MOPS for {Life}

It's no secret that I am getting older...
I'm no longer considered mid-thirties...but am nearing my late thirties...{yikes!}

So when I see the new {young} moms joining a new year in MOPS this year...it's hard for me to imagine that eight years have passed since I first became a member of this awesome group for moms!  I joined MOPS when Emily was about nine months old and Alex was 2 1/2...and I am so thrilled to share this experience with Elizabeth too!  Alex and Emily have some good memories of their time in the Moppets classes and I can still remember their first friendships being formed there...as well as my own!

And even though I am beginning to feel like a veteran MOPS member...there is still so much to learn and gain from this group and how to become the best mom I can be...and learn how to better serve my family and God, to better fulfill this amazing role he has given me as a wife and mother!

Elizabeth and I had a fun time meeting these lovely moms...new and previous members...at the annual MOPS picnic to kickstart the new year!

 

If you ever feel like you're the only mom who ever fails at potty training, sleep training, getting your kids to eat healthy...or eat at all, keeping a clean house, having patience, keeping calm...just look at all these moms...

We have all been there!  And we all get through it somehow...and always find the time to enjoy the many reasons we are here in the first place...

...our precious children who call us Mommy...

These are the most amazing years...learning, exploring, sleep deprived days and it's hard to cherish them all...some days it's easier just to get through it!  I'm always reminded of the saying, "The days are long...but the years are short."  And now that Alex is ten and Emily is eight...and MOPS is just a memory for them now...I hold on to that quote to get me through some of those r.e.a.l.l.y long rough days and to remember to find that one little moment that might make me smile...
...because when I wake up tomorrow...

...this little Moppet will be off to school with her big brother and sister too!

And even when all the kids are grown and have kids of their own...mothering will always be part of my job...I will eventually have to graduate from this wonderful group called MOPS...but I will continue to value the friendships and beliefs that MOPS has given me for a lifetime...

MOPS International exists to encourage, equip and develop every mother of preschoolers to realize her potential as a woman, mother and leader in the name of Jesus Christ.