.newbreedsoftware.com/tuxpaint/
7. Crumple up a bunch of paper. Yep, that's it! Use some scrap paper, newspapers or ads and just crumple each page into a ball. When you have a laundry basket full (at least!), wage a snowball fight inside, have your little one try to make baskets or even let her sit in them and pour them over her head. She can throw them up in the air, try to juggle, practice throwing and catching, stomp them and more. When you're all done, have her help you bag them all up and put them in the recycling. You can even count them as you collect them and make it educational. ;)
8. Make some squeeze art. Fill an empty glue or ketchup bottle with a paste of flour (or cornstarch), water and food coloring (if desired). Spread out some newspaper and give your toddler a cookie sheet to squeeze designs onto. When he's done with the designs he can use a plastic fork, finger or homemade pattern comb (a piece of cardboard with waves or spikes cut into one side to leave trails) to make further designs in the goop. When he's done with one creation, rinse it off in the sink and let him do another. Anybody who's ever had a toddler get into a bottle of glue knows how irresistible they find the simple act of squeezing a puddle of ooze.
9. Go for a walk. It'll do wonders to burn off your tot's energy and lift your mood, and put you both in a calmer frame of mind for the evening. If you have to, just walk together down every hall of your apartment building. It counts! When we're in a motel I often take the kids on evening runs through the halls. The only rules are that they have to tiptoe when they run, can't run if there are people in the hall, and must whisper. I even join in the tiptoe dashes sometimes!
10. Get out the art supplies. Any of the following will occupy your average two year old for enough time to give you a break: assorted pipe cleaners, safety scissors with a variety of things to cut (different kinds of paper, ribbon, grass or leaves, tin foil, etc.), play dough and stuff to roll and poke it with, Color Wonder markers and paints, chalk with a chalkboard and wet sponge, a pencil sharpener and crayons to sharpen, stickers (we buy page reinforcers or price stickers so we get tons for a dollar), modeling beeswax.... You get the idea!
Remember, this age really is a short one and all too soon your little darling will be running away from you and busy with other people. Take the time to actually experience this year. For all the stress and exasperation, it's also a year filled with firsts, with lasts (how many stages will soon be over forever?) and experiences that are uniquely for twos. Watch her while she sleeps. Notice his fat little toes. Record that goofy voice. Write down those funny sayings. Take pictures. Give hugs. Enjoy the cuddles and be proud of the obstinacy that means your little one is learning to be a big person. And as always, don't forget to take care of you!
Taken from: http://www.magicalchildhood.com/articles/10ways.htm
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Living Life ToGeThEr!
MOPS International has announced their new theme for the upcoming year. Together on Planet Mom!
When you become a mom, all your relationships change. It’s like you have landed on a different planet—Planet Mom—and the relationships on Planet Mom don’t look like the ones on your previous planet. Your relationship with yourself is different—you are a mom! Your relationship with your husband, girlfriends, extended family, community and God have all changed. Many of these changes are positive, some are not. Even positive change requires adjustments on your part.
Join us this upcoming MOPS year as we explore how to thrive in relationships!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
MOPS Summer Playdates
Stay sane this summer and join us for playdates!
Play Date – National Zoo
Thursday, June 18th 10:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
National Zoo – Free!
Play Date – Banjo Man at Jammin Java
Vienna- Cost is $5- All ages!
Thursday, June 25th 10:00 a.m.
227 Maple Avenue, Vienna, VA
Play Date- Pool Day
Friday, July 17th
Bring your swimsuit, sunblock and a blow up baby pool if you have one!
Lester home: 10802 Norman Avenue, Fairfax, 22030
Play Date- Craddock Home
Thursday, July 23rd 10:30 a.m.
Bring snacks/lunch and swimsuits if it's sunny!
Play Date – StoryTime at Borders
Tuesday, August 4th at 11 am - FREE
11054 Lee Highway, Fairfax
Play Date- Miller Home
Thursday, August 20th
10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Play Date – National Zoo
Thursday, June 18th 10:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
National Zoo – Free!
Play Date – Banjo Man at Jammin Java
Vienna- Cost is $5- All ages!
Thursday, June 25th 10:00 a.m.
227 Maple Avenue, Vienna, VA
Play Date- Pool Day
Friday, July 17th
Bring your swimsuit, sunblock and a blow up baby pool if you have one!
Lester home: 10802 Norman Avenue, Fairfax, 22030
Play Date- Craddock Home
Thursday, July 23rd 10:30 a.m.
Bring snacks/lunch and swimsuits if it's sunny!
Play Date – StoryTime at Borders
Tuesday, August 4th at 11 am - FREE
11054 Lee Highway, Fairfax
Play Date- Miller Home
Thursday, August 20th
10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
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